the beautiful game (Bayern Munchen version)

Update Nov 06 2009:

5-4-2 with a game tommorrow against FC Schalke 04 in Munich.  Need a win lads.

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Updated Oct 29 2009:

That’s better – or at least moving in the right direction. Bayern Munchen 5-3-2. Now on 18 points, they’re within a sniff of qualifiying for the Champions League.
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Updated Oct 10 2009:

Sigh.  8th overall in the league standings.  Bayern Munchen 3-3-2

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Update Aug 30 2009:

Seems like Arjen Robben delivered.  Two goals vs Vfl Wolfsburg.  Bayern Munchen 1-2-1. 

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Aug 28 2009:

Worst league start in 43 years 0-2-1; and

• FC Bayern Munchen signs Arjen Robben from Real Madrid.

I guess they had to do something.  Is it the right thing though?

bucket list – 01

Herein established Junior’s bucket list – in no particular order.  Simply as I think of them.  

First up – drive the Nordshleife.   (I wonder if rental car insurance covers this sort of madness?)

here there be dragons (or war memorials in small town germany)

I had just finished reading Red Storm over the Balkans, a very detailed history of the failed Russian offensive of April / May 1944 into Romania, when Edward the Corgi co-incidentally reminded me of a small yet significant feature of the Greding town war memorial.  The memorial, like many in towns all over western Europe and North America, records the names of town folk fallen in service of their country.  The Greding memorial dates from the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871 with the last entries being from the Second World War. 

However, on closer inspection you notice an interesting feature.  Those who fell in battle in both the Franco Prussian war, and the Great War for Civilisation* (that would be WWI for all you ahistorical postmodernists out there) are annotated with specific locations (an exception is made for those who served in the Kriegsmarine, where the location is annotated with an ocean name), but a large percentage of those who fell in the second war are noted as having fallen only in ‘osten‘ or the east.

War Memorial Greding

Now this is curious for a number of reasons.  Germany, being an industrial nation, and a bureaucratic state similar to those others in western Europe of the day, and culturally predisposed to following rules (alles in ordnung) surely records must have been kept.  That even during the days of their darkest regime, there must have been bureaucrats toiling away in some nameless office block of the personnel section of the Wehrmacht, filing away posting messages, keeping unit and battalion records and together these might produce at least an idea of where each individual soldier had served and fallen.

Apparently, not as easy as one might think.  Keep in mind that from January 1943 (the surrender of Von Paulus’ sixth Army at Stalingrad) the German Army was more or less on the defence (albeit a rather mobile defence with some significant reversals for the Russians at times) for the remainder of the war, fighting in ‘terra incognita’ at least until late 1944, an area for which accurate maps and other detail was largely unavailable to both sides.   To complicate matters further, the Soviets dug up/bulldozed/destroyed any Wehrmacht (not to mention Italian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Slovak, Romanian) cemeteries upon retaking their ground, so that not only were the families of the dead not allowed to visit the graves of the lost, in Russia, there are  no graves to visit.  Add to this the visceral feelings of hatred amongst the two belligerents, the sheer scale of the battles and casualties, the rapid movement of the lines, it all adds up to an inability to state for certain exactly where many sons of Greding are buried.  

In contrast, visit one of the beautifully kept (by public subscription, I believe) German military cemetaries in France where the families of the fallen often conduct pilgrimages to the gravesites, and you can understand how the idea of “the East” must have taken hold, particularily when the shear size and timescale of the Eastern Front is considered, with the climate extremes etc.   Without in any way excusing the excess of the horrific regimes on both sides of this largely now forgotten war, the young German soldiers who served for years in “the Land of Dragons” had no choice in the matter, and did the best they could under conditions we cannot imagine.  They deserve better than just vague reference to the east.

But there it is: ‘osten‘.  Small comfort for the families of Greding.

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*  E the C will insist.   Grateful to the shorter legged canine for all the helpful editorial comments.

around the world – 37.2 (die inner-deutsche grenze)

Sunday May 03:

border post @ moedlareuth

About two years ago I had stumbled across the old inner-german border whilst wandering near Coburg.  That brief experience lead me to begin researching the very physical manifestation of Churchill’s ‘iron curtain‘.

Google being  my friend – it didn’t take too long to find websites which are dedicated to preserving the history of this particular border.  In the course of my googling I came across the curious case of the ‘little berlin’ or the town of Moedlareuth.  This town, which even today remains tiny, sits in a picturesque valley, with a wee stream dividing it in half.  The stream also marks the boundary between the German provinces of Thuringa and Bavaria – notable because this also marked the extent of the Soviet Zone of Occupation after WWII and subsequently became the German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik-DDR 1949-1990).      

