Day 5: Out and About in Merzig!

This is a picture of a tree overflowing with apples. Merzig, the area that we are in is famous for their apples, apple products and apple wine. The "Viezfest" (or apple wine festival) will be happening in two weeks...and right now I suppose is the highlight season for harvesting the apples and making their delicious alcoholic sweet nectar of the gods. I had never seen apples actually growing on trees, and apparently not only are they cultivated but they are also wild in this region. Annika, our host German was the "Viez Koenigin" (or Apple Wine Queen) when she was 21...of course, because Annika is who she is, maintains that she was, and is the "best Queen ever". Love her. 

This is just a cool building on our street. Most of the buildings around the area are (as the Germans say) "only 60 years old"...still sounds old to me, but whatever. Apparently because the area is so close to France, and was, during WWII part of France,  many of  the buildings were bombed. Some were re-built and some were not. I suppose this one falls into the "was not" category. Inside is just a large amalgamation of hubris and debris. It is overgrown with vines, however and makes for a pretty picture and an interesting insight into the turbulent history of the area.

So, these are some of the chestnuts that Connie and I found while hiking to the Burg MontClair the other day... We were singing "chestnuts roasting on an electric stove..." while we were making them and giggling to ourselves because of our cleverness. I still think it is funny. What happened next, while HILARIOUS was not so clever...

Now, it might be hard to see, but all around the stove, the wall, the kitchen utensils, the ceiling, the floor, us, chestnut guts are strewn. Yes. They explode. I don't know how, but they do. It is magnificent and very scary when it happens the first time. The next time you are still not prepared and then after that, its still scary as well. Cleaning chestnuts (which have the starch content of a radioactive potato) requires a shop-vac. OMG. Do not try this at home without the licensed supervision of a real adult...or someone who knows what they are doing. Connie's friend Troy said "chestnuts aren't supposed to explode, but if there was a way, I'm not surprised you two blondes figured it out." Sigh. He's right. Do not leave Connie and I to these things...it is dangerous not only to us but also to the entire countryside of Germany. 

So, that was our day so far...walk through the town, exploring and a horribly failed experiment. 

Side Note: Chestnuts are delicious.