Guggenmusik - #314

So that's where they all were - watching the Guggenmusik bands.

Guggenmusik originally came - as most good things do... - from the pagan ritual of blowing cows' horns to drive out the evil spirits of winter.

All for that, for sure.

It developed - over a couple of centuries - into a loosely organised excuse to have a good time and it's only in the last century that it's sort of merged with Carneval.

It started out in Switzerland and is pretty much regionally localised to Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Southern Germany.

There must have been 30 or so groups of wildly dressed and masked people, cruising the boulevards with a riotous rhythm section and brass instruments.

I must be developing a chromosome mutation.

I could get used to this...

Tags: Mainz, Fassenacht, Karneval, Guggenmusik

I Am Legend - #313

That's what it seemed like the other Saturday morning in Mainz

Not that I've seen the film, of course, but - if I've got it right - it's all about Will Smith all alone on the planet.

With some zombies.

I did, in fact, identify some folks from Wiesbaden, so it all fits in quite nicely.

The explanation tomorrow

Tags: Mainz, Schillerplatz, I am legend

Run Rabbit Run - #312

Not quite fast enough, I fear.

And I always thought a rabbit's foot was a good luck charm.

Maybe it doesn't apply if you're a rabbit.....


The 1939 original from Flanagan and Allen

And the lyrics

On the farm, Ev'ry Friday On the farm, It's rabbit pie day So ev'ry Friday, that ever comes along I get up early,And sing this little song... Refrain 1 Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run Bang, bang, bang, bang! goes the farmer's gun Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run refrain 2 Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run Don't give the farmer his fun, fun,fun He'll get by without his rabbit pie So run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run Verse 2 On the farm,No poor rabbit Comes to harm, Because I grab it They jump and frolic, Whenever I go by They know I help 'em, To dodge the rabbit pie! (then sing refrain twice more)

Tags: Run Rabbit Run, Mainz, Flanagn and Allen

Wash your mouth out....#311

...with soapy water, young man....!

"You can buff our pieces, you can catch our asses, but you can never destroy our brand.

So @*%& you"

Elsewhere.

Some inspired taggers have made a stencil saying

"Graffiti-approved zone - City of Mainz"

which they've started applying around the place.

City fathers are decidedly peeved....

Tags: Mainz, Graffiti, Tagging

Vapiano - #310

OK, so it's not ACTUALLY Mainz, but it's close enough and I'm not encroaching on anyone's territory....

Think "Self Service".

Think "System Gastronomy"

Then forget anything preconceptions you might have along the lines of McDonalds, Taco Bell or KFC

This is "Vapiano", just across the river in Wiesbaden.

The concept is brilliant - simple pricing structure, friendly staff, good food, stylish fittings, upmarket.

Italian. Obviously.

They do antipasti, salads, pizza, pasta and desserts. Draught beer, big range of wines, excellent coffee.

I'd stumbled across one in Münster last year and read a write-up on the founder of the chain in the paper on Sunday. (Youngish guy, bought a McD's franchise in Hof on what used to be the border between the two Germany's, the Wall comes down and he rides the wave of latent demand for a Western lifestyle all the way to the bank. Buys 3 more McD franchises, makes a pile of cash and comes up with the concept for "Vapiano". There are now 33 - 22 in Germany, a few in Washington DC and looking to extend into the Middle East)

So I'm standing outside the restaurant, in the process of being highly impressed by the boldness of the vent conduits, when out comes Michael Schlarmann, the franchise owner, and starts chatting. (Ms jb is off looking at shoe shops, comes back, sees me in lively discussion with this guy and thinks "Oh shit, he's got himself into an argument about taking photographs. Again." and disappears back into the shops.

We were actually having a fairly erudite conversation about the value of retaining significant 1960s architecture (as in the building which houses Vapiano in Wiesbaden) for future generations, the choices he faced for venting the extractor fans (try unsuccessfully to camouflage them or to go full on and project the brand via the colour), the concept and design catalogue issues, brand strength. And so on.

We'd actually intended eating elsewhere but went there for dinner anyway.

Quite excellent

Tags: Mainz, Wiesbaden, Vapiano

The Ghost of Christmas past - #309

There can only be 2 explanations for this (seen above the market in Mainz, next to the Dom)

a) It's a new strain of mistletoe

b) They were too bloody lazy to take it down when the Christmas Market finished


At least they're not going in for Chreaster decorations.

