Tag Archives: bayern

Vollkorn – full grain distillate by Schmidt & Sons

I was able to finally try the brand new Distillate by Eugen Schmidt Söhne and decided I had to have a bottle of this fine one afterwards. It is made out of various full grains from the south german region, a special “soft” water and great distillery skills to bring out a taste of grain, flour, bread “into the bottle”. With it´s 40% alcohol it´s still a soft and mild spirit absolutely worth a try and beyond comparison to the typical german “Korn”. Check out the website which will show more info soon: http://www.voll-korn.de

Schachenmayr Gerberei / Tannery Bad Grönenbach

2 Replies

Schachenmayr Gerberei / Tannery Bad Grönenbach

Lately I visited the Schachenmayr Gerberei / Tannery in Bad Grönenbach to buy leather for upcoming Feinschmuck Buckles/Belts. Unluckily the rumors were right, the Schachenmayr Tannery is discontinuing to make leather, which they did since 1851. But the good news is that the machines, the knowledge and the recipes will be passed to another german based Tannery. Mr Schachenmayr will so be able to trade “his” great leather after his specifications, further to his clients.

munich coat of arms belt – Münchner Stadtwappen Gürtel

Leave a reply

Münchner Wappen Gürtel – Munich coat of arms belt – Münchner Kindl:
Yesterday Manfred from Feinschmuck gave me this belt buckle made after a 13th. century coat of arms (Stadtwappen / Stadtsiegel) from the city of Munich.

Can someone make out the full text on the buckle and figure out the meaning?

Below something from Wikipedia the full story here: Münchner Kindl.

The coat of arms of Munich (Münchner Wappen) depicts a young monk dressed in black holding a red book. It has existed in a similar form since the 13th century, though at certain points in its history it has not depicted the central figure of the monk at all. As the German name for Munich, i.e. München, means of Monks, the monk in this case is a self-explanatory symbol who represents the city of Munich. Appearing on a document of May 28, 1239, the oldest seal of Munich has a picture of a monk wearing an open hood. While all seal impressions show the monk with the book in one hand and three outstretched fingers in the other, the monk has varied slightly, appearing in profile, then later full-faced and bare-headed. By the 19th century the figure was portrayed as youthful and became known as the Münchner Kindl or Munich Child. The coat of arms in its current form was created in 1957 and is still an important symbol of the Bavarian state capital.

Viehscheid Maierhöfen Allgäu 2011

2 Replies

First of all I might have to explain what a “Viehscheid” is. A “Viehscheid” is the a synonym for “Almabtrieb” which is the bringing back of the cows from their summer alpine stay (before autumn and the risk of snow) to the sables in the lower valleys. The leading cows are decorated by traditional herbs and flowers – but only if no cow has died during their stay in the mountains. This photos I took in Maierhöfen Allgäu 2011, this is the Viehscheid with the longest distance of more than 30 kilometers, the cow train consists of about 200 – 250 cows.

Before the official arrival of the cow train I met a father and son who joined their cow later. The grandmother is especially skilled for preparing the decoration of the cow.

Now the train arrives

Check out the girl going barefoot
The cows are gathered at the “Scheidplatz” and later the day the cows are collected by the owners. A festival starts which is like a little Oktoberfest with music, local food and beer. Next year I want to catch the cows and the “Cowboys / Treiber” at sunrise in the mountains when they start, and I will make a coverage which shows the way to their destination.