Something's Brewing Over Here

Well, a bit has been happening this past couple weeks! I haven't always taken my camera with me and taken pictures, and that has possibly been part of the reason why this post is so tardy...I know how much people love the pictures! However, I have been informed by a quite reliable source that the pictures are indeed not a necessity, (especially if a shortage of them results in a shortage of blog entries) and that my readers are much deeper than that and enjoy a little bit of unillustrated prose here and there as well! That being said, my last excuse is now off the table and I will have to start trying my hardest to write weekly as I promised way back in the beginning of this whole thing. Wow! The beginning. It's been only/already almost 3 months that I have been in Germany. Some days it feels like an "only" is the best word for the situation and other days an "already" fills the blank much more accurately.

On the subject of time, it is getting to be that time of year again. Weihnachts!!!! Germany is well known for its Christmas spirit and you can already see seasonal decorations going up around town. In the Festplatz (festival square) the stands for the Herbst Markt have been taken down and replaced with the stands and proper ornamentation for the Weihnachts Markt that will be opening up in about 5 days and be going for close to a month, until the 23rd of December.

This is the main street area of Würzburg, no Scrooges here! 

The entrance sign to the Weihnachts Markt

Now to the talk of classes. I don't have time to go over how each one is going, so I will just stick to one that has been going unarguably well: German World Culture and Heritage. This is a class taught by Dr. Süß, pronounced Suess and meaning "sweet", fully in English (no, we haven't asked him whether he likes Green Eggs and Ham yet, but it will potentially happen). Anyway, his class is very interesting and you learn all about  the many different German Historical Heritage Sites, but that is not what I would like to talk to you about. Dr. Süß also leads a few excursions out into the German world each semestre and one which I recently partook in was a visit to, tour of, and sampling at the local brewery. The local brewery is called Würzburger Hofbräu, also the name of the primary beer produced there, and is quite impressive to see. For a 5 euro fee we were able to take a tour of the facility, learn a little about how the beer was produced, and then at the end kick back a little and sample 2 beers of choice from the seven or so which they brew there. I tried one pils and then one dark wheat beer. Both were satisfactory. All German beers seem to be great, and I think that stems in a huge way from the fact that beer has a deep history here and the Germans (particularly the Bavarians) have an old, rich beer culture. Germany has had its Beer Purity Law, stating the 4 ingredients which are allowed in beer as well as other guidelines which must be followed while brewing, since the 1600's. Impressive, I can prost to that! 

The facility. If I remember correctly each one of those silo like units holds about 20,000 L of beer while it is fermenting.  

I never thought that I would ever see a light beer in Germany...maybe people are right about the world ending in December

Just an interesting car I saw on the street

We decided that this sign means "Emergency exit this direction" and not "Go through this door and you will be killed"

This truck is equipped with 2 taps as well, in case of an emergency where quick consumption is necessary

Just the backyard of the brewery

Well, I hope all those Americans out there had a happy Thanksgiving and ate a little extra for me! Meanwhile, I was over here giving thanks for my Würzburger Hofbräu! Happy holidays (I think it is legal to say it now that Thanksgiving is over) and I will be in contact again soon!

A Gathering of Globetrotters

I am sorry for keeping everyone in the dark for these past few weeks, there have been quite a few things happening around here! By far the biggest news is that Allison came and visited for a week. It was amazing to see her and take a little break from the whole long distance relationship routine! She had just spent 2 weeks working in a clinic in Kenya with a group of fellow nurses and her return flight had been scheduled to include a layover  in Amsterdam. She was able to negotiate a bit and arrange to take a different flight that would leave from Amsterdam on the morning of the 28th instead of the 21st.

It was a great visit! The only unfortunate thing about it was that it fell on the first week of classes for me, which meant that I wasn't able to 'be sick' for any of my classes. (Professors had made it quite clear that any students who didn't show for the first classes would be dropped and promptly replaced with a student on the waiting list.) This inconvenience of having 8 classes to go to throughout the week dramatically reduced what we were able to do, however it didn't stop us from seeing a lot and having a complete blast! Here are some of the pictures from the visit.

Needless to say, toting a few pieces of baggage along, the trip from the airport to Karlstadt and then, at the end of the stay, from Karlstadt back to the airport were a couple of the longest trips of our lives...

Spaghetti Eis was one of the highlights of the trip. This is vanilla Eis (ice cream) with a berry sauce and some ground white chocolate on top

A snack for the train ride. What Allison is holding is a popular drink in Germany. It consists of cola mixed with orange soda. The brand name one is called Mezzo Mix and is a fusion of Coke and Orange Fanta. 

Susanne and Emile were kind enough to make Allison and I an ultra traditional Bavarian breakfast: Weißwurst (white sausage), Brezels (Prezels), and a beer.

Date night! We found this really awesome restaurant and pub to eat dinner at one of the evenings. Throughout the whole restaurant there were tons of little crevices and corners with tables and such to sit at. In the cellar was the pub, which was set up in the same fashion

Mmmmm....Schnitzel on the left and a sweinsteak cooked in a white wine sauce on the right.  One of the most delicious meals I have ever had the pleasure of partaking in!

Allison and I in front of the Würzburg Residenz, a World Heritage Site, as declared by UNESCO. It is home to the largest ceiling fresco in the world and hosted the Würzburg Price-Bishops, very powerful rulers who had both political as well as religious power/leadership of Bavaria

The Herbst Messe (Autumn Fest) in Würzburg. Home to some delicious crêpes, cooked nuts, and wursts, among other foods. 

Glühwein: A delicious drink that is all a man needs in the winter. It is a spiced wine that is served piping hot and it absolutely perfect for the cold days of the German autumn and winter.

One last picture before Allison headed back to the Land of Enchantment

Well, it is now 22:24 here and 14:24 in Albuquerque and it is time to turn in for the night! I have a class tomorrow morning at 10:00...yes, on a Saturday. My professor will not be here for the Spanish class on Monday so she scheduled a class Saturday morning in order that we wouldn't have to miss out on any valuable Spanish instruction. It shouldn't be all that bad though, we are going to have a small Frühstück (breakfast) during the class and are each supposed to bring a little something to share. I think that I will bring some good old American Jif peanut butter, something that Germans don't really have, and see if I can wake up a few taste buds with a whirlwind of adventure.