Workaway #3: Scotland!

When we arrived in Scotland via ferry from Belfast, we were immediately whisked away in a coach bus along the coast to Glasgow and then across the country to Edinburgh. Our bus took the twisty turny roads so fast that we ended up getting into Edinburgh a little earlier than expected so we ventured out to find a bite to eat. About an hour later we were picked up by our next workaway host Hazel and we drove about an hour north to Blairgowrie where we would be staying for the next week. Hazel has 38 acres right at the foothills of the highlands.  We arrived after dark so we had no idea what the land looked like and we had a pleasant surprise in the morning!

While at the workaway for the week we had various chores... We cared for her ponies, a breed indigenous to Scotland for which she provided a rescue. We skipped out their stables, poop scooped the fields and groomed them. We cut down a huge brush forest to make a path from one pony field to another (using only hand tools!).  This job was especially difficult because of the presence of thorn bushes and nettles (a plant that stings you and sucks more than poison ivy). We cleaned out a corner of the barn which included going through and sorting a ton of old tools. We helped with a few small repairs and changed out a washing machine. Last but not least we helped ready the guest apartments for the new guests that would be arriving. 


We got to drive this four wheeler all over the farm!

Only the female ponies were brought into the stables each day. The black one is Ebony, white is Cheeky and brown is Missy.

The view out our window!

Hazel took us around the Perthshire area for a day. Our first stop was in a cute little town called Dunkel. It had a pretty church with a nice scenic landscape.








Next stop was in Aberfeldy to check out a real scottish whiskey distillery... We had to goto the Dewars world of whisky! 



Kurtis pretending to be the CEO of Dewars in the 1800s.

Tons of old whisky bottles.

Illegal picture taken of the whiskey distillers. 

More photos from the workaway:


Our friend smoky the cat who looks like Emily but is nice.

Road to the stables.

Ebony in her stable.

Missy (Mischief) and Cheeky (she was cheeky!)

Kurtis grooming Cheeky, see how small the ponies are?!? They are full grown.

Highland cows on the property!

The work at this workaway was hard but Hazel was very generous and even took us to town for dinner two of our nights during our stay. On Tuesday, Hazel took us into Perth where we caught a megabus up to Inverness to search for Nessie!

Finally! Oktoberfest!

Amy and I, accompanied by three of our german friends (Tobi and Jacob and a friend of Jacobs), hit the Oktoberfest festival around noon. The place was already full of people and surprisingly there were a lot of families with their children (Oktoberfest seems more like a state fair outside of the tents with rides and food stands). One thing that a lot of people don't know as that Oktoberfest is a celebration of King Ludwig IIs marriage in 1810.





We made our first stop at a food tent for their 8 euro snitzel, potato, and beer special. It was so good and gave us a nice base for the drinking that we would be doing for the remainder of the day.


Kurtis and Tobi at lunch!

Yum!

Beer number 1!

Amy tripped on her way out of lunch. ouch!

Topped off with pork and potatoes we went to the Lowenbrau Tent. The tents are designed with a big stage in the middle where the band plays. All around the stage in the middle of the tent are big wooden tables that can seat up to 16. The perimeter has reserved boxes, the kitchen, and the bathrooms. We easily got a seat (it was 1 pm on a Tuesday) and had a mas (what Germans call a 1 liter beer). They run around 9 euro each but you figure you're paying more for the atmosphere then the beer. After hanging out for a bit (and after Amy stuffed a liter mug in her purse) we left the festival to go grab a coffee and to swing by Jacobs place (we had to pace ourselves of course).






First official mass at Oktoberfest!

Caffienated and a little sobered up we headed back. We were greeted at the entrance to the festival with a taste of what the night would offer; a man in lederhosen passed out in the grass. Unfortunately Amy and I didn't get the traditional garb (lederhosen are close to 200 euro for the full get up and Amy wasn't going to dress up if I wasn't).

We stopped in to the Paulaner tent and were unsuccessful in finding a table. We huddled near the end of one and drank another mas before deciding to head back to the Lowenbrau tent.


Hey Selena Gomez, what are you doing at Oktoberfest?

There we grabbed a seat with a man from Nimibia (spoke perfect english and german) and his german wife. With good company and a good table we started indulging in the beer and pretzels.




This describes the rest of the night pretty accurately.

and this.

and more of this!

Eventually, as expected, we were dancing on the tables with the rest of the tent and singing american oldies, thats right, the band played nothing but american oldies and germans, americans, italians, and every other nationality in the tent (regardless of whether or not they spoke english) knew and sang the words. It was a pretty shocking surprise.


It looked so good at night!


Closing time came and we shuffled out into the streets. Amy managed to get another mug and a hat while the boys and I grabbed some leberkase sandwhiches (its like a fried spam sandwhich). We made our way back to Tobi's to rest up before our flight to Ireland.

Discotheque!

It's a small world. Last year during Lollapalooza weekend, Amy met 2 German travelers (Max and Matthias) at Treasure Island in Chicago who couldn't find any place to crash for the night. She invited them back and we hung out for a couple days. It turns out that the 2 of them are from Schweinfurt and were in the area for the weekend while we were here (crazy coincidence)!

We got in touch with them and they invited us out for a true German BBQ. Max picked us up and took us on a drive around the area as we searched for a very special beverage for the evening. The beverage is called Federweisser and is basically partially fermented wine so it is sweeter but still contains alcohol. We had to drive a while trying to find a wine maker who actually had some. From two 25 gallons jugs, out in the barn where the wine is made, the lady filled up some empty liter bottles that Max had in his car. We got to taste a bit as well and, as described, it was like a carbonated white grape juice.

With the bottles topped off and plopped down in the back seat, Max drove us up to a point in Schweinfurt with an amazing view of the surrounding area.


Max in his car







We then drove down the hill to Max's parents place (beautiful house, by the way) for the feast. There were about 8 of us around the patio table, drinking beer and federweisser and eating a spread of cucumber salad, corn salad, regular salad, pork belly on a stick (tasted like bacon coiled on a stick), steak, bratwurst, a croation meat thingy on a stick, and some breads. I ate one of everything and was pretty stuffed. Unfortunately I didn't have time while shoveling food in my mouth to take any pictures.

We finished up the feast and went down with Max and Matthias to the city center and had a few beers outside and within the nearby bar "Cinema". It's legal for people in Germany to drink on the street so thats where you found the majority of the people. Once we downed a couple drinks (and a redbull for me) we went to the discotheque (It's just a club, but Max and Matthias always wonder why Americans think clubs in Germany are called discotheques).




Amy, Matthias, and I

We rounded out the night at 4 am with a cab back to Max's place, some pickings at the BBQ table, carbonated water, and bed! The next morning we all sat down for breakfast that Max's Mom laid out (Delicious!) and were dropped off back in Hirschfeld.

Bamberg!

Earlier in the week we visited another small city that is known for its beauty, Bamberg. To get to Bamberg we had to first go into Schweinfurt and then catch a train. In the Bavarian region of Germany (where we are) they have a train ticket known as the Bayern-Ticket (Bavarian ticket) which is good for up to five people to use for unlimited train and bus rides for the day. This ticket costs 29€, which may seem like a lot, but transit is SO expensive here that it is actually a pretty good deal. Upon arriving in Bamberg we headed straight to the tourism office which is located on an island in the middle of the Regnitz river. On the way, we got a little bit distracted by some playground equipment that would surely be illegal in the US.


Amy trying out the Zipline type toy.

At lunch we had our first experience with a true language barrier and the waitress was very rude and short with us, I guess if it only happens once every two weeks, we are doing ok. After lunch we began our walking tour of Bamberg.


The city has two rivers cutting through it.


The Altes Rathaus (Obere Brüke), the old town hall, rebuilt after a fire in 1440, but then later re-designed in Rococo style in 1744.


They always seem to put the castles and churches on the top of a hill for us to climb.




Fresh fruits and veggies from the area in a market.

Area known as "Little Venice", later in our trip we will know if it is actually anything like this in Venice.

The Dom, the Old Court and the New Residence were all up on the hill, unfortunately, cars were allowed to drive through the area, which made it impossible to imagine you were in a medieval city. The Dom was started in 1007, but not finished until 1237.

The rose garden.

Not a bad veiw from the terrace garden!

Monestary on the hill converted into an old folks home. Not a bad location eh, Grandpa?

And of course, we had to try the thing that Bamberg is known for: Rauchbier. It literally means Smoked Beer. Kurtis said yum, tastes like bacon and Amy said gross, tastes like bacon.