We had been very worried about how much of a problem this event would be for us since we literally live less than a block from where they set it up. Parts of it even have taken over the school our youngest went to. But we were also looking forward to the events, having been told by so many locals that we just had to go. I have to admit, all our fears were unfounded. The car levels of visitors that we were bracing for never materialized. We are thinking that because of the very strict drunk driving rules here, most people are taking alternate transportation in (bus/train), so there are actually less cars here now than normal. Also, the noise level we were prepared for has been non-existent. Again, we are not sure if it is because they are all staying in the park area or if the extra police patrolling is helping significantly, but since it has been extra hot here (the last two days have been in the 90s with mid 80s for indoor temps), we are very grateful to be able to leave our windows open during the cooler nights.
We went on the first Saturday and made a day of it. We almost wore our Lederhosen and Dirndl, but chose not to due to the hot weather. I think we made a good choice, but after seeing so many of the locals in traditional dress, part of me had second thoughts. (Fortunately, we are getting another chance with more local friends this Saturday night - and we will be dressed appropriately this time!)
We made the boys come with us to see all the items at the displays and booths. Since this is primarily an agricultural area, the booths were mostly geared towards farmers, but they also had their fair share of home and garden as well as building and construction booths. Needless to say, for the kids, it was light on the entertainment scale. After feeding them and sending them on home, we met up with friends from Bosch and began the rest of the evening. Let me just say, not liking beer and living in Germany, I really am missing some of the action, but for this evening, it was a lot of fun to watch everyone else have so much fun. I also had a wonderful English/Australian visitor to our group treat me to wine and spirits. Thanks again for that!!! Check out the pictures and movie below to get a feel for this wonderful festival.
The town dresses up a little with banners. Taken from the bridge built to go over the road.
Fun for the kids to watch - a Segway!
Our youngest was brave enough to try the moving climbing wall. It rotates as you climb ... to a point - at which time he got a pretty shiner on his leg as he had to be helped off the wall.
Wood for winter here is big business, so wood splitters were in high demand.
We were glad the kids waited outside. We came in to this display and got a little more than an eye full!
This picture is for Papa. Camouflage tires and gun case included!!
This one is for Grandma. Windows Vista for your sewing machine??
And for all you lovers of old-timey tractors, you would have been drooling here.
Isn't he such a nice young man?!
The outdoor stage for live performances of music and skits
They had several culinary displays. This one shows a cow made entirely out of butter!
These precision chefs made all these beautiful items out of veggies and fruits! Simply AMAZING!!! Click on the picture for fine details of the cockatoo.
At the end of the day, as many locals head to the Beer Hall as are allowed inside. Picnic tables are set one after another with a small walking area at the ends. The benches are set to touch the benches of the next table over, so there is no room between you and the person behind you. This was early on in the evening before things really got going. By the end of the night (and this happens every night for 9 straight nights), all the people are standing on the benches dancing and singing.
One end of our table with friends from Bosch and visitors from England/Australia
Hubby's colleague from Charleston on assignment with us
The other end of our table with more Bosch folks
I included this pictures to show you how young some of these folks were who were enjoying the event. Legal drinking age for beer and wine here is 16!!! Honestly, it was shocking to see how young some of these kids were.
The band is rousing the crowd. From here on, the people started to stand on the benches, dancing and singing.
This was the beginning of the entire crowd standing on their seats. It only got more lively from here.
Another event that has happened since our last blog was a wonderful hike up to the site of what would have been the fourth castle of Ludwig II (of Neuschwanstein fame.) Our hike led us a bit on a Griswold adventure in that one of the paths we took led to a dead-end in the middle of a forest. When we chose to climb up the steep hillside and blaze a new trail (complete with sticky pine trees, brambles, and underbrush), we surprised a local logger who was working in the forest. He kindly declared that we were lost and pointed us in the right direction. :-)
The site was originally built as a castle in the late 1200s as an affront to the Bavarian duchy by the neighboring Tyrolian landowner. It is actually the highest castle ruin in all of Germany at an altitude of around 1277 meters. In time, the castle was also used as a cloister. During the 17th century, though, the castle, like so much of Germany fell to ruin during the Thirty Years War. The site, which can be seen from Neuschwanstein, was purchased in the early 1880s by Ludwig as the site of his most elaborately planned castle yet. With each new plan, the master bedroom was becoming more and more of the entire inside of the castle. Pictures and displays of these designs can be found at the following site: http://us.geocities.com/sharmar505/falkenst.htm.
Construction on the castle, though, proceeded only as far as the road to get to it. As with the other castles, all construction ceased upon the King's untimely (and mysterious) death. Today, it is the site of many hikers and tourists, and to support all those folks are two amazing hotels, the Burghotel-Falkenstein (http://www.burghotel-falkenstein.de/englisch/) and Schloßanger Alp Berghotel (http://www.schlossanger.de/englisch/). If you ever wanted a romantic getaway to unbelievable scenery and interesting history (and had money to burn), either of these places would do.
View from the top near the hotel
View to the north east from the ruins
At the Austrian/German border - wish I knew what the numbers meant.
Amie
