Biergarten

While in Germany, I had the opportunity to go to several biergarten (beer garden) to sample local food and drink. The best one I've been to in Erlangen was Entla's Keller (Sorry, no link). The food was excellent, freshly prepared and the shandy delicious.

Another great thing about that biergarten is that they have their own beer pot. Every year, they have a new series printed with some local artist drawing.

When you order your drink, they charge you an extra 5euros, you get it back when you bring back the pot, unless, like me, you want to keep it!
I managed to get 2006 (0.4l) , 2007 (1l) and 2008 (1l) (I could have had more but I had to fit them into the luggage!).
I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do with them at home....
I lined the bottom with thick felt and turn them into knitting needles pot!
The one on the right is the one I got in Munich in Hofbrauhaus.

Munich

At last, I am finding some time to post some pictures from Munich!
I spent one beautiful day there. I didn't go to any museum, the weather was so gorgeous that I just wandered around all day.
But first, I had a pretzel with a cappuccino...

Then, I went to Marienplatz

and the Theatinerkirche...

I was getting thirsty, so I went to the famous brewery, Hofbrauhaus, for 1 liter of shandy (yes, I was that thirsty!)

Finally, I climbed the stairs of St Peter's church to get this view:

Munich is really a beautiful city, I enjoyed it. Well, I enjoyed my whole stay in Germany, the quality of life is much better than I expected. I will go back, I hope, there are a few places that I would like to visit, especially Berlin.

Nuremberg castle

As promised, some pictures of the beautiful medieval castle of Nuremberg.
Sorry, I don't feel like writing a lot today. Click on the link (and on the first picture, so you can read the text) if you are desperate for some more info, otherwise, enjoy the pictures....

Nuremberg

I spent an afternoon in Nuremberg, which is only at 20 min by train from Erlangen. It is a really beautiful city. I wanted to go again but never got a chance (well, I had, 1hour, in between trains). I let you enjoy the pictures (click on them to see them bigger) of the city centre...





I promised, I wasn't yarn shop hunting, but socks seem to be everywhere in Germany...:0)
There is a stunning medieval castle in Nuremberg. I've got pictures, of course, but I'll post them later.

Knitting in Erlangen

On June 14th, I met Silke and her 13 months old baby for a yarn shop tour in Erlangen. We ended up in a nice cafe for lunch and we also knitted a few stitches (it was world wide knit in public day).
According to several people on Ravelry, the best yarn shop in the area is Wollkontor. From the outside it doesn't look big, but inside it is like Aladdin's cave! It is huge! there is a room at the back behind the counter with all the sock yarn (I've never seen so much choice in my life!) and also a knitting machine, and more yarn!

Inside, it is very busy but the choice is amazing!

Some of the sock yarn:

So, my stash grew considerably during these 3 weeks (luckily I didn't have much time for shopping, otherwise, it would have been a lot worse!). I bought yarn in several places, so this is what I got:

In the meantime, I manage to knit a pair and a half of socks and 2/3 of a baby jacket (picture later, once it will be finished).

Erlangen

I am now back in sunny Dundee. I really enjoyed my stay in Germany. It is a much more attractive country than I thought. I could see myself living there for some time...
The aim of the trip was work, however, I managed some sightseeing during the weekends. I have hundreds of pictures to go through so it will take a little time to upload them on the web. Also, I won't flood you with photos, I'll just select some of them to post on the blog, otherwise, most of them will be on flickr if you want to see them all.
I was based in Erlangen, a nice and wealthy (half of the population is employed by Siemens, the other half by the university) small town.
Some pictures of the city centre:
I was staying next to the biology department of the University, about 3 km from the city center. It was a great location for wood walking!!! This is a picture of the university, The buildings are spread within the forest:

I love that giant pea pod: