Parents Visit Germany

My parents stopped by Bamberg in late August. We took a driving tour through Franconian Switzerland looking for Tuchersfeld, which you see in the photo above. I saw a picture of the rock formations in a guide book and figured it would be interesting to see.

Along the way, we saw this ruin of a burg. Asking the locals for a two minute history, we learned that the knights that lived there would ride down and rob whomever was passing through. Every little town has their story, their bit of history that they embelish to make a buck.

The stark visage of this cliffbound ruin had me imagining Monty Python versions of the robber knights, the big parties they would throw after a heist, and the last big one, when the jester tipped over the lantern in the linen closet while frolicking with the stable woman and the whole place went up in flames. What a pity.


After visiting Bamberg, my parents went south to a mountain village called Oberstaufen, and I joined them there one weekend. I had the chance to go for a hike one day. A beautiful walk up a mountain, passing hundreds and hundreds of bell-laden cows. There was such a din from all of the cow bells, that I actually got nervous. What if the smart nerd cow that knows that their faux mountain paridise was about to end as the human captors march them downhill to meet their maker. What if he spreads moo and the cows revolt? Look at those horns! I wouldn't stand a chance!

I started running and sheltered in this cabin for several days, waiting for the end of the week. I befriended a goat and lived on goat milk for the week, no way I was getting near one of those cows! By the end of the week, I had figured out how to make the most delicate mountain goat cheese. You can order it online now at www.gaugerbrau.cheesespot.bs.

On Friday, the German cowboys came up the mountain, and decorate the cows with flowers in an event called Feeshiite. I'm certain that the spelling is wrong there. They march the troops down throught the town and there is a party and everyone is jolly except for the smart nerd cow, who knows whats coming and was unable to convine his bovine comrades that the flower march means death.

This is the view from the hotel in Oberstaufen, the most spectacular view I have ever seen from a hotel. The air felt clean, full of pure grass-fed cow shit aromas. I think the mountain in the background is the one I hiked. Beyond that ridge, you are looking into Austria.