Gentlemen, start your ox....

 Today we continued our tradition of visiting local festivals and events with Joachim and Katharina. 

Today we visited Muensing, south of Munich which goes from being a small village of 2-3K

to hosting and event for 15K+ people. The event is held once every four years. It is - of course - Ox racing.

 We gathered on a cool and windy August day to watch the 24 competitors battle it out. I know what you are thinking - people only go to watch the crashes. While that has some truth, the day also was rich with tradition and good spirits. The "track" is a natural bowl in the farm land south of Munich and creates an amphitheater for viewing.

 

Kip walked through the 'pits' before placing a bet on the races.

 

Am I taking a photo of him or is he checking me out?

 The races were... interesting. When they did run, it looked quite exciting and dangerous. Most races had participants choosing to stop and relax, visit with the spectators lining the track, or turn around to run in the wrong direction. You needed to be on the beast as it crossed the finish line or you were not able to win. This means riders were constantly trying to remount if they fell off. Hardy folks.

Here's some short video. Please notice the excitement of the crowd (especially Brian).

Now if you want to see them "trading paint" like in Nascar, this is a better clip. Some of these boys are going to be walking with a limp in the morning but, as I told our boys why they do it, glory is forever.

We started to reflect on some of the snowmobile racing, dirt bike racing, etc. and came to the conclusion that any group of people, fueled by beer, decides that they need to race anything within reach at some point. Here in Muensing, it was Ox.

It was another global event to check off of our bucket list.

First day of school 2012

 First day of school is the best day of the year. No need to say more.

They need to go back.

Nice August weekend

This weekend was wonderful. We had 85-90 degree weather in late August. On Saturday we rode our bikes down to the river and jumped in. Well... the kids jumped in.

 The Official Safety Committee watched closely.

 Lovely day and the water was very cool and crisp. But then - it appears a leech or something similar found Julia.

 Is that blood?

 It turns out, several swimmers had the critters on their body. David was best able to describe the "pain".
Sunday brought another incredible day of 90+ degree weather so we headed back to our waterfall in the mountains by Krueth where we took our 2009 Christmas card photo.

 Clear skies and cool temperatures in the morning.

George was in heaven. Here is David posing while Brian is with Joachim.

 Some of the trails were tight but we made it work.

 This photo prompted the Official Safety Commission into action. Slippery rocks, moss, water, waterfall,.... what could go wrong on the rocks?

Brian doesn't seem to see the same issues as the OSC.
Here's a video of the fun.

Back in Munich

We are all reassembled back in Munich. Beautiful summer day: 75 degrees, sunny, without a cloud in the sky. Off to the bier garden in the late Sunday afternoon.

 The only problem was the entire Bayern Munchen fan club behind David. When he stood up, they noticed his Barcelona team shirt with Messi's name and they loudly booed him. The entire beer garden was watching. Dave was a good sport.

 Look at the sun streaming through. Even with the jet-lag, our group did just fine.

It would appear some beers were consumed. I love the fact that we need a custom vehicle for clearing liters of beer.