Germ-A-Phobe: Ein Eskimo In Bayern, Part I

Nuremberg, Germany
Home of the Original Christmas Market

This weekend my roommate, Sid, and I ventured down south to the state of Bavaria (Bayern in German), the richest and most country-filled state in Germany. Our first stop after getting off of a three hour bus ride was in Nuremberg where the mother-load of all Christmas markets was..and still is..going on. As you read this, there are probably copious amounts of drunk Germans crowding the streets, laughing, spilling Gluhwein everywhere, eating three Bratwurst in a bread roll (the infamous Nuremberger) and of course doing the European walk (aka bumping into other people without even a second glance).

Aside from battling the crowds of people, there were some amazing sites and smells to be had. The top picture on the left is a huge church in the middle of town that dated back to the 1200's and had an outrageously large organ being expertly played by a studious looking German fellow. Lebkuchen, a type of German cookie that resembles a chocolate/vanilla/etc covered molasses cookie and is only made around Christmas time, also originates in Nuremberg and was being sold on almost every corner.

After surving the cold and Christmas market frenzy, Sid's uncle picked us up and drove us into the country side to the small town of Hexenagger (translated as "witches fields").

Hexenagger, Germany
The Witches Fields

Sid's Oma (grandma) lives in Hexenagger and was kind enough to take on an extra mouth to feed along with her granddaughter. Oma is the sweetest thing and only spoke German so I attempted a little bit of what I knew back at her and learned a few key phrases to say. The first, "Ich bin sat" means "I am full" and came in quite handy because Oma was basically the human equivalent to the magically self-refilling plates in Harry Potter. I also learned "Das essen ist sehr lecker" meaning "The food is very good", which also came in quite handy because Oma cooked some amazing homemade German food this weekend. There's nothing like a home cooked meal from an old school wood stove blazing in the kitchen to make you miss home in AK. Also, the title of this blog is dedicated to Oma because she proudly announced that she had an Eskimo in her house anytime anyone came over and by the end was referring to me as "Alaska" or "the Eskimo" since my name is a bit harder to say in German.

View of the Hexenagger castle from Oma's front door.

From what Sid has told me, many years ago the town of Hexenagger was said to have been home to several witches. This is why her Opa (grandpa) said that her and her mom are decedents of witches. From my experience, I would have to agree... Sid is pretty witchy :) after all our kitchen broom keeps going missing at odd hours of the night.

An old bread oven from a house that is said to have been the home of a witch.

Seize the day! I love this small house we passed on the way up to the Hexenagger castle.

Burg Prunn

It had a drawbridge! ... and a dragon...

The amazing view from Burg Prunn - snow capped trees along the river and mountain side.

The view from the back... it looks like it's sitting on the edge of the earth. From the front (aka driving by quite a ways below on a road) the castle can is seen precariously built right out of the mountain. Google it if you'd like to see the view!