Sunday, January 29, 2017

Elphi

As I had announced in November last year, Baron was in Hamburg on January 19, listening to Hob XXI, i.e., Joseph Haydn's Creation, at the Elphilharmonie.


Elphi was officially inaugurated on January 11 in the presence of our Federal President Joachim Gauck, Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the governor of the federal state of Hamburg, Mayor Olaf Scholz. All are in a festive mood, with no lamentation over costs anymore.

Gauck, Scholz and Merkel's Raute ©dpa
The night of Elphi's inauguration (©dpa)
When our group approached Elphi eight days later, we saw the following:

Well, not quite. This is a photo of a model of Elphi taken the following day
 at the Miniatur Wunderland (A blog to follow)
The long ascent to the plaza on the 11th floor via the escalator is impressive, but the moving stairs form a bottleneck when more than 2000 people want to leave the place simultaneously at the end of a concert.

Night view from the plaza on the 11th floor looking downtown
showing the steeples of four of Hamburg's old churches
Looking downstream of the Elbe river
Alter Kaiserschuppen in the 1920ies, on top of which Elphi was built.
The Greenwich ball on top of the tower is coming down daily, announcing noon exactly.
The dial below shows the tidal height in the Hamburg harbor.
Since the concert hall's opening - built on top of an old Schuppen (a storage building) for coffee and cocoa - there were lots of discussions about Elphi's acoustic. Initially, Master Yasuhisa Toyota thought that the sound quality would be the same at any seat. Apparently, this is not the case for those sitting in the back of the orchestra and singers.

Before the start of the concert, an introduction to Haydn's Schöpfung
Red Baron sitting on the 13th floor on the side, had no sound problem and a good view.


Only a live concert will give transparency of sound you will never achieve at home with the most perfect HiFi installation. Still, it is known that the sound of an orchestra in a too-big concert hall may "fall apart," particularly when the room is empty. Therefore the too-small seats in Elphi were formed and stuffed so that it makes little difference to the acoustics whether a place is occupied or not.

Before the pause following the first and second parts of Haydn's Creation,
conductor Hengelbrock and the three solo singers Raphael, Uriel, and Gabriel,
bow to the public that is sitting in the back of the orchestra.
At the end: final applause for Uriel and Adam
with Hengelbrock blowing kisses to Eve.
The NDR choir. Note the people sitting in the back of the orchestra, chorus, and solo singers.
The concert was awe-inspiring. The NDR choir, solo singers, and the NDR Elbphilharmonieorchester were excellent. However, compared to Berlin's, London's, and Vienna's symphony orchestras, my feeling was that of a soccer match: a club of the second Bundesliga was playing in a stadium of the first. What a chance they have! Musical Director Thomas Hengelbrock and his musicians may only gain.

The following day, Red Baron went to the Elphi plaza around lunchtime to view Hamburg and the Elbe river by day.

Approaching Elphi from the side. It was a foggy day.
Looking downstream, the Elbe river. Compare this with the night photo above.
View in the direction of the Neustadt.
The steeple of St. Michaelis, Hamburg's older and another landmark, is barely visible.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Hans Baldung

Freiburg has a good collection of wood cuttings by Hans Baldung Grien. They were on exhibition from September 17, 2016, to January 15, 2017, following a partial opening of the second construction phase of the city's Augustinermuseum. So Red Baron hurried up not to miss the exhibition.


Before showing you some wood cuttings, Grien's masterpiece in Freiburg's Münster church must not be forgotten. The altarpiece shows Christ in a somewhat leisurely posture, holding the world in one hand and clumsily helping his father coronate his mother as celestial queen. Still, today some pious viewers are shocked.

©Wikipedia/PogoEngel
They nicknamed him Grien (the Green) when he worked in Albrecht Dürer's workshop, although Hans was no greenhorn. Born in 1484, he had started learning woodcutting and engraving at Strasbourg in 1500 before he moved to Nuremberg in 1503 to work with the uncontested master of his time Dürer.

As Der Spiegel illustrated the other day: contrary to today, even at the end of the 19th century, the number of possible "Christian" names was limited to those taken from the Bible. Hans, or the longer form Johannes (John), was quite common in the outgoing Middle Ages.

By the way, Red Baron's given second name is Hans. Since I like Johannes better, I tried to change, but the authorities detected my unofficial act and whistled me back.

