Bamberg Fall Plärrer

So it is officially Herbst, or autumn, here in Bamberg.  The leaves are falling, the nights are chilly, and the air is crisp.  Even in the late afternoon, we've already been able to see our breath.  Gorgeous!

The Berliner Ring, a main road in and around Bamberg

Typical building on post

Crazy cool trees here

One of the athletic fields on post -- with the Bamberg skyline in the distance

It seems that Germany has festivals and celebrations through most of the year, and now is no different.  The 178th Oktoberfest just ended in München (Munich), but on its heels, Bamberg is hosting a Plärrer -- essentially, a small fair for the city, operating until the end of October.  

We walked to the fair the other night and were pleasantly surprised to see some familiar sights:  fair rides, games, food stands, bales of hay, and lots of happy people.  Liam was hypnotized by the techno lights of the super fast tilty ferris wheel ride, and Zeke and I got a kick out of the fact that the bumper cars and train cars had American license plates!


And, of course, there was das Bier stand.  We enjoyed a Hefeweiß (a primarily wheat as opposed to barley beer in which the yeast is unfiltered -- cloudy and golden in appearance) and a dunkles Hefeweiß (darker malts are used, so the color is darker than the Hefe).  In America, we've seen similar beers labeled as Hefeweizen, but they're not half as cool as the Bier here.  ;)


We opted for hot dogs for dinner.  These tubes of meat were in a completely different league than American dogs; they were grilled, 1.5" in diameter, about 12" long, and one was smothered in Danish fixings and the other was done up Mexican style.  The buns were sourdough and the experience was unforgettable.  


Zeke and I enjoyed the company of some friends while downing die Bier und die Fleische (beer and meat)... and Liam preferred throwing rocks and blabbering to German passers-by.

Ich mag Felsen werfen -- I like to throw rocks!!