Have you ever seen something that totally make you shake your head in wonder? Yes, I’m sure you have — and it’s here in the town of Nanlstadt that I myself shake mine.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing that I can see so far that’s totally bizarre — it’s just I don’t understand why the town’s Coat of Arms is the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter.
If anyone knows, I’d sure love to hear why. Until that happens, I’ll do the talking (writing?) about all the wonderful things to see and do right here in the Freising District — said to be in one of the oldest hop growing regions on the planet.
Hops? Did I just say hops? That makes beer, but there’s no time for that now. Off to see the neo-Gothic church of St. Jacob (built 1875), then on to see the Church of St. Silvester. The latter church, built in the 15th century, is a sight to behold on Silvestertag (December 31st), when everyone brings their animals to church to be blessed.
Sightseeing around Nanlstadt’s old churches doesn’t end with St. Silvester’s. Oh no, I think you’ll love the huge onion dome at the Sacred Heart Church in the village of Baumgarten; just as I think you’ll enjoy the Romanesque/Gothic blended church of St. Leonhard.
Umm, wait a sec. Nandlstadt is home to the Church of St. John the Baptist, a proper medieval Romanesque church from the 1150s. Yup, that makes the church officially over 800 years old.
All right, with that out of the way it’s time for the hops part of town — so a bike ride around a part of the Hops Tour (180km) is a good idea. They harvest the hops in August, so get here before the crops are all gone.
Because hops are one of the few ingredients allowed in the beer making process, thanks to Germany’s strict Purity Laws, you can’t ask for a better place than an Upper Bavarian festival to enjoy the fruits of the farmer’s labor. Nandlstadt hosts an annual Village Festival on the second weekend of June, with the Johannismarkt on June 24th. The Hops Festival is always on the first weekend of October, running from a Thursday to Sunday.
I’m pretty sure I’ve skipped over a whole bunch, so let’s go back for a minute. Deep breath… Nandlstadt hosts a Carnival parade on Shrove Tuesday, with a Fastenmarkt on the first Sunday of Lent. Then you’ve got an Arts & Crafts Market held the weekend before first Advent — which isn’t to be confused with the Christmas Market on the second weekend of Advent.
Holy cow, I got so excited about Nandlstadt’s festivals that I left out talking about its neo-Baroque Rathaus (Town Hall), and the Church of St. Martin — that’s neo-Gothic in design.
I’m gonna blame my confusion on the fact that I’m still looking for an answer to my original question — and the hops in the beer. ;-)
