Friday Photo Favorite: Ice

On the Ferry to Suomenlinna, Finland. 

Friday Photo Favorite: Snow is Coming...

If the forecasts are correct, tomorrow we'll have our first snow of the season. 

Luckily our building turned on the heating yesterday, so we're now prepared. I'd love to have a couple of these guys to snuggle up with, though!

Schloss Nymphenburg in Winter

We've been to the Nymphenburg Gardens many times, in spring and in summer.  So it's only fitting we see it in winter, too. 

On our recent Eisstockschießen outing, we spent an hour walking around the castle grounds before the Eisbahnen opened. Herr J and I will both say that photography at -15° is a challenge and that handwarmers are a necessity - both for keeping my hands flexible and for keeping his batteries warm!

We hadn't had that much snow recently, but after a good solid two weeks of subzero temperatures, the canals and ponds were covered in thick layers of ice. 

 

 

This was my favorite view...though it looks like little ice floes, the dark part is also frozen. I guess the lake froze, partially thawed, and then froze again around the slabs of ice that remained. Whatever happened, it was a really cool effect on the ice!

 

There was one little pool of water, in which the little black ducks congregated. 

 

To me - who is not used to much more than flurries or ice storms once per year - the different forms of ice are fascinating. I'm sure someone can explain it all in terms of temperatures and different crystalization structures, but the result is beautiful. 

 

 

 

Despite the warnings of possible death, the ice fills up with people enjoying all types of winter sports. In addition to eisstockschießen, you can ice skate (rentals are also available), play hockey, sled, or just slide around. 

 

This clever lady paired ice skates with her baby buggy! 

 

 

 

It's only for a short time that the ice is thick enough for sports, but it's times like this that make winter not so bad!

Eisstockschiessen (Bavarian Curling)

One of the biggest lessons I've learned living in Munich (as someone who grew up in the Southern U.S.) is to make the most of every season.  Especially Winter, my area of least expertise.  Winter activities like skiing and sledding have been fun, but there was something new we hadn't tried yet.  It's an activity that dates to at least the 16th Century, has European and World championships, and has been "demonstrated" at the Winter Olympics two times.  It's called eissstockschiessen.

Below, you see the Nymphenburg Palace and a worker preparing the ice for eisstockschiessen and skating.

We'd wanted to try eisstockschiessen before, but somehow never made it in the last years.  It needs to be consistently cold so the water freezes to a safe thickness - at the mercy of nature, lanes open and close with little warning.  There are lanes all over the city, but the ones on the Nymphenburger Kanal (near the Nymphenburg Palace and Gardens) are the most popular.  They have the capacity for 40 lanes (marked by the end boards on the ice) from the castle all the way to the bridge where the local tram stops.

Here is a view down the canal:

 

Since the temperature had averaged -10°C for the previous two weeks, we checked online and the lanes were open. Not knowing how crowded it gets on weekends, we called ahead and reserved one at 9am.  We arrived a little late (9:15) but the rental shack was closed and the one person who seemed associated with it was out on the canal ice, driving a mini Zamboni to clear the lanes (see this in the first photo above).  That is not very German (imprecise!), so we killed some time taking photos of the palace.

After 30 minutes and no indications that he would be finished soon, we ducked into a cute little corner cafe and warmed up with cappuccino, a krapfen (filled doughnut) and piece of marmorkuchen (marble loaf cake).

Now fuelled up and with full feeling in hands and face again, we headed back to see if we could rent the equipment and get our lane. The trailer was finally open for business.  A lane costs €4 per person, for 4 hours - very reasonable.

Required equipment includes the Eisstöcke (plural of Eisstock) to toss/slide (like the "stone" in Canadian curling) and the Dauben (targets).  The kanal lanes include end boards to contain throws that would send an Eisstock into the next lane.  We saw many people come later (we were still the first that cold morning) with their own sets of Eisstöcke and Dauben - serious players indeed.  Theirs were often bright metal, whereas the rental Eisstöcke are wooden (but good enough for us!).  The rental Dauben were simply rectangular blocks of wood dusted with orange paint.

