A Schnitzelbahn History: the Tanzania honeymoon safari

We've received some feedback from readers that we should add "index" pages for specific content.
An index page is better than the Categories ("Navigation" on the right side of this page) because
you don't have to scroll through blog entries you've already seen -- intead, just go to the entry you want.

So, here is a brief index of our blog entries about parks on the northern circuit in Tanzania (plus Mafia Island):

Arusha National Park  (Day 1,  Day 2)

- Arrival and overnight at Karama Lodge

- Morning in the Park:  baboon babies, walk across the plain, a small waterfall, and lots of giraffes

- Afternoon in the Park:  canoeing on an alkaline lake, flamingos, and black & white colobus monkeys

Lake Manyara National Park  (Day 3)

- Morning in the Park:  more baboon babies, impala, dik dik, zebra, and lots of elephants

- Afternoon in the Park:  vervet monkeys with babies, baboons, golden weaver, plus the Rhotia Valley

Ngorongoro Crater the Ngorongoro Conservation Area  (Day 4)

- Morning in the Crater:  zebras, hyena, wildebeast, warthogs and babies, ostrich, black rhino, eland,
  bush buck, Thompson's gazelle, birds (ibis, stork, and kori bustard), elephants, and lounging lions!  

- Afternoon in the Crater:  yellow-billed kites, weavers and pelicans, elephant, water buffalo,
  ostriches in a mating dance, warthog babies, lions, and the Rhotia Valley Children's Home! 

Serengeti National Park - Walking Safari  (Day 5,  Day 6,  Day 7)

- Drive into Serengeti N.P.:   saw lions mating (!), and an uncountable number of wildebeast in the herd

- Drive to the Walking Safari Camp:  agama lizards, superb starlings, marabou stork, and our campsite
  on the banks of the Orangi River in the central Serengeti (with recent hippo tracks near our tent!) 

- Info about the designated "wilderness area" for walking safari:  the camp, the surrounding landscape, etc.

- First day (morning walk):  lots of animal tracks, water buffalo (one alive, one just a skull), and an impala

- First day (afternoon walk):  an antlion, two jackals, and a mongoose family in an abandoned termite mound

- Second day (morning walk):  a klipspringer, reedbuck, giraffes, topi... and a black-necked spitting cobra!

- Second day (afternoon walk):  a short trek through the larger kopjes and rainy goodbye to the mobile camp

Serengeti National Parl - Game Drives  (Day 8,  Day 9,  Day 10)

- Drive from walking camp to the game-drive camp:  leopard tortise, herd (or pod) of hippos, impala, giraffes,
a silverbird and some weavers, a leopard (finally!), vultures, mongooses, water buffalo, and a lion near camp

- Info about our "special campsite":  lodging options in Serengeti National Park, our tent camp in the shadows of one of the Moru Kopjes, baboons and giraffes at breakfast, light painting at night, and a landscape view with rainbows.

- First Day (morning game drive):  hyrax, lion perched on a kopje, bearded woodpeckers, and lots of elephants

- First Day (afternoon game drive):  a sensational view, with video, of a pride of lions gathering at dusk.

- Second Day (morning game drive):  leopard in a tree, lion in a tree, many animals feeding (giraffe, vervet monkeys, warthog), many birds (secretary bird, pearl spotted owlet, gray hornbill, lilac breasted roller, lovebirds). 

- Second Day (afternoon game drive):  coming soon

Mafia Island (Chloe Island)

- First Day:  coming soon

- Second Day:  coming soon

- Third Day:  coming soon

- Fourth Day:  coming soon

- Fifth Day:  coming soon

It was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure -- thanks to friends and family that gave wedding gifts to make it possible.

A Schnitzelbahn History: the beer blogs

We've received some feedback from readers that we should add "index" pages for specific content.
An index page is better than the Categories ("Navigation" on the right side of this page) because
you don't have to scroll through entries you've already seen -- instead, just go to the entry you want.

So, here is a brief index of our blog entries about beer:

- We put together a NCAA Basketball Tournament-style, 64-beer bracket, and tasted down to a champion.
   The "beer tournament" has its own index here going through every round of the competition.

- We tasted the starkbiers (bockbiers) from four of Munich's big breweries.

- Pope Benedict XVI is Bavarian, so naturally we blogged about the Pope Beer.
  This would go perfectly with the beer stein with the Lord's Prayer on it.

