Off The Beaten Path

One from the vault.  I'm catching up on a few old posts that never made it into print.  This one is from last summer's jaunt to Hanau last year.  

I've mentioned Volksmarches in a few previous posts when I was over in Germany last summer on my supplier audit but I haven't really explained what they really are.  Unless people have lived in Germany or the EU, chances are, most folk don't exactly relate to that term.  Please allow me to explain.

When we were stationed in Germany back in the early 80's, we would spend a lot of time "off base".  Two of the best advice I got from a buddy about Germany was:  1) bring your own mattress and, 2) whenever possible, get away from post.  We didn't listen to him on #1 and had to live on a sucky mattress for years.  We did take his advice on #2 to heart.  Whenever I was not on duty or on call or in the field, we would explore the local economy on the weekends to get away from our post.  In southern Germany, there was a ton of activities to see/do and we sometimes had a hard time picking one.  One activity/sport we stumbled across was Volksmarching.  Volksmarching is a noncompetitive walk held by various local towns or organizations throughout the country.  A lot of local towns held their own Volksmarch annually.  It doesn't sound like much, but you really have to do one to enjoy it.  Typically, volksmarches are either 10 or 20 kilometers (6-12 miles) in length and are usually held on Saturday or Sunday (or both).  The whole town turns out for this event.  It is sort of like a mini festival for the town folk to celebrate the event and show off their town.  Most will start out at the local school or gym and head out into the countryside.  The walk will typically take you through parts of the town and wander out to the woods or fields surrounding the town.  You get to see lots of neat and interesting things up close.  The path is normally well marked and laid out and is normally a fairly easy walk.  10k is a bit over 6 miles and can be covered in under 2 hours at a slow pace (sooner if you run it).  The 10 and 20ks will start out on the same path and at some point around the 5k mark, the 20k will split off in a different direction only to join back the 10k towards the end.  At the 5k mark, they will normally have stations to mark your card (and keep you honest) and you can get something to eat/drink (bier).  After you collect your marks, you eventually wind up back at the starting point with the rest of the crowd.  You can walk the course at your own pace - as fast or as slow as you like.  The event usually opens up at 0700 and will close down each day around 1600 so you can take your time, if you like.  It is fun to do it with friends or your spouse or even by yourself.  A great way to explore the countryside away from all the touristy glitz and get some good exercise too boot.  If you are really into tracking this whole thing, you can join the IVV (Internationaler Volkssportverband) group to track your mileage and events.  We did that back in the 80s and, by the time we left, I was up to over 3000 km and 200 hikes.    

When I knew I was going back to Germany last summer, I spent hours trying to find info on Volksmarches.  Do they still do them?  Are there still weekend walks?  Who can I contact for more information.  Thank God for the internet.  I was able to dig up a ton of info including a couple of American ex-pats who lived in Wiesbaden and published a weekly newsletter on volksmarches in throughout Germany.  They were part of a club that would travel together to go to various walks in different placed across Germany.  After doing some extended searching, I found a good list of Volksmarches around German for the open weekend before I had to fly back home.  I actually planned my trip to Stuttgart around a few potential walks in the area.  It took some juggling, but I was able to carve out two walks while I was there.  One south of Heidelberg, the other north of Wiesbaden.  Both were great.  Weather was cloudy but cool (not bad for July).  Trail was nice, lots of neat things to see.  One trail took us by a glider school and there were several sailplanes soaring over the fields.  The same trail wound through a vineyard and past a exotic animal farm.  That's the one think I always loved about these marches - you get to see the real country up close and personal.        

Sailplane

Life is more interesting when you get off the highway and explore.  

Getting back to normal

Finally have internet service for more than two days in a row.  Well, sort of.  Logged on this morning and halfway through my e-mails, it dropped the signal (several cuss words ensued).  After 15-20 minutes, it came back on only to drop it again 30 minutes later (whole new round of cussing).  Called into my friends at Comcast to chew some internet ass.  Sorry, but my patience has been worn down to a nub at this point.  I even told the woman that I was expecting a discount for this month's bill since I have been without the net for most of a week.  Foolishly, she tried to defend the outage by indicating that it was due to equipment on my end (the splitter was bad), but I gently informed her that this was the same freaking hardware that THEY installed 10 years ago and, if it was having problems with the all digital conversion, then perhaps they shouldn't have made the conversion.  Not really a conversation I wanted to have at 0500 in the morning.

Despite that, I am on line and able to do stuff again.  

Trying to catch up with all my blog friends, newsletters, e-mails.  

To answer everyone's question from a few days ago, yes this is a Hummel.  Actually, that should have been easy since the MI Hummel name is stamped on the side (I didn't see it when I posted it).  This one is one of a "few" we collected while stationed over in Germany and it is called "Ride into Christmas".   