Diversity:
In 1894 63% of the girls and 70% of the boys had five names taken from the Bible (except for Nikolaus).
In 2015 the five most frequent names were only shared by 11 resp. 7% of the babies (©Der Spiegel)
Coming back to Dürer's workshop. Albrecht had three men named Hans working for him, so the one Hans, primarily clad in green clothes, was soon called the Grien. He liked his nickname so much that he signed most of his engravings and paintings with his three initials HBG.

Hans and Albrecht became good friends, so Grien managed Dürer's workshop in his master's absence. In particular, when Albrecht was in the Netherlands where he learned in 1521 that Luther had suddenly disappeared on his way back from the imperial diet at Worms to Wittenberg.

Dürer who had intended to etch the Luther portrait zu einer langen gedechtnus des kristlichen Mannes (for a long commemoration of this Christian man) lamented in a letter: Oh Gott ist Luther tot, wer wird uns hinfürt das heilig Evangelium so klar fürtragen! Ach Gott, was hätt er uns noch in 10 oder 20 jahrn schreiben mögen! O ihr alle frommen Christenmenschen, helft mir fleißig beweinen diesen gottgeistigen Menschen und ihn bitten, daß er uns ein andern erleuchten Mann send (O God, if Luther is dead who in the future will present the Holy Scripture in such clarity! Good God, what he could have written in the next 10 or 20 years! O you pious Christians help me weeping over this God-spirited person and asking God to send us another enlightened man).

Hans Baldung, however, depicted Luther in 1521 as A servant of Jesus Christ and a capsize recoverer of Christian teaching:

Martin Luther with nimbus and Holy Spirit (1521)
Adam is holding a small apple in his hand
 to offer it to Eve. She, however, reaches
 for the bigger, forbidden one (1514).
Five years later: Eve, now holding
two apples, no longer resists
Adam's propositions (1519).
The seven deadly sins (1511)
Drunken Bacchus with playing and peeing cherubs (1520)
Front page of Huldrichus Zasius's Nüwe Stattrechte und Statuten der loblichen Stadt Fryburg im Pryszgow gelegen (New municipal law and bylaws of the praiseworthy City of Freiburg situated in the Breisgau) showing Freiburg's three patron saints. In the middle, St. Mary with the child; on the left, St. Alexander of Rome; and on the right, St. Lambert of Maastricht.

Around 1520
St. Philippus from Baldung's apostle series (around 1519).
The guy looks like the old Goethe to me.
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Monday, January 23, 2017

Alternative Facts

From the NYT: Kellyanne Conway, the counselor to President Donald Trump, said the White House press secretary gave "alternative facts" when he inaccurately described the inauguration crowd as "the largest ever" during his first appearance before the press this weekend.

Although the concept is old, an alternative fact is a new combination of words for Red Baron. I admit to having used alternative facts as a student. No, not in examinations but during a trip to East Germany in 1959. Here is the full story copied from my blog, Weimar, German History in a Nutshell:

Red Baron, then a young scientific hopeful in Munich, still remembers his first visit to Weimar in 1959. In November 1958, Nikita Khrushchev issued the Berlin ultimatum that caused Hamburg's press baron Axel Springer in January 1959 to start a campaign in the Federal Republic with the slogan Macht das Tor auf (Open the Gate), selling pins with the Brandenburg Gate for 20 pfennige a piece.

Later in 1987, President Reagan, when visiting the Berlin wall and looking at the Gate, modulated Springer's slogan imploring the right person: Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

In the fall of 1959, a left-wing Gesellschaft für fortschrittliche Politik (Society for progressive politics) in Munich posted an answer to Axel Springer's slogan: Wir machen das Tor auf (We open the Gate), offering a bus trip at a moderate price to Gera, a small industrial town in Thuringia, and as a lure a detour to Weimar. With a friend and a couple of other students, we took this unique opportunity to visit Weimar, the working place of Germany's quadruple stars Goethe, Herder, Schiller, and Wieland. Still, before that, our delegation had to suffer heated political discussions in Gera.

A political slogan in Gera's theater: Germany's fate will be decided between the forces of peace and
the military adventurers in the west
.
This scanned slide is more the 50 years old. Despite image processing, its quality is bad.
With my friend, we fought virtually back-to-back against devoted followers of the communist regime. In the beginning, we felt somewhat lost against their arguments supported by hard facts until we noticed the achievements forwarded were not as "hard" as they seemed. So I started to invent "supporting numbers" myself and became so successful in defending "western values" that my East German counterpart, a trade union official, looking for help, frequently asked a journalist of the Neues Deutschland, the official government newspaper: Antworte du dem doch mal (You should instead answer him).

