Ridiculouis

On Friday, Louis came over for the weekend. From Boston. After getting back into Bamberg from the airport, we gathered up a few other regulars and headed out for a small tour of the local breweries. First stop was Greifenklau, which is about 15 minutes by foot up the hill towards the Altenburg Castle. Then we wandered down toward St Stephan's Church to Mahr's Brau, but unfortunately they were closed for a special event. So we went to Klosterbrau, which is the nice little brewery right around the corner from my dorm. Then we hopped over to Ambrosien, which is a newer brewery over near the cathedral. Next we went over to Faessla, which is a bit past the middle of the town, but the staff there was rather rude so we didn't stay long. At this point, we were all getting a wee bit hungry. We had dinner at a tiny little italian restaurant called "piccola roma" and lounged there till we were stuffed and happy. Needless to say, it was late and people were tired so we called it a night.

Saturday was an adventure back down to Nuernberg. We went to the Christkindlmarkt, which is the biggest Christmas market in all of Germany. It was mobbed, since 1) it had just opened on Friday and 2) it was the weekend. But we braved the crowds and walked around the many little booths. There was much Bratwurst eating, Gluehwein drinking, and other tastyness to be done. The weather was decent and we were able to take quite a few pictures and see a whole lot before we were all cold and tired. That night Frauke cooked dinner for us all and it was a lovely night. On our way back to the dorm, Sean, Louis and I made a stop at the Gallerie--an art bar just up the hill from here.

Sunday was feast day! After breakfasting, Louis and I wandered up to the cathedral and then down along the river and then through the main part of town. Then it was time to cook a big ol' dinner. We had salad, pumpkin soup, fresh italian bread, turkey, mashed potatoes, stove top, gravy, carrots, cranberry bread, wine, and cookies. Sooo very tasty. Mostly just excited now to have all the left-overs. Yumm. Then Frauke, Sean, Louis and I all headed out for some Bambergian Gluehwein and wandered through the little Christmas Village here in the pedestrian zone. It was lovely.

Like all good things, the time passed far too quickly, but I must say that I am truly lucky to have such devoted and wonderful friends, who are willing to travel and visit and appreciate an entirely different culture. It is one of the most monderful things ever.

oh...and before I forget:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!