“Waiter waiter, you’re not fit to serve a pig…!

I’m doing my best, Sir.”

Good evening everybody! I hope that you’ve all settled in nicely to the year 2012, and additionally for those who made New Year’s resolutions, that you haven’t been rubbish enough to have broken them already :). I, myself, had indirectly implied (trying to stress here that I didn’t explicitly promise this) to Stefan on the 31st, that I would try my best to work to my hardest at ALL times for the rest of my internship; in other words not to unconsciously slip back into that lazy student mode that I am so accustomed to. However, I think that I may have failed him already (that’s if you include whining to him about certain tasks I’ve been given!). Anyway, there’s lots to tell concerning Christmas and New Year. It was a very busy period here at Gasthof Stern (I didn’t really expect any different), but luckily this included lots of celebration within the hotel to help ease the pain of working and being away from home on the 25th. Göβweinstein was particularly pretty throughout, and surprisingly loud on New Year’s Eve considering the relatively small size of the place. So, before I begin, I would quickly like to wish you all the best for 2012!

As you may remember from my last post, we had two separate Reisegruppen (travel parties) staying with us over Christmas and New Year (not simultaneously mind you). I made pretty clear that I wasn’t particularly looking forward to being on breakfast duty from the 23rd -26th, but in the end it didn’t turn out that bad (and Lutz and Petra weren’t even grumpy considering it was so early!). It meant that I had more opportunities to converse with the guests, which, whilst helping to stretch my German, also enhanced my chance of receiving some festive tips (monetary ones that is). The 24th of December, it turns out, is the main day of celebration in Germany, rather than back home where everything happens on the 25th. So, I turned up for work during the afternoon on the 24th, to find a rather amusing scene. All of the Vogl family; e.g. Bernd, Heike, Anna, etc, were dressed up especially in traditional Bavaria attire (see above), serving all the house guests Lebkuchen, who themselves were sitting around tables, singing in unison the stereotypically German Lied (song) “Oh, Tannenbaum.” To add to this very German scenario, there was a local lad playing the squeeze-box as an accompaniment, all of which I found very funny! Anyway, after all of this was over (much to my disappointment), the guests all went for their Christmas dinner, which, might I say, we served to them very elegantly indeed . Despite having to work most of the day, once all the guests had finished eating, we let them know that we, the staff, were going to celebrate Christmas for an hour privately, so if they needed us, then it was tough. All of us, Heike, Lutz, Ingrid, Ingo, Johannes, Christian, Stefan, me, all sat around in a separate room and dined together (yes you guessed, sausages), exchanged a few presents, and wished all the best for the coming year to one another. It was a really nice, intimate feel, and I felt proud to spend Christmas time with my colleagues.

On Christmas Day, other than having to work, I got to open the MASSIVE, and I mean, MASSIVE parcel that my mum had sent me. It contained very many wonderful gifts, and a lot of thoughtful ones too might I add! It was really lovely, after having spent an enjoyable Christmas Eve with the staff, to experience a little bit of home, and I also had a really nice skype conversation with the fam, including Nan, during my break. What you all want to know, yes I know you want to know, is what I got from my family in terms of presents! Well, the list included: Mock the Week box set, a Lee Evans DVD, a quality and warm jumper from my nan, a personalised calendar with pictures of all my favourite people, some bouncy balls (I’m addicted to bouncy balls, don’t ask why), LOTS of chocolate, and lots of loving. I was very happy! So a massive thank you family Sproson for all of that!

This photo above is that of Mannfred Haeckel, e.g. the Nachtwächter zu Göβweinstein (The night-watchman of the village). Also a regular at Gasthof Stern, included in the group package when staying at the hotel is having a moonlit guided tour of the village, led by Herr Haeckel, who as you can see, has a big horn.

New Year’s Eve at Gasthof Stern was one for the memory books that’s for sure, and I must apologise profusely that I didn’t get any photos of it; I’ve only just got new batteries for the camera. Anyway. The whole restaurant was decked to a T; candles, balloons, special table cloths, colourful lighting, champagne glasses, the whole shabang. I was excited before the party had even kicked off! There was a 5 course meal for every guest (of which I was particularly jealous), all of the highest quality, and although I had to spend an hour (which felt almost like a lifetime) doing the washing up, I was having a really good time. The music was going, the drink was flowing. It was funny serving everybody drinks (once I finally emerged from the kitchen), as everyone was in high spirits, making jokes with me, appreciating the token Englishman. At 10 o’clock I was outside in a marquee with Christian, pouring everybody champagne and controlling the three individual fires that we had going to add to the atmosphere. Around 11:30pm, alot of people began moving the chairs and tables out of the way and started dancing. I was finding it all quite funny witnessing this, when I was asked on two occasions by two of the houseguests (both elderly, very elderly women), to dance with them individually. I honestly did try to avoid this embarrassing scenario, me being caught with an OAP on the dancefloor, but alas, Florian and Christian caught onto what was happening, and encouraged / forced me to go through with it. It wasn’t too agonising, but I won’t lie, I’ve been in more comfortable situations before. Anyway, I eventually managed to wriggle my way out of the situation!

Come 12 o’clock, we all did the big countdown. As soon as the clock struck 12, everybody started cheering, throwing firecrackers. Bernd let off hundreds of (extra loud) fireworks in the front garden. The bells from the Basilika were ringing out, piercing through the night as if it was an emergency. There were drink glasses being raised, everybody was hugging and wishing each other “Alles gute” or “ein schoenes neues,” it was really, really nice. We workers were allowed half an hour off to party with everyone, although to be honest we hadn’t been acting that work-like for most of the night, e.g. Christian was making cocktails for us behind the scenes and we were lavishly drinking them! One of the most striking moments of the night, was when one of our house guests (who was luckily outside at the time), pulled out a gun from his bag, and started firing it into the night sky as part of the celebrations. As well as deafening virtually all of us, it added to a quite wild scene already, what with fireworks going off left, right and centre, so having a random man firing a gun in the middle of this, it resembled almost a battle scene! Anyway, what I have concluded from that evening, is that the notion of ‘health and safety’ certainly does not apply in Göβweinstein, as I can vouch that approximately 70% of the people letting off fireworks on the 31st were definitely under the age of 14.

So, all in all, despite missing home (which was only natural), a very eventful Christmas and New Year. I’m glad I’ve had the experience, it was definitely one to savour. I promise my next blog instalment will be ready sooner than this one was. Just quickly, I’d  like to thank Camilla Swan for her home made Christmas card that she sent me. It was very brilliant! Back to school, back to uni, back to work (for me, I never left in the first place), good luck on returning to wherever. All the best until the next time

“Waiter waiter, how long have you worked here…?”

“About three months, Sir.” “Well it couldn’t have been you who took my order then!”

