The last few days - Germany, February 09

On Sunday morning we had planned to go to Reutlingen to visit Matze, Jutta and Oscar, but the road conditions were crappy.



So we put Amy to work instead :-)



We had lunch in the Alte Muehle in Waldbeuren with my mom, my uncle Fritz and his wife Maria



Our rental car was an Audi A3



After lunch we went on a run in the snow



Running on snow like this is a bit like running on sand



On Sunday afternoon we visited my friend Helmut and Angelika and they have this adorable Podenco dog named Perla.



I love those ears



The Rottweiler Narrensprung starts on Monday morning at 8am with several riders on horses. With the weather being somewhat iffy, I decided to watch with Amy and not make my costume dirty.



A short clip of the Narrensprung



Two Schantle are sharing a story



This Federhannes is smaller than the kids he is approaching



This Fransenkleid and the tiny Gschell are about to pass out some candy



A Schantle reaching out and down, and yes, that is rain on the mask.



My mom and I



A few Federhannes figures scheming



Amy enjoyed a Gluehwein during the parade



Another clip from the Narrensprung



Several Federhannes are seen here working here as a team



My niece Sara Nina loved the experience



This Schantle costume must be quite old. It has a tag from 1930 on it. These yellow and black tag show what years the costume participated.



One of the 7 or 8 Benner Roessle (2 herders with a "horse" and its rider) in action. They are at the beginning and the end of the Narrensprung.



A clip of the Roessle doing what they do best



A complete family of Narren after the Narrensprung



When I pulled out the camera, this young "guys" immediately struck a pose



We had a mellow day on Fat Tuesday and noticed a big herd of sheep on our way to Ravensburg



We had our last lunch in Germany at the Cafe Central in Ravensburg



Amy also enjoyed an Apfelsaft Schorle in the Cafe Central



And just as it started, the Ostracher Fasnet ends with a fire on Fat Tuesday night. But this times the witch gets burned and the other witches are beside themselves.

Witches, baths, Munich and more - Germany 09

After lunch on Wednesday we visited my uncle Fritz and his wife Maria.



On Wednesday night the witches in Ostrach get freed and that is the official start of carnival in my hometown.



More images from the freeing of the witches / Hexenbefreiung in Ostrach



On Thursday we watched how locals and the local carnival groups took over the downtown area of Ostrach.



The mayor's office has been taken over.



The big Narrenbaum / carnival tree is put up by hand



As the tree is almost up, someone tried to sneak into a pic with Amy.



And the tree is up.



Amy surrounded by carnival (Fasnet) figures from Ostrach.



Thursday night we went to the thermal bath in Bad Saulgau. It is called Sonnentherme.



A small video view of one of the Sonnentherme pools with 98 degree water temps, surrounded by snow.



We had dinner in downtown Bad Saulgau after our swim and bands and groups kept coming in to show their joy that carnival has begun.



Amy had trout and potatoes for dinner.



I had pork medallions, mushrooms and Spaetzle.



More bands and groups showed up in the restaurant, including the Fanfarenzug Bad Saulgau.



On Friday, we went to Munich and Maria gave us a small tour in the afternoon.



There was snow and a pretty strong police presence.



That night, Nicolas and Maria introduced us to the Wirtshaus in der Au in Munich and the food and atmosphere was terrific.



We really enjoyed our evening with Nicolas and Maria.



We wanted to see the Kandinsky exhibit in Munich



But a possible 2 hour wait to buy tickets just seemed too long.



Amy, are you sure you don't want to go to Starbucks?



You can't go to Munich without stepping onto the Marienplatz and looking up to the Glockenspiel

Another trip to Germany - the first days

The long escalator to the international terminal in Atlanta



Amy is connected in the airport in Atlanta.



It is now Sunday and the Delta monitor shows us that we are almost there.



On the way from the airport in Stuttgart we stopped to see my sister Sandra in Weinsberg



Early start on Monday morning with a Fleischkaese sandwich in Ostrach



We enjoyed lunch in a cool new restaurant in Ravensburg called Wilderer



In the pedestrian zone in Ravensburg



What a difference a day makes. Lots of fresh snow on Tuesday and Amy worked hard.



Shoveling snow is so much fun



Peaceful, cold and beautiful



Trying to catch Amy



Another run is in the books



A bit later that day, Amy in front of the Narrenbrunnen in Bad Saulgau



After dinner, more snow. Brrr