Back in the Saddle October 31, 2011

Wuerzburg in Autumn

Hurray, I did it! I managed to sneak a post into October before the month is over. (I’m sorry September…I really am.) I sort of feel like I’m cheating, writing this right now, as I’m technically home sick and not in my language class where I am supposed to be. You see, I got up this morning feeling not so great with a stomach ache, got ready, ate some breakfast, continued to feel not so great but was determined to go to class. I walked up to the bus stop (feeling not so great), waited for the bus (still feeling not so great), got on and decided when we got into town that it was silly for me to go to class when I felt so poorly and it wouldn’t be the end of the world for me to miss. So I just stayed on the bus and went back home again. The funny thing is that within an hour or so, I actually started to feel pretty good and normal again. And to make matters worse, we don’t even have class tomorrow as it is a holiday. What holiday, you ask? Why, All Saints Day, of course! (I love it. The Germans aren’t even really into Halloween like the Americans are, but we still get a day off. And check this out: We live in the German state abbreviated “BY,” and apparently we get the most public holidays of anyone – sweet!) Anyway, I blame my stomach ache on the bad dream I had about zombies last night that must have caused  some serious indigestion. (And I blame you, NPR, for causing me to have that dream to begin with after I read this article!) Anyway, at least I’m getting to write an October entry.  Maybe I should make it a spoooooky entry? Eh, maybe not. The zombie nightmare was enough spookiness for me in one day.

The beauty of the vineyards

Instead, I think I’ll share with you some photos and a little information about a walk we did here in Wuerzburg last Saturday through the vineyards to Randesacker. I was a little surprised to find it already so cold when I arrived back in Germany last week, as Indiana was enjoying a lovely Indian summer when I left. Still, the chill snap in the air and bit of hazy fog makes for some lovely autumn photos.

The walk began the way we usually do it, which is to start off in the vineyards near Wuerzburg University’s campus, and then make our way down into the neighboring town of Randesacker. The two weekends he was here on his own, the Mr. did 18-mile hikes on each of the Saturdays going in a similar direction to how we walked, but he then continued on to a further-away neighboring town before making his way back on foot. I’m not sure I can manage 18 miles going up and down hills in one day, so we only did a slightly longer version of the walk we usually do, which meant that instead of walking down the hill into Randesacker and then making our way back home along the Main River, we instead walked down into the village and then back up again on the other side of the valley into a natural preserve area, and then back into more vineyards. We went back down the hill from there into Randesacker, and then took a bus home.

Plucked fresh off the vine

One of the things I love most about doing this walk is that from early spring all the way until late autumn, you can forage fruit from all of the old orchard trees. We plucked a couple of apples fresh off a tree and enjoyed them as part of our lunch, and also pinched a few grapes from the vines (though we tried not to be too greedy…we know those, of course, actually are owned by someone and harvested!)

We stopped at the church just above Randesacker that you come to before walking down into town and had a bite to eat for lunch. It was a great place to enjoy the view.

Walking up to the church

This walk to Randesacker has become one of our favorites as it’s always beautiful, no matter what season, and it’s never too crowded.  Next to the church is where the huge, old mulberry tree grows that is totally ignored by passers-by, and offers some of the most delicious fruit available to forage in summer.

Off on our way after lunch

After lunch, we took the path from the church shown in the picture here next to the tree .

There were some beautiful things to see along the way:

Fall foliage

Stone marker in the vineyards

Randesacker

I promise I won’t be away so long now that I’m back in good ‘ol Germany. I have lots of entries I’m planning to write about all of our adventures in September and October. Until then, hope you have a fun and safe Halloween wherever you are!

Sweet and Sour August 1, 2011

As predicted, I don’t think my test today went so well. I try to console myself with the knowledge that it “doesn’t really matter,” but knowing this doesn’t help me feel any less frustrated with the hours I spent over this past weekend reviewing. It wasn’t enough. I knew it wasn’t enough (having not spent the recommended TWO HOURS every day outside of class they tell you should be learning),but I still hoped I wouldn’t find the test too difficult. I took a practice A2 test from another language school online and didn’t do too badly on that one, but it seemed a lot easier than the one I just took.

Oh, well.

I consoled myself after the test with a scoop of Tiramisu ice cream and walking around the town’s biggest bookstore for an hour. Bookstores never fail to cheer me up. I even looked at a few books with German words inside.