Merry Christmas everybody, and a Happy New Year! I really hope that you’re all enjoying the season’s festivities and are able to spend lots of special time with family and friends; please do not work too hard over this next week! This is my first (and only) Christmas that I will be spending away from home, and I’d just like to quickly apologise to Grace and my own family for being abroad, I miss you all more than words can describe. I promise that I will make it up to you all (even if that means giving into Grace’s every command ). Anyway, I started writing this blog instalment on the morning of Christmas Eve, but whether I’ll have it finished by the end of today is, well, a completely different story! Christmas is certainly a period here at Gasthof Stern where there is lots to relay, in fact, so much has happened here over this last week compared to my usual lazy Christmas spent in Stanford-le-Hope that I don’t know where to begin.

I REALLY did speak too soon when I was fretting about the lack of snow in Göβweinstein come the beginning of December, I really did. Not that there’s much here today mind you; thanks to the typically wet rain from the last two days, the snow has been successfully flushed away (much to the disappointment of Charlie who I always find eating the white stuff). In fact, it was snowing for about 5 days straight recently, although only approximately half of it settled, yet despite that there was a nice blanket full that covered the village from top to toe. I’ve got to say that Göβweinstein looked very, very pretty. However, the novelty of the (at the time) incessant snowing wore off immediately after I’d finished clearing for the first time Gasthof Stern’s part of the public street and then laying salt everywhere. Just like those damned leaves which the Germans get a huge kick from clearing away, the same applies for the snow. Funnily enough, German law states (although not directly), that it is our responsibility to clear the snow from our street to maintain public health and safety (this is doing nothing to dispel the “German efficiency” stereotype I know!). After a while it got really annoying, rushing outside with my broom every half an hour to sweep away the snow which had YET AGAIN covered that patch of street which I’d cleared moments earlier . Every morning and evening this happened (even on my days off), and to be honest, I’m pretty relieved that the white curse is gone momentarily. Now I understand why so few of the people here shared my enthusiasm concerning the snow a month ago…

What you can see above, you may be wondering, is officially the World’s biggest advent calendar (minus the chocolate). This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Rathaus (which means town hall, not the rat-house) of Forchheim, the nearest ‘big’ town to Göβweinstein. Each of the twenty-five windows of this side of the Rathaus are used as an advent window, one being opened each evening at 7pm, with a large crowd of the townspeople gathering directly below. A designated Weihnachtskind (Christmas child) then does a little spiel / poem, and everybody cheers and claps and takes a chug of their Glühwein. Last week I was treated once again by Lutz and family, as they took me to the Forchheimer Weihnachtsmarkt, where I experienced the delights of this extravaganza accompanied with Eggpunch, a rather tasty drink considering the name, and more worryingly, the contents. It was a really nice evening, with lots to see, and lots to eat. I also rode a pony for 5 minutes which I wasn’t expecting. It seems you can find anything and everything at a German Christmas market!

Now it goes without saying, accordingly with being a student, that I am not a morning person. In fact, even if I wasn’t a student, I still wouldn’t be a morning person. I’d go to the extent of claiming that being awake at 8am, God forbid 7am, feels like a parallel universe to me. Hence, with this in mind, you can probably imagine (probably not vividly enough), the state of shock that I was in for a good 3 hours upon discovering that I was on breakfast duty for 4 days in a row; including Christmas and Boxing day. This would mean that my alarm would be set for 5:45am, with work scheduled for 6. Horrible. After calling the Samaritans and my mum for some advice however, I slowly came round to the idea, and to be honest I wasn’t dreading it too much. In fact, I’ve been finding it quite fun working in the mornings, especially because it means I get a longer break and to finish work earlier in the evenings. I’m on duty with Lutz and Petra because there are currently 50 house-guests with us for Christmas, so there are a lot of people to cater for. Admittedly it’s hard waking up in the mornings, in fact it’s against Human Rights rights in my opinion, but on the upper hand I’ve already completed two of the four days. With all of these house-guests there’s a really good atmosphere in the lead up to Christmas, and it’s nice knowing that we’ve got an opportunity to make it special for them, even if it means waking up at a God-awful hour.

Of this current group that we’ve currently got staying with us, most of whom are very lovely (and very old), there are a couple of memorable characters. One of these is a lady who is 89 (as far as she remembers), who is always very enthusiastic about talking to me when I’m trying to clear everything away. Admittedly, she’s very sweet. And unsurprisingly, she has lots to talk about: 90 years worth of stories, ballads and re-enactments. Unless the caffeine kick from my coffee has worn off, I find it quite fun listening to her and finding out about Germany in 1950. She’s had a husband who died as a result of the Second World War, which I found interesting, and used to live in Berlin. On the other hand, there is another elderly couple who I can do nothing to please. I try my best with everybody at all times, but this pair are simply never satisfied! Whether they’re still bitter that good-old England have won two World Wars and one World Cup against Germany (I wasn’t involved in either of these), I don’t know. Either way, I seem to be able to do absolutely nothing right in their eyes! They always complain at dinner time that I’ve written down their drinks order incorrectly, (which I know for a fact that I haven’t), and subsequently make a point of ordering from Christian the next time. They whinge that I can’t speak German, something that I find completely unfair considering I’m trying to learn by living here! And the most trivial of all, they moan to ME about where they’re sitting in the restaurant (they can stand when eating next time). I would absolutely LOVE to accidentally spill some scolding water over them…

It’s not because I couldn’t contain my excitement that I’ve already opened some of my Christmas presents, no, it’s because Germans traditionally open their presents on Christmas Eve! I’ve made a point of opening my German presents today, and I’ll be opening my English ones tomorrow (juggling with traditions!) It’s been lovely to have received gifts, especially because Stefan, Christian and Petra really treated me! Stefan bought me a German translation book of “Bavarian to German,” so funny yet so true. He also bought me a mini nativity set and some traditional German Lebkuchen. What a star. Christian and Petra know that I’ve at least one sweet tooth, and pandered to that by buying me lots of chocolate, and one other funny gift. This gift was in relation to something that Florian once branded me because of my hair; the “English toilet brush.” So, what did Petra and Christian give me along with the chocolate? Yes, you’ve guessed it, my very own toilet brush. I will use it especially to wipe the diarrhoea from the toilet caused by all that chocolate I’m about to eat! Thank you you guys .

So, with that I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Also, a massive thank you to Kev and Jane Remmington, Bev and George Stylianou, and Camilla Swan for the brilliant Christmas cards. They were lovely! I hope that everybody gets the rest and love and warmth that they deserve. Jesus Christ was born this time tomorrow sometime two thousand and eleven-ish years ago!

Frohe Weihnachten!

Kit

 

“Waiter waiter, this food is disgusting…!

Well Sir, it does say eat dirt cheap outside.”

