Autumn in Germany: Fests!

It is a little different this year. I am in a new place and a new house. My new house looks over a field and then to a wooded area. I am waiting to see the trees change colors!

Autumn in Germany means fests! 

When I lived in Worms, the fest that started the autumn season was the BackFisch Fest. Worms is on the river and fishing was important. This fest has been celebrated in Worms for over 75 years. It is meant to celebrate the oldest guild in Worms: the Fisherman Guild. This Guild can trace its history back to 1106! It is usually happens at the end of August. I remember still seeing the firework display that always ended the fest from my balcony in Hofheim.

When I lived in Stuttgart, the fest to go to was the Bad Cannstatt Octoberfest! It is the second biggest Octoberfest in Germany. It lasts for 14 to 16 days! It started around 1818 to celebrate the end of years of hunger. It is going on NOW! It has the tents, beer, rides, fest foods, music, and dancing.

Now I live in Bavaria! The king of falltime fests!

Shrimp with Feta and Dill

My most favorite hobby is cooking. I collect and read cookbooks like some people read romance novels. During my last move, I said good-bye to some of my collection to make way for new ones. One of my favorite cookbook authors is Ellie Kreiger. I like the way she adds personal notations to her recipes. She is also a contributor to my favorite magazine, "Fine Cooking".

I made Shrimp with Feta and Dill from Ellie Kreiger today for dinner. It is an easy and fast recipe to make for dinner. In a pretty casserole pan, it serves beautifully for company. I made it for my friends when I visit them. It serves four ( or two who really like it!). This is how I make it:

One 12 ounce bag of shrimp (I use Contessa Jumbo Shrimp clean, raw, tail on) - Should be defrosted! You can leave the tails on or remove them. Rinse and pat dry.
One medium size white or yellow onion (medium chop)
One can of petite diced tomatoes
Garlic (Use to your taste. I love garlic! Vampires leave me alone! I usually roughly chop four cloves of garlic.)
Dill (Use to taste. I usually buy it fresh in a package from the market. I use half of it. I rinse it and cut off the stems. I then roughly chop it.)
Feta Cheese (The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of crumbled feta. I use more because I like it! I usually buy the feta already crumbled.)

Warm a pan that can also go into the oven on the stove top. Set the oven to 350 degrees. Swirl in enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the chopped onion. Let saute over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute as well. When the onion is almost translucent, add the can of tomatoes including juice. Reduce heat and let cook at medium for about five minutes. Then add shrimp. You want the shrimp to cook until they just turn pink. Add the dill and feta. Stir to mix. Put the pan into the oven. Since everything is cooked, what you are looking for is a bubbling sauce and melted feta. I usually give it between 15 to 30 minutes depending on the oven. My oven in Hofheim was hotter than my oven in Lehrburg.

This is wonderful with couscous or crusty bread. A fancy salad and simple dessert will round out the dinner!

Friday Afternoon in September

Today was a beautiful day. Though it started out cool in the morning, it warmed up quickly. Walking outside at 2:30 saw sunshine and a comfortable temperature. Today was the last day of class orientation in the labs. I had a kindergarten group that was antsy to be up and moving. One little boy kept looking at my toes. He reached out with one of his fingers and rubbed the tip of one of my toes. He looked up at me and said that I had old toes. Hard to continue teaching!

Forcing myself out of the building at 3:30, I drove to the Herrieden exit on Autobahn 6. There is an outlet mall there. Let me explain that outlet malls are rare here. Until a few years ago, prices of objects were firmly controlled. The German stores were allowed to put up sale signs only TWICE a year: once in February and again in July. There were no sales at any other time! Now you see sale signs a lot more. Outlets are becoming more popular as well. Most of them are small. The best thing about this outlet is that the biggest store is Gerry Weber. Gerry Weber is German clothing manufacturer. They also have labels named Taifun and Samoon. I like his clothes. They were having a sale on the outlet clothes. I was able to buy 4 very nice sweater for 70 Euros. That is about 89 US dollars.

After driving home, I had a massage. It was very relaxing and I enjoyed it. It did make me think about the fact I need to find a doctor to write a script for manuel therapy. Massage and manuel therapy are a bit similar in Germany. They both involve moving and rubbing body parts. The manuel therapy though is not relaxing.

After all this, I came home and sat on my patio. In the distance, I was able to watch a duo of hot air balloons dance across the evening sky.

Ansbach

I am now living near the city of Ansbach. It is a small town in the state of Bavaria in Germany. It is the capital of the region called Middle Franconia. It is about 30 miles away from Nuernberg. Ansbach is easy to reach from Autobahn 6. Either state route 13 or 14 will take you to the city from the autobahn.

It is a very beautiful area. Ansbach has a castle and an Orangerie in the city. Its altstadt still has part of the old city wall. It was built in the baroque style. When you walk in the altstadt, many of the buildings and roads are hundreds of years old. It is easy to find an outside cafe to have a coffee while looking at these old buildings.