Karneval Celebration Year 2

 

Last year on November 11^th we went to the start of Karneval with minimal expectations and knowledge. We viewed a celebration similar to what we might expect at Mardi Gras. There are some similarities, but lots of differences as well. The real Karneval celebration coincides with Lent as does Madis Gras, but here in Koln they open the Karneval Season on November 11^th at 11:11 in the morning. Karneval is then put on hold until after Advent and Christmas. It is basically a street festival with mostly just adults participating and has been in existence since 1823!!!. There are costumes, very creatively constructed with couples dressing alike, groups creating themes, and individuals dressed in a wide variety of costumes usually not gruesome in nature as in the states with Halloween. It is definitely not as sexual in nature as Mardi Gras, but drinking of beer especially is in the middle of it all. There is always music – most of it by live bands on the streets, on stages, and in hotel ballrooms. Lots of singing, swaying, and tens of thousands of people in costume traveling to the large squares around the city to celebrate with the crowds.

         Every year there are three people who are granted the titles of Virgin, Prince and Farmer. They pay a large amount of money to be the representatives for the festivities. A man dressed as a female always portrays the virgin. This trio has existed since 1883 and is ever-present characters in the celebrations. Their costumes are elaborate and traditional. They are on stage in the biggest square in Koln leading the festivities.

         This year some in the FedEx community decided to dress in a group costume after some of us had a chance to participate last year and get a taste of how it all goes down. We had 23 people make costumes, but because of schedules only about half were able to participate on November 11^th. No worries there will be 5 days in February when the costumes can be resurrected and used again at the big events that happen 5 days before Lent begins! We had a beautiful sunny day this year, which was appreciated and enjoyed by our group.

I even found George at Karneval!

Nice and Annecy, France

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After a wonderful week in Tuscany we needed to head back to Germany. The weather had changed and it was cloudy and rainy in Italy, so we sat at the computer and used weather.com to find a destination for a couple days with some sun. We ended up finding Nice, France. 

Nice, France

It was a very pretty ride up the coast of Italy into France. Surprising to us was the strong Italian influence in Nice. At one time Nice was part of Italy and you can see that in the culture of the town. We took advantage of another bike tour of a city in Nice and really enjoyed a sunny day biking around and getting some background on a very beautiful city. The old town is particularly quaint and has changed very little over the decades. The streets are very narrow with old buildings right up to the skinny sidewalks with churches tucked into small squares.

Our three words for Nice -
                     Vibrant                    Mediterranean                Charming

Mediterranean Sea

There is a wide promenade all along the waterfront. The beach is not sandy, but covered in small stones. Beautiful old hotels and apartment buildings line the waterfront street and lead to a very pretty harbor that has a marina where boats, large and small pull in and out. There is a famous market that is set up in the old town of Nice, half of the market is flowers – beautiful, colorful, aromatic flowers and the other half is fresh food. The mushrooms were amazing – all sizes and shapes. At one end of the city is park up on a hill that offers a remarkable view of the city. Definitely worth the hike up, or as we did peddle up on our bike tour.

Nice Harbor

Mushrooms

Nice Market

Annecy, France

We spent two nights in Nice and then stopped at another beautiful French town before making it back to Koln. Annecy, France was our next stop. A very tiny village with a gorgeous lake surrounded by the Swiss Alps. The top of Mount Blanc was already covered in snow. Quite a beautiful sight. We got up in the morning and took a walk through town at 8 am. The lake had clouds rising up as the sun was coming up with the mountains as a backdrop. Early in the morning, market stands were setting up all around the village. There had to be 50 different vendors selling fresh vegetables, fruits, cheese, salami, breads, flowers, and meats. I could not imagine there would be that many people in the town to do their shopping here, but as the town woke up there were lots of people buying from the stands. A beautiful stop to end a great vacation in October. 

Rushing water in the canals of Annecy

Morning market in Annecy

Touch of Tuscany

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Our week in Tuscany was great! The place we stayed was perfect and the location was just where we needed to be.

We could drive in all directions and within 30 minutes be in any of dozens of medieval villages and towns that were built on hilltops with walls still intact, churches large and small, squares to sit and enjoy wine, cappuccino, or gelato, and walks down alleys of cobblestones. The views were always stunning from these hilltop villages. As we drove around we would be passing fields of vineyards or gray green olive groves, the many roads and drives were lined with towering cypress trees and dotted with ancient stone farmhouses.

We were trying to come up with three words to best describe Tuscany. It was a difficult task (but we may have found a new game in the process!).