Greetings from Göβweinstein! I’m sitting writing this latest blog instalment from the confines of my (comparatively) warm house, where the fire is working in approximately 3rd or 4th gear in a valiant attempt to prevent us all from freezing to death. No, the temperature here has not dropped to the brutal level that some of my year-abroad friends in Russia have been braving, however it most definitely hit -2 yesterday evening (what British weather reporters would call “fresh”). If you need empirical proof then just spend 10 minutes with Charlie the dog (you know how furry he is) who seems to have developed some sort of variation on the annual winter flu, coughing every five minutes noticeably loudly (Heike reckons it’s because he’s been eating wood from the fireplace!). My concern about the lack of snow was dispelled a couple of days ago when we were blessed with a rather generous 3 / 4 centimetres worth of the white stuff one night; although it’s disappearance was almost as swift as it’s arrival. My new jacket is keeping me sufficiently warm, so you guys needn’t worry about me too much for the next couple of months . Exciting news from England: firstly, the family have just posted a number of Christmas presents to Germany (do you reckon some of them are for me?!), and just as gratefully received, an email from The Times newspaper offering me a week’s worth of work experience on their foreign news desk in July!

Now, if there’s one term I’d normally use to describe myself, then it would probably be “laid back.” Not that generalising is particular popular with our ultra-P.C. world these days, but if you would give me the benefit of the doubt just this once then I’d like to label England also as a rather “laid back” kind of place. Now we all know that the Germans are quite efficient people (definitely more efficient than the English), very much into their cleanliness and their orderliness. Well, I must say that some people around here take this orderliness to its very limits, and frankly I think it’s a bit O.T.T. To elaborate. Last week the hotel received a letter of notification from the Bürgermeister (mayor), making us aware that a local had complained about some gravel laying on the path of the high street which is joined adjacently to the hotel’s car park. Now, bare in mind that the hotel car park has a floor laden with gravel. Furthermore, at least 50 cars drive into and out of the car park every day (it’s a busy and hard working hotel). And lastly, when I looked myself for this ‘runaway’ gravel, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I could see merely 3 feet of the path, looking reasonably in order, with around (I swear I could’ve counted the specks of it on my hands) 22 tiny bits of gravel dispersed. It was unbelievable how little there was. With one sweep of the broom, all of the gravel was gone. How petty (I thought) that somebody had complained about that! A) Who cares? B) Is gravel poisonous? C) Is it affecting anybody (the answer to that is no)?, and D) what normal person has enough time to write to the mayor and complain about such a trivial thing?! These Germans eh!

Anyway, enough of that rant, just needed to get it out of my system! On a pleasanter note, we had a really lovely group of about 50 Berliners come and stay at the hotel for a long weekend last week. They were all a really friendly bunch, and my attempts at being equally as friendly back were vindicated on their departure when they left me a 30 Euro tip. After that weekend of endlessly serving them drinks (by the end of it I could probably guess correctly what most people would order), if my shoe prints are not eternally moulded onto the restaurant carpet, then I’ll eat that 30 Euros. What I reported the other week about that elderly lady (she must have been really old) mistaking me for an East German must have been an anomaly, as no matter how hard I experimented with a Franconian accent to the Berliners, they all guessed that I was English! I always get really annoyed at that, but they all say that it’s good to have a neutral and clean accent, maybe I should just stick with picking up the language . Two exceptions to the group (in the respect that they weren’t as jovial), was an elderly / VERY GRUMPY couple. If they couldn’t find anything to complain about, then I’d be damned. If it wasn’t the food, it was where they were sitting in the restaurant, if it wasn’t because (speedy) Stefan was too slow, it was that they simply wished that they were back home. To be honest I found it quite funny, I just hope that they couldn’t read what I was saying in my smile: I CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU TO GO HOME EITHER!

A new experience to add to the record book: I’ve discovered what it’s really like (and it’s not brilliant) to be a proper Putzfrau (domestic / house wife / cleaning lady). It all happened this morning when I was asked by Heike to help Magda clean the hotel rooms / suites as a one off because all 50 rooms had been used the night before and Magda needed to get home early to organise her son’s birthday. Now, wanting to keep up this pretence of being the perfect “English gentleman,” I enthusiastically accepted the challenge. How stupid was I. Not that I should have expected anything else, it wasn’t as if I’d be asked to be interviewed on TV or anyway, but basically all I was doing was stripping the beds of the sheets (gross) and hoovering up. Due to the huge number of rooms, it took FOREVER! And it was so boring! I was talking to myself so much that people probably could’ve mistaken me for being  a slightly disturbed individual . So, in conclusion, I really couldn’t hack doing that again! I love the waitering business mind you, but that cleaning task was something else.

I’m not too clued up on politics, but I understand that England and Mr. Cameron have been slowing down Ms. Merkel’s and Mr. Sarkozy’s plans for the future of the European Union of late. All I can say is, is that the Germans here are slightly annoyed at Dave’s reluctance to go along with their economic proposals, and some have even been calling for England to be shunned! Either way, I hope that it’s all resolved fairly soon (without too much blood shed), as I’m worrying that I and my fellow year-abroaders may be kept here as hostages / prisoners-of-war, if tensions soar any higher! Anyway, of slightly lesser importance, Christian is on holiday this week, meaning that it’s Stefan and me in charge of the restaurant (peace of cake). I’m sure that most of you will be breaking up / finishing for the Christmas holidays very soon, so I wish you all the best and a special stay at home . I’ll be reporting for blogging duty again very soon.

Adieu!

“Waiter waiter, do you have asparagus…?

Sir, we don’t have Sparrows and my name isn’t Gus!”

I say it just about every year, and since about 1:37 PM today, this year has been no different; I can’t believe that it’s almost Christmas already! All the decorations have been pinned up in and around the hotel, hence the place is looking very festive indeed. Glühwein (basically mulled wine) is now officially on the menu, though I fear only temporarily. Der Weihnachtsbaum (Christmas Tree) arrived today, and now decorated its very presence reminds everybody of what a special time of the year this is. There is one thing missing mind you, and if you’re British then I’m sure that you can guess what it is because we very rarely have it ourselves on the 25th of December! Yes, you clever ones have guessed it, there’s no SNOW! Yes, I’ve been reassured by almost everybody here that we are expecting a white Christmas like always in Göβweinstein, it’s almost guaranteed. But is it? I’m sure that most of you have noticed that it’s been incredibly mild of late for November / December, and Heike also happened to mention that it was one of the mildest Novembers on record for years here. Have I (curse myself) inadvertently brought the curse of the Englishman to this quaint little village? Will we just have to settle with British-esque rain on Christmas day?!