For those who are not into these figurines, these are ceramic figurines that were made in Germany.  Some of the earlier versions are considered collectibles and very valuable.  Our collection is more middle of the road.  When we were stationed over in Germany in the 80s, we would spend the weekends exploring the local towns and countrysides.  Back then, we were regular DINKS (dual income, no kids).  With all that disposable income and free time and, since we were so far from home and family, we engaged in various activities.  Hiking, volksmarches, cooking, wine tasting, traveling, photography, etc.  Whenever we were out traveling, we would collect souvenirs of our journeys.  My wife would pick up the occasional Hummel or LLadro figurines and, over the years, we amassed a small army. 

Of course, I never had any interest in collecting figurines.  I acquired more functional memorabilia.   

My division 

 BTW - these aren't mugs, they are called Steins.   

My division 

The last one is probably my favorite and the most interesting.  It is a genuine German Hunter's stein that has an interesting twist to it.  Can anyone spot what might be wrong with this stein?

And, of course, being genuine German, the story is that there are two versions of the mug - one for the bachelor and one for the married hunter.  Each one has a translucent figure stamped at the bottom of the mug that can be seen if held up to the light as the stein is drained.  Of course, I wound up getting the bachelor's version.   

Tempus fugit

As the old saying goes:  Time flies

We are all on a clock.  Time to get up, time to go to work, time to go home, time to fix dinner, time to walk the dogs, time spend with the family, time to go to sleep, time to repeat.  Seems like a never ending cycle.  

This one's a visit to the past.  I always find my life story is much better looking in the rear view mirror.  Back in the 80's, we were young and full of energy.  We lived in Germany and traveled all over the country when I wasn't on duty.  Every weekend, we made it a point to get away from the post and explore the countryside.  Of course, on a 2nd  Lieutenant's pay, we didn't always travel in high style, so we drove a lot and explored the local towns/villages "on the economy" as we called it.  We had a great time and I wouldn't trade it for any nights in a first class villa on the Mediterranean (OK, maybe a few nights in a nice place on the Med).  One of the places we visited was Triberg, Germany.  You know, in the Schwartzwald (Black Forest)?  Home of some the tallest waterfall in Germany, the forest trails, the old Black Forest Museum, and, oh, yeah, the world's largest Cuckoo Clock.  There are lots of shops that sell hand crafted items, but their big claim to fame is clocks.    Back before there was the Internet and you had to look up things in the library, we got wind that this was a really excellent place to visit and explore for a family or young couple. Since we were only 1.5 hours north in Stuttgart, we spent a weekend down there exploring the ares.   According to the "Let's Go Europe" website:  Triberg is the most visited destination in the Black Forest and for good reason.  The town plays host to a line of souvenir, cuckoo clock, and craft stores several hundred meters long.  Cafes, bakeries, and restaurants all display signs offering "authentic" Black Forest cake to visitors.  Make sure you taste this exquisite chocolate cake while you are there--you won't be disappointed!  

We did Triberg on our own dime.  Lots of things to see/do.  Of course, if your are going to do Triberg, you absolutely must visit one of the tourist shops like Haus der 1000 Uhren (House of 1000 Clocks).  There are a plethora of shops in Triberg that sell clocks and we visited a number of them.  After multiple trips to Triberg with family, we came away from there with a Cuckoo Clock, an Anniversary Clock and a full blown Grandfather Clock.  The Grandfather clock was a planned purchase - it breaks down into three sections that would fit into our POS Dodge Omni so that we could carry it back to our apartment and reassemble.  This clock has made the trip from our apartment in Germany to our house in Dallas and finally landed here in Houston.  The Cuckoo Clock has long since been retired, the Anniversary Clock is spinning away atop our piano and the Grandfather clock is still chiming away in our foyer.  One of my minor chores every weekend is to wind the grandfather clock.  It' a wee bit reassuring to hear it go off every 1/4 hour.

FYI - if you get one, go for an 8 day clock.  The one day clock is a PITA to wind every day.

Not bad shape for a 25+ year old clock.  

Travel abroad

Just an update on the traveling pair. 

Junior and fiance are having a blast in Europe.  No post cards or pictures yet (much to momma's dismay), but we do get snippets of information as they find a WiFi signal or as he updates his facebook status.  Started out in Zurich, took the train up to Paris where they met up with their friends and  spent several days touring the various sights/spots (Eiffel tower, the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Versailles).  Took an overnight train down to Munich and have been touring the local haunts & bier gardens of Munich.  They are enjoying the culture and lifestyle of Europe.  His facebook comment from earlier this week:  got into Munich at 7am and saw a guy enjoying a beer with his breakfast. I guess this is how things roll in Germany.


They took a side trip down to see Neuschwanstein - an incredible castle in alps of southern Germany.  If you have time to see only one castle, Neuschwanstein is it.   This is the story book castle that Walt Disney based his Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland upon. 

A castle fit for an opera

My son, a man of few words, simply commented - awesome.  I would agree.

So much to eat, so little room

More from the road trip to Deutschland. 

The one thing that I always recalled about our time in Germany was the food was always good.  We tried to eat out as much as we could afford. Local food was fantastic. Our little town of Boeblingen was located south of Stuttgart and we had a slew of family run German restaurants to chose from. We found a great Italian restaurant that became our favorite for New Year's dinner. One Yugoslavian place served some really fantastic spicy dishes. Throw in the local McDonald's (where they serve beer), a few wurst stands and one really lousy Mexican restaurant, you could say we never starved for action over there. 

