The journey from Passau to Nürnberg was the shortest of the Trip. Lord Clive and Jonathan checked into the Ibis, [Stan.TC] led the rest of us to his favoured Hotel – Garni Probst. It was just as well Hector had left The Cat at home, everyone seemed to be allocated a fine room, I had a cupboard.
At this point The Friends of Hector split. Craig, Yvonne, Robin, Neil and Mags had nefarious activities planned. [Stan.TC], Jonathan, Clive, Howard and Hector made our rendezvous at the Hauptbahnhof with Jim and Aileen. They are resident in München this week, they took the opperchancity to join us at the last day of Annafest.
Arriving in Forchheim we had to find the Bus to Kellerwald. A Driver pointed to the appropriate vehicle, the Bayern Ticket covered the extra short journey.
For those who have never been, the Annafest is like no other. An entire hillside, covered in forest, is the location of the true Kellers in the region. The Breweries of Franconia are well represented, Keller Bier being the Golden Liquid on offer. This is a day of Stein-drinking, so pacing oneself is mandatory. It would be a heavy day regardless.
The Fit reached the top of the hill three days before the rest. A shaded bench secured, Doris brought the Bier. Neder (Forchheim) is our traditional starting point, start at the top, work one’s way down. The Bier is superb, dry and hoppy, and always served cool.
Here, Fishy-Fishy
There are rituals, Smoked Mackerel at a Bierfest is certainly one. Hector was not to be denied. And some people think I only eat Curry?
Some suggested we have another – what? We moved on.
Rittmayer (Hallerndorf) was a new port of call. The difference in Bier quality was astonishing, you can’t win them all.
Hebendanz (Forchheim) took us back to familiar territory, by this time the party was in full swing. It was also time to consult the wonderful DB App to check on the optimum departure time for the München Two.
Aileen was keen to go to the Löwenbräu (Buttenheim) Keller. She was also convinced that Hansi would be there to greet us. Disappointment set aside, we found a table in the hub of the entire site. Our Bert was indifferent at times in bringing the Bier. This is where we were, this is where we would be staying. Löwenbräu could well be the King of the Keller Bier. Who is Hansi? Well the owner of Löwenbräu our favourite Buttenheim Brewery of course!
Jim and Aileen had to take their leave, they missed the train for which their ticket was valid, so an ICE it was. They texted later to say that the Gripper charged them no excess for being on the wrong train, the joy of being the Innocent Tourist, not.
Hello Hansi!
Taking a break, I recognised the adjacent Chap, we must stop meeting like this. Hansi was collared, em invited to come over and greet the gang.
I have been making regular pilgrimages to Buttenheim since 1997, the rest in the subsequent years. He must wonder as to the periodic influx of Scots at his Buttenheim Gastätte. He did drop a couple of vouchers, this posed a question – who gets the Free Bier, then it was solved, buy it, share it.
Bert was happy with his Tip. Or was it because we knew The Boss?
Bus or Taxi
Yes, it was one of those back to the Station.
And then there w
ere three…
For reasons unknown, we persuaded Doris at the Andechs House to serve us some of the very Spezial Hell. It remains one of life’s long unsolved mysteries as to why the Nürnberg outlet sells the signature Helles whereas the München am Dom outlet does not. The man who was last out definitely had a smile on his face.
Two little Boys…
For completely unknown reasons, Lord Clive persuaded me at gun point to consume one final Weizen. Kuchlbauer (Abensberg) is one of these very average Biers typically sold in German Bars, which is why our philosophy is to visit the Brewery Taps of the best places. We had a Doggy for company. Kebab Time.
The Bier Outlets visited today:
Kellerwald – Forchheim
Kloster Andechs (Nürnberg) – Königstraße 55, 90402, Nürnberg
The Doggy Place – Nürnberg
After the first few steins I don’t remember the latter half of this. No wonder I was ill next day.
I finally located the Andechs photos. All should be clear now…