Now despite the lack of snow, there was no excuse for the traditional German Weihnachtsmärkte (Christmas Markets) not to open their doors all over the country on the 1st (well, at least in Bayreuth I can vouch for this!). Now I’ve already mentioned previously that it’s always something of a treat working with Senior Chef Vogl, and yesterday he once again vindicated my beliefs. As a reward for helping him repair some insulation in the roof of the guest-house during the day, he obtained permission for me to leave work early in order to visit the Christmas Market in Bayreuth with him and his wife. Obviously as a typical German stereotype, I’d already heard of the Weihnachtsmarkt. However, I really wasn’t prepared for how pretty and interesting they are! I mean, the best that Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex can do for Christmas is display a few festive price reductions here and there in the shop windows, so to be honest it’s not very hard to go one better! Yet I really was impressed with what a special atmosphere there was in the Christmas Market. There’s so much food (good food at that!) to be bought, special festive food as well, that it’s actually a challenge to resist buying anything. Christmas decorations and lighting cover the main street of the city, to make Bayreuth appear like one of the most colourful places on the planet. There are so many different varieties of stalls all around that it’s really cosy despite being chilly at night, and if you’re still cold regardless of all the hussle and bussle of the people, then take my advice and try some Glühwein. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not my most favourite drink in the World, especially since I’m more a beer man than a wine man, but it certainly warms you up! Anyway, feast your eyes upon some of the photos to get a taste for it. My camera battery ran out half way through the trip so unfortunately I had to settle with a minimal amount of half decent photos! Enjoy . 

“Waiter waiter, what’s this bug doing on my wife’s shoulder…?!

I don’t know Sir, friendly thing isn’t he!”

Boy was Dorothy right. There’s no place like home. Despite being just over an hour’s flight away (that’s when you’re travelling with AirBerlin assisted by turbulence!), there are an abundance of cultural differences between the English and the Germans. As well as I’ve settled in here and am relishing every moment, home is ultimately where the heart is J . I was quietly impressed with AirBerlin last week; a smooth outbound flight, two free magazines (see below, I took the German editions to try and show off), and some complimentary chocolate. So despite having had to get up at 4am to catch my flight, I was in incredibly good spirits. But to be fair, nothing was going to dampen my mood, because I was on my way to spend 6 days with my one and only Grace Scott at Surrey University and in Broadstairs. Greeted by quintessentially English weather (it couldn’t have been any more English), grey, chilly, and foggy, I was going to be in for a treat!

Before I break into a run over my adopted homeland, I’ve got to give a breakdown of how exciting my time with Grace was! It had been just under a month since I’d seen her, so those 6 days felt like `forever (although they went painfully quickly), and we inevitably had the greatest of times. We made damn sure that we caught up together on the best of British television: Jeremy Kyle and Frozen Planet, we dined at the best British restaurants: Nandos, and we experienced the best of British cinema: Twilight (I’m not saying that with my fingers crossed ). It was eye-opening to say the least, settling into Grace’s new house in Guildford. Yes, you guessed it. Despite her vehemently guaranteeing before the start of the term how tidy she was going to keep it, the house turns out to be absolutely no different from my home last year: Messy, for want of another word. Just how student life is meant to be J . Anyway, we caught up with loads of Grace’s university friends, went for a few runs, attended a couple of her lectures, went shopping (naturally Grace didn’t take her purse), and finally visited her parents for the remaining two days. Just like it always is when we’re together, it was really sad saying goodbye, but I know that I’ll be seeing her before long. So thank you for an amazing time Grace!

On my return to Deutschland I was greeted by a very excitable Charlie, who, like most other dogs, has little concept of time, and was jumping about when he saw me even though it was very late at night. It’s great having Charlie there to shower you with love and slobber every time you walk through the door, as I was rather beginning to miss Grace’s dog Tessa, who as you can see from the photo above is the world’s CUTEST friend.

At the end of my last blog I promised to elaborate on a particularly strange event that occurred last week, involving some people from the ‘Middle Ages’. So, here goes. Now as far as ‘nights out’ in Göβweinstein are concerned, last week could arguably be classified as an attempt at a ‘night out.’ Anka had shown us all a ‘party’ flyer a few days before; which alluded to the presence of alcohol, in a nearby village, and we’d all demonstrated an interest in attending. So on the Thursday evening, quite unawares as to what we were headed to, Anka, Stefan, Christian, Ingo and I caught a lift to the location. Like Göβweinstein, it was a rather small village where we ended up, fields all around, just like everywhere around here! This gathering was apparently taking place in the centre of one of these deserted fields in a marquee, and the path / mud-trail towards it was lit by candles on the ground (almost ritualistic / spooky). Anyway, despite the rather unconventional location, we followed our noses. If I’m being honest, we really weren’t sure what to expect, and to persist with this honesty, we would never have guessed what we actually found in the marquee. To put it in a nutshell, what we discovered inside of the marquee was 10^th century Britain. Wooden furniture draped with decoration from the Middle Ages, men and women dressed up as knights and maidens (a number of them fighting each other with swords, real swords), a ‘band’ singing / howling Medieval tunes, and a rather jovial atmosphere. This, it turned out to be, was a Medieval role-play society, hosting this event in a bid to publicise the group, not, as it turned out, the kind of ‘party’ that we were expecting! However after overcoming the initial surprise (and adapting to our rather unusual surroundings), we soon tried our best to join in with the fun for a couple of hours (which mainly consisted of drinking mead and trying to look comfortable amongst all the sword fighting). It was indeed an odd, but nevertheless fun couple of hours, thanks to the members of the role-play society being really welcoming. Not what we had expected, but without a doubt an experience worth remembering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It appears that the Germans have a soft spot for early Christmas preparation just like the English do (except maybe not to the same extreme, e.g. end of October). I’ve definitely caught ear of a few Christmas tunes on the radio, most notably Last Christmas by Wham, and things are definitely looking very festive here in the hotel as you can see from the photos above. I’m very excited about the arrival of the Weihnactsbaum (Christmas tree) which is scheduled to be here by Thursday (I’ve heard that it’s going to be massive!). Don’t be fooled by the other image above, the Child-Catcher is fortunately not coming to Göβweinstein (or is he?!). No, that image is actually a flyer advertising a short festive theatre production that will be held here in Gasthof Stern for the younger people in the village (5 year olds),and is said to be ‘very popular.’ No doubt I’ll catch a glimpse of it, as I’m assuming that I’ll be working that day. Either way, it’s certainly beginning to feel very Christmassy here!

So, as things are gearing up here for Christmas and the New Year, I’ve recharged my batteries back at home with Grace and am ready for the work ahead. It’ll be the first time that I’ve ever worked over Christmas, and also the first time that I’ve spent it away from home (pining for those lazy student days!). I’m looking forward to experiencing how the Germans do Christmas, so I’ll be reporting back to you as regularly as I can. Hopefully I’ll find out before long when I’ll next be seeing Grace, but for now, everything is just right J .

