Germany Adventure – Day 3

Kaufbeuren town wall

Monday 22^nd September 2014 – Steve goes to work and Svenja’s parents join us in Kaufbeuren

 Monday the start of the working week – well for Steve anyway. Svenja being on uni holidays it was a little bit of sister time in the morning before her parents joined us for their holidays.

So after Steve left us for work at 4am we went back to sleep to wake up at a decent hour and got up and planned our day.

Now what better way to start the day then go for a drive, and even better a drive down a country road with less traffic so I could drive!

Coll’s driving! 😀

 It was like being a learner driver all over again having to double think everything you do and what side of the road you are on, while also trying to get a feel for a new car is quite an experience.  Thankfully I am well practised with petrol cars and their tricky clutches – as anyone who has driven my car knows (I hope someone at home has taken the Rav for a drive for me as it is probably missing the road as much as I am!). It didn’t take me long to be more relaxed than Svenja was (it is never easy being a passenger in your own car as some of my poor friends know all too well) and comfortably pass trucks and cars on the road, turn at intersections and travel faster than I thought I would be comfortable doing (don’t worry Mum never over the speed limit). After driving a little bit through the picturesque green country with little cottages and houses and barns (I didn’t see a full wooden barn to take a photo of they were all half concrete and half wooden – next time I will try harder) I was happy to let Svenja drive to the shops.

Now shopping is different in different countries as I have learned, our supermarkets are much the same but in Europe (including the UK) supermarkets sell alcohol and actually have quite a range that are decently priced – Australia seems to be the most expensive for alcohol.  Australia usually has closed freezers but a lot of Europe have theirs open and well let’s face it Australia is too hot most of the time to waste cold air.  However the biggest difference I have found is when you get to the check-out. In Australia you put your things on the counter and the person at the check-out scans your items and then bags them into plastic bags (unless you have reusable ones or don’t need one for a few items). In England I ignorantly assumed this would be the same as Australia.  It wasn’t until the person had scanned a few of my items and asked “Would you like help to bag your items?” that I realised while I was looking for my wallet the items were being piled up next to the bag and it was expected of me to stack my own items (haha sorry check-out person just an ignorant Aussie). I honestly think the Australian system is a lot quicker but I suppose the upside to the English way is things are stacked the way you want them.  Now in Germany they don’t use bags at all, you are expected to bring in a basket or a box or your own bags to carry your items – yep no bags at all! How’s your balancing skills? 😉

Kaufbeuren City Hall

However in no time at all Svenja’s parents (Alwin & Nicky) and their dog (Vitus [pronounced Veetus]) were already here and ready to join us so after a quick stop in to buy a dirndl for Oktoberfest (sorry you are going to have to wait for Friday’s blog for those photos) and buying my first European loop scarf it was off for lunch.  Finding somewhere that allows a big dog isn’t a big deal in Germany as dogs are allowed nearly everywhere it is only if they have a sign that says no dogs that they are not allowed (they are even allowed on buses). We found a very nice Bavarian feeling restaurant and ordered four German style dishes to share. Now Bavarians are big on their big meals and big drinks – even my coke was the same height as a 1L Maß glass although not as wide, and we were unable to finish all of the meals even though they were all delicious (and you know they must have been as I am usually quite a fussy eater). These delicious meals involved Jägerschnitzel, Kässpatzen, a salat (salad) with turkey and a pork dish.  (Sorry I didn’t take any photos of any food as I was already looking like too much of a tourist as it was so you will have to use your imaginations and take my word on how good it all was – or better yet get on a plane and see for yourselves!)

Kaufbeuren Town Map (3D with brail)

We then went and explored the town of Kaufbeuren including seeing the very cool town map that is a 3D model and has brail printed for people who are blind to be able to read and get a feel of the city. Part of this exploration included seeing a beautiful Protestant church which you just couldn’t help but be silent and feel reverent in (yes my time in Catholic schools has made me able to appreciate this and I think even a prep child would have felt the need to be silent and still in this church, well at least for a little while). We also saw the town hall that is known for being a beautiful building and for having brides get married in (having to navigate the cobbled stones in their heels to get to and from the limo would be interesting to see) and we also saw some of the jewellery the town is known for.

