On our last visit, my brother pulled out this demijohn of forgotten Zwetschgenschnaps (plum schnaps) from the former beet cellar. It must have been sitting there for ages.

As we all figured, this high level of alcohol could not go bad, so we had a shot of it. It tasted like a 50% proof Schnaps!

My parents had kept several of these Schnaps Glasballons (demijohns), secured in a straw basket, for our well being. Way back, when we had a toothache and no dentist in the village, we were given shots to numb the pain. My aunt used the Schnaps for swathing her lower legs against some other pain. When our colds got too heavy, we got a shot of Schnaps in our tea before going to bed.

I never saw any adults drinking Schnaps for the fun of it. It was considered medicine only in our childhood.

Schnaps served the old-fashioned way

Two days ago we had a shot of this Schnaps for fun only!! This glass bottle holds about 20 litres of it.

As the procedure of making Schnaps and keeping it in a Ballon, must be a relic from the 60s, I knew I must have  had my hands in its making. Back then, my spinster aunt and I had to gather the fallen plums, rotten ones included, in buckets. We had to pick them up by hand, without the luxury of rubber gloves. We developed a real art in using our feet to avoid getting stung by the nettles.

Those buckets of plums we then dragged to the neighbor’s house where the distillery took place.

This Schnaps used to be our in-house pharmacy more than 40 years ago.

We spent another weekend in lovely Franconia. We saw family, visited with long-lost relatives, talked to neighbors. Everybody, but the sun, came out to greet us.

Franconian vineyards

Dark skies and winter coats dominated the landscape wherever we went. The Nordheimer Weinfest saw lots of heavy coated patrons sitting under the famous Kastanienallee (chestnut alley).

Nordheimer Weinfest May 2010

These German winefests are for young and old as their wine culture has no bounds in regards to age. We enjoyed Flammkuchen (Tarte Flambee), Steak Brötchen, Fischbrötchen (photo), and good wine.

How would you like to harvest grapes on that hill?

Visit a  Franconian castle, or the online beer guide to Bamberg and Franconia, as well as  Franconia – the heart of Germany.

There is a lot to see and do in Franconia. They love to eat and drink well, at very reasonable prices!

Impressions of Franconia can vary greatly as these photos can attest to. They were taken within fifteen minutes from each other on two different Autobahnen, A3 and A7.

Luke and Duke, the Nukes in Grafenrheinfeld

Luke and Duke, the Nuclear Power Plant towers, have been around since the 1970s. Their ugly pillars loom over the industrial town of Schweinfurt and really darken its rainy skies occasionally.

Schlossresidenz Würzbug

Vineyards in the sun

While resting at a Autobahn Raststätte on the A7, I got to see a very different view of Franconian culture and  its agricultural highlight – vines on every hill.

The area between Schweinfurt und Würzburg, especially around Zeilitzheim, is full of lovely wine fests in the summer.

Another weekend in my hometown left us battling with even more snow coming down Sunday morning. 

We are also still hunting local guest houses for a taste of Doppelbock, which is only brewed and sold during the time of Lent. The locals are supposed to be fasting, but not in regards to liquid bread.

Please note the cyclists daring the roads. They were not the only ones riding bikes in the snow either.

Clearing the windshield

For a couple of minutes, we contemplated changing plans…

Road from Hambach to Dittelbrunn

Good ol' Hambach a.k.a. Hammich

Once I find a guest house offering Doppelbock beer, I will post again.

A couple of months ago, I wrote about our  visit to Barockschloss Zeilitzheim, where we had spent one night. We usually stay with family when we go back for a visit to my Heimatland, but at that time, it was not possible. So what looked initially like an inconvenience (looking for new accommodation),  turned into a very pleasant experience. As a matter of fact, it was so pleasant that I ended up buying my sister and her husband a gift-certificate for a one-night stay. And they  live only 20 km away from the castle!

Zeilitzheim Castle - inner courtyard

Schloss Zeilitzheim (Zeilitzheim Castle) is a Baroque country estate near Volkach in Germany’s winemaking region of Franconia in northwestern Bavaria. The castle hotel has been run by the von Halem family for the past twenty years and Alexander von Halem has just published an English website called bavariancastle.

Enjoy this video clip showing the grounds in the winter time!

You can also connect with bavarian castle on facebook.