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.

Franconia is not far away –only two hours east of Frankfurt by car– and planning a visit there neither seems as exotic as Japan nor as far off the beaten path as the Faroe Islands do. But Franconia has a lot to offer.

But there is also something else about it: It is my birthplace. I was born in a small village called Hambach in Lower Franconia.

This song’s introductory line sums it up:

Im schönen Frankenland wo meine Wiege stand. (In beautiful Franconia where my cradle stood)

They sing this at every Weinfest, Bierfest, Pfarrfest, Feuerwehrfest, Kindergartenfest, Hoffest, Junggesellenfest, etc. They are a festive folk.

I left Franconia close to thirty years ago and on my occasional trips back, I realize how different they are from the rest of the Germans. When in casual conversation, there always seems to be a demanding undertone in their speech. When a happy Franconian speaks, his intonation might resemble a melody. The Franconians, being part of Northern Bavaria, are often referred to as the Beute-Bayern (the Bavarian predators made the Franconians their prey).

This area is full of traditions worth telling about.