From 1952 until 1966 the DDR strengthened its border with the federal republic, becoming eventually one of the most heavily militarised zones anywhere – perhaps with the exception of that between North and South Korea.  In moedlareuth it was particularly noticeable as the border ran right through the middle of the town passing quite close to buildings.   By 1966, the temporary fencing was replaced with a 14 ft high double wall backed up with electrified fences, watchtowers, minefields and machine gun posts manned by the volkspolizei (‘vopos‘) creating a death zone which became almost impossible to cross.

And so, presented with the opportunity to go and see remnants of this border, early sunday morning, off I jetted towards moedlareuth.  A beautiful sunny day, the wide open autobahn - no need to repeat my previous musings about driving fast cars in Germany. 

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 Note:  in this first picture, taken from the former East German side – from right to left – the vehicle track along which  border / security forces would patrol, the plowed soil intended to reveal footprints, the small ditch with the vertical rise on the left, thus preventing any vehicles from ramming the electrified fence, and further to the left – but since removed – was the 14ft high concrete wall (although a segment remains just out of the picture).  Between the fence and wall the 10m wide strip was planted with land and anti personel mines.    The only border in the world designed to keep its residents in.  In fact the East Germans essentially thought of those who escaped as ‘deserters’.   The pamphlet “He Who Leaves the German Democratic Republic Joins the Warmongers”, Notizbuch des Agitators (“Agitator’s Notebook”), published by the Socialist Unity Party’s Agitation Department, Berlin District, November 1955, had this to say:

Both from the moral standpoint as well as in terms of the interests of the whole German nation, leaving the GDR is an act of political and moral backwardness and depravity.

Those who let themselves be recruited objectively serve West German Reaction and militarism, whether they know it or not. Is it not despicable when for the sake of a few alluring job offers or other false promises about a “guaranteed future” one leaves a country in which the seed for a new and more beautiful life is sprouting, and is already showing the first fruits, for the place that favors a new war and destruction?

Is it not an act of political depravity when citizens, whether young people, workers, or members of the intelligentsia, leave and betray what our people have created through common labor in our republic to offer themselves to the American or British secret services or work for the West German factory owners, Junkers, or militarists? Does not leaving the land of progress for the morass of an historically outdated social order demonstrate political backwardness and blindness? …[W]orkers throughout Germany will demand punishment for those who today leave the German Democratic Republic, the strong bastion of the fight for peace, to serve the deadly enemy of the German people, the imperialists and militarists.

 

electrified fence and watchtower - moedlareuth

 

the death zone - moedlareuth

 

 

border at moedlareuth 1946

machine gun bunker inside the death zone @ moedlareuth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to get there: 

By Car from Greding:  turn onto the Autobahn 9 (A9) north towards Nuremberg, following signs for Berlin / Hof.  Leave A9 at exit 33, joining A72 towards Hof.  Take exit 3, north towards Toepen.  In Toepen follow signs for the Deutch-Deutches Museumto moedlareuth.

around the world – part 37.1 (greding again!)

around the world 35.3 (find of the day in nordlingen)

08 March 2009:

Every now and then you come across something worth a second look.  As I was rolling slowly down a side street in Nordlingen looking for a parking place, and ultimately a mid morning coffee and snack, I spotted this rather homely creature parked alongside the curb. 

Without knowing exactly what it was, I felt instinctively that it was no model of military utility truck that had been employed by western armies – but it did not look brutish enough to have been manufactured under duress from the east.  

Sure enough it was neither.  You can take a guess at what make and model it is, or cheat and look here, or here…..

around the world 35.2 (franconia)

between weissenburg and thalmassing

around the world – part 33.5 (hiking in franconia)

February 03 2009:

They say only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun – to which I might add, only mad dogs and Canadians go hiking in the midwinter freeze.

Schwarzachtal - looking north towards Mettendorf

 I foolishly took up an offer for a ’short’ walk in the neighbourhood which turned out to be a three hour hike over hill and through dale in a clockwise fashion along icy roads and paths, up steepish hills, through woods and eventually back to the salvation of the AmMarkt and beer.  [Is there nothing that beer can't do?].  Notwithstanding the distance and duration, I must say that I did enjoy our excursion – enjoined at a pace calculated to keep warm and burn off enough calories to justify a gutmann helles *or three upon completion.

This little corner of the world is known as the Schwarzachtal (or Schwarzach Valley) named after the meandering stream which flows roughly north to south, paralleling the Autobahn 9 (A9) into the Altmuhl river near Kinding.  The valley is situated firmly within the Altmuhltal Natur Park, one of the largest wilderness** areas in Germany.  In summer it is full of cyclists, hikers and due to the favourable updrafts, plenty of gliders.  It is without a doubt one of my favourite corners on the planet – beautiful without being overstated, far enough from anywhere to escape hordes of tourists, and yet no more than an hour from Munich, twenty minutes to Nuremberg and dotted with tiny hamlets and towns.  