Back to 2017, here is my question: Are alternative facts, as in the case of Trump's inauguration crowd, always post-factual? IFLScience gave an answer: Science and reason are up for one hell of a fight under the Trump administration. We now live in the Orwellian world of "alternative facts," which are like facts but bullshit. It's surely only a matter of time before the Ministry of Truth is set up.

Here in Germany, we have problems with facts too, but more with the word "alternative" and its particular relation with our chancellor. Whenever she defends her government's decision, she utters Diese Entscheidung ist alternativlos (This decision has no alternative).
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Saturday, January 14, 2017

Oecumene?

Freiburg's Catholic City Deacon and Cathedral Prelate Wolfgang Gaber and the Lutheran City Deacon Markus Engelhardt are best oecumenical friends. Once sitting together over a glass of wine, united in the Lord* they wrote a joint press release on the renaming of streets in the city. Red Baron reported.
*For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:20).

It could have happened on this occasion - some say it was as early as 2015 - that Markus had asked Wolfgang whether he may celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation at the Münster church. Initially built by and for Freiburg's burghers, it became a bishop's church only later in the 19th century. So it would be the ideal place for Freiburg's citizens to celebrate this special anniversary in their church. Prelate Gaber saw no problem. Deacon Engelhardt is already present in the Münster as a nativity figurine presenting the Lutherbibel (Luther's Bible) to the newborn child.

Deacon Markus Engelhardt guiding a camel ©BZ
Last week after consultation with Archbishop Stephan Burger, Prelate Gaber paddled back: The Lutherans should celebrate in a Protestant church since the anniversary of the Reformation is an eminent Lutheran commemoration. Initially, I regretted the adverse decision, but now I have started to understand. For us Catholics, the Reformation still is a painful event.

The Protestants will now celebrate at Freiburg's Municipal Theater in all oecumenical understanding and friendliness. Deacon Engelhardt said, we as a Church would like to go out into the world where there is life. We will celebrate the service with a solid oecumenical touch. German Catholics and Protestants had already agreed earlier to commemorate the anniversary of the Reformation jointly as Christusfest (a feast of Christ).
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Friday, January 13, 2017

A New Year's Reception

Neujahresempfänge are proliferating in Freiburg. It is a nice gesture to come together with friends, glass in hand, wishing them a good year and making small talk. Red Baron is invited to many New Year's receptions but has to skip some for their timely density is too high.

The day before yesterday, the city of Freiburg held its New Year's reception at the Konzerthaus. Red Baron got an invitation and was one of 1300 guests.


When I arrived at 1800 hours, all chairs for the elderly people were already occupied. So I placed myself with my back against a railing easing the weight on my aching legs.

There were only a few chairs for elderly people and VIPs in the foyer of the Konzerthaus.
Red Baron, with white hair, and a blue jacket, is standing on the left with his back to the railing.
(©BZ/Ingo Schneider)
Same audience as it is seen by the speaker Mayor Dieter Salomon.
Red Baron is the tall guy in the back clinging to the railing on the left (©Amtsblatt/A. J. Schmidt)
In his speech, Mayor Dieter Salomon recalled the old year with all its turbulences. Citizens have become uneasy, accusing authorities of no longer being able to protect them. Hence populists are questioning fundamental assets of a pluralistic society like democracy, parties, elections, parliaments, justice, and freedom of the press. We may no longer take these values for granted. To weather the threat from the right on our "western values," we need a wehrhafte Demokratie (well-fortified democracy).

Dr. Salomon's speech was translated into sign language
Freiburg is a boom town. The population growth is twofold. People from outside move to Freiburg and more children are born inside. The city needs more and particularly affordable housing. On the other hand, the development of the city's infrastructure is well underway.

Dr. Salomon also mentioned the events that moved Freiburgers in 2016: the murder of a young student, the renaming of streets, and the remains of the old synagogue. Red Baron reported. At the end of his relatively short speech, Mayor Salomon announced what was already known: he will run in 2018, seeking a third eight-year term as mayor.

