Father's Day

Or Vatertag in everyday German use, Ascension Day if you are religious. Everyone in Germany is suddenly religious every year on this Thursday in late spring. It's a national holiday.

Nigel aka Blipper Nogbadand I were employed by a British company and thus wanted to work but nobody would give us a key to the office. So we were forced to take the day off and joined someone from the office who was meeting friends at a Monastery to the south of Munich. Naturally, we wanted to do the "right thing" in very catholic Bavaria and agreed to take part.

The Benedictine monastery of "Andechs" lies on top of a large hill (aka The Holy Mountain) above the very scenic Ammer Lake. We drove there rather than taking the proper mode of transport of the Munich S Bahn to the shore of the lake at Herrsching and then the foot pilgrimage up the hill to the monastery - 4 kilometres through the forest and 170 metres altitude above the lake. We were to regret this later but too late to get forgiveness at the Confessional booth of the church.

In fact, neither Nigel or I know what happened to the car nor how we got home. I cannot have driven given my physical condition and Nigel will swear on any bible or book of godly words in front of any judge that he didn't.

Andechs is almost better known for its brewery than its monastery. It was a hot day and the group we were meeting had found an excellent table, against a wall in the beer garden terrace overlooking the lake, to seat the dozen or so of us. One "Prost" led to another and accounts for the strange look on my face while polishing off the last bits of a grilled Schweinshax'n - roast pork knuckle, a Bavarian speciality best eaten with fingers. The wall at my back no doubt prevented serious injury.

It was a great day, at least as far as both our memories can recall.