Schöne Woche!

　

“Waiter, waiter, there’s a fly in my soup…!

Couldn’t be Sir, the cook used them all in the raisin bread.”

A very big hello to everybody from a frosty Göβweinstein, where although clouds are as seldom to come by here (is this normal for November?!) as a regular British bus service, the “wintry weather” has nevertheless made its mark and my shorts are very much at the bottom of my suitcase. The cold temperature has clearly constricted the blood flow to my head of late, as I didn’t realise until Wednesday how long it has been since my last blog entry; courtesy of Emma Sawers and Jack Levent who encouraged me to get writing again! I’m very pleased to report that Jack is alive and well in Siberia, despite it being -20 degrees and snowing, scheduled to drop even further to -40 (I just hope he manages to get to Primark in time!). So thank you everybody for all the lovely messages this last week, they’re always very much appreciated. As ever, there is lots to report and recount; I swear that there is literally NEVER a quiet moment here, despite Göβweinstein being absolutely tiny (I reckon that the tag of ‘city which never sleeps’ was wrongly awarded to New York). So here goes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On average, I believe that around 25% of Facebook statuses consist of something along the lines of: ‘I’m living for the weekend,’ or simply, ‘I can’t wait for the weekend.’ Now I’m sure that I’ll be just the same in 10 years time (not sure if I’ll still have Facebook by then mind you), but for now my personal equivalent of this generic statement is, ‘I can’t wait to work again with Senior Chef Herr Vogl!’ (Bernd’s dad, if you can’t remember). I mean it’s great working in the restaurant, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it’s nice to get outside and do something a bit different, and invariably Lutz has some task or other for me to do. Nearer the beginning of my time here I helped Lutz renovate a room, which as I’ve previously elaborated was very funny indeed! Last week it was gardening, which in comparison to the high-tempo of the hotel was INCREDIBLY therapeutic; basking in the sun and blues skies making it even more relaxing. Over the weekend I was basically running up and down stairs with flower pots, which despite being very tiring (I’m unfit without question at the moment), I did earn a cheeky 20 Euros. Yesterday however was something EVEN better, and what you can see above is exactly that J . The outdoor steps leading to the secondary Gästehaus were pretty filthy until yesterday (moss and chewing), when Lutz handed me (on first impressions) some sort of futuristic / over-sized pistol. This transpired to be no weapon after all, much to my disappointment, rather a high-powered water sprayer kind of thing, specifically designed to clean concrete. I was at first very surprised that Lutz didn’t want to take up this opportunity himself (what with boys being boys), but I didn’t mind at all being asked to do the honours myself. For approximately an hour I was spraying away (that doesn’t sound too provocative does it?), where I’d say that the job probably only required around 30 minutes, but due to the sheer fun it was I completely milked it. Afterwards the stairs were undoubtedly once again prim and proper (at the cost of the water bill), yet I’d say that the only hard thing about the whole task was resisting the urge to spray Lutz when he had his back turned (trust me it, was very tempting).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other manual news: Gradually…very gradually…the work in the Werkstatt (tool shed) is nearing completion. I knew that you had all been waiting for the updates! This seemingly never-ending process took another noteworthy step last week when Roland, Christian and I successfully installed a work-bank in the room in a bid to create space for a tools / working ‘area.’ I won’t be forgetting the word Schraubenschlüβel (spanner) for a while. I’d definitely put a significant bet on it! Despite all of this work in the Werkstatt that has been ongoing since before my arrival in Germany, I don’t think that even the most experienced of maid / Putzfrau could thoroughly clean that place, it’s a clean freak’s worst nightmare.

On a sadder note, we all said our goodbyes to Wolfgang the cook yesterday, who is leaving the hotel until next summer (not sure if I’m going to see still be there by then!). This man is among the biggest legends that I’ve ever met, and one of the only people who I’ve never seen stressed; as they say in German, he’s always “mit der Ruhe.” I’ll definitely miss the times (normally between 10 and 12pm, when work is winding down), where Wolgang pops into the bar, and invariably lets us know that he and Ingo are thirsty, so one of us pours them a beer each. And then 10 minutes later, another beer, and so the routine goes. On his final night we all watched Anka cut his hair (she’s just graduated as a hairdresser), and had a good chat around a glass of wine. He passed on his address to me, which I was very chuffed about, and then made me promise that Grace and I would visit him! Cool as a cucumber.

Despite being very proud of my English heritage, I must say that the German “Accident and Emergency” system beats English A &E hands down! I recall my one and only visit to Exeter A&E(thank God) during my first year at university; if you need an alibi then contact Georgia Goldsmith or John Lomax. As far as I can remember I was 1 of 6 patients on the waiting list when I arrived at approximately 12pm (give me credit that I wasn’t even one of the drunken students that often frequents the place of an evening!). All I had was a deep gouge on my toe, hence I hoped that considering there were so few patients waiting, and that my injury was easily treatable (and also because I wanted to go to bed!), that I’d be in and out within an hour. Alas no. 5 hours later, at the crack of dawn, having acquired some butterfly stitches (not even the proper thing) and a complimentary hospital magazine, we three finally emerged from Exeter A&E. We were absolutely exhausted. Now I was really worried that I was on the verge of reliving this horrible experience when Bernd injured his knee around a week ago, and asked whether I could accompany him and Lutz to A&E. However, contrary to all my deepest and darkest fears, we were in and out of the hospital in 45 minutes (and Bernd got a free wheelchair, which is 10 times better than butterfly stitches.) Either people in Göβweinstein and surrounding areas are incredibly cautious people and enjoy following ‘Health and Safety’ regulations, or the ratio of doctors to patients is incredibly disproportionate! Either way, Bernd is on the mend.

So, those were some of the main highlights of the last week. In general discussion, I am as to date still unable to get over how cool Senior Chef Lutz’s car is (it’s a top of the range Mercedes Coupe). Without question, it is the slickest car in the village; even Roland admitted the other day that he shares my opinion. Any excuse for taking his car for a spin, and Lutz will be on it. A couple of days ago I told Lutz that I needed to buy some shampoo from Lidl’s (which is about 150 yards down the road), so how does he react? Immediately he offers to take me there in his car (where in reality it would probably be just as fast to walk). I’m not complaining mind you, I love being seen in that car, it always feels so cool and is 10 times faster than all of those tractors that are almost as common as an 80’s moustache around here.

