Gummi Couture

How fun is this?!! 

For Twelv Magazine's debut, they made a dress (inspired by Alexander McQueen's Parrott Dress) out of FIFTY THOUSAND GUMMI BEARS! 

To create this 220 pound masterpiece, the designers Hissa Igarashi and Sayuri Marakumi covered a wire frame with vinyl and spent 3 weeks gluing on the gummi bears by hand. Truly impressive!

Friday Photo Favorite: Bangkok Skies

Last night we had some of the worst thunderstorms I've seen since living in Munich. But they were mild compared to the storms we have in Texas or the rains in Bangkok! 

One of my favorite things in Bangkok was watching the storms sweep across town...from the comfort of my apartment window.  As in Texas, the storms make day look like night.

Needless to say, I also spent many evenings at the window watching the fantastic sunsets!

A Schnitzelbahn History: all about Oktoberfest

We've received some feedback from readers that we should add "index" pages for specific content.
An index page is better than the Categories ("Navigation" on the right side of this page) because
you don't have to scroll through entries you've already seen -- instead, just go to the entry you want.

So, here is a brief index of our blog entries about Oktoberfest:

Preparing for the Party

- The most popular and important songs have associated hand movements to perform- learn them in this post.
- You should also practice the older, classic tunes that are certain to be played and sung in the beer tents.
- Many set lists of the bands will include songs you already know and can sing along with.
- Finally, be prepared for new "Wies'n Hits" that emerge each year. 

- Some time over the summer, the official beer price list will be released.  Budget accordingly.

- There are many alternatives to getting your own trachten to wear.
   Lederhosen and dirndls are available everywhere now, or you could make your own (posts 1, 2, 3...)
   Celebrities are donning dirndls and lederhosen too.

What to Expect

- The opening Saturday features a parade with the mayor, who then taps the first keg.

- On the second day (a Sunday) you can watch another parade with trachten from all over Europe.

- A typical day at Oktoberfest could include an outdoor concert, five hours in a beer tent, and fun games.

- The Wies'n lights up at night, when the carnival rides get even better.

- If you're especially lucky, you get an Oktoberfest experience like this.

If you can't wait until October...

- The Dauchauer Volksfest is a similar, smaller festival near Munich that is held in late August.

- The Auer Dult is another small festival in Munich that is staged three times a year.

- The Kocherlball is one day only, but has classic music and dancing in the English Garden.

We'll keep adding to this index page as more blog posts fall into this category...

 

Friday Photo Favorite: Sunset

This is where I'd like to be right now!

 

Followed by dinner here:

Friday Photo Favorite: Fireworks Competition

A couple of Summers ago, I surprised Frau A with tickets to a "fireworks competition".  It was held at an outdoor stadium in Riem, a town on the edge of Munich.  There were three teams that each set up a fireworks display synchronized to music.  Cool concept, for sure.

"Die Mannschaft" plays Greece in the quarter finals of the European Championship tonight... go Germany!

Paulaner's Words of Wisdom

On an old poster displayed at the Paulaner am Nockherberg:

Der echte Trinker niemals weicht,
Bis er das höchste Ziel erreicht!

Translation:

The real drinker never gives up,
Until he reaches the highest goal! 

Expat Bloggers Meetup - Church of St. Ursula, Cologne

Last Summer, we met up with fellow English-speaking bloggers in Germany.  The meeting destination was Cologne, and we spent a weekend seeing some of what the city had to offer.

Of course in Cologne, churches are the thing to see.  it's the heart of Catholicism in Germany.
They do have "the Twelve Romanesque Churches of Cologne" (plus countless others), after all.

We have already posted cool photos from the famous Dom (cathedral), and the Great St. Martin Church.
Our last one was the Church of St. Ursula.  (Wide photo courtesy of Wikipedia): 

There is a unique top to the tower, with a mixture of yellowish wood and a crown-shaped base for the cross:

Inside has the "typical" large stained glass windows towering behind the altar...

...with the crucified Jesus hanging around...

...plus a few other icons scattered throughout the interior...

...and various statues and busts above and below.

So, at first, the Church of St. Ursula appears to be your normal Christian house of worship.  Except the bones.

LOTS of human bones.

A large reliquary, connected near the entrance of the church, contains thousands of bones.  They are are main "decoration".  Below, they cover almost the entire top of the wall above the altar in the reliquary:

Why?  The church was built on the site containing ruins of an old Roman cemetery.  It was here where the legend of St. Ursula claims that 11,000 martyred virgins were buried.  And we all know what to do with relics of thousands of martyred virgins:

In case you didn't notice in the photo above, these (below) are what lie on the shelves:

Here's a little more help to see the shelves, by zooming in:

The different sizes and shapes of the human bones are used to create designs and letters/words:

Here we have ribs, joints...

...major limbs...

...and others that require Gray's Anatoms to identify.

It's quite interesting, really, and the room is always very quiet and peaceful (but nowhere to sit).

All four walls have a large display/collage of bones, so the scale of the collection is quite, um, impressive.

It was a great last stop during the weekend in Cologne.  Definitely worth a visit on your next visit.