Town Jewellery

Town Jewellery

Large door way in City Hall – if you have money you flaunt it!

Steps in hall (you can understand why brides would like this place)

Stairs to wall (well some of them)

We then climbed up some lovely steps (nice wide steps unlike the small English ones that I really dislike due to being the klutz that I am – downside to being tall and dangly), only to reach what looked like the top to see that we had to climb just as many steps again! I understand why Germans eat such big meals – they need the energy to climb all of their steps and mountains! We got to the top and had quite a view of the town and could read about the history of the wall. I can’t read German so I am not sure if the sign had this information but Steve being a Bavarian and quite a good story teller (even though he claims he can’t speak English well) shared a story of the town wall.  Now Kaufbeuren was under siege by an attacking army (my memory is terrible so Steve please feel free to remind me what army it was) the town was nearly completely out of food and water and getting very desperate.  The attacking army realised they would be running out of provisions and were waiting and watching around the castle.  An old man in the castle with a goatee (a pointy beard for those who are unsure) decided to walk around the top of the wall and see what is going on. The surrounding enemy saw him walking on the wall and thought “Well if they can parade a goat around on the top of their wall they are clearly still not starving” and the army left!  Therefore the town was saved. To this day the locals still call the town wall ‘Goat wall.’(I really would hate to have been the commanding officer who made the call to leave!)

“Goat wall”

Shows how the wall was extended over the years in the picture

View from the wall (see if you can see something that looks strange)

We then ended our day walking around the forest with Vitus who decided to find a hidden black cat and chase it – it wasn’t a good sign for his upcoming meeting with Steve & Svenja’s cats! We also got to play with the Indian jumping seeds again (check out the video on facebook).

While walking around, because the town is very catholic, you often find catholic monuments around to pray at and they are more than likely in hidden places like the edge of a forest pictured below.

Catholic monument on edge of forest

We made it back to the apartment and Vitus got acquainted with the cats. I soon learned ‘no’ in German to let the dog know he isn’t to go near the cats “Nein Vitus” and with my teacher voice apparently it is quite a good accent. 4 Germans then looked at me “You can speak German”

“Nein, one word is not German.” Granted I can say please, thank-you and Good Morning as that was instilled into me at a young age by my German great-grandmother but that is about its extent. However Germans are more than happy if you say that much and pretty much everyone can speak a little English and they are very understanding if you can’t speak German and smile and say “English? That’s okay.”  It is a lot different to how Australians often treat tourists who don’t speak English and I think we could learn a lot from European countries. However German is quite a hard language to learn and in fact the sentence “Sorry I don’t speak German” is actually quite hard to pronounce in Deutsch and so I was very thankful to have Svenja to always translate a menu or a shopkeeper’s question as I looked taken aback when they spoke in German and I remembered I still couldn’t say that phrase!

We managed to keep the cats and dogs separated enough and happy.  Once more it was early to bed beacuse we planned on exploring the Neuschwanstein castle the next day (and Steve had another 4am start at work)!

Vitus and Nicky at the “Goat wall”

Germany Adventure – Day 2

Field at Kaufbeuren looking out over other fields and towards the mountains

Sunday 21^st September 2014 – Exploring Kaufbeuren

Rain down low to the left and snow on the mountains out of the picture to the right

After today I feel if ever I was going to be a great writer and pen amazing sentences it would be tonight, and at this very moment I even have a desire to try. Listening to the rain softly pattering against the window I remember the day I just had. My first full day in Germany and an experience like no other I have ever had before. Waking up in the morning to church bells chiming and looking out to see an apple tree next to the neighbours’ house that looks like a little cottage made of brick and wood with a beautiful green garden was like a dream. However this picturesque view was then topped by a beautiful distant view of rain to one side of us and snow falling on the mountains on the other (and the satisfaction of knowing in a few days I will be up there seeing that snow).

Which side?