Deviating slightly off topic, I must quickly say that I am very satisfied with the English national football team’s last two performances against Spain and Sweden, both of which were victories. Although, as you know, I don’t harbour much hope for England at the forthcoming European Championships, it was very reassuring to see that we still have the ability to beat both the bigger and the lesser teams (despite our style of football being rather negative)! Anyway, enough of football. The biggest bit of news I have for you is that I’m flying back to England for a week, jetting off on Tuesday, in order to spend some quality catch up time with my lovely girlfriend Grace. To put it in a nutshell, I really cannot wait! I’ll be blogging again soon though, so don’t worry. It will most likely include some pictures from the week with Grace (I’ll try not to upload too many cheesy ones), but I’m also planning to recap on a strange experience that I experienced only last night; one involving German medieval knights and maidens…

Bis dann!

“Waiter waiter, watch out, your thumb is in my soup…!

Don’t worry Sir, it’s not that hot!”

In New Zealand the ratio of sheep to people stands at 10:1. Although not to the same extreme, the ratio of tractors to people here in Franconia is categorically worthy of mention; I’m guestimating at approximately 3:1. I’m sure that most of us can evoke that image of your quintessential farmer: woollen jacket, scruffy cap, and by and large hailing from South-West England. Well, although I haven’t noticed it until recently, the number of middle-aged local men cruising around Göβweinstein at approximately 12mph is really quite funny, it’s as if a tractor is the equivalent of a Ferrari around here. I was already aware pre-departure that the headquarters of BMW and Audi were stationed in Bavaria, but I confess that I had no inkling that it was also home to the tractor! Any excuse to get the tractor out, and it’ll be out. Only this morning I was in charge of supervising the successfully delivery of a trailer-full of wood chippings that will be used to help generate heating for the Gasthof throughout the winter; and guess how these wood chippings were delivered… Oh yes, you guessed it, by a good old TRACTOR.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You’d be right in thinking that I’ve had a little more free time of late, considering that this is my second blog in two days! Indeed, today the hotel had a Ruhetag (quiet day), therefore it was shut and we all had the day off. During the afternoon, what with the weather still being absolutely stunning, I took a 10km long trek along the country trails, past a couple of villages (on average a couple of kilometres between each), with bergs, fields and forest accompanying me constantly. Today I really took it all in, how absolutely beautiful it is around here. It’s no surprise why Bavaria is Germany’s most popular tourist destination for walkers and hikers; the scenery is stunning and the walks are dazzling (and endless unless you turn back). One minute you’re going up, the next you’re going down, at times it’s like being in the Alps. It was incredibly relaxing and therapeutic, taking the fresh air in, listening to my Ipod, I couldn’t have been in a more relaxing place (except maybe in my bed when it’s raining outside). My train of thought however was broken when two significant questions sprung to my mind as I was walking: Firstly, who in their right mind would apply to be a postman around here? (I’m assuming that there are postmen, because how else would people receive their mail), and secondly, why bother going all the way to Switzerland when you can pay £50 less for your flight and come to FRANCONIAN SWITZERLAND. These questions aside, this walk was absolutely amazing, and there are plenty of other trails that I haven’t yet discovered. England may have it’s gardens, but Germany has it’s hills and fields which are undoubtedly on a par.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On my travels I passed through one tiny little hamlet where I found the answer to why so many Bavarians are absolutely gigantic (and capable of driving equally huge tractors)… And I never thought that it would be down to something so simple as milk! There must be something in the grass that the cows eat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the past few days I’ve developed a few more new skills to add to my CV (although they’re still in the rudimentary stage!). During the Ruhetag two new guests arrived late in the evening, and since everybody was away making the most of their free time, Bernd and I had to head down to the hotel, help the guests with their luggage, and then cook for them. I haven’t cooked in absolutely AGES, and to be honest I wasn’t that much help. Bernd basically did all of it! But nevertheless, I did my fair share and we served two quality, visually aesthetic meals to the guests. My culinary skills are ever improving I think, but I can’t say that I’m quite on the same level as Wolfgang and Ingo . I’ve also had to adapt to being a bit of a handyman of late. There were a number of old TV’s in some of the guest rooms that needed replacing with new ones. Bernd had asked me initially to place the new TV’s in the rooms and subsequently remove the old ones. This being all and well and quickly finished, I offered to try and set up the TV’s myself, scan for the channels and make sure that they were in working order. After trying to read the instructions in German, and then resorting to English (because it was so much easier), and after a bit of tampering, I successfully set up the 3 TV’s. So now, I believe, I’ve worked in every area of the hotel!

 

 

I enclose finally a cheeky photo of Charlie the dog, who today was hanging out with me and Veronica whilst we were clearing up on the roof. I would say that he was trying to help us, and from the photo I guess you could say that it looks like that he is indeed helping me to drag the disused couch to the edge of the roof. HOWEVER, this is not strictly true. If anything, Charlie was pulling against the couch (making life a lot harder because he’s a very powerful dog!), ripping the material open with his teeth, attacking it as if the couch was some kind of enemy dog, and basically making the roof dirty all over again (with the sponge from inside the couch). I thought this photo was quite funny and captures Charlie doing what he does best: being a rascal.

Waiter waiter, is there soup on this menu…?

No Sir, I’ve just wiped it off!”

A very warm welcome to everybody from inside my temporary home, where the fireplace, in stark contrast to the previous week, has been in service for 3 days straight. Despite it being well into November now, I really don’t think it’s that cold over here, unless of course you lounge around outside doing nothing (which I haven’t had the chance to do recently). Having said that, Bernd and Heike were very much taken aback on Saturday, on returning from holiday (I’d had a free house the whole week!) where they found the house to be “freezing.” Now if you ask me, I really didn’t think that it was that chilly in the house, indeed I’d been basking in that temperature all week; however I think I’m gradually accepting that I must have developed some mild form of immunity to the cold over the past year, where a (at times) Arctic-house at 44 Monks Road, Exeter, awaited my return from campus each day from November to April. Either way, the hotel has been making good use of the Bayerischer Wald, what with this massive furnace blazing (only joking), a bit like the Orcs and the Fangorn Forest in “Lord of the Rings.”

Before we begin I must quickly apologise for the lack of visual interaction in this instalment, it’s going to be a slightly more observational / discussion orientated entry, so you might need to concentrate a little harder this time round! Also briefly, I’d just like to mention Chris Cooper’s blog documenting his year abroad in Austria: He elaborates on a number of comments (all of which I’m sure that most year abroad students in Germany have experienced) which I can only wholeheartedly agree with. I really do recommend you to check out his blog; he covers how almost EVERYTHING seems to close out here on a Sunday, the notion of 9-5 work, and what most rings true, the productivity of the ‘year abroad.’

