Jul 16, 2021

Mainberg Castle near Schweinfurt

Some of you might have heard that Germany has been hit by severe flooding in the past few days.

A week ago, we spent the weekend in my hometown area to attend a family reunion, and we were blessed with a day of blue skies and sunshine amid a long stretch of dark and gloomy days.

Here we came down Mainberger Straße on our way to attend our get-together in Hausen/Schonungen. The Main River, on the right hand side of the tracks, has not been affected by the constant rain falls yet. Most of the flooding is happening in the far western part of Germany.

Mainberger Straße Schweinfurt

A hotel, overlooking the Mainberg Castle, is in the works right now. The Martin Family purchased a former farming estate on ‘Grundstrasse’ in Mainberg, and the hotel with Café and ‘Weinstube’ is supposed to be up and running by the summer of 2022.

This is an article in German about the project: https://www.mainpost.de/regional/schweinfurt/mainberg-die-martins-und-ihr-hotel-projekt-art-10486991

Jun 24, 2021

Maria’s Beer Balcony in Germany

When all fails, because the Corona pandemic still has a grip on us, then I can rely on my adult children to become the only Beer Balcony visitors during that time. Son Thomas from London visited us during the winter 2020/2021.

Now it is our daughter’s turn to come and visit from Florida after a two-year absence.

Here we enjoyed a Radler (a mix of lemonade and beer) during halftime of the European Cup.

Margo from Tallahassee, FL
Jun 1, 2021

Oberursel Street Life in May 2021

With restrictions still in place for regular shops (shopping only by click-and-collect), we took advantage of a partly cloudy day to get out and buy some street food in downtown Oberursel about two weeks ago. The month of May was full of rainy days.

During some sunny and dry moments, I took these photos in the Strackgasse near the Marktplatz. This Pig Master with its mask on is keeping guard at the door as only three customers can be present in the shop at any time.

Metzgerei Brinkmann

Further up the Strackgasse – what I thought to be a toad in stone actually looked like more like a drunk man heading home on all fours upon closer inspection. I had to get down on my knees as well. Interesting door step decoration.

St. Ursula Church, Oberursel

We enjoyed our snack sitting by the fountain facing the church. Halfway through though, the heavens opened their gates.

Apr 29, 2021

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Restaurants in Germany

In general, restaurants which have added take-out and/or delivery to their services, have been able to hold on in this latest lock-down. Restaurants, pubs, etc. have been closed since mid-November 2020.

Government support for this industry in need is coming at a slow pace, I’ve heard.

One restaurant (which also is a guesthouse and brewery) in the small town of Breitengüßbach in Upper Franconia (north of Bamberg), has to close its doors. The remarkable thing though is that it has been in the same family for 380 years and will be missed by its town’s 4.600 residents.

The interior has already been auctioned off. As of October, the estate will be turned into a day care facility for senior citizens. The restaurant owner, Thomas Hümmer, said he will have to find himself a new job.

You can read more about this here in German: https://www.infranken.de/lk/bamberg/breitenguessbach-brauerei-gasthof-schliesst-nach-380-jahren-wegen-corona-art-5200765?fbclid=IwAR3bJg9AZ7nJI7gJrNrS7A5dDNXeB-kiTsIYp3LDjy9tykiBPdzyKmgeSes

Apr 23, 2021

Knowing How to Enjoy Life in spite of New COVID restrictions in Germany, April 2021

Today, further restrictions have begun for schools, doing sports, and the placement of a curfew from 10pm – 5am. None of them affect me. Even if they did, it is quite easy for me to adjust my life style accordingly. That’s what I learned from living in foreign countries for almost ten years.

Since the COVID situation is not getting any better, I have opted for ‘Outdoor Isolation’, which means we have picnics (restaurants are still closed for indoor and outdoor dining) as often as we can. This way, we are isolated from others, but not from sight. It is nice to see ordinary people passing by without a mask.

Today, we went to the Maasgrund Pond in Oberursel, where we have not been since our kids were in primary/elementary school.

Maasgrund Pond in Oberursel

What’s this swimming in the water..? This is a nutria (or: coypu), a native from Louisiana, USA.

It fetched something in the water to eat it on the bank.

After our picnic of British Tea sandwiches, fruit, cheese, crackers, and white wine (not for the driver), we took a stroll around the pond.

We can see St. Ursula Church in the background. It was a beautiful sunny late afternoon.

A new initiative to save the bees is taking place in Oberursel. The yellow vending machine sells bee food for 50 cents. On the left, there is a container collecting the empty capsules for recycling.

Oberursel has many half-timbered houses, but this one is a half-timbered villa.

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