Yet....

Tags: Dickens, A Christmas Carol, Mainz, Market, mistletoe, Chreaster

There is a difference - #308

There's Mainzer

And Määnzer

And then there's Meenzer.


A definite pecking order.


Here's the definition

Mainzer sind die zugezochene

Määnzer sind die, die wo aach in Meenz gebore sinn, die Eldern awwer net

und Meenzer sinn die rischdische, nämlich die, die wo aach in Meenz gebore sinn und mindestens ä Elderndeil aach


(Mainzer are immigrants (me) , Määnzer were born here, but their parents weren't, Meenzer are the genuine article - born in Mainz as was at least one parent)

And a Meenzer Meedsche is the female of the species

The Bridge over the....#307

...Windmühlenstrasse (Windmill Road).

This is one of those things that happen around here with amazing frequency and you just stand there and shake your head.

(Remind me to tell the story of the new Mainz 05 stadium sometime...)

This bridge spans the Windmühlenstrasse and links the Eisgrubweg with the Zitadelle.
Was in need of some serious TLC last year, so it was closed off, repaired, renovated and now looks as flash as a rat with a gold tooth.

Except someone forgot to check what the regulations were concerning handrail heights.

You've guess it - a couple of centimetres too low.

New handrail at no little expense

I sometimes seriously doubt whether these people could organise a p1$$up in a brewery...

Tags: mainz, windmühlenstrasse, bridge, eisgrubweg, Mainz 05, Zitadelle

Shakespeare und So...#306

This is just the nicest place.

"Shakespeare und So" ("Shakespeare and the like") in the Gaustrasse, which links the city centre with St Stephans.

You won't find those cheap glossy little "How to serve ground beef in 250 interesting ways"-type books here - leave those to the chain stores.

You won't find shop assistants who ask "Just what sort of books does Hemingway write then?". (Although - to be fair - that was in a Waldenbooks in the States)

What you will find are 2 really nice people (Nida and Cliff Kilian) who love books and can talk about them, customers who enjoy discovering something new, chairs to sit in and browse.

And kids.

Lots of kids.

I counted 3 (plus Mums and Dads) in about 5 minutes last Saturday.

And they all left proudly carrying a bag with a book in it.

So there's hope yet.

Tags: Mainz, Shakespeare und So, Gaustrasse, St. Stephan, Independent bookshop, Kilian

Loads of wind - #305

Depending on who you listen to..

...the new wind turbines will be the tallest man-made structure ever conceived, they'll cast their evil shadows for kilometres across the pristine countryside and if the constant thwapp-thwapp-thwapp of the rotating blades doesn't drive us all gaga, then the stroboscopic effect of their moving shadow every few seconds will

or

...you'll hardly notice them. tucked away next to the existing masts in the fields and YOU DON"T ALL WANT TO DIE FROM THE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING, DO YOU?

Pretty much sums up the situation in the village at the moment.

The mayor (and local Member of Parliament) Ute Granold wants to limit the height of the new turbine masts to the current 100 metres

Juwi - the renewable energy outfit managing the project - claims a fivefold increase in generating power per unit by increasing the height by 50% and that the mayor knew about the proposed height increase right from the start of the (18 month) planning process and didn't put in her veto until a few weeks ago.

Things could get quite nasty...

Facts are that the masts will provide power for 9000 people, generate €20,000 a year in taxes for the village, save 7800 tons of CO2 emissions annually and have an energy amortisation period (the length of time it takes to balance the energy that was used in producing the units) of about 6 months.

Sounds pretty good to me...

Tags: Mainz, Klein-Winternheim, renewable energy, windfarm, Ute Granold, Juwi

Here we go again - #304

I guess you have to have Karneval in your DNA to get enthused about - if not addicted - to the whole hooha.

I've checked all my chromosome pairs.

Not a trace.

Tags: Mainz, Karneval, Prinzengarde

Tweaked - #303

The Zitadelle from below.

Being a bit of a purist from the Cartier-Bresson school, I rarely crop or PS stuff.

But this is what a bit of tweaking in iPhoto gets you.

Just don't expect it to become a habit.

(As one monk said to the other....)

Me, too! - #302

After celebrating the return of Caffea Moguntia's tin-shed-on-wheels (after the proprietors' vacation in South Africa) with a latte machiato this morning, it seemed fitting to document the throng easing their caffeine addiction with a shot of the real stuff.

And into the picture pops Lena H., much to the consternation of Mum and Dad

Talk about photogenic....

Tags: Caffea Moguntia, Mainz, Market

Gonso - #301

Weak winter sun on the wall of the Gonsenheimer Hof in....Mainz-Gonsenheim.

Arty-farty stuff.

(If you like that kind of stuff.....)

The Pink Farm - #300

These places give me the heebie jeebies.

Packed with the female variety of the species, getting all breathless over stuff that's utterly surplus to requirements

It might be that I don't fully understand the concept, but how many different designs of paper serviettes do you really need?

Or smelly soaps

Or non-functional thingies to put on the table.

("Well, I think it's nice and if we can't afford things like this now and again....")

I keep well away.

All those women with their hormones in an uproar....

Tags: Mainz, Le Mas du Roseau, Augustinerstrasse

Nuts to you, too - #299

Walnut derives from Old English wealhhnutu, literally "foreign nut" (yes, I've been called that in my time), wealh meaning "foreign" (wealh is akin to the term "Welsh"


The previous Latin name for the walnut was nux Gallica, "Gallic nut". (Met some of those, too. Mostly on the roads)

Could even stop you going nuts, by some accounts - results suggest that walnuts may reduce the risk or delay the onset of Alzheimer's Disease by maintaining amyloid beta aprotein in the soluble form and prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine. acetylcholine.

Tags: Mainz, Markt, Market, Walnuts

Cryptic crossword clue - #298

"No-one to be seen and certainly nothing growing"


Hint: Depends on the emphasis

Tags: Mainz, Region, Klein-Winternheim, Views

Local girl makes good - #297

No exaggeration.

Hildegard of Bingen.

Abbess, artist, author, counselor, linguist, naturalist, scientist, philosopher, physician, herbalist, poet, activist, visionary and composer.

She's been referred to by at least one modern biographer as a polymath

Read more here

She was the first composer with an extant biography. One of her works, the Ordo Virtutum, has been called the first form, and possibly the origin, of opera.

She wrote theological, botanical, and medicinal texts, as well as letters, liturgical songs, poems, and the first surviving morality play, while supervising brilliant miniature illuminations.

Having absorbed all that and feeling quite inadequate, it's tempting to link to Ian Dury's "Ain't half been some clever..."

Which would be utterly indelicate.

Instead here's

Alleluia- In Maria Benignitas, Alleulia- O Virga Mediatrix by Discantus from Hortus Delicarium

On the other hand, I bet she had a sense of humour

So here's Ian after all

PS The image is the Rochus Chapel with the Hildegard Altar, overlooking the Rhine.

Tags: Hildegard von Bingen, Rochus Chapel, Ian Dury, Discantus, Hortus Delicarium

"Bear right, she said... - #296

... and follow the B42."

"She" being the Becker Satnav system.

Neglecting to mention, of course, that there's not actually a direct connection between the B9 and the B42.

Unless you count the ferry across the Rhine, that is.

Good thing I'm a strong swimmer.....

Tags: Satnav, Rhine, Mainz, Bingen, B9, B42, Becker

Christmas reloaded 4 - #295

These were just too good not to share.

But that's the last one.

Promise!

Hark the herald angels... - #294

Just around behind the cathedral, you'll find the Choral House - Chorhaus am Dom - used by the cathedral choir for practising.

From the tag, it appears that someone's definitely got a tin ear...

Tags: mainz, chorhaus am dom, altstadt

Christmas reloaded 3 - #293

There was just too much good stuff in the run-up to Christmas that I'm even drifting past 12th Night.

But some things are worth the wait.

This one gets really close as my favourite Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung DIY Christmas Tree decoration, but my clear favourite is over here at YMBFA.

Probably not the right sort of thing for the genteel City Daily Photo community, but quite OK for the raucous mob over there...

Tags: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Mainz, Christmas, DIY

Karneval..... #292

...is something that I don't really "get", despite having lived here for a bit.

It appears to involve dancing girls, excessive rowdiness, inane songs, vast quantities of alcohol and significant slapstick humour. (Others appear to have their problems, too.)

But it always kicks off on 11 November at 11:11 and always finishes on the day before Ash Wednesday.

Which is the Wednesday after the 7th Sunday before Easter. Which itself is the first Sunday after the first Spring full moon. (Still with me..?)

This year is REALLY early - it's all over on 5 February (compared with 28 February in 2006), so you can imagine that things get a little hectic.

Especially for Magda Wilhelm, our local carpenter's wife, who's a seamstress (a really good one, sez Ms jb) and makes costumes for the dancing girls for various Karnevalsitzungen (That's where the dancing girls, rowdiness, booze etc comes into play..)

And this year she's got a HUGE problem.

There's no lace to be had. Anywhere. It's in a container on a ship between China and here.

My theory is that the chappies who do the logistics for this sort of stuff forgot to press the "Special Event" button, the factories kept on making lace at the usual pace and it'll all arrive sometime in March.

A bit late, but early enough for next year.

Carneval's pretty much normal (if that word applies..) next year and it'll never be as early as this year until 2160.

And again in 2285.

I don't think Magda's going to much bothered about that...

Tags: klein-winternheim, Magda Wilhelm, Karnevalclub, Mainz-Ebersheim

Happy Birthday, Magdalene - #291

Crikey, they're a fertile bunch....!

Christoph and Uschi have 3 excellent kids - Stephan, Susie and Sonja - and they together have 3 excellent grandkids - Lucy, Kalle and Magdalena - with another (Stephan's) due at the end of the month.

Also bound to be excellent.

Magdalena celebrated her first birthday on Friday and we got in on the act.

Not quite sure if she realised what all the fuss was about, but a good time was by all (despite Kalle whacking her on the head with a play vacuum cleaner) and Lucy demonstrated her command of Christmas carols (with choruses that didn't want to end...))

And the cakes were very nice, too.

Especially Sonja's world-famous-in-Gonsenheim Tiramisu.....

Vertical Village reloaded - #290

The Vertical Village by night during the Christmas season.

Pretty, eh

You wouldn't believe some of the stuff that happens here, though.

Sometime over Christmas, neighbours of an apartment started complaining about a pervasive smell.
The tenants refused to open the door, so the janitors got the council people over to check it out, PC Plod tags along for good measure and they all troop into the apartment.

Exit rapidly one council chappy who promptly deposits his breakfast unceremoniously in the hallway.

The dog - a decent-sized Alsation - had died sometime in December (estimates put it at 3 weeks ...) and was monopolising the bathroom, by this time having swollen to the proportions of a small calf.

The stench must have been horrendous.

And the tenant just sat there smoking and watching TV while all this commotion was going on.

"We might be poor, but we do see life" as Dad used to say.

Don't know who (or how) they removed the cadaver, but it got taken away.

"It'll be recycled together with the other animal cadavers" said the lady from the council.

Then - in a stage whisper " Then make them into lipstick"

I'm glad I'm a bloke....

Tags: Mainz, Gonsenheim, Vertical Village

The Goldies - #289

I don't really care for the Christmas Market in Mainz. Tends to be too full of cheap mulled wine stands, festive candle purveyors, knick-knack sellers and sausage-on-a-stick merchants for my liking. But there is one very good reason for making the pilgrimage and that's the Kartoffelpuffer (potato pancake) outfit.

It's a pretty simple recipe - grated potatoes, grated onion, egg, a bit flour to bind it all together, mix it up and fry until golden brown. Serve with a dollop of apple puree and charge €3 for 3.

No. Not a misprint.

€3 for 3.

There are about €200 worth in the picture and they'll sell them in about 15 minutes.
Talk about a license to print money...

These folks are new.

The people who used to run it (for 20 years or so) got nicknamed "The Goldies"

Started of with regular jewellery and - as time went by and they become more affluent - thicker and clunkier gold chains/earrings/rings/bracelets appeared until they were weighed down to the extent that their movements were as ponderous as those of deep sea divers.

Guess at one stage they became immobilised and had to give up the game....

Tags: mainz. weihnachtsmarkt, kartoffelpuffer

Here be Lions.... #288

The Lions tend to attractive good community-minded people wherever they go and Mainz is no exception.

Our friends at Caffea Moguntia gifted us the Lions Advent calendar (I guess for being good customers, sticking with them through thick, thin and sub-zero temperatures as we do. Or maybe just because they like us, a sentiment that is definitely reciprocal. Dunno. Whatever.)

Anyway.

Each calendar was numbered and there was a prize behind each door so you had a 24 in 9999 chance of winning something from the generous sponsors.

All sorts of goodies to be won (we obviously didn't, but we were that close...)

Such as

• A weekend's free rental from the local Saab dealership
  
• Ditto from BMW
• A pair of Bang & Olufsen headphones
• Dinner @ the very flash - the voucher's for €250..) Mollers restaurant, perched up on top of the State Theatre like a glass top hat
• A €300 Executive Management fitness check @ the Lufthansa Aviation Medicine Clinic. (I used to get them for free when I still worked for them. They always said "You're going deaf in your left ear" to which I'd always say "Ehhh?"....)
• A private concert in your garden from on of the local bands - would set you back €1200 normally
  
• Tickets for Mainz 05
  
• €200 worth of wine from my mate Christoph Schulz-Werner. (That's the one we were just ONE NUMBER off from)

And of course coffee from the folks at Caffea Moguntia

All good stuff and a cool idea

Tags: Lions, Mainz, caffea moguntia, schulz-werner, advent calendar, Mainz 05

A taste of summer - #287

Summer would be a good idea right now.

Weeks of low clouds and fog and cold, followed by normal clouds and cold.

So yes, summer would be good.

But Anja Quäschning (and that IS the correct spelling, umlaut and all...) has encapsulated summer and you can buy her stuff on the market in Mainz (although she's actually from Wiesbaden.)

Her company's called the Deutsche Blütensekt Manufaktur and she distills the extract from blossoms ranging from acacia to sage by steeping them in spring water (although I guess you can also use spring water in summer....) and waving her magic wand and reciting incantations over them.

I think.

What goes into the bottle will knock your socks off, although I tend not to get quite as breathless as the rest of the team about some of the more dubious concoctions.

It'll also knock a sizeable hole in your wallet - smallish bottle costs an arm, a leg and a couple of extra bits - but a little goes a long way.

A couple of drops of the red chestnut syrup gives salad dressings a real zing and a glass of mineral water definitely benefits from a glug of citrus syrup.

There's also a sparkling blossom wine which is POA only

Not a big surprise, when you consider that it takes 20 cubic feet of hand-picked blossoms to make a single bottle....

Tags: mainz, market, Anja Quäschning, Deutsche Blütensekt Manufaktur

And talking of the Badergasse...#286

Street names around here are frequently derived from their original - mostly medieval - trade associations.

The Badergasse's no exception.

The Bader (Bad = bath) were barbers, quacks and hot tub operators "in which the guests would enjoy themselves", as the official version euphemistically goes.

Nudge nudge, know what I mean, say no more..

Having a "good time" tends to bring out the wowsers in any society, and the establishments were closed down tout de suite on "moral and hygienic grounds"

So much for that, then.

Pretty tame these days.

Cafe, a shop where Ms jb buys decorative knick knacks of undefined purpose.

Plus the kiddies playground.

PS

I stand corrected by Bat (who should know about these things, living just around the corner as she does).
It's actually BAdergasse, not Bädergasse.

She wins the Proofreader Prize of the day ;-)

Tags: Badergasse, mainz, nudge nudge

Hi kids - #285

This is quite unusual.

Official notices around here are usually just that.

Official.

This one's on a kiddies playground in the Bädergasse and it's such a refreshing change.

Hi kids, this public playground is open for you every day from 7:30 until 20:00 and in winter until 18:00.
If you want to play soccer, please use the pitch in the Windmühlenstrasse. No dogs

Shame they couldn't set an example as far as the grammar's concerned, though.

I mean - come on, people!

I'm a foreigner and even I noticed.....

Photo of the Year - # 284

I guess I might have been tempted to pick something else, but popular demand decrees that I recycle this one.

Again.

Ho hum

Hope the rest of the gang's got something more interesting.

I'm quite sure they will, actually...

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