It really makes me laugh nowadays to think back on all those listening exercises / comprehensions in German that we’ve had to do over the years whilst studying. Listening was always my weakest aspect of language learning, but boy, I can tell you now that those exercises seem like a mere walk in the park compared to what I’ve had to listen to out here so far! Can anybody please tell me (I’m sure Matt Williams knows) who does the talking on those German exercise tapes / CD’s; because they have the clearest, cleanest (almost Anglo-German) accent that I’ve ever heard. And I only discovered that once I arrived out here! Despite my German having taken gigantic strides during these past 7 weeks, there are still times (that probably will remain) when I can take a passive role in a conversation with my colleagues or a group of locals, and halfway through the conversation I’ll ask myself, “are they speaking Dutch, are they a group of pirates, or simply got food in their mouths?”

Honestly, Franconian can be so difficult at times to understand (I’ve learnt not to generalise and call everything Bavaria, which can upset some people). To verify this, and simultaneously to confirm that I’m not just a wimp, our cook Ingo, who’s East German, admits that at times that even he finds it very difficult to understand one of his Franconian co-workers called Aurelia. Lately, our most regular customer Roland has been giving me some lessons in Franconian; so if you study German like me and are living elsewhere in the country and have heard these phrases before, then clearly I’ve been taught incorrectly! There are a couple of ways to say ‘sit down’, endemic to Oberfranken (the ‘county’ where I’m living), which include: “Pflanz di’ noo,’ or ‘Setz di’ noo.’ These are in comparison to ‘Setzst du dich’ in Hochdeutsch (standard German). There is also “Schleich di,” which means ‘go away,’ or “halst maul” which means ‘be quiet.” Finally, I’ve also heard “Wiederschauen” for ‘goodbye’ and “aufgehӧrt,” for ‘have you slept well?” Almost everybody here recommends to me ironically that I should learn Hochdeutsch, and Hochdeutsch only. Although it’s coming on fast it’s still hard and a slower process I would say, because I’m always hearing ‘Franconian,’ which is vastly different to standard German. If you’d like a more visual impression, then click on this link here, which shows you ‘German‘ wikipedia, then click on this second link, which shows you ‘Bavarian‘ wikipedia. Does that look like the same language to you?! I thought not! That’s what I’m coping with!

In addition to this obstacle, Christian (who is East German himself) has been teaching me some East German slang, which again, is very different to standard German. Normally if I’d like another beer at a pub or restaurant, I might say ‘noch ein Bier bitte.’ In East German however, it’s apparently a bit more common to hear ‘Nüü ans nämer noh.” It sounds funny, it looks nothing like normal German, and it makes life a hell of a harder. Ironically enough, one customer asked me last night (pay no credence to the fact that she was at least 80 years old) whether I was East German! It totally made my day, and made me think that my German is finally coming on . The cherry on top of the cake was another customer calling me “Chef” (boss) a little later on during the evening. My head has grown significantly since .

It really is unbelievable, how many different dialects exist throughout Germany; I’ve had countless conversations with guests and friends here about this. Most recently, I’ve had the most revealing conversation concerning the subject. Only yesterday I spoke with a couple staying in the hotel who come from Hessen, who to me seemed to speak really clear and understandable German (compared to people around here in the outback!).I was understanding everything they said (which made a change), and I was loving it. They explained that there are hundreds and hundreds of different dialects in Germany, and that funnily enough they find it difficult to understand people in Göβweinstein. In return I could only name 6 different English accents: Essex, Cockney, farmer, Scouse, Brummie, and Geordie (which puts the whole situation into context!) They claimed, that even though I could understand perfectly well what they were saying to me at that moment, that if I was to spend Christmas at their family home and listen to all the conversations going on with the family clan, then I would probably understand ‘gar nichts’ (absolutely NOTHING). According to them, dialects in Germany vary on average per 10 kilometres. Ironically, this has been making me wonder, is it worth studying German at all if I’m going to struggle communicating in Berlin with what I’ve learnt here in Bavaria?!

Only joking I’m loving it and learning loads, more than I ever imagined that I would. I only wanted to give you an impression of the challenges that one faces when trying to learn another language; that it’s not all about learning the words, oh no. Pronunciation and context are as, if not more, important than anything else. Again, I apologise for the lack of photos in this blog installment. I promise that I will include more the next time, and won’t rant anywhere near as much as I have done this evening. But for now, thanks for reading, and until the next time…                  Wiederschauen!

 

“Waiter waiter, there’s a dead fly swimming in my soup…!

Don’t be silly Sir, dead flies can’t swim.”

So much for German efficiency. I really don’t like starting these entries off on such a bitter note, but I must confess that the bubble has burst; the stereotype has finally been debunked! It all happened today on my journey home from Kronach (which turned out to be some form of quasi-Duke of Edinburgh expedition), after visiting my close friend Emma Sawers for the first time since moving to Germany. A delayed departure at Bamberg Hauptbahnhof meant that I missed the connection between Forchheim and Ebermannstadt, which in turn meant that on arrival (an hour late) at Ebermannstadt, that I missed the last bus home. I was then forced to wait 45 minutes for a taxi (which was also delayed), freezing my nuts off, Ipod battery almost dead, and to rub salt into the wound, was obliged to pay for the incurred taxi fee. I understand that the remote location of Gӧβweinstein doesn’t help matters, but a journey that took two hours longer than it was supposed to really put a downer on the day, especially as I had my evening all planned out meticulously in my head . If you want to understand just how frustrated I was, just ask Grace, she was on the phone to me at the time . Anyway, apart from that it was a quality day catching up with my best mate; exchanging funny stories, recalling old memories, but most reassuringly, discovering that we’re both finding this year as challenging as each other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One thing that I do really love about travelling in Bavaria, is that everywhere is just so picturesque! I’ve talked to a lot of locals during my stay here, and they’re all fascinated with the beauty of English gardens. Yes, I totally agree, English gardens are brilliant, but the countryside around here is simply an eye-opener. The images above are literally just flash points, from when I’ve looked up from reading my German grammar book (it’s up there with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) on the train, and seen hills, trees, and lots of Bavarian men driving tractors (they love it), stretching out endlessly before me. It wouldn’t have been the same without spotting a few of those stoic Germans along the way however, sweeping up leaves the way the Germans do best (I still don’t understand that obsession!).

 

 

 

 

 

So, moving on. Kronach is a Landkreis (district) which is conveniently near to me (half an hour by car), so near in fact considering the size of Germany. It’s a really pretty Franconian town, quite a bit bigger than where I live, but just the right size for Emma. There are some great lookout points there just like there are here, so I made sure that I took a lot of snaps. Emma’s working as a language assistant at two of the local schools, with Mondays and weekends off (lucky ), and she’s so popular there already, that she’s made it onto the front page of the school website; check out the link. According to her colleagues, she lives in the ‘posh’ end of town, and I must admit, it was very classy! I got some great photos from on top of the hill where the local castle is situated, with the sun beating down it was a really good setting. I came across a sign (which you can see below), which makes it quite unequivocal that dogs are NOT ALLOWED to deposit in Kronach. There’s also a really clean river (or was that just the light rays from the sun?!) running through the town centre; rivers always go down well with me, and was one of the main reasons why I chose to go to Exeter University. I met the local Doner Kebab store owner who Emma reckons fancies her (he was smiling at her a lot), and checked out Kronach’s post office, which wasn’t much different from any other post office. Overall, a great day and hopefully will be seeing Emma (and Tom and Ellie) very soon!