- Frau A made me a Christmas Advent calendar:  a case of beer.  24 in total, a different one each day.

- Companies are experimenting with champagne-style beers, such as these from...
   -  Sam Adams and Weihenstephaner (follow-up tasting here) and
   -  Sylter Hopfen

- In another German-U.S. collaboration, Schneider Weisse and Brooklyn Brewery joined forces to create a
   "pale weissbock".  We tasted this and report on it here.

- One German company tried using American-style longneck bottles with an opener on the bottom.
  In the same post, a couple of videos show you how to correctly pour a weissbier.

- Passing through Barcelona, we tested two Spanish beers (A.K. Damm and Estrelladamm).

We have also had some fun & interesting brewery and other related tours:

- We took a tour of the Kuchlbauer brewery and the crazy/unique "beer & art" Hundertwasser tower.
   Part 1 is here, and Part 2 is here.

- The owner of the Lamplbräu microbrewery, in the heart of hops country, gave us a great walk-through.

- In the Hallertau region of Germany, we walked through hops fields and later through the Hops Museum.

We'll keep adding to this index page as more blog posts fall into this category...

A Schnitzelbahn History: hiking and skiing in the Alps

We've received some feedback from readers that we should add "index" pages for specific content.
An index page is better than the Categories ("Navigation" on the right side of this page) because
you don't have to scroll through entries you've already seen -- instead, just go to the entry you want.

So, here is a brief index of our blog entries about hiking and skiing in the Alps:

Hiking

- Fuschl am See and the Frauenkopf, Austria.

- The Plumsjoch, Austria.

- Pertisau and the Achensee, Austria.

- Breitenstein, Bavaria.

- Spitzingsee, Bavaria.

- The Höllentalklamm (through a gorge), near Garmisch, Bavaria.  The way up and the hike down.

- Bad Dürrnberg, Austria.  A summer sledding run down the mountain!

- Murnau, Bavaria.

- An extended, four-day hike in the Spanish/French Pyrenees.  An Overview, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4.

Forest Climbing and Zipline Park

- Pfaffenhofen, Bavaria.

Skiing

- St. Jakob in Defereggental, Austria.  The ski slopes and the snowboarder funpark.

- Spring skiing on the Stubai Glacier, Austria.

- St. Anton (am Arlberg), Austria.

- Skiing in downtown Munich.  (made possible by a man-made slope at Wittelsbacherplatz)

Combination Activities !

- Kufstein, Austria.  Hike up, and go snow sledding down!

- Kufstein, Austria.  Hike up, and ride a mountaincart down!

We'll keep adding to this index page as more blog posts fall into this category...

A Schnitzelbahn History: all about Oktoberfest

We've received some feedback from readers that we should add "index" pages for specific content.
An index page is better than the Categories ("Navigation" on the right side of this page) because
you don't have to scroll through entries you've already seen -- instead, just go to the entry you want.

So, here is a brief index of our blog entries about Oktoberfest:

Preparing for the Party

- The most popular and important songs have associated hand movements to perform- learn them in this post.
- You should also practice the older, classic tunes that are certain to be played and sung in the beer tents.
- Many set lists of the bands will include songs you already know and can sing along with.
- Finally, be prepared for new "Wies'n Hits" that emerge each year. 

- Some time over the summer, the official beer price list will be released.  Budget accordingly.

- There are many alternatives to getting your own trachten to wear.
   Lederhosen and dirndls are available everywhere now, or you could make your own (posts 1, 2, 3...)
   Celebrities are donning dirndls and lederhosen too.

What to Expect

- The opening Saturday features a parade with the mayor, who then taps the first keg.

- On the second day (a Sunday) you can watch another parade with trachten from all over Europe.

- A typical day at Oktoberfest could include an outdoor concert, five hours in a beer tent, and fun games.

- The Wies'n lights up at night, when the carnival rides get even better.

- If you're especially lucky, you get an Oktoberfest experience like this.

If you can't wait until October...

- The Dauchauer Volksfest is a similar, smaller festival near Munich that is held in late August.

- The Auer Dult is another small festival in Munich that is staged three times a year.

- The Kocherlball is one day only, but has classic music and dancing in the English Garden.

We'll keep adding to this index page as more blog posts fall into this category...