Balanced                      Tranquility                                    Earthy

Instead of going on and on about all the beautiful places we saw in our week, I will let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Village of Ciciano

San Galgano Abbey

 Galgano Guidotti was born in Chiusdino in 1148, the only son of Guido and Dionisia. From his youth, Galgano leads rather a dissolute life, until, at the age of 32, the Archangel Gabriel appears to him in a dream and tells him to follow him. In the dream, Galgano receives an order from the 12 apostles to build a round chapel at Montesiepi and to retire there to live. His mother and friends try to convince him to desist, but his horse takes fright and takes him to Montesiepi. At Montesiepi, Galgano thrusts the Sword forcefully into the ground to make a cross and miraculously the Sword gets stuck in the stone. This situation causes quite a sensation and Montesiepi becomes filled with many pilgrims asking Galgano to outperform Miracles. Before his canonization in 1185, 19 such miracles occur.

Chapel where you can see the Sword in the Stone

Remains of the Abbey

Village of Monteriggiano

Very small village of Torri, right next to Montestigliano. We discovered this abbey in the back of Torri.

Beautiful countryside that is covered in sunflowers in July

Dom in Siena

Plaza del Campo in Siena

Sunrise in Montestigliano

Volterra

Wine tasting in Castello di Brolio with Megan and Bob

One of many delicious meals in Tuscany with Bob, Jan, Maureen, and Megan

MY AUSTRIAN VIGNETTE

A “vignette” is a small, colored sticker affixed to your car windshield to indicate that you have paid the “road tax”. It can be purchased for a valid period of 1 year, or as little as 10 days. On our drive from Munich to Italy, we knew that we would be passing very briefly thru Austria, before heading on into Switzerland and Lichtenstein. Our friends had told us that we wouldn’t be in Austria long enough that we’d have to worry about it.

Driving thru Austria consisted of traveling a series of extensive tunnels that bore literally right thru the Alps. At the end of one such tunnel, we came into a small, picturesque village. Fearful of the “Road Tax” police pulling us over and fining us up to 300 Euro for tax evasion, I elected to pull in for gas and to purchase my vignette. The girl behind the counter willingly sold me a 10 day vignette for the low price of 8 Euro. Newly affixed to our windshield, I pulled out of the gas station, turned left, drove 100 yards and over a bridge. At the end of the bridge was a Swiss flag and a “Welcome to Switzerland” sign. I had driven legally in Austria for about 30 seconds, and for only the low price of 8 Euro.

We laughed for quite a while over that one.

Cooking at Fattoria Resta

 A highlight of the week for sure was a day we spent near Buonocenvento, Italy at Fattoria Resta. On this beautiful ‘farm’, Anna Lisa Tempestini has a vineyard where she produces about 6,000 bottles of Martin del Niro wine. We were privileged to spend the day with Anna Lisa. She showed us her vineyard and the grounds where she lives, produces her wine, and does an occasional cooking class. She is a very interesting, energetic, and committed person! The buildings on this fattoria were just awesome. She and her husband have slowly restored the grounds and buildings over time and have done a superb job. There is even a small chapel complete with the altar that was there when they bought it.

Driving up to Fattoria Resta

  The first thing she showed us was a beautiful room just recently restored where they can host dinners (probably for 70 people if she needed to). It was simple, but so rustic, natural and unpretentious. We proceeded to follow her to basement where the wine is kept. In the middle of the room is a brick square (resembles a fireplace in size) that travels up the center of the room. They discovered etched in the brick a message from Martin del Niro, the head mason. He blesses the wine growers, and asks forgiveness for any imperfections in the building. It is dated 1573. They found another message in a tile on the roof, documenting the finishing of the building in 1575.

  We joined her in the kitchen and made a beautiful meal, complete with tiramisu! We made our own pasta and focaccia bread, chicken, a roasted eggplant dish, and a side of sundried tomatoes. Handmade pici (pasta) and fresh porcini mushrooms, which was impressive! It was amazing! As we finished Anna Lisa said, “Let’s carry the wooden table out on the balcony. It is such a lovely day to eat outside!” We set the table and we all sat down to the most wonderful lunch accompanied by some Martin del Niro!!! 

Anna Lisa put our beautiful pici in the boiling water - yes, they do add olive oil to the water

The day was just perfect. Anna Lisa was such a sincere, interesting, and easy person to spend the day with. We enjoyed the food, company, wine, and fattoria. Molto buona!!!! 

Resting after cooking and eating