Big Brother is Watching

I don’t know if I ever talked about the need in Germany to register, but it’s quite serious business around here.  If you are only staying for a few days in a hotel, than there is no need to do anything as you are automatically registred– but if you are staying for more than 4 days – even with friends – as I understand it you are supposed to register with the local authorities.  If you move to Germany you have to register within the first three months, and if you move from region to region within Germany you have to de-register in one place, and re-register in the latter location.  I’ve even seen locals worried because they did not register a house guest who was staying a week. After all that, I can’t tell if it’s the government or me who is paranoid.  Based upon the looks of this car, I’d stand in line to make sure they know you are there.

Bavarian Picturesque

Yesterday I told you about the longest Castle in Europe, the Burghausen castle stretching more than 1 KM over the village. Today, I wanted to tell you of the village of Burghausen, which is no less impressive. The old town center is exactly what you would imagine in picturesque Bavaria…the buildings all painted unique bright colors. Highlights around town include St. Jakob’s church built in 1140,the Holy Spirit Church from 1325, the townhall with its classical façade originating from the 14th and 15th century, and the ancient government building constructed in the 16th century. Walking through the town is like walking through a storybook, not least because of the imposing castle above - running the entire length of the town. Excavations show the city has been inhabited since the Bronze Age. More recently, the town gained prominence as the second residence of the Lower Bavarian dukes, but suffered 300 years of commercial decline because of heavy casualties in the Thirty Years War, War of Spanish Succession, War of Bavarian Succession, and the French Revolutionary Wars – and finally with only 2500 inhabitants it lost its garrison in 1891. But for the past 100 years, the town has seen steady upturn with the establishment of the Wacker Chemical company, as well as the Deutsche Marathon refinery, and has gained regional fame thorugh the SV wacker Burhausen FC, and the International Jazz Festival. From Munich, Burghausen makes a great day trip combined with Wasserburg (see 9/28/08 post), two of the most colorful towns in Bavaria.

The Longest Castle in Europe

Sometimes you just need to get out of town. And I must say that every time we do, we are really amazed at the beauty of Bavaria. Today we visited the longest castle in Europe. Now consider that Europe seems to have a castle on nearly every street corner, so that’s saying a lot. Burghausen Castle is located just over 100 KM East of Munich, and is a great day trip combined with Wasserburg (another amazing city with a Sunday market). The castle stretches more than a full kilometer, is divided into six courtyards, and its first buildings date back to 600 AD. Each courtyard had its own fortified gate, moat, wooden drawbridge and history. Nearly all of its wealth came from the lucrative salt trade funneling out of Salzburg. Although the castle, which is built on a narrow hillside overlooking the beautiful town of Burghausen, has had many lives – most of what you see today is part of the fortifications in the late 1400s in fear of attacks from Turkey. Ironically, Turkish is the largest minority in Munich today. You can see views of the castle at night, and a panoramic view across the entire grounds. These particular crests show the Bavarian (left) and the Polish crest in honor of the marriage of Duke Georg the Rich with Hedwig from Poland, which took place in Landshut in 1475.