Heidelberger Herbst

That means "Heidelberg Autumn" - a festival that celebrated its 60th anniversary this last weekend. It was an interesting, and fun, mixture of Oktoberfest, Renaissance fairs, and flea markets.

That's the Oktoberfest part - or so I imagine. Guys dressed up
in traditional German dress and drinking at 10 in the morning!

There were also gingerbread houses (sort of) selling big gingerbread hearts
with cutsie sayings in frosting on them, e.g. "Du bist mein Stern" ("You are my star").

Ah yes, the Ren Fair folks.

Beautiful (and expensive!) armor for sale.

The best part of any festival, though, is the food!
I am all for roasting suckling pig!!

Kartoffelpuffer mit Apfelmus (potato pancakes with applesauce).
Yummmmmmm.

And lots and lots of beer. Drunk from terra cotta cups.

Marketing in Heidelberg

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon out in the Marktplatz...

These are artichoke blooms - I'd never seen before what would happen
if the choke wasn't eaten and allowed to blossom.

My bounty from the market: greens from nearby Handschuheim (literally "Glove Home"),
some Poire William pears, blackberries, and a squash of some sort,
which turned out quite dense and yam-like.

Knitting around the World!

These are the flights I've taken over the last 3 months:

1) NYC to Frankfurt
2) Frankfurt to Tel Aviv
3) Tel Aviv to Frankfurt
4) Frankfurt to NYC
5) NYC to SF
6) SF to NYC
7) NYC to Frankfurt

Needless to say, I am sick of flying now and am happy to stay in one place for a few months. The upside of all this flying is that I had lots and lots of free hours to knit! Here are a few things I've worked on up in the sky (and on the ground):

The mittens I knitted in Israel, during my 5-week intensive biblical Hebrew course. It was a nice, meditative ritual during that time. And they were my first mittens! Knitted on double pointed needles! The hat I made in Germany, after I got back from Israel. It's all knit out of delicious Malabrigo Yarn - merino wool that's beautifully textured and hand-dyed. I loved working with it.

This is a head kerchief I started in the Bay and then finished in Germany. I especially liked learning how to make the more complicated leaf ties - which are, unfortunately, hidden when you wear the thing!


Next on my list? I'm hoping to make a kid mohair cowl scarf and a beret...maybe. And I would love to try my hand at socks and cables. To be continued.

Back in Heidelberg

Finally done with travels this summer, almost ready to hunker down and get some serious research and Greek reading done! But, a little pause before the plunge might be nice! How about some flowers for the apartment? Or a picnic?

Flower are so cheap here! Today I bought a bunch of roses for the equivalent of $6 US!

Our picnic site. This is on the banks of the River Neckar
across from where we live in the Altstadt.

Our picnic! Complete with a sharp Alpine cheese and Landjäger sausage - a hard salami.