Category Archives: My Life

On visiting a historical festival for the first time

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Back in July (yes, I am really blogging about something I did nearly four months ago) a historical festival took place in a nearby town. It’s a Renaissance festival that takes place in the historical part of town every other summer on two consecutive weekends. As I just moved to the area in January, it was my first visit. In fact, it was my first visit to a historical festival.

I went on the last day of the festival, planning to spend a couple of hours there, not having any idea what exactly was expecting me. Well, I was blown away. I enjoyed my visit so much, and instantly regretted not having gone earlier so I could have visited twice. There were so many performances and I was only able to see a couple of them.

I also thought it was such a shame I had to go by myself. I had asked a couple of friends to come up from Munich for it, but they didn’t, and in my opinion, they really missed out. If I get a chance to go again to the one in two years (i.e. if I still live here), I definitely will. I think I would even make the trip from Munich for this, it was that fun!

It takes place in a fairly small town but hundreds of people participate in the festival and many thousands come to visit, many of them in historical costumes. It is really a unique experience.

The historical part of town makes for a perfect backdrop, it gives the festival this sense of authenticity – knowing that many of the buildings, and the castle are very old and have really seen the time we as visitors are transported back to at this festival.

I ate some Rahmbrot, cream bread, a specialty of this town that has been ‘exported’ to Christmas markets and festivals all over Germany. For good reason – it was absolutely delicious. In fact, it was so good I had two.

I got to see two performances that are very typical of the festival, and I am so glad I decided to see both. One was a reenactment of medieval games in the historical stables, which was very entertaining, and the other was a classic – the hobbyhorse riders – a performance by children in historical costumes in the courtyard of the castle. Very sweet.

I really loved how so many visitors were dressed in historical costumes – some really elaborate, some very simple. It almost made me wish I had a historical costume to wear. I think most people who live around here do.

It was such a fun day. My expectations hadn’t been that high, but I really loved it. If you’d like, you can watch a video of the festival from 2009 here. I think it does a really good job at conveying the atmosphere.

Have you ever been to a historical festival? Are there any where you live?

The last days of summer

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I can’t believe summer is almost over. Yesterday, I took advantage of what may have been the last warm day of summer. It was sunny and warm, perfect weather to spend some time outside. I met up with a friend for coffee. We went to Starbucks and got a Crème Brulée Frappuccino and then went out to Hofgarten, a park in Munich, where we sat on a bench by a fountain for two hours, just catching up on our lives, enjoying the sunshine and the relaxing sounds of the fountain.

In the afternoon, I met up with my friend Julia and we went to the Oktoberfest. The weather was fantastic, and the Wiesn was super crowded. It was the first day which is always crowded and with the beautiful weather, it was just madness.

But we also had a great time. I am not a fan of all the drunk people but I love the atmosphere. There are rides everywhere, women in dirndl, men in lederhosen, and lots of different food stalls. Of course there are the beer tents too, but if you want to get in on the first day, you need to be there at 8am to get in line. Considering that I don’t even drink beer, it has never been worth it for me.

We walked around a bit, went on one ride (my favorite), I ate an ochsensemmel, Julia bought a gingerbread heart for her boyfriend, and ate a chocolate banana. After about 1 1/2 hours we had had enough and we decided to go back home. It was getting really cloudy and we didn’t want to get wet. It was a short visit to the Wiesn, but absolutely worth it. I am going to be back in town in a couple of weeks, and I hope to go again one more time.

I think next year, I will try to take a day or two off during the Wiesn, though, so I can go during the week. Weekends are just a little too crazy for me.

River surfing and frozen yogurt

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My friend Tammy, who I originally met back when I was still blogging on LiveJournal, spent a few days in Munich this week. On Wednesday we met up for the second time after seeing Harry Potter 7.2 together on Monday night, and we had a great time. For once, it was a gorgeous, warm summer day and we really took advantage of the sunshine.

Because she had asked me if we have frozen yogurt in Munich, I found out that, in fact, we do. Some googling turned up a place that just opened in May. It was opened by a college graduate who discovered frozen yogurt while studying abroad in the States and decided that Munich needs a frozen yogurt place (yes, yes it does).

Frozen yogurt

Of course we had to go there to try it. It was absolutely fantastic and I will definitely be going back regularly. In fact, I went back the very next day with another friend of mine, who loved it too. I am so glad I found this place. Delicious frozen yogurt and great interior as well. Totally a new favorite.

Frozen yogurt in MunichAfterward, we took a walk through the English Garden, which is a gorgeous park in town, and went to the Eisbach (ice creek) to watch the surfers there for a while. Fun fact: Jason Mraz’s ‘Make It Mine’ music video was filmed here and at other Munich locations. Definitely one of my favorite places in Munich that I was happy to show my friend.

Eisbach surfersSo much fun and one of those days that reminded me how many friends I have made through blogging.

On anonymity in a small town

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Well, let’s face it, there isn’t any.

That is one of the things hardest to get used to since moving to a small town: the lack of anonymity. I grew up in a big city and being among large crowds of people is what I am used to. I like being anonymous, knowing that people are not watching me, or if they are, I am not likely to see them again. I like being able to do what I want without being judged by someone I see regularly.

B-town is so different in that regard. It’s a tiny town with a population of under 5,000, where people say hello to each other on the streets. The town is very small, not just in terms of space, but also in terms of everyone knowing everyone. I am pretty sure there is no such thing as six degrees of separation in this town, just one degree of separation. Well, maybe two now that I live here. Everyone knows everyone else.

That is something new to me. I never lived in a town small enough for everyone to know everyone else. And I am not sure I like it. The irony is that people who grow up in a small town have a hard time handling the anonymity of life in a big city, because it makes them feel isolated and lonely. For me it is the opposite.

When I first moved here, and went to the local grocery store, they asked if I was new in town and where I lived and worked. I answered their questions truthfully because I thought it would be rude not to, but it made me uncomfortable. I am sure it was completely natural to them and they meant no harm, but to me it felt intrusive, like it was none of their business. One thought that comforted me was that if I was not anonymous there, neither were they.

It would not have occurred to me to say that I was uncomfortable with their questions – knowing that their curiosity is normal for life in a small town and entirely innocent. But I have noticed that even though I answer people’s questions, feeling obligated to, I never ask them back, because I feel like that would be nosy and well, none of my business. I wonder if they interpret that as a lack of interest on my part. They probably do.

Whenever I am back home in Munich, I enjoy being one of hundreds of people on the street, I love how people are not intrusive and stick to their own business. I like being left in my thoughts, not having to talk to strangers. I like being anonymous, one of many, a forgettable face in the crowd. I like that not everyone is going to remember what I did yesterday or what I bought for dinner the other day. And goodness, I like that no one at the grocery store comments* on the amount of empty diet coke bottles I return.

I consider myself a friendly person and I believe in the good in people, but I am usually pretty uncomfortable with strangers striking up conversations with me. It makes me uncomfortable not knowing their motives, even though often enough they are probably entirely innocent.

Maybe that is something I can learn from the people in my small town: learn not to be so mistrustful of strangers, show more interest in others, and embrace the social aspect of living in a small town. And then, when I move back to a bigger city, take that with me. Because like with most things, the truth is probably somewhere in-between.

Does it make you uncomfortable when strangers ask you personal questions? Do you prefer the anonymity of a big city or do you find it perfectly normal for your neighbors to know everything about you and vice versa?

* Yes, that really happened. It made me uncomfortable to return bottles there, knowing I am being judged for how much diet coke I drink and probably for what I eat too. Now that I have cut down on how much diet coke I drink, I feel okay about it, though.