On my recent foray back to Germany, I set out with a number of agendas/objectives. One was food. It may have been 30 years ago, but I distinctly recall some outstanding meals/food over there. My intent was to revisit some of the dining experiences from the past and I wasn't disappointed.

Jager Schnitzel (first in country meal)



And, of course, it wouldn't be real with a good bier

Breakfast

The real deal - wurst, sauerkraut & a dark bier



Sehr gut

 

Volksmarch lunch

Volksmarch Breakfast

This doesn't include the fantastic Italian restaurant in Hanau (Sea Bass to die for), of the veal medallions or pork roast.  German food is not for the lite weight, but it is incredibly fresh, tasty and very filling. 

So much to see, so little time

Back in the 80's, Momma and I lived overseas in Germany for about 5 years with the Army.  We had just graduated from college, got married and I signed up as an Army officer in an Armor unit stationed overseas for 5 years.  This was back in our earlier, poorer days and we were were just starting out and had nothing but debt and a 2nd Lieutenant's salary to get by.  But we did ok but we worked to save as much money as we could.  That meant local trips & cheap vacations, but a trip back home was cost prohibitive at the time.  So, essentially, we moved out of our homes and did not come back home for almost 5 years.  Remember, this was back before cell phones, IM, facebook and skype.  Needless to say, I was persona non grata with the in laws for a while. 

The one thing we loved to do was to get away from the base.  The military community was very tight knit and they tended to cling together when stationed OUS (outside US).  A lot of soldiers and their families were stationed on or adjacent to their post.  Each post was like a little oasis of Americana in a foreign land.  We used to call our post "little America" where you could get regular down home stuff like Budweiser or Cheetos or Levis.  We tried to acclimate to the local economy and shop/eat/live as the locals did.  Did we make mistakes?  Yep.  Did we screw up the language?  You bet.  Did we embarrass ourselves?  More than likely.  Did we have a blast?  Hell yea.  Sometimes you have to step outside of your comfort zone to find new things.  And you might actually enjoy some of them.  

While I was over there, I tried to hit some of the places I remember, but I only had a few days to cover the entire country.  A couple of castles, a winery, two towers, my old army post, a few local towns.  No way I covered it all, but I did enjoy what I saw.  Didn't get lost, but there were a few times that I was "geographically dysfunctional".  I cannot admit to any excursions over there, but if you hear any stories of a psychotic American driving a Kia Venga driving down the the streetcar tracks and across the main plaza of Mannheim, you didn't get it from me. 

Bad Durkheim



Local water park



Wine, anyone?

Being A/R, I had planned my trip out in advance, but I was willing to go off script as the opportunity presented itself.  After my business deal was done, I had 3 to burn, so I headed south out of Frankfurt to my old stomping grounds.  Wandered through the wine country for several hours, got stuck a 3 hour traffic jam on the autobahn, tried to take a "short cut" through several towns, almost ran out of gas, wound up in my old town at a fantastic gasthaus.  I even lucked into a local town festival for the night.  Lots of bier, bands, wurst, and local bands.  Nothing like hearing American Girl in German to make it real.   

Local bands rocking the plaza!

Hard to imagine we started out here 30 years ago
(3rd floor, middle window) 

Living vicariously

Junior and future DIL landed in Zurich Friday no issues.  They texted us from their hotel at 0400 (1100 their time) that they had made their hotel.  They have 2.5 days in Zurich before they hop a train to Paris.  Sounds glamorous.  I would be jealous if I hadn't just pulled off a one week trip to Germany just last month.

We spent almost 5 years of our life over in Germany and we fell in love with the country.  No matter what kind of lifestyle you enjoy, there is always something to peek your interest.  Whether it is exploring old castles and ruins from the 1700s, looking at battlefields from recent wars, discovering the treasures of the last century, touring the wine country, or sampling the local breweries, there is something for everything.  I noted from my recent road trip, if you ever do get over to the old country, try to take time to tour some of the local sites. Germany has lots of older buildings/castles/fortresses many of which date back to the middle ages. During my short trip over to Frankfurt last month, I was only able to squeeze in two days to fart around and I worked max out my exploring.  Got to see a few burgs on a drive by basis. Toured the Heidelberg Castle and Hanau Palace briefly.  The thing that always impressed me was the the depth of culture and history.  They have homes and buildings that date back to the 1800's.  Castles that were build 2-300 years ago (or longer).  If you are adventurous, you can explore ruins (or still standing castles) that are older than many countries.  To me, it is always interesting and inspiring to walk the walls and parapets of things that were built ages ago.   Today, society seems to be more interested in the latest technology or whiz-bang device that may on last a year or two.  In Houston, one of our cultural icons was the Astrodome.  An innovation at the time, it opened a mere 45 years ago, but, with advent of newer, larger stadiums, it has been vacant for almost 10 years waiting for the city to decide its fate.   


Heidelberg Castle



Hanau Palace

Ruins surrounding Steinheim