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 *helles:  light [as in colour rather than alcohol content] beer.   As opposed to Dunkles or dark beer.   Other useful beery words to know:  “noch einz bitte” – another one please….

**wilderness being a relative term of course.

around the world – part 33.3 (winter in franconia)

February 01 2009 – Heimbach Bavaria:

around the world – part 32.7 (snowing in franconia)

A  little taste of home, here in Greding.

around the world – part 26.7 (zugspitze)

January 26 2008:

A couple of days ago I lamented the fact that I had not taken the opportunity to visit the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland.  This weekend I have (partially) rectified that error.  By happy circumstance, I and some colleagues decided to vacate Greding and head south for fresh air, namely to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the site of the 1936 winter Olympics.   What I didn’t know was that the highest peak in Germany, the zugspitze at 2962m ASL, is located not far from Garmisch.

Whilst my friends attempted to inveigle me into trying my hand at down-hill skiing, I decided not to (the thought of forking over a substantial amount of money simply to spend the day falling on my ass didn’t entice me), but rather I was determined not to pass up an opportunity to stand on the spitze, so instead I accompanied them up to the high glacier ski area.  Because of the lack of snow at lower elevations, the best skiing appears to be had above 5000 feet – around here that means my skiing friends headed up the zugspitze to the bowl on top.   

To get there we travelled by car the short distance from Garmisch to Eibsee and then bought our aerial tramway/zugspitzebahn tickets and queued for the gondola.  For euro 34.50 ($50 CAD) your ticket gives you a round trip on either the gondola or the tunnel train, or combination of both, plus all day access to the ski lifts and t-bars.   The gondola rises directly from eibsee to a station just below the zugspitze peak (less than 30m below).  The station was recently rebuilt to include a hugely overpriced but scenic restaurant, a quite detailed interpretive centre – which elaborates on the history of human activity on the spitze (tunnelling – cable cars – skiing etc)  – and a substantial weather station. 

The view from the peak is simply stunning.  Being the highest peak in Germany it is of course considerably higher than surrounding German mountains, and seems to be at somewhat higher than those nearby in Austria.   It was quite windy and thus cold but well worth it.

To get to the ski area you transfer inside the station to another gondola which descends into the glacier bowl about 350m to the ski centre.  This is also where you may take the zugspitzebahn cogwheel train through a longish tunnel back down to eibsee, grainau and on into garmisch.

I spent about two hours on the terrace people watching and enjoying the fairly warm sunshine in the lee of the buildings.  My observations reveal the following:  Ugly people* are not allowed to ski.  There appears to be no actual plan to exclude ugly folks from the ski hill, but clearly the conditions which surround the culture of skiing pretty much excludes the less beautiful from participating.  Skiers (and snowboarders for that matter) are pretty much young, and if they aren’t young they are reasonably wealthy – enough to be able to afford ski vacations in the first place.  

To get there (from Munich Airport):

1. By car.  Depart the airport following signs for Munchen and join the A92.  At kreuz neufahrn, follow signs for A9 towards Munchen and follow until the A9 ends at the Mittler-ring.  Be aware that the off ramp to the Mittler ring does not give you much distance to join the through traffic, so get over to the left sharpish. Follow the Mittler-ring and signs for garmisch west and then south towards the beginning of the A95.  Follow the A95 for about 90km towards garmisch and then follow the local road up into town.  You may consider staying at the Atlas Posthotel, Marienplatz 12, Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

When in Garmisch, you may also wish to eat good local cuisine.  The Restaurant Wildshutz has a very good chef and interesting menu including venison and my recommendation, the Ziebelfleisch in dark beer sauce.

*warning – for the easily offended - ugly people are actually allowed on the skill hill, but only in limited quantities.

around the world – part 25.3 (Zweite Fruhstuck)

December 07 2007:

While it might be a stretch to imagine Bavarians as decadent, they do enjoy the pursuit of the good life.  A key element of this pursuit is hearty food chased with beer – including second breakfast.  I am so looking forward to a little Weißwurst, pretzels, sweet mustard, and wheat beer.   And yes, I am weak…..

around the world – part 25.1 (greding)

Dec 01 2007:

If I haven’t already mentioned it in previous posts, let it be said that Greding is a charming little town located in lower Bavaria (Nieder Bayern).   It IS little, and it IS Bavarian which means that the locals can be counted on to organise some sort of festivity involving quantities of beer on a regular basis.   I believe (though I cannot confirm) that the town proper has about 3500 Gredingers but probably double that when the other hamlets and dorfs which fall under its jurisdiction are counted in.  It has the happy circumstance of being located midway between Ingolstadt and Nuremberg, just of the Autobahn A9, which means that it is close enough to justify a day trip the big smoke, but far enough that it hasn’t become a bedroom community yet.    