Here is Frau A showing the bottom of a stock.

 

The game is a lot like bocce or shuffleboard.  The goal is to slide your Eisstock closest to the Daube.  It's a great group activity -- especially the arguing about who is closest and the fun of knocking someone else's Eisstock away.

We played 1-on-1 this morning, but it's usually played with 2 teams of 4 people.  This means that in each round, 8 Eisstöcke are thrown.  The points are tallied at the end, and the next round starts from the other end of the lane.  Usually the team that captured the most points on the prior round goes first, so the other team has the last chance this time to knock their Eisstock away from the Daube and score the points.

There are official rules to the game, since it is played competitively (and internationally).  However, most people tend to have their own variation on the rules.  For example:

First to 10:

In each round, the team with the Eisstock closest to the Daube receives 1 point.  First team to 10 points wins. 

Quick First to 10:

In each round, the team with the Eisstock closest to the Daube receives 1 point.  If that same team also has the Eisstock that is second-closest to the Daube, they receive 2 points.

4 Rounds:

There are only 4 rounds, and the team with the most points at the end wins.  In this case, the scoring is like in Quick First to 10 but not limited to 2 points.  A team can receive up to 4 points (if all 4 of their Eisstöcke were closer than the opponents' closest one).

6 Rounds:

There are only 6 rounds, and the team with the most points wins.  The closest Eisstock receives 3 points, and for each other Eisstock that is still closer than the opponents' closest toss, the team receives 2 points (up to 9).  This is usually part of tournament play, so that a win after 6 Rounds gives a team 2 points (a draw 1, and a loss 0).  Then teams move on to other competitors for the next games.

The official rules are, of course, much more precise and include a target area around the Daube.  Only Eisstöcke within the target can get points, and the Daube can only be struck and moved within the target area (if it is pushed outside the target area, it is brought back to its position before the contact).

We took a video... I had to swing as hard as I could to toss the Eisstock, staying relatively low on the ice so not to fall!  We saw many Germans who wore strap-on spikes while they played for stability.

Here are some of those more experienced players on the lane next to us.  You can seel ice skaters taking advantage of the open space at the end of the eisstockschiessen lanes.  (The shack rents ice skates too.)  And again, the nice view with the Nymphenburg palace in the background.

They were pretty serious, and brought out the measuring tape a few times to settle a debate (we were too slow with the camera, unfortunately).

As with most Winter activities here, the proper way to finish is with a hot mug of glühwein (mulled wine).  The shack was happy to sell this too, but oddly theirs included raspberries.  This is unusual, but tasted nice -- although most raspberries ended up tossed onto the snow.

When we returned, we looked up the weather.  No wonder we were chilled -- it was -15°C at 9am, and the high that day was -10°C.

Which explains my attire.  Although it isn't easy to move, I recommend (for warm weather people like me) as many layers as you can manage.  After thermal underwear, fleece leggings, 2 fleeces undercoat, and a down jacket, I added Herr J's balaclava to protect my face.  (And you can't see the handwarmers inside my gloves.)  Yes, I'm slowly learning to deal with Winter, but Herr J will usually carry extra handwarmers just in case...

The ice has mostly melted now, but fortunately we returned the following weekend with a friend to get in a few more games that season.  We're looking forward to more next year.  (Or maybe we should try the Summer version!)

Winter Wonderland

I've been waiting for months for a good snow.

Friday we had weird snow with thunder and lighting. First the fat wet flakes that were pretty and melted, and then it poured down these tiny little flakes that quickly turned the roofs white.

Usually it's gone by morning, but I awoked Saturday morning to find it still snowing and a nice thick layer on the roofs.

I hadn't taken any pictures in a couple of months, but I had a big internal battle between photographic desire and my strong desire to not be cold.

Fortunately, the creative side won. Shocking, actually. But a really good decision to not procrastinate and just go ahead and bundle up and go out.  Though it was snowing hard while I was out and seemed it would continue, the rains soon came and washed away the pretty snow.

 

There are so many reasons to love Munich, but one of my top reasons is that when it snows, it feels like you're inside the picture-perfect world of a snowglobe.