I’ll leave you with a few photos from a recent foraging adventure where we looked for blackberries, or brambles, as the Brits like to call them. They were some of the most delicious I’ve ever had.

Life is just a bowl of cherries June 29, 2011

So last year I wrote about how many fantastic fruit and nut trees are growing all over Würzburg, and our love of foraging for free goodies.  While I was excited about the plum, nut and the occasional cherry tree growing on our street and in our neighborhood, we’ve since learned that that was only the tip of the iceberg.

We found the motherload, kids.

A few weeks ago, the Mr. and I discovered a lovely walk through old orchards and vineyards down to a small village called Randesacker. You then can walk from Randesacker along the Main River into Würzburg. While it’s a very nice walk indeed, what is even more exciting about it from my point of view is the number of old cherry trees (and other fruit trees) growing along the way, particularly next to the vineyards. Last week, we did the walk and were astounded by all the cherries that we saw growing. What is even more astounding is that it appears NOBODY IS HARVESTING THEM.

I love cherries. In fact, I realized after eating some growing in the wild in Scotland a few years back that fresh, ripe, sweet cherries are probably my favorite fruit (with blueberries being a very close second.) So discovering all of these cherry trees, practically dripping with sweet, ripe, and plentiful fruit, was quite simply a little bit of heaven for me.

We greedily picked as many as we could eat (without making ourselves sick) and stuck some in our bag for later.  We then came back a few days later with a backpack.

When we tell people about these trees, they say surely they must belong to someone. Surely someone must harvest the fruit. But we’ve been back multiple times, with much of the fruit being at its absolute peak, and none of it is being harvested. The only cherries you *sometimes* see missing are the ones from lower branches (and after a few trips, much of what was missing could be attributed to us!) During our last walk up, we took a different path along the vineyards and found even more cherry trees covered in fruit. It was just unbelievable. What’s also interesting is that sheer variety of cherries; big, bright red fruit to small, almost black cherries, and each has a different flavor.

In addition to the abundant cherry trees, we also found walnut and hazelnut trees that we plan to return to later in summer. The Mr. cracked a walnut open discovered a soft, almost spongy nut forming inside. I took a tiny bite and it was very, very bitter.

At the end of the walk, close to Randesacker, we found a mulberry tree. The Mr. said he thinks most Germans these days don’t even know that mulberries are edible. The huge, old tree was also bursting with fruit so ripe and sweet, it would literally fall off onto your hand as you picked it.

On the one hand while it’s fantastic that we pretty much have these fruit trees to ourselves to plunder, I have to say it always breaks my heart a little when I look up and see all the fruit up high that’s just left to fall off and rot.  You don’t know how many times I’ve talked about buying a ladder, a fruit picking device and coming back in the dead of the night.

Discovering Bamberg August 19, 2010

I thought I’d take a break from picking on Germany to share some photos of the trip we took yesterday to Bamberg. We didn’t really know what to expect of Bamberg other than we had been told it was very pretty and historic and interesting to explore. So armed with little more than that information, the Mr. booked us a “Bavaria Ticket,” which meant that we could travel from our flat in Würzburg to Bamberg station for only 28 euros. It covered all our transportation (bus & tram) from our flat to Würzburg train station, the one-hour train journey itself to Bamberg and return bus travel back to our flat in Würzburg (which we didn’t actually use because it was very late & rainy when we got back so we took a taxi instead). Anyway, it’s a brilliant deal. The Mr. thinks up to 5 people are allowed to travel on the ticket and you can use it to go anywhere in Bavaria on any day of the week. Using it on a weekday is particularly brilliant as the trains aren’t nearly as crowded.

We’ve been having long spell of chilly, rainy weather in our neck of the woods, so yesterday wasn’t a great day weather-wise for sightseeing. Still, the Mr.’s been staying at home rather than going in to the uni this past week, so we were both feeling a little shut in and needed to get out and do something.

We started off our Bamberg tour having a small lunch in Fässla brewery, which was founded in 1649.

Fässla brewery

The Mr. and I each had a small glass of their dunkel, or dark, beer and shared bratwurst and sauerkraut (have I ever mentioned how much I love sauerkraut? Well, I do. De-lish.) The inside is actually pretty interesting. It’s a combination of a hotel, a beer garden with partial rain cover, a restaurant (with two different seating areas; one is very traditional and looks like what you would expect in an old brewery and was PACKED. We were seated in a quieter area that looks like a modern addition, and there were even toys for kids to play with), and the actual brewery! It was so cool. Down a long hallway, you could  see the bottles being filled and people at work. The Mr. and I were amazed how busy this place was at about 2pm on a Wednesday afternoon. The kitchen was getting ready to close just as we arrived and we quickly got our order in, but you never would have guessed as the seating area in the old part of the restaurant was completely full.

