Old Sack

I have mentioned before the German saying "Alter Sack" - old crock/person,  normally used as a fun expression amongst friends when a male reaches a round birthday in later years, usually starting at 50.

Today we were invited to longtime friend XYZ's X0th birthday party. Her birthday was actually on Tuesday. XYZ and husband ABC have featured on my journal several times and have started their own Blip but like so many of us have taken a break at the moment. Hopefully, they will start again one day.

The do was held at a very interesting mill between Munich and Augsburg called "Furtmühle". There has been a mill on the site since 1158 but the current mill was built in 1828 by a tobacco magnate who appointed a French architect to design it and indeed this is clearly seen in the form of the building which would look very much at home on the banks of the Loire.

The mill is still in full working condition and the last in the county of Fürstenfeldbruck where there used to be 300+. Due to the hygiene laws, it has not been able to produce any products, for human use at least, for the last three years. The cost of installing stainless steel and plastic all over the place would cost some 100,000 Euros, simply not an option.

Luckily the local council made a decision in the '80s to support the owner to keep the mill working in its original condition on the condition that it is open to the public. The current owners family has been at the mill since 1900 and in the 1930s employed up to 16 people. After WWII and the death of the traditional mills, only the owner and now his son were able to live from the mill and the attached farm.  

Originally driven by water, the mill was converted to electricity in 1919 but still, the one motor runs 39 various machines driven by leather belts. The mill consists of a grain, oil and wood mill plus a cafe open on Sundays and Bank holidays and seemingly a popular cycle trip destination for afternoon coffee and homemade cake. There are three tours on Sunday afternoon as well as at other times/days for groups/school classes and also catering..

For us the day started with Brunch, then early afternoon a mill tour followed by lunch and finished off with coffee and cake (and then beer of course). It was a lovely sunny warm day and a huge success. Everyone was thoroughly delighted with the day.

If you ever have the chance on a Sunday afternoon and understand German/Bavarian, the tour with the owner Mr Aumüller is wonderful. And if you don't include those languages in your CV, the tour is still very worthwhile.

I will post some photos of the mill on Flickr even though they can't really capture the feel and noise of the place. In the visitor's book, I did include a greeting from RedFlash who works from time to time at Winchester City Mill. Mentioned this to the owner who wanted to know more but sadly I hadn't done my homework. He said I must send her a brochure of his mill and he wants one from Winchester in return.