Beer Stuff

Did I mention beer? Of course I did. Jeff and I have sampled a good number of German beers so far, mostly old favorites. Here's a picture of a happy Jeff shortly after we arrived. We'd just purchased our first case of beer here in Germany, Bishoff (Bishop) which is a local beer here in the Kaiserslautern area brewed in Winnweiler, near Sembach (for those that are familar with this area). It's very good and, interestingly, it has a very convenient twist off cap. Much easier to twist off than US bottles. Also, note the size of the bottles; half liter. Can't get too much quality amber nectar.

Now here's another picture of Jeff at the shopette at Ramstein. He, and I, were delighted to see that they sell Weihenstephan there, and by the case, and in half liter bottles also, and we got a free hat with a purchase of the case. Weihenstephan (W's are pronounced as a V here in Germany, so this is pronounced as Vī-hĕn-stĕ-fŭn) is the world's oldest brewery, dating back to 1040. We're actually going to visit Weihenstephan in about a month with a bunch of friends that are coming over to travel with us to Oktoberfest in Munich. Weihenstephan is also a university owned by the state of Bavaria. Part of their curriculum includes, of course, a brewing degree. The brewery and the university are in the city of Freising, just north of Munich, next to the Munich international airport. How's that for facts (thank you Jeff).

Schnitzel & Beer

Hi Everyone,

We’re moving into our new German home tomorrow, 3 August. We’ve eaten a German meal every night since we got here last Wednesday. Jeff’s had schnitzel four nights in a row. Different kinds but still, your basic schnitzel under the gravy, onions, mushrooms, cheese or whatever they happen to put on top. We’ve been to the Bremerhofen Waldhaus (forest house) beer garden twice this weekend and, of course, was able to sample the local Bischof Pils.

Met with our landlords at their gausthaus Friday night, The Blockhaus. They’re a wonderful family. Klaus and Hiltrud Schellhaas are our landlords. We also met with their son Bernd and Tonya, who own/operate the Blockhaus, and their daughter Anna. Had a great meal, schnitzel, and great, real (not that foo-foo American type) Bitburger beer.

Lots of little issues to take care of here. Cell phones, utilities, Internet service and second car are the big ones. Picked up the car we shipped Friday PM. Although that was a very efficient process it still took us over three hours from driver’s license in hand to driving our car out of the processing center.

We found out the Ramstein shoppette sells Weihenstephan by the case. That made Jeff happy since Weihenstephan is the world’s oldest brewery. Of course, Jeff already knew that and had to point out that they’ve been brewing beer since 1040.

The weather has been great. 70s day, 50s night.

Sorry there are no pictures. We keep forgetting the camera but we’ll be better at that in the future.

For now, Auf Wiedersehen.

Sandy