Everything is coated with snow - I especially love how it coats every branch of the tree.

The beast-slaying cherubs at the base of the Mariensäule were no exception:

slaying heresy

slaying famine

Of course, with Munich being the little slice of slightly unreal paradise that it is, Marienplatz was cleared of snow before the snow had stopped falling. (The kids will be playing on the snow piles for the next 2 months!)

The trees behind the Rathaus are some variety of gumball tree. The snow makes perfect ornaments of them! 

Notice anything odd here?

It's actually a reflection. I was hoping this black glass enclosure would make the snowflakes stand out, but was surprised with the fun mirror effect.

I'd somehow never put together the cow fountain in the Rindermarkt with its name, but it actually was the cattle market in the old walled town.

And the Löwenturm has a lovely decorated tree in front of it.

It's not actually raining snow, but just playing around a bit with a slow shutter speed and Herr J's tripod.

A fun morning and probably a positive lesson in why not procrastinating sometimes is good. Really happy I had the chance to go enjoy the beautiful snow!

Hello, Winter

While Herr J just posted about Autumn in Munich, the painful truth is that autumn here is incredibly short.

Saturday, we enjoyed what likely will be one of our last lunches outside.

Zwiebelrostbraten with Käsespätzle is definitely in my top 5 meals - especially when it's from Augustiner am Dom! You did have to protect the food a bit from the falling leaves.

 

And Sunday brought the end of daylight savings...which means colder weather and dark evenings. Winter definitely is here, but it does have one upside....an excuse to break out the snowboarding penguin flannel sheets! They always make me laugh a little, but I love them.

 

Cold Weather Gear

Having spent most of my life in south Georgia, Texas, and Bangkok....I'm not exactly what you would call acclimated to cold weather. I may never be. I don't enjoy being cold and I hate the feeling of being so bundled up I can't breathe. Somehow, ski gear is usually fine, but you can't wear that daily.

Winter for me is a battle to stay warm, even though I love seeing the snow and the mountains. This year (with Herr J's guidance), I made major steps in learning to cope:

• Lightweight, soft long underwear? Check. Thanks, Thermotech!
• I still cringe a little at the thought, but buying a pair of Uggs was the kindest thing I've done for my feet.
• Earmuffs? Got 'em, love 'em! Keeps me warm like a hat, without adding yet more knots to my hair.
• Hand warmers...I use gloves and liners, but usually am still cold. With these guys, I can wear light gloves suitable for photography and stay toasty.

During our recent trip to Finland, I found the ultimate cold weather gear for someone who hates being weighed down and strangled by winter clothes. The Halti Whiff Jacket, made by Finnish outdoor outfitters Halti. It's windproof, water repellant, oh-so warm, and super light. I feel like I'm enveloped in a soft cloud. I actually wore it to walk 30 minutes to dinner in Helsinki at close to freezing, with a very light shirt underneath. No problem!

I have to love any company whose slogan is "Weather Yourself."

Best of all, it folds up into one of the pockets to be a pouch. I'm enjoying hiking, but don't want to carry a lot and don't want to be cold. This thing is pefect (and was half off)!

How light is it? Let's check it out compared to common household items....

Folded up, we have the jacket weighing in at 466g. That's just over 1 lb.

Seems pretty light for wearing and for bringing along hiking just in case (the temps change rapidly at altitudes and depending on the sun)

What about a beer?
Sorry, Augustiner...your Maximator weighs in at almost double. Without the bottle, we'd still be at 500g.

Or my new lens?
Not a very heavy one, but still too heavy 

 How about my wallet?
Nope, those Euro coins weigh a lot! (I even took out 6€ first)

 

Maybe a couple packs of gummis?
Getting closer, but a little light.

A pint glass perhaps?
Almost...

Or maybe a really heavy book?
Perhaps if she hadn't edited down Galt's speech, it would be the right weight.

We finally have a winner...my lovely sugar free coffee syrup

So, it feels great, is super-warm and incredibly light. Of course the question is how does it look?

I'm loving it...can't wait to go hiking again!