I’ve run into a bit of money recently after winning a couple of bets at work (don’t get too excited it wasn’t any life changing sum of dollar). With Grandad Vogl, Lutz, temporarily in charge of the hotel whilst Bernd and Heike are on holiday, evenings at work have been a bit more intense as G.V. has been letting us bet how many customers we’ll serve each evening. It wasn’t surprising that the grand master himself won the first couple of rounds (he has been in the business for 50 years), but last night I knocked him off his perch and took the winnings myself! The only problem is, is that I’m pretty certain I’m going to throw all that gained money away when I bet next (beginner’s luck doesn’t last for any extended period and I can’t claim to be an expert gambler).

On the football front, for those who are interested, I’ve taken a MASSIVE step. After scouring for hours on the internet for the cheapest price, I’ve finally ordered a football jersey for the first time in years. It’s not just any jersey mind you, it’s the German national team top with the name “Ӧzil” on the back (as in Mesut Ӧzil, the quality Turkish-born midfielder). For 43 Euros, I was almost as impressed as I was when I watched Bayern Munich trounce Napoli 3v2 last night with Christian in the Champions League. 8 of Bayern’s players play for the national team (Neuer, Boateng, Badstuber, Muller, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Gomez, and Kroos), it’s basically the whole German squad playing together on a weekly basis, no wonder they always beat England!

So yes, it’s been a fairly slow week so far, what with having finished at 8 on Tuesday, 5 yesterday, and the day off today. No complaints on the free-time front then (although there’s a bus with 95 people arriving at the hotel on Saturday). I’ll be seeing Grace in 20 days time, so that’s another thing that I’m hugely looking forward to . Thanks everybody for reading, and until the next the time, schӧnen tag noch! 

“Waiter waiter, there’s a caterpillar on my salad…!

Don’t worry Sir, there’s no extra charge.”

After a period of procrastintion and deliberation, I feel like I’ve taken my biggest step since arriving here in die Fränkische Schweiz (or ‘der’ Fränkische Schweiz if we’re talking in dative terms!). Initially on arrival I’d decided to amerce myself in German both verbally and orally, then to focus on visual and written language a while later, in order not to overload my brain and stunt the language development. However, what with having a bit more free time of late, I decided that the time was nigh to start reading a German book! What helped to precipitate this decision, was that my friend and colleague Stefan both chose the book for me, and then kindly enough bought it for me on-line (so it wasn’t even my choice after all!). I can tell that you’re all eager to discover the choice of book (so was I!), and so I hope that you’re not too disappointed to learn that it wasn’t Karl Marx’s light hearted “Communist Manifesto,” or even Hitler’s thriller “Mein Kampf.” Rather, it is arguably Germany’s most popular children’s book (and we all thought that Germans lacked a sense of humour), “Michel aus Lönneberga.” So thank you for that Stefan. How reassuring to know that my colleague Petra’s 3 year old daughter is reading this book too .

Anyway, the past five days has been especially exciting and as promised I’ve got a number of pictures from Bamberg to show you. You already know (that’s if you’ve been keeping up to date with the blog!) that I’ve recently seen Grace and her family. It was inevitably going to be sad saying goodbye, but what helped lighten the blues was that approximately ten minutes after the taxi had left with my girlfriend (and 60 Euros from my wallet), my uncle Geoff and aunty Linda arrived at the hotel (so convenient!). As did mum and my sister Ella as well the following day (dad’s busy organising Remembrance Day so I’ll be seeing him in November)! So, from the Sunday to the Thursday I was surrounded by family. This visibly injected a new bounce into my stride, I couldn’t believe how nice a feeling it was seeing loved ones after being away for a while . For the very first time then I had the opportunity to show off to mum what I’d learnt so far in person. I hope that she was quietly impressed!

On the Wednesday we spent a great day in Bamberg, which is the nearest city to Göβweinstein. It only takes about 45 minutes to reach by car (although probably nearer to 30 if you’re Florian), and along the way you can watch the quilt-like woods of Franconia unravel before your very eyes. The city itself is absolutely beautiful, the “old city” being a listed World Heritage Site; its architecture has an authentic medieval appearance because the city avoided Allied bombing during the Second World War. We saw plenty of students, seeing as Bamberg is a university city, and ironically a lot of American soldiers (there is still an American military base in Bamberg which is home to over 4000 troops). As well as mum buying me a very warm jacket (I could easily use it as a duvet as well), we ate plenty and took an album’s worth of photos. Feast your eyes on some of these and if you’re ever nearby then I thoroughly recommend taking a day to visit the place!

On our way back from Bamberg (after initially catching the wrong park and ride bus), we stopped off at Aldi, but more significantly, we spent an hour or so in a village called Pottenstein, which is approximately an hour and a half walk from Göβweinstein. If I’m being completely neutral then I’d say that Pottenstein just about edges it on the ‘visually aesthetic’ front, but I can’t emphasise enough how many good view points there are in my adopted home town! Anyway, the reason why I mentioned Harry Pottenstein is that we drove through it specifically in order to experience the delights of the “Sommerrodelbahn” (toboggan / self-drive roller coaster). It’s tricky to explain exactly what it is, so click on the link if my description isn’t vivid enough! Basically, it’s a sort of roller coaster in the shape of a toboggan, with a lever to go faster and a lever to slow down. The track climbs high into the mountains at first and then goes over the top and then round and round the peak, so at times you get some spectacular views. Admittedly it was no Thorpe Park, but despite this it was well worth the visit, although I was disappointed that neither Geoff nor Linda nor Mum were brave enough to join me and Ella on the rodelbahn!

There’s nothing like seeing a bunch of lovely faces when you’re away, so a massive thank you to Grace, Heather, Richard, Abbie, Mum, Ella, Geoff and Linda for visiting, it meant a lot and has given me a huge boost for the next month! The fun doesn’t end there though, oh no, there’s never a quiet day here if I’m being honest! Only yesterday I was sitting in the lounge, working on my blog in fact, when in strolls Bernd, the first thing he says is, “Kit have you ever planted a tree before?” (in German!). Despite having completed my Duke of Edinburgh bronze award a number of years ago I’ve never planted a tree, so I concede that I haven’t. An hour later I’ve planted a plum tree for the very first time and can tick off yet another new experience from my check list (it’s a very long list so far). So, Bernd’s garden has a new softwood addition, and I’m just wondering whether I’ll be here long enough to see the first fruits come into bloom