Bavarian Dining

From Fodor's:

Munich claims to be Germany's gourmet capital, and it certainly has an inordinate number of ritzy French restaurants. However, genuine Munich cuisine is to be experienced in those rustic places that serve simple, robust Bavarian specialties in ample portions. The city's renowned beer and wine restaurants offer superb atmosphere, low prices, and as much wholesome German food as you could want.

Typical dishes include Tellerfleisch, boiled beef with freshly grated horseradish and boiled potatoes on the side, served on wooden plates (there is a similar dish called Tafelspitz). Among roasts, sauerbraten (beef) and Schweinebraten (roast pork) are accompanied by dumplings and sauerkraut. Hax'n (ham hocks) are roasted until they're crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside. They are served with sauerkraut and potato puree. Game in season (venison or boar, for instance) and duck are served with potato dumplings and red cabbage. As for fish, the region has not only excellent trout, served either smoked as an hors d'oeuvre or fried or boiled as an entrée, but also the perchlike Rencke from Lake Starnberg.

Food choices are good in Munich. We'll have a variety of international restaurants from which to choose. German cuisine is also good. The most local of foods are Bavarian. I'm up for at least one night's dining to be somehwere locals would go for traditional Bavarian.

Shameless Plug for a Movie

Last night my friends and I got together with the Producer and the Director of the movie 'Blowing Smoke". We spent the evening eating, drinking, and smoking great cigars. I woke up at 6 this morning on a couch in my friends back yard. That's how much fun it was.

This is a guy flick, and definately worth the $15 for the DVD. I highly recommend that you go to the link below and buy it, get together to watch it, and tell your friends.

Einfahrt... You need to make sure Rang and Denny are there.

http://store.blowingsmokethemovie.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=34

Back To Beer - Hofbrauhaus !

Our daughter Charlot and friend were in Hofbrauhaus only 4 weeks ago. I was greatfull to see the pictures which I like to share with you.

Intelligent Design II

I love it when a plan comes together...

Intelligent Design

So let's see....

1st. Our economy is staggering under a deficit like never before, and spiraling housing and gas prices.

2nd. Our military is overextended in far reaching empire building.


So now... we have the Conservatives trying to sell us that Intelligent Design belongs in Science classes in our schools.

Shouldn't we be investing in our kids education to compete on a global scale? Can't wait to hear the Nobel prize offered for "Voodoo Science".

Leave Sunday School to Sunday.

Camp Casey

While I'm not one to pick on a mother who has lost a son, and lord knows stirring up more left vs. right wing rhetoric is the last thing we need, I thought I would offer some thoughts that might bring some added excitement to our blog. Who knows, it might even get us on a list that brings more visitors.

Mostly rhetorical questions to follow, but opine if you like...

Why does everyone say Bush lied about WMD? Ok, we now know that he (and everyone else by the way) was wrong about WMD. Just because you are wrong doesn't mean you lied. Even Teddy "Give me another Drink" Kennedy and John "Reporting for Duty" Kerry acknowledged there were WMDs.

What does Cindy Sheehan really expect to accomplish by meeting with Bush? She's set in her mind and he in his; one will not change the other. He met with her once, and she was thankful then. While I certainly do not believe the President is "holier than thou", I think he probably has more pressing things to do than to meet with everyone who demands to see him. Ok, this is different, but where do you draw the line?

When does Michael Moore's (yuck, I didn't think I would ever type that) Camp Casey movie debut?

I'm certainly tired of all the do gooders complaining about Bush "stealing their sons and sending them off to die". Last time I looked, this was still a volunteer military.

While I believe Cindy Sheehan started her vigil with the best of intentions, she has now gotten caufght up in the left-wing, kool-aid drinking, Kerry got more votes than any other candidate in history B.S.

And finally, August is typically a slow news month, as evidenced by even the lack of Natalie Holloway news. Maybe in five days the focus of all this blather will change. Who knows, I'm almost longing to hear about Michael Jackson again.

I'm Absent One Day and...

you guys let everything go to Hell. First, the wrath of God is threatening the holy elixor. We are so lucky our favorite monks treasure their beer as much as we do and have contingency plans to protect the glorious nectar. Secondly, it appears BarleyMan created a post that attracted SPAM advertising comments; good work BarleyMan, just what we need.

