My husband and I try to go out every Friday night. Yesterday evening we managed to get away for an hour and a half which we spent at the only Irish Pub in Oberursel. I believe MacGowan’s Irish Pub opened in March 2009, or was it 2008?

The staff is very good and I should have complimented them for this yesterday evening, but I was too Guinness-happy when we left.  I had asked our waitress for a dinner recommendation and got an authentic one – the cooks are from Bangladesh, so why not try one of the Indian dishes? I did, and the Chicken Biryanni was excellent. My husband had a Lammhaxe (lamb chop in whiskey sauce) with homemade fries and he was pleased, too. This could very well become our regular early Friday night hang-out, especially if we can get a table near the fire place (try getting there before 8 p.m.)

Irish Pub and Restaurant in Oberursel

Once in a while, they have quiz night. Some people like it, some don’t, so check beforehand. Last time we were there, we had a gathering of Wer kennt Wen and it was difficult to get acquainted during quiz time. Nevertheless, I had fun and made second place!

A Guinness brew by the fire place

I like to take my out-of-country visitors to authentic German pubs, but this Irish Pub is getting added to my list of Places-to-show around Oberursel as well.

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet our local Camp King historian, Manfred Kopp, at the neighborhood church café. At the moment, the café’s basement houses all the Camp King documents he has been collecting over the years.

In 2005, I have been told, the City of Oberursel decided to gather all documents related to Camp King with the intent to make the collection available to the public at some point in the future.

The former Mountain Lodge on Camp King has been chosen as the designated location where the archives shall be kept. This project is supposed to be completed sometime this year.

Camp King historian and archivist, Manfred Kopp

Again, most locals do not realize the overall importance of Camp King in its history making. Initially a Siedlungshof (settlement teaching farms), then a camp for the German Air Force to interrogate American and British prisoners of war, until American Intelligence took over.

We are fortunate to have the historian, Manfred Kopp, to have taken such a big interest in Camp King’s history. Without him, more and more information would be lost within the next few years. Not many Zeitzeugen (contemporary witnesses) are left to tell us their stories.

For his efforts in restoring and archiving local history, he had been awarded the Saalburgpreis (Saalburg Award) 2008. He closed his acceptance speech with this quotation: „Nicht die Asche wollen wir bewahren, sondern die Glut weitergeben.“ (We are here not to conserve the ashes, but to pass on the embers).

Thanks, Mr. Kopp.

Edit: Initially, I had mistakenly written that Nazis interrogated the POWs. The interrogators were not Nazis. My apologies.

It is Friday evening,  the roads around here are deserted and there are no pedestrians in sight. I ventured out to get some groceries on foot from the Asian market around the corner and even though the temperature reads -10°C, it felt more like -15°C, including the wind chill factor. Interestingly enough, the German language has no proper translation for wind chill factor (I have checked with leo dictionary) as a freezing wind is not the usual winter companion around here.

Our daughter has gone out for her usual Friday evening horseback riding lesson from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. For the most part of these three hours, they will be outdoors on open fields between Steinbach and Frankfurt. You could not even tempt me with a bonfire and mulled wine, well, at least not for three hours. She is scheduled to ride again tomorrow afternoon, we shall see.

The supermarket in our neighborhood was strangely quiet on this Friday evening when there are usually long lines of customers. I guess this weekend we all will be eating leftovers. Additionally, cupboards in affluent Germany are generally full anyway.

Oberursel, with view onto St. Ursula Church, taken 7 Jan 2010.

For more information about this blizzard forecast, visit BBC News.

Yesterday, just as dusk was starting to settle over Oberursel, I had the chance to take a few, yet typical, photos of our traditional Oberursel.

Marktplatz Oberursel

Marktplatz Oberursel

Strackgasse Oberursel

There were not many shoppers out. The roads were slippery and the slush made walking a bit hard. This was a very quiet day for businesses in this part of Oberursel, considering Christmas is just around the corner…

For a real taste of German cuisine, coupled with an authentic flair of a German Wirtshaus (pub), you should try the guesthouse Zum Schwanen in Oberursel.

Not only was it a romantic night to be out – because of the first real heavy snowfall – but Zum Schwanen is also located in an idyllic area, close to the town’s church and surrounded by other half-timbered houses.

Oberursel with St. Ursula Church (Wall on the left belongs to Zum Schwanen)

Just stepping into the place reminded me of my American/French brother-in-law’s comment two Christmases ago, when we took him there for my birthday: Gosh, this smells like Germany! We explored this point further as I find statements as such rather intriguing. Did the Sauerkraut marinade creep into the table patinas’ veins? Was the smell of beer hanging in the air? Was it the warm German bodies exhaling German food and drink through their pores? What does it mean to smell German, I wonder. Maybe I should not ask…

For the ones who remember Germany from the 60s and 70s: Please keep in mind shower habits have much improved since then. Entering a department store during a German summer no longer requires dwarfed nostrils.

Zum Schwanen

Looking out through the big lattice-windows onto the neighboring snow-covered roofs, while sitting in the warmth of a nice place and looking forward to dinner, put this eating-out experience rather close to the category of: unforgettable.

Leg of goose, potato dumplings, with red cabbage

Besides enjoying an excellent dinner, we also had very attentive service.

Last night, the restaurant earned five ***** from me.