My favourite hotel, and the basis for the name of this blog, is the AmMarkt operated by familie Haas; they take care of us very well and although one should never wish for a hotel to become a second home, they have made it quite easy for me to make these trips.  Without the AmMarkt I doubt I would be quite as happy here.

 How to Get There: 

1. By Car:  From Munich Airport, follow signs for Munchen, enter Autobahn A92 approximately 15km to junction A9 (Kreutz Neufahrn), enter A9 north towards Nurnberg via Ingolstadt, approximately 90km.  Take exit 57 Greding.
2. By Car:  From Frankfurt Airport, follow signs for A3, east towards Wurzburg / Nurnberg, south on A73 (towards Nurnberg / Feucht), and then south on A9 towards Munchen, take exit 57 Greding.

around the world – part 17.6 (audi museum)

Sunday September 24 2006.

This past sunday I finally got around to visiting the Audi Forum in Ingolstadt. I have passed signs along the autobahn countless times and kept trying to remind myself to visit – but obviously without success – until now.

Obviously Audi is not the only manufacturer of automobiles to have created a visitor centre, assembling in one place a museum, shop, and customer experience centre (for those who wish to take delivery of their new Audi directly at the factory.  Nonetheless, Audi has created quite a pleasant environment for auto enthusiasts. Those who know me will attest to the fact that I have on many occasions waxed poetic about the cars and roads I have been fortunate to drive with and on over here.

One doesn’t have to be a fan of Audis to appreciate the effort and style that has been put into the Audi Forum. It firstly consists of a museum, a customer centre and a massive factory complex. Unfortunately the factory tours were unavailable on weekends – another reason to return I guess. The museum is quite well executed without being wearing – large enough to present the complete history of Auto Union and its predecessors along with original or restored examples of nearly all of their products. Small enough to absorb without being overwhelmed.

Add it to your list of things to do if you find yourself in the neighbourhood of Ingolstadt.

cheers, junior

around the world – part 17.4 (oktoberfest)

Sept 2006: 

Oktoberfest – the saga continues…Some of you may remember that at this time last year I had written of going to Oktoberfest in Munich.  Last year successful, this year not so much.  Not that it was entirely unsuccessful, just not what we had planned to accomplish.  Some background is in order for those of you who may not know what you should need to know about Oktoberfest.   First, it isn’t held in October despite the name.  It is held in the last two weeks of September every year.  Second, Munich, a city of about 2 million, receives about 6 to 7 million visitors in those two weeks, thus it is wall to wall humanity in the train stations, subways, downtown and at the Theresienwiesse.  Third, Oktoberfest is hugely popular with families because despite impressions, it is not simply a huge drinking binge. It is, by now, a family affair complete with rides, carnies and of course the beer tents.Beer Tents: many of the large German breweries sponsor their own tent – but they are quite unlike any tent you may imagine. They are semi permanent structures complete with wooden floors, tables, chairs, washrooms, mezzanine levels and stages etc. The Hofbrauhaus’s tent holds approx 8000 patrons with their competitors capable of holding similar numbers.  Although there are tables with seating, the average tourist will never obtain one as they are booked up to a year in advance – most attempt to claim a standing table and remain there as long as they are capable of standing.

The beer arrives largely in 1 litre mugs known as “Maas” (although I suppose for the weaker patrons one could with some embarrassment order a smaller beer) wielded by sturdy waitresses carrying on average about a dozen at a time. Patrons are expected to order and consume their beer at the same table because the waitresses ‘rent’ their tables from the establishment and thus it is a faux-pas to order your beer at one table and then take it to another – since you have not ordered it from the waitress at the table you have just arrived at.   Last year we were successful in obtaining a table at the HB tent but this year things worked out somewhat differently although satisfactorily in the end.

The story this year:  We departed by car from Greding to Ingolstadt Hauptbahnhof where we purchased two group tickets to Munich. Group tickets are the way to go, since 5 people can travel the entire transit system all day for 25 euro  including the Regional Express from Ingolstadt, the Subway, the  ”>Schnellbahn, streetcars and buses. Unfortunately we departed a little later than we should have as it turned out. Important tip: if you intend to get into any of the beer tents – arrive no later than 0930hrs.  By now you will have guessed that not only did we arrive much too late, we didn’t get into the tent – not at all.