I bi a Staufner!

Naturally, after 7 months on the road in Asia, the first stop for any hardy traveller is of course Oberstaufen in Germany’s southwesternmost Allgäu region. So naturally it is from this pretty little Alpine hamlet that I now write to you. How did I end up here you may ask? Did I mention sexy Bavarian medical students? Ok, it is time to admit, the holiday romance with Christine may have developed a little. Well, at least enough to at least stop by on my way to the motherland. Well that’s what I thought anyway, so I’ve spent the last month in southern Bavaria living life the only way they know how to here. Drinking lots of beer. Oh, and the odd day’s trekking on Alpine peaks, mountain biking through pine forests and rolling pastures, and of course taking advantage of Austria’s proximity to go skiing on a glacier. Not to mention learning the language: “Ich hätte gerne einen Hefeweizen, bitte!”. I haven’t yet found a zoo, hovercraft manufacturer, or a weapons dealer, so my three favourite (and until now, only) German phrases have not thus far been of use.

I’ve been lucky enough to have one of the best tour guides a man could ask for, as the lovely Christine has taken advantage of her prolonged university holidays to show me around her home region, and beyond. The Allgäu is perhaps best known for its alpine landscape, being a mecca for downhill and cross-country skiers in winter, and for over-the-hill granny’s who love the new craze of “Nordic Walking” (ie going for a Sunday stroll with hiking sticks) in the warmer months. It is also known for its production of dairy goods, and cows that are more like cute fuzzy Koala’s than the short-haired surly droughtmasters I grew up with. A good morning sniff of the fresh famous ‘Allgäuer Air’ certainly tells you there is more than one cow around here anyway.

Oberstaufen is smack bang in the sort of southern edge of this region, just a few kilometres from the Austrian border. It is a beautiful village, with the obligatory church and steeple at its centre, in an area dominated by the Allgäuer Alpen mountain range with the Hochgrat at its centre, and populated by men in lederhosen and women in dirndels. Well, thats what I thought anyway as on my second night no less I was treated to the “Kirbe” celebrations, one of many excuses people in these parts use to dress up in funny clothes and drink ridiculous amounts of beer. I really liked the sound of the second part so naturally I also had to carry out the former, complete with the town’s traditional badge, and confusing the locals (who thought they knew everyone from this town) by telling all and sundry “I bi a Staufner” (“I am a Staufner” in the local slang). The general lack of any further Deutsch to back up this bold statement (hey, its not like my mother and sister are german teachers or anything) did not quite complete the facade the way I would have liked. Other activities included a day trip to Lake Constance (Bodensee to the ignorant Germans, Austrians and Swiss) in which we had to take a short cut through Austria and Switzerland just to get to the German city of Konstanz, showing just how close to the centre of Europe this region is.

We also managed to fit in some time in the city of Ulm, a lovely old city 120km north of Oberstaufen, straddling the border between Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg on the mighty Danube (Donau). This, the birthplace of Alfred Einstein and home of the world’s largest steeple (the tower of the Ulmer Münster), can also lay claim to being the place where Christine studies, but it usually doesn’t.

I followed these adventures up with a visit to the city of Fürth, not to be mistaken with Nürnberg (Nuremberg), its fierce rival just 10km down the road, to visit some family friends. Fürth, 998 years old, 50 years older than Nürnberg, but nowadays more or less a satellite city in the large Nürnberg/Fürth/Erlangen metropolitan area, has a second division Bundesliga football team, a relatively undamaged (by WWII) old quarter, and not really much else worth talking about in comparison to the turbulent history of its neighbour. Ok, I did also go to Nürnberg. The centrepiece of the city is the walled Altstadt (old city), dominated by the cathedrals of St Lorenz and St Seobald, and its castle (the actual “Nürnberg” from which the city takes its name): reminders of its heyday as the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, and one of western Europe’s major trading posts. The Altstadt, expertly rebuilt now, was almost completely flattened by Allied bombing during WWII, when the city was used by Hitler as the “spiritual” home of his “Third Reich” because of its links to the old empire, and as the site of the infamous Nürnberg rallies (and of course by the Allies for the subsequent trials). Indeed, the old rally grounds, with the still essentially intact Zeppelin field and the uncompleted colloseum-esque Congress Hall were a fascinating place to visit, and to see first hand the megalomaniacal plans, some partially completed, of this murderous regime. This was all interesting of course, but more important were the frequent visits to typical Frankonian-style pubs for beer (of course) and rostbrastwurstle (little fried sausages) that were afforded to me by my most genial hosts Meinhard and Karin.

I met up with Christine again for a week in the area surrounding Garmisch-Partenkirchen, home of the 1936 Winter Olympics, and of some of her friends who run a guesthouse in Grainau, a little village in the shadows of the Zugspitze, Germany’s 2962m highest mountain. Life was just so hard as we were forced to go hiking (up the interestingly named mountain “Wank”, with of course a cafe at the top known as the “Wankhaus”), on a day trip to the truly Alpine city of Innsbruck (just over the border in Austria), where I had visited before so I was able to play tour guide for once, and of course to go skiing at the nearby Stubaital Glacier. I acquitted myself quite well I think for my 3rd day of skiing ever, at least that was the general impression I got from the other kids at the Mickey Maus play area...

And so now I’ve been back in Oberstaufen for a week, attempting to find rugby on the TV in this god-forsaken place and preparing for the adventure of a life time. Yes, thats right, I’m going to see the sites, have delights, in the playground of the world that is... the United Kingdom!!! Well for a couple of weeks at least...

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