Ihave been traveling to Europe with Andreas for the past four years and Rietberg has become my home from home (ein zweites zuhause). After bicycling in the Netherlands and each year discovering new vistas to capture the imagination, its nice to come „home“ to a familiar place, have the same bed to sleep in for more than a couple of nights and emerse myself into the local tempo. This year our apartment is in the center of the newly „pedestrianized“ down town core that is largely made up of half timbered houses built in, during and after the 30 year war in the mid 1600s. Our building is itself a restored and renovated half timbered house. We have the ground floor suite with a large kitchen/living room opening onto a small enclosed patio garden. Like most houses in Germany this also has no air conditioning so heat management will be a challenge as the house is orientated in a west-east direction. The bedroom faces west and the living room east. At least we are on the ground floor and do not have to deal with over heating under the roof. But I am getting ahead of myself….
When we first arrived back in the home town area we stayed for two nights with Friederika, Andreas‘s next youngest sibling. It was at the peak of the heat wave so we spent those first couple of days very quietly. FIFA kept us all company!.
On Sunday we moved into the apartment and Monday it was off to Andreas‘s childhood home, Lipperode to observe the near final event of the local Schützenfest. This is a multi day festival that replicates itself in all the towns, large and small in this part of Germany. It has its origins in the 14th century when towns and villages needed to recruit local militias to protect the town and inhabitants from marauders.Tradition has it that at one time a man shot an eagle that was attacking a child. Hence the culmination of the long weekend is a ceremonial „Vogelschießen“ (Bird shooting) contest. The „bird“ is a wooden Eagle mounted high on a target board. The contest is highly ritualized and involves turn taking using a rifle mounted on a shooting frame that restricts the scope of movement of the gun. Within the bird itself are special target areas that when shot off triggers cheers and an opportunity for one or more of the brass bands to give a rousing rendition of one of the many lively marching tunes. It’s also an opportunity to run to the beer stand and refill the glasses. This event happens on the last Monday in June in Lipperode. It is preceded by weekend events that include marching bands that wake up the community on the first day, honor ceremonies at the cemetery to commemorate war time losses, street marching with marching bands that move around the village „Picking up“ the current Schützenfest officials and bringing them to the central festivity hall. All of this is accompanied by neighborhood fellowship and beer drinking. A couple of years ago I was able to see one of these parades. The marching band arrived at a house all decked out with garlands and flags indicating the residence of the current Schützenfest king and queen. As soon as the band arrived and finished it song, the band an attending marching squads dissolved into the garden areas and dragged out crates of beer. As the participants awaited their refueling, speeches were offered acknowledging the current King and Queen. On the word from the Company leader the band and marchers were dismissed and the beer was quickly consumed at the Royal front door. In relatively short order the band and marchers quickly reconvened to march to the next „Royal“ household and the process was repeated. Within minutes, the neighbors who were not marching swooped in to clean up bottles and within 20 minutes everything was cleaned up as if nothing had happened. At some time in the afternoons there are full gala parades with smartly dressed men in their uniforms (in Lipperode its a black jacket, white shirt and pants and a black top hat. The hat has a yellow and red band around it and marchers also have a yellow and red sash). The women are dressed in beautiful ball gowns that are purchase new each year. Later in the evenings there are balls (I’ve not been to those as bicycle gear is not de rigueur).
Today was the first day quietly at home, getting groceries, visiting one of Andreas‘s other sisters, Sabina and husband Freddy, and trying to expand my German vocabulary using a multisensory approach… no not wine this time:
Tap water has at least three words: the common one: das Leitungwasser (literally pipe plumbing water); Gänswasser (geesewater, because that is what they drink) and Kranwasser (Crane water, presumably because the faucet looks like a crane)
Life on my Own Terms 