New Member of my Bike Fleet

 

If you just read my last blog posting, you might be thinking it was a spendy weekend, it was. Sigh! But when you find just what you're looking for, you can't procrastinate.

After work on Thursday, I went out to the sports store to check out their used bike selection. And there it was in the back, just the MT bike I was looking for. Why a mountain bike? Yes, it seems a bit decadent, after all how many bikes do I need. I have a road bike and my Wacker bike, but the gravel and forested trails around here make a mountain bike just too irresistible. Also, James and Ronan both have mountain bikes, so my having one will make family bike trips much more practical. I'll have a bike to match theirs, we can spend more time off road and I'll be more comfortable. So I've been keeping my eye out for an affordable used one in good condition. It's a Giant Yukon, several years old, but well taken care of. I'm probably not going to be doing hardcore stuff so it will suit my needs just fine.

After Dirndl shopping on Sat, I took the new bike (no didn't wear the Dirndl) out for it's maiden voyage. James and Ronan were out in the woods somewhere, so after a quick cell phone call, I went out to meet them on the dirt road where they were. As I approached, I saw James walking down the road in the distance, but what I didn't notice was the hunting shack on the left and when I got to it I heard a yell and the shots of a toy gun coming at me from above! Low and behold! I was ambushed by my son and the very toy gun we had bought him back during Fasching in the winter. Funny how these things come back to haunt you!

We all biked home together and stopped by the SV Wacker football stadium just in time to hear our local team tie the score 2:2 in the 86 minute. Unfortunately, we heard later that the other team, the Offenbach Kickers, scored again in the 89th minute!

Dirndl Shopping

 The spring fair or Dult season is upon us here in the deep netherlands of Bavaria. This means that the lads pull out their Lederhosen (traditional Bavarian wear - leather shorts ) and the ladies don (Molly, note the use of don here) their Dirndl (traditional Bavarian dresses, based on historical costumes of Alpine peasants) and head off to the spring fair to enjoy a few Masse or liters of beer. These dult fests are all like local versions of Munich's fall Octoberfest. Burghausen's spring Dult, called the Mai Wiesn (http://www.maiwiesn.de/programm.php) is coming up in May, apparently most of Wacker and other local      
             businesses let everyone clock out early to go and enjoy the May Wiesen, it's called Tag der Betriebe. I've heard it gets pretty wild and it's a good opportunity to see all your German colleagues decked out in their traditional wear, so, of course, I'm in. 

With all that said, many of my American female colleagues have been going out to purchase Dirndls so as to join in the local festivities and embrace the German tradition. Well, who am I to be left out, despite my tomboy tendencies. So yesterday, myself, LeAna, Molly and Janna, headed out to Rimbach to "da' gamsnberger" trachtenerlebnis (http://www.gamsnberger-dirndl-trachten-lederhosen.de/de/frauen/) to buy Dirndl's. I pictured this place somewhere on the main street of a small town, but no, it was in the middle of Bavarian farm country. We pulled into a drive with what looked like a large farm building in the back, but it was, in fact, the shop building. Parked out front were more BMWs, Porsche's and Mercedes than I've seen in one place for a while, though we arrived in LeAna's rental Jaguar, so we fit right in. The shop itself was lovely and the sales personnel quite helpful. I was surprised how busy it was. Many sets of grandparents buying Dirndl and Lederhosen for grandchildren, among others.

Molly was our purchasing consultant, as she already has a Dirndl. Janna and I tried various styles while LeAna opted more for the nice leather Lederhosen skirts, though she did try on a dirndl for kicks. Janna didn't find any to her liking, but I did. A lovely dark blue dress with a turquoise apron. For those not in the know, the dirndl consists of a lacy midriff blouse that you put on first, then a bodice and full skirt, then the apron. I'd never tried one on, but gotta say, it makes you feel quite womanly and "busty," but in a good way.
Well, I found the one I liked and purchased it. They are not cheap, but the workmanship and the fabric is really nice, so it will be fun to have one back in the States. Maybe I'll get some free beer back in Bellingham during Octoberfest for wearing my authentic Dirndl. I'll have to campaign for that.

Easter Trip to Copenhagen

For the past 7 months my brother-in-law Geoff has been doing an academic sabbatical in Copenhagen, so we thought we'd take advantage and go up to visit him and Sam (James' sister)over Easter holiday weekend. Though James and I got married in small border town in Denmark, I had never been to Copenhagen and James had been there over 25 years ago (ouch that is a while back), so it seemed like a good opportunity to go somewhere new and different.

The first thing you notice about Copenhagen is bicycles of all shapes, sizes, conditions, two wheels, three wheels, old ones, bone shakers, single speeds, gerry-built. You name it, it's in Copenhagen. The weather on our first day was cold, wet, and rainy, so we walked over to the Kastellet (fortress) where Ronan particularly enjoyed the cannons. We also went to see the Little Mermaid. Since it was so cold, we hopped on this tour bus which drives around the tourist sites of Copenhagen, you can hop on and hop off at any of the stop points, so we road the bus most of the day, taking photos from the windows. We got off in Nyhavn where we enjoyed a lovely pub lunch. As a point of interest, while smoking has been banned in pubs and restaurants throughout most of Europe, Denmark seems to be a hold out. Pubs where no food is served still allow smoking, so once the pub where we had lunch stopped serving food, folks began to light up, so we took our leave.

The weather really played a part in our trip, we had rain, wind, snow flurries, and some sunshine. Also, due to the fact that it was Easter weekend, most shops were shut for the entire Easter weekend, with the exception of Saturday. So on Saturday, which was a gorgeous sunny day, we bought groceries and then hit the longest pedestrian shopping zone in Europe. Sam and I went clothes shopping at H&M (my favorite European clothing store) and the lads went to the Guinness Book of World Records museum, then we all met up at the Lego store, which was the highlight for Ronan. My highlight for the day was the pub lunch at the Brew Pub where I enjoyed the Danish spin on the American style Pale Ale and IPA, so very tasty. I also noticed among their bottled beer selection, mostly made up of Belgian beers, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, the lone American bottled beer. Seeing it gave me a touch of home sickness. As much as I enjoy German beer, there really is not a great deal of variety and I do miss my Pacific Northwest ales.
Easter Sunday was also warm and sunny, so we took a lovely walk around Rosenborg Castle, a renaissance castle in Copenhagen where the crown jewels are also located (see photo album below). On Monday, we met Yvette, an old friend of mine from high school, who is a working artist in Copenhagen. She took us on a great tour of Christiania, a freetown or commune founded in an old military barracks in the 1970's in Copenhagen. It has been a self-governing commune, where marijuana was openly bought and sold until 2004. Yvette said that the fall of the Berlin Wall and the opening up of Eastern Europe has also brought with it the more hard-core Russian drug trade, making harder for Christianites to keep the drug trade in check, so they've had to work more closely with the Danish authorities, not always an easy relationship, apparently. It's a truly interesting place, art and bicycles everywhere. We enjoyed a delicious soup in a small cafe, the cook was smoking a huge spliff. Lots of interesting homes and rustic furniture and playgrounds. James has a song he wrote about Christiania many years ago, I think the lyrics still apply.

Anyway, on Tuesday, Copenhagen was back to business as normal and we headed off to the airport to fly home. Great city and a great visit with family and old friends.

p.s. Big shout-out to my friend Josh Murray who took the train into Copenhagen from Malmo, Sweden, on Friday evening to enjoy a few beers, catch up on old times, and discuss the pros and cons of European vs. American life, one of my favorite discussion topics!