The audience applauded at the end of his speech,
 but the mayor's glass was empty, and he eagerly looked for a water refill.
Since I was in a strategic position, I "sprinted" into the open space between him, the audience, and the glass of water. I wished him all the best for the future and gratulated him for his decision to run for mayor by quoting a phrase from a couplet by Otto Reutter: Nehm'n Se' n Alten, denn der tut besser halten (Take an old guy for he lasts longer). The mayor roared with laughter.

What a relief!
Ich bin hindurch* (I am through with my speech)
*as Martin Luther should have said following his hearings at the Worms diet in 1521.
Not all citizens agree with Mayor Salomon's decision to run for a third term: His system is too bureaucratic, Dieter lacks vision, and we need a new person with new ideas. At the moment, I do not see any other valuable candidate, so in times of trumpism, it is good to know that one can rely on a proven guy (Nehm'n Se' n Alten ...).

Even our Italian citizens like Freiburg's mayor:
 Diter Salomon ist meine Papa.
(Graffiti at the Martinstor)
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Monday, January 9, 2017

Lutherjahr

Officially Luther‘s Year started in Germany on October 31, 2016, commemorating the 500th anniversary of posting the 95 theses against the abuse of indulgence in the evening of the day before All Saints' Day 1517. There still is the question. If Martin Luther had a hammer, a hammer in the evening, did he use it to nail the paper with his theses to the door of the Schlosskirche at Wittenberg? Well, the Scotch tape had still to be invented..

Brother Martin nailing viewed the American way.
The dramatic act of Brother Martin nailing is an embellishment of the 19th century, as theologists point out. They are not so sure anymore because of a Latin note by Luther's secretary Georg Roerer discovered in 2006 in Luther's working copy of the New Testament of 1540. It reads Im Jahr 1517 am Vorabend vor Allerheiligen sind in Wittenberg an den Türen der Kirchen die Thesen über den Ablass von Doktor Martin Luther vorgestellt worden (In the year 1517 in the evening before All Saints' Day the theses against indulgence by Doctor Martin Luther were presented on the church doors at Wittenberg).


Five hundred years of Reformation! Exceptionally October 31, 2017, will be an official holiday in Germany. At his time, Luther was hailed as the liberator of the German people from the yoke of the Roman Church so that in the spring of 1522, papal nuncio Cardinal Hieronymus Aleander wrote in a letter to the Holy See: Jetzt aber ist ganz Deutschland in hellem Aufruhr; neun Zehnteile erheben das Feldgeschrei: Luther! und das übrige Zehntel, falls ihm Luther gleichgültig ist, wenigstens: Tod dem römischen Hofe! (Now Germany is in total turmoil; nine-tenths of the people shout Luther! as their battle cry while the missing tenth, indifferent to Luther, demand at least: Death to the Roman court!).

Where there are winners, there are losers. Losers were those who died in the many religious wars following the schism. They culminated in the apocalypse of the Thirty Years' War when one-third of the German population perished. Germany became a divided "nation" with a Protestant north and Catholic south. Protestants living in diaspora in Catholic regions and "Schwarze" (meaning Catholics) living their faith in territories dominated by "Blauköpp" (blue heads are Lutherans) had hard times. Only the mixing of people following Germany's total defeat in the Second World War eventually mitigated those religious divisions. Today, we are mainly a non-religious country, with the former East German territories being heathens' land.

As many a man before Luther initially demanded just reforms within the Catholic Church, although in his later years, he advocated a German Church independent from Rome. After all, Reformation became a question of money. In particular princes of German territories not under Catholic Habsburg rule attentively listened when Luther grumbled: Wie kommen wir Deutschen dortzu, das wir solche reuberey, schinderey unserer güter von dem babst leyden mussen? hat das kunigreich zu Franckreich sichs erweret, warumb lassen wir Deutschen uns alszo narren und effen? (How come we Germans suffer such robbery and plundering of our goods by the pope? The French kingdom has resisted, so why do we Germans accept to be fooled and kidded?).

Luther, the movie.
In 2003 a movie about Luther and the Reformation was released starring Joseph Fiennes as Luther and the late polyglot and magnificent Sir Peter Ustinov as Luther's patron Duke Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, called the Wise. Most of my American friends do not know the movie when I mention it. As a poor ersatz, I will point out two of Luther's main traits.

Above all, Luther was a family man. His wife, Käthe, gave birth to six children. They brought them up in the rigor of the Lord and in love, but Luther showed a violent temper when he felt that his religious convictions were under attack.

Peasants revolting against their masters keeping them in serfdom violated one of Luