Offenburg
The first weekend of February was a bit of a loss. On Saturday, I had to prepare for an upcoming business trip to Liverpool from Feb 6 - 9, so Theresa went out shopping with Gabi Vega. On Sunday, Feb 5, we were invited over to Bernard and Gabrielle Raulin's for a lunch of Choucroute. Bernard and Gabrielle spent several years in Indianapolis and are as gracious hosts as you will ever find. At some point, I need to dedicate a posting just to their family. I also need to explain choucroute.
So (finally catching up) when this Saturday (yesterday) finally rolled around neither Theresa or I were in the mood for anything requiring effort. The most important thing on our agenda was to buy some beer.
Seriously, when we were at Bernard's house he said that he always goes over into Offenburg, Germany to buy his beer. Better selection and cheaper prices, he claimed. What more could a man ask. So about 9:30 on this Saturday morning, Theresa calls Gabi to get her in on the day. About 11:00 we three pile in the Volkswagen to go to Offenburg.
Offenburg is all of 25 minutes from Strasbourg and about 10 minutes from Lilly's plant in Fegersheim. It sits on the other side of the Rhine just a few kilometers to our south. It is nestled in the foothills of the Swartzwald and considers itself the gateway to the Black Forest.
Sometimes, the unexpected things in life can be the most enjoyable.
We got to Offenburg just at Noon and parked near the Altstadt, or the old part of town. The Saturday morning street markets were just wrapping up. Almost immediately we noticed two things that were slightly odd. The first being that the streets were decorated with these funky garlands made of old scrap cloth. (see below).
So (finally catching up) when this Saturday (yesterday) finally rolled around neither Theresa or I were in the mood for anything requiring effort. The most important thing on our agenda was to buy some beer.
Seriously, when we were at Bernard's house he said that he always goes over into Offenburg, Germany to buy his beer. Better selection and cheaper prices, he claimed. What more could a man ask. So about 9:30 on this Saturday morning, Theresa calls Gabi to get her in on the day. About 11:00 we three pile in the Volkswagen to go to Offenburg.
Offenburg is all of 25 minutes from Strasbourg and about 10 minutes from Lilly's plant in Fegersheim. It sits on the other side of the Rhine just a few kilometers to our south. It is nestled in the foothills of the Swartzwald and considers itself the gateway to the Black Forest.
Sometimes, the unexpected things in life can be the most enjoyable.
We got to Offenburg just at Noon and parked near the Altstadt, or the old part of town. The Saturday morning street markets were just wrapping up. Almost immediately we noticed two things that were slightly odd. The first being that the streets were decorated with these funky garlands made of old scrap cloth. (see below).
The second thing that seemed odd was that there were a lot of people walking around with bells on them. By bells, I mean...like sleigh bells....tied around their ankles and waists and chests and arms. After a while we began to notice people in strange costumes too. Lots of bright colors and feathers.
Then after a while, the people got a little stranger.....as seen below.
Stay tuned....and in the next posting I'll continue with the story of Fasent, and Fasnacht, and the Offenburger Narrentag.
posted by jcweber at 2:16 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home