On a rare sunny afternoon, we passed these sheep on our way to our forest garden. Note how green the grass is in August in Germany.

Feldberg im Taunus

Visitors to our area always claim how green Germany is. This year there is even more of it as we had little sun, lots of rain, and many dark days.

There is a nasty looking weather front moving in right now, it is time to close all the windows again…

Among the new-to-me things I noticed in Oberursel yesterday was also this display of Knit Graffiti. Three big pillars have been wrapped in knitting and it is quite decorative.

As this is part of a yarn shop in the Rathausstrasse (next to city hall), the Knit Graffiti is an innovative way to advertise.

Knit Graffiti in Oberursel

The shop needs to advertise – we could not even find its name on the store front!

The internet was more helpful: Wollladen Wolllaus (wool store wool louse)  Rathausplatz 6

Unfortunately, my own Knit Graffiti, wrapped around a lantern post, had been cut down this summer. It was a fairly small piece of knitting, but probably did not adhere to German sidewalk regulations.

We took another stroll through Oberursel on this rather grey day in August. I noticed some things for the first time, even though they must have been here for ages.

Such as this mural, which looks like it filled in the former entrance from the street to a court yard.

Mural of a cider press in Oberursel

The Brauhaus Vetters hosted some guests in the Biergarten – for eating out and drinking beer, Germans do not need sunshine, thank goodness.

Brauhaus Vetters Biergarten on a cool day in August

We have gone down this road many times on foot, but never really noticed this fountain. Well, Oberursel is THE Brunnenstadt (town of fountains), so we are blessed with quite a few fountains around the area and might not perceive them anymore.

Fountain in Oberursel

What looks like autumn leaves are fallen leaves on a bad summer day in August.

Summer temps and sunshine in Germany abandoned us about three months ago.

In the past 16 years since moving here, we have taken many visitors to Oberursel Altstadt. Most get out their camera right away as soon as we get close to the Altstadt. There are also quite a few Biergarten around, some hidden behind courtyard gates.

Oberursel Market Place

The most famous view, undoubtedly, is the one below – looking at St. Ursula Church.

Oberursel and St. Ursula Church

Behind the church, we passed a little house resembling a Hexenhäuschen (gingerbread house). Its gate, decorated with a cat, telling us to be aware of the dog, twice.

Warnung vor dem Hunde!

In one of the two Biergarten where we stopped (Zum Schwanen), two of us ordered Gebackene Apfelringe mit Vanille Eis (fried apple rings with vanilla ice-cream). Since this was about the 10th time this month I had to translate this for non-German speakers, I figured I would post a picture.

Gebratene Apfelringe mit Vanille Eis (fried apple rings with vanilla ice-cream)

I prefer savory food, so I stuck to beer instead. But I was told the dish is as delicious as it looks.

What a night to remember! Most of the day, concert goers had been wondering about whether it would be a rained-out concert like it had been the night before with the Scorpions performance. I was told it started raining when the band came out to play and it stopped raining right when the concert ended.

Fortunately, we were blessed with dry skies, good music, a wonderful atmosphere around the arena, and a top performance by Bryan Adams and his group.

Setting for Bryan Adam in concert Oberursel 2011

While waiting, we could read the twitter feed for our entertainment. This new form of entertainment at a concert was new to me. Goes to show how long I had not been to a concert.

Twitter feed at the Bryan Adam's concert in Oberursel

And here is my favorite picture of “A Night to Remember” with the monitor showing Bryan Adams facing the crowd.

Bryan Adams in concert Oberursel Hessentag 2011

Bryan really hasn’t changed much from the time I saw him in concert in Würzburg in 1988. I have though – I jumped a bit less and applauded without getting bloody palms.

Bryan Adams in Oberursel Hessentag 2011

Our son asked whether Bryan stopped in mid-song to have the audience complete the lines, and yes, he had and most of us remembered enough to sing along, more or less.

Another highlight was the spontaneous performance by a young lady out of the audience. Tina, a student from Frankfurt International School, joined Bryan in a song onstage and also added a little dance performance. Saw Tina at the U-Bahn station later on and her reaction to my statement Hi Tina, great performance! showed she had become an instant celebrity already. This is definitely a night for her to remember as well, especially since she got to hug Bryan a few times.