We (Steve, Svenja and I) started our day together with breakfast and each learning new words in either German or English as we planned our day. Then we headed out and being a passenger on the wrong side of the car is definitely an experience, one that can seem quite frightening as your brain automatically thinks that every approaching car you see is on the wrong side of the road and you are going to crash. Luckily I managed to learn to embrace this and enjoy the car ride even if my brain was screaming that we were going the wrong way around a round-about and we arrived at the medieval fight re-enactment training (hopefully tomorrow I will brave being the driver and drive on the wrong side of the road).

It takes at least two people to put on the armour. Steve’s full armour is over 40kg!

I then got to watch the process of how long it takes to put on the huge, heavy armour and watch a training session of a re-enactment battle (and take pictures of course). This was more of the fighting I always thought should be in fight scenes  that involve kicking and using shields to hit your opponent (rather than the Hollywood sword fights you see in movies).  Thomas taught Steve a few things as their girlfriends Elle & Svenja talked and laughed while their boyfriends tried to kill each other in a sense – haha clearly they were both used to the noise and sheer force of the blows that you could hear as the two men battled on. One of my favourite photos is where Steve is on the ground having died and Svenja is in the background smiling “If he wants to do this he will and if he hurts himself well that’s his problem, just as long as he doesn’t complain about it.” That’s love!

Steve & Thomas in battle

Thomas defeated Steve and the girls are happy in the background

Can I reach the top?! (80m-100m tall tree planted from Canada at edge of forest)

Once the training was finished we joined Thomas and his girlfriend Elle for a lunch at a German/Turkish restaurant where I tried and enjoyed a Doner Kebab. Thankfully Svenja was a great translator for ordering and translating the conversation as I was very lost with a conversation between four Germans. Feeling very full we then decided to go for a walk and see a very tall tree (A Redwood between 80-100m tall whose seed was brought over from Canada). We found the tree next to a very green hay field and on the edge of a forest. With the discussion of mushrooms on the way to the hill we soon discovered that as an Australian I really didn’t know any different types of mushrooms at all and then the mushroom hunt was on. I was enchanted by the forest (and really feel this is the only time I can truly use the word enchanted and know its full meaning).  It was amazing to listen to and watch the very tall trees swaying in the wind. It was very cool and dark in the forest and the ground as you walk was so extremely soft due to the very soft green grass or green moss covering the ground (it felt surreal and very different to the wide, brown land I am used to). We were careful to watch where we stood and found many different types of mushrooms with discussions about what they looked like and if cartoons correctly depicted some being red with white spots. I was excited to find this is true but a little disappointed that we didn’t find any.

Red mushroom with white spots

Smoking Mushrooms

Just as we had given up looking and deciding to head back (always ensuring we knew which way we had been and where we were going so as not to get lost) Steve spotted a red and white mushroom just in front of me! I was as happy as a kid at Christmas to find the cartoons were correct and managed to take many photos of our mushroom finds – including the very cool smoking mushroom (but no smurfs were found).

 After taking more photos of the forest and deer hunter boxes we headed back to the car and were grateful to head home.

Hunting box hidden on edge of forest next to path and green field

Once back at the apartment this involved cooking a Guinness chocolate cake (a cake with beer and included me trying my best to guess the German ingredients) and chatting before finishing up with a delicious German meat dish of Leberkäse (roughly translated is liver cheese but it has nothing to do with organs). The rain had stopped during the day when we were out exploring but poured down when were inside and so card playing weather it was! After adapting a card game with Australian and German rules and me learning a new game called ‘Swimming’ we ended the night playing Texas Hold ’em poker. Steve was thoroughly disappointed to have me walk away from the table and end the game with me having 2 cents more than he did. But it was early to bed for Steve had to start his working day the next day at 4am.  The rain stopped just as suddenly as it started but as I got ready for bed and started to write about my day the pitter-patter on the window can be heard again as the cats play with their string before going to bed as we are. I hope they are enjoying their night as tomorrow night Svenja’s parents and their large dog will join us!

View of mountains from field

5 image panorama of forest to try and fit it all in (still couldn’t get the top of the trees)

Germany Adventure – Day 1

Flying over fog covered London

Saturday 20^th September 2014 – London, Munich & Kaufbeuren

My adventure to Germany started with one of my less than pleasant experiences in England. At 2am I left the house to walk to the bus stop only to realise it was raining and cold. Luckily I have become accustom to always travelling with an umbrella and the light rain stopped while I was waiting for the bus. I then had to transfer from one bus to another and had forgotten that it was early Saturday morning and I had to walk through all of the Oxford club strips. This is certainly a different side of Oxford as being a university town there are many young people out on the town and because it is legal to drink alcohol on the streets in the United Kingdom (and most of Europe) seeing young people dressed in clubbing attire stumbling down the street often with a bottle in hand is just a normal Friday night. Walking quickly through the chaos I got my bus on time and was going to be well and truly early for my flight. Having checked in and dropped off my bag I ate the food my wonderful housemate packed for me at one in the morning after work, and waited for the time the gate would be revealed.

Flying over Munich

At the time when the gate was supposed to be revealed it had changed the time to delay it an hour. Two hours later we finally had some answers from the pilot that the routine overnight maintenance that was being carried out was going overtime and we just had to be patient and wait. At least the pilot was honest about the maintenance engineers and keeping us updated and they offered us all a free hot drink or soft drink for our delay. Svenja and Steve waiting in Germany luckily got my message about the first delay, however didn’t get my message about the second and I also didn’t realise the landing time was London’s time and not Munich’s so it was also another hour adding to their wait (it is a good thing they like each other’s company – well I hope so!).

I realised I had a window seat and it was a nice morning so would probably get a good photo or two of London but of course as you can see from above there was a thick fog when we left and by the time you could see through it we were well and truly out of London.  However I did manage to get a photo or two of the beautifully green Bavarian countryside when landing.  Walking through customs and border patrol in Germany was even easier than in England and I think Australia must have one of the strictest border controls in the world.  Then as soon as I walked out of the gate there was Svenja and Steve to meet me – bonus I didn’t even have to try and work out the German signs by myself!

Flying over Bavarian Countryside

I felt like I was home getting to see, hug and speak to Svenja again and found it hard to believe that we were both living in Australia together only six months before and now meeting in Germany for the first time.  It was also great to finally meet her boyfriend Steve and even better when he offered to carry my bag and they had already bought my train ticket – I certainly could get used to travel companions!

Before we went off to the shop we stopped for lunch at McDonald’s and I was grateful to have Svenja speak German and order food as it dawned on me how very, very little German I actually know! In England even the same food and drinks you get in Australia taste different and I am not sure why but perhaps it is to do with local ingredients used and I did wonder if I just missed the taste of the Australia products or if English food was actually the worst of the two. Well I have found the German food and drink (for example even Coca-Cola) tastes different to both Australian and English products but it is a nice different, one that I can like without saying it is better or worse than Australia’s food however definitely better than England’s.

Once fed it was off to the medieval shop to hopefully pick up a fighting sword that Steve uses in battle for the medieval fighting re-enactments. Sadly for Steve the sword still wasn’t fixed and so we had to leave without the sword and axe handle that he had ordered. However not before I got to have a good look around and having an excellent first experience in a Munich store looking at and playing with swords, daggers, costumes and drinking my first German Met ([pronounced Mead] or honey beer as it translates) which was actually like a sweet port and quite nice. Due to my first time in Germany the lady allowed us to try the three different Mets for free (I tried the cherry and Svenja’s cinnamon and Steve had the almond) due to Steve having to wait longer for his sword the owner of the shop gave a full bottle of Met to Steve which he graciously gave to me as a present to take back to England.

Daggers in medieval shop

German Met – Almond, Cherry and Cinnamon in different shot glasses

Back on another train and into the car to drive on the wrong side of the road home to Steve & Svenja’s apartment – which as you can see below has quite a view! Sadly the plan to go to an Irish Pub was changed due to me feeling unwell which may have been due to not enough water and then being in a closed-up apartment. However our night of eating Thai food that we ordered in and chatting and catching up was well spent before heading to bed ready for a new adventure tomorrow.

View from Steve and Svenja’s apartment