So, can we get back to normal? Or is that something impossible to expect? Of course, as we all know, normal is relative with this crew.

Prost !

Weltenburg in the News (with Video)

Reuters... Hold steady Brother Benedikt
In southern Germany, a 28-year-old man drowned when he ventured out with two friends in a dinghy which capsized on the River Mangfall near the town of Feldkirchen-Westerham.
He was Germany's first victim of the floods, which have turned regions of Bavaria into disaster zones.
At the Benedictine abbey of Weltenburg, Bavaria's oldest monastery, monks were forced to take safety in upper floors.
"It's a war of nerves," one monk, Brother Benedikt, told Reuters Television.

The Guardian.... Go Go Gerhardt Go!
With just over three and a half weeks until Germans go to the polls, Mr Schröder stopped off in the Bavarian city of Augsburg. As the Danube continued to rise, and water even started seeping into the basement of Bavaria's famous Weltenburg monastery, the chancellor promised generous assistance. "We have to show solidarity with those affected," he said.
The village of Staubing, near Regensburg, was largely under water. In the nearby medieval monastery of Weltenburg, visited by half a million tourists each year, the prior, Father Benedikt, told Spiegel magazine: "We have been inundated. The water keeps coming into our rooms."

iol (SA)... Quit wining and start brewing Benedikt (promoted to Father)
Water levels were falling on Thursday in the tributaries of the Danube in Germany, and officials were hopeful that the cities of Ingolstadt and Regensburg would avoid serious damage.
However, the river flooded part of the south-eastern town of Kelheim, including its Weltenburg monastery, founded in the seventh century and described as the oldest in Bavaria.
The ground floor of the Benedictine monastery, which draws 500 000 visitors a year, was submerged early on Thursday, said Father Benedikt, the monastery's prior.

MSNBC... ALL HAIL FATHER THOMAS!! YOU ROCK!

But then— finally— prayers seemed to be answered.

At 4 p.m., the Danube river peaked at just over 24 feet, not enough to trigger a disaster. But no one here pretends to know what this abnormal weather will do next, least of all, Father Thomas, who has more earthly concerns: like, re-opening the beer garden.
“The flood will not enter the brewery so the beer will have the same quality!” he says.
And even if the forecast calls for rain, the priceless art, and the beer are safe — for now.

(Best Article & Video http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9077650/)

KLOSTER WELTENBURG latest news .....

Weltenburg, Previous High water marks

Fear not Oktoberfestians, the good Monks have preserved the beer before as evidenced by this photo:


(And I was worried.... sheesh!)


http://www.erik.org/photogallery/Weltenburg/D30_2269.jpg

BREAKING NEWS! .....FLOOD in WELTENBURG...

The flood which the last few days hits Austria, Switzerland and the South of Germany, now has reached WELTENBURG and KELHEIM. I have not been able to get pictures of the Kloster, but people mentioned the water reached the first floorlevel. All monks work hard to stop the beerbarrels swimming the Donau. Here you see the stricken area and pictures of the Weltenburg village. More news in the next bulletin.

Hotel Charge is Calling

The Excelsior Hotel policy requires an upfront credit card charge for the rooms we booked.
So far all has been booked (and guaranteed) by my “poor” credit card account :).
Now that charging time is called (August 30), I believe it is wise that all individuals send in their card information.
It saves a lot of calculation and currency loss afterwards.
And secondly it will not alarm VISA when suddenly Excelsior charges my account for more than € 8000,00.
Please fill in a.s.a.p (before August 28) the emailed attached document and fax it to the Excelsior Hotel. Please note the charge is € 210,00 p/room p/night (no breakfast included).

What Do You Think???

Are these a required element of apparel for our trip?

Now There's Some Head !

Proposed Trip to Weltenburg

For those of you reading this blog, you know that we have a proposed trip to Kloster Weltenburg on our agenda. While this seems like a great place to visit, getting there is a bit of a challenge. In addition, it even breaks our rule of a 2 hour or less trip. Nonetheless, it certainly seems well worth it. With that said, please reference this Web Page for a proposed itinerary for getting there. If you have any issues, problems or suggestions, let them be known and/or figure out a better way.

Prosit!