The brewery in the back

In general, we were surprised at how busy Bamberg city center was on a random Wednesday afternoon, but we did discover later on that festival of some sort was happening and we wandered through part of it.

Lunch finished, we headed off towards the old part of the city to check it out. Like in Würzburg, Bamberg seems to have a bigger market day happening in its city center on Wednesdays, too. I always love seeing the fruit & vegetable and flower stalls.

Market stall in Bamberg

At one point, the Mr. and I were crossing a busy street and he made it over before the light changed. I was stuck behind. An older gentleman asked me in German where the Dome Square was, and I understood him, but I had to answer that “I didn’t know” and “I’m sorry.” I pretty much say this phrase on a daily basis when I’m out and about. He then asked someone behind me and as he was turning around I was convinced he was going to step out in front of a bike speeding past us so I instinctively did the “mother thing” and put my arm out to stop him. I was then mortified that I had done this to a complete stranger who I figured was probably now thinking “crazy foreigner girl,” and I dashed across the street while it was still red (a big no-no in Germany where people follow rules), making an even bigger spectacle of myself, to retreat to the Mr. and walk quickly in the opposite direction from the nice old man. The Mr., however, dragged me towards the nice old man and the rest of the crowd toward the river:

They have gondolas in Bamberg!

Bamberg is really, really lovely. Not only do they have gondolas, but they also have an entire section of the city called “Little Venice;” beautiful homes that once belonged to fishermen but now undoubtedly are owned by the well-to-do.

"Little Venice," in Bamberg

These pictures sadly don’t do the city much justice as it was such a crappy day. But the Mr. fell deeply, deeply in love. He kept ooohing and ahhhing at every corner and every turn, and declared that Bamberg was one of his new favorite destinations in Germany. To be honest, it’s even more beautiful than Würzburg. And the reason for this is simple: Bamberg was one of the few cities in Germany that wasn’t destroyed during WWII (a nearby Artillery Factory prevented planes from getting near.) The Mr. thinks Würzburg was probably even more spectacular than Bamberg before the war as it’s a bigger city with historically more wealth and power, but those are the breaks. At least now I know we’ll get to go back and visit Bamberg frequently as he enjoyed it so much

After wandering around the river and Little Venice, we decided to head up the hill to Michaelsberg Abbey, a former Benedictine monastery. We foraged a bit on the grounds leading up to the abbey (tons of fruit trees, including apples, pears, Mirabelle and regular plums) and stuffed them into our pockets and mouths.

Plums from the grounds of Michaelsberg Abbey

Some fruit from the lower branches had been picked, but you’d think whoever runs the abbey would harvest the fruit higher up with equipment. The plums we had were the best I’d eaten yet; incredibly sweet and delicious.

Michaelsberg Abbey

We wandered the grounds of the abbey, and checked out the inside of the former abbey church, St. Michael’s Church. I don’t know; there’s something about opulent Baroque churches that annoys me. Yes, they’re beautiful (in a creepy, overpowering sort of way) but I can’t help but think that all that money and time spent creating such a jaw-dropping interior could have been better spent helping the poor and doing other, more Godly things. The Mr. reminds me, of course, that wasn’t the real purpose of the church back then, but it doesn’t make me like it any better. Stained-glass windows and gothic arches are about as opulent as I want my church interiors to be.  After checking out the church, we decided to get a cup of tea to warm up a bit and rehydrate.

Cafe at Michaelsberg Abbey

The cafe was lovely and full of elderly people, apparently a German tour group of some sort. It was weird; the entire group cleared out at some point within about 10 minutes, and Thd Mr. and I were the only ones left sitting there.

After tea, we made our way back down to the old city center and wandered around a bit more. We saw the Bishop’s old and new residences (and by new, we’re talking 17th century) from the outside, as well as the old Town Hall which has a most impressive facade and location on the river. The entire old town of Bamberg is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, which makes it pretty darn impressive and well worth a visit.

Old Town Hall

We finally started feeling hungry for dinner (we did stop for coffee and cake, by the way. The Mr. and I can’t have a day out without coffee and cake!) so we stopped at a place on the river for dinner. It was a little too chilly to sit outside, so we opted for the cozier inside but directly in front of the door so we could at least see out. We decided that during dinner, we simply had to try a local beer that Bamberg is famous for: rauchbier, or literally, smoke beer.

When the rauchbier first arrived, The Mr. took a whiff and immediately went, “whoa.” He then had a taste. And even bigger, “whoa!” followed. He handed the glass to me:

Rauchbier...hmmm...I'm not so sure about this....

This beer packs a punch. The powerful stench of smoke hits you right in the face when you put the glass up to your lips. It’s a little like how I imagine a beer would smell were it to survive a house fire. Then you take a taste. It’s exactly how you imagine a beer that survived a house fire would taste. Huh.

But you take another sip. After all, this glass isn’t going to empty itself. Then, slowly, you start to get used to the stench and taste. Perhaps it’s a little like the British snack food Twiglets, you think. The first taste of a Twiglet has you reeling and disgusted. A few more bites, and you’re suddenly an addict. Anyway, a few sips later of the rauchbier, and you do start to almost like it. Is it because you actually do like it, or is it because you’re slightly drunk? You’ll just have to get your own glass to find out!

 

It's a winner after all!

The Best Things in Life are Free August 13, 2010

In these tough economic times, it seems most people are tightening the belt and trying to cut back on spending. And while the idea of foraging for food is gaining in popularity, I’m surprised that most people still don’t take advantage of the tasty things growing for free all around them.

I’m not quite sure when it started, but a few years back I became interested in the idea of foraging. Truthfully, it was probably due in no small part to the fact that the Mr. is pretty good at being able to identify edible things growing in the wild and in more urban areas, too. On many of our walks in Scotland, we’d find wild cherries and blackberries and happily gather them up and stuff them into our mouths and pockets. Some of my best memories of walks that we’d done together involved discovering patches of brambles or cherries growing in the wild. And then a couple of years ago, I came across an article in the paper about a new book being released:

The book is written by two women who live in Edinburgh, and know the local area and all the various things that can be foraged from it very well. I bought the book and became very excited about the possibilities. The problem with trying to forage from a book, however, is that you better be darned sure you know exactly what you’re doing. Or else. So I got even more excited when I discovered on their website that the authors were starting up “foraging day tours.” The one the Mr. and I signed up for would be focused primarily on foraging for mushrooms, something I had always wanted to do, but had never had the opportunity.

It was a brilliant day out. We went up to Tentsmuir Forest, and spent the first half of the day gathering all mushrooms (edible or non-edible) we could find. We then came all together at a cafe and went over what we had discovered. The lesson I learned was that the more disgusting the mushroom appeared, the higher the likelihood it’s edible. I also learned that a single days’ worth of training wouldn’t be enough when it came to mushrooms to know what I was doing before I’d do it on my own and not die. So while the Mr. and I still aren’t skilled enough to be able to forage for mushrooms on our own yet, we are pretty good at identifying edible fruit and nut trees, which is much, much easier.

Here in Würzburg, we’ve become very excited about the plenitude of fruit and nut trees that we’ve discovered, and no one else seems to be harvesting. Some of it is growing on the street or in parks, and some of it is dangling over the fence onto the sidewalk (which as we understand, makes it fair game as long as you aren’t “reaching over” the fence onto their property). But it’s astounding because even the fruit that’s growing in private yards seems to be totally ignored and left to fall off or rot on the ground. (And that sooo pains me…I just want to knock on their door and ask them if I can have their fruit if they’re just going to ignore it). So far on our street alone, we’ve found cherries, plums, elderberries, Mirabelle plums (which we’ve collected and eaten), as well as apples, hazelnuts and walnuts (which won’t come into season until later).This was our bounty from a walk we did today, so we didn’t even bother to buy fruit at the store:

 

Plums and Mirabelle plums

There’s more of all the above growing near where the Mr. walks everyday to work, too. And in the city center a couple of weeks ago, we discovered a mulberry tree full of ripe, juicy berries – totally untouched. The Mr.’s plan is to mark all these places on Google Earth so we’ll know where to go each year, and at the right time of year.

Although it puzzles me why more people aren’t taking advantage of nature’s bounty, we’re perfectly happy to fill our bags and stomachs until things really do get desperate enough for people to start appreciating what’s growing around them for free.