An Expat from Bavaria !

October Fest in Burgenland - Part 1.

It is one of those things, you only get to fully understand, if you are an expat. Traditions which you eschewed while living at home, suddenly become the be-all and end-all of life ! Having lived in South-Africa for so long, I can attest to some " traditional " things I did, that others would laugh at
( Memories of attending, or rather my Mum wanted me to go with, a Heino concert when I was a Teenager still surface now and again ).

Albert ( my step-dad ) was born close to Munich. Most of his adult life, he has been an Expat and his yearning for traditions have grown stronger as time goes bye. As long as I have known him, he never had a pair of Lederhosen ( traditional bavarian outfit ), yet living here in Burgenland, he got a pair and proudly wears them on special occasions, and really looks nice in them.

Lederhosen are made of leather and NEVER get washed. In fact the more valuable ones are extremely old and could stand up by themselves ! Not sure about the smell...Bob is very keen to get a pair, and when he sees them in the shops ( for some reason they are very trendy at the moment and can even be bought at Amazon ), he is in seventh Heaven...

My cousin and her husband ( from Bavaria ) visit my parents almost every year, and thus have realized how much Albert loves the October Fest. It is quite a mission to go for one day, so it is mostly an item on his Wish-List.
Well, most vacationers take sun-tan lotion and books etc, but not my wonderful family. They arrived here with a 20 liter Keg of special October Fest beer. Their logical reasoning being, if Albert can't go to Munich, they are going to bring a bit of Munich to him...

Albert's eyes have had a happy sparkle and his face a huge smile, since he saw the Keg and was instantly planning an October Fest for us here. The beer had to be cooled first, and an old fridge was remodelled to accomodate the Keg...After a worrying half hour of trying to fit the Keg ( can you imagine warm Beer ? ) Bob figured out a way, and saved the day ! Somehow men tend to get inventive when the reward of Beer is involved...

Check in tomorrow for part 2 .

Biggi

Albert and his Keg of Beer...can you see the big smile ?

Goodness, can you see how strong Bob is...! You'll have to take my word for it, that it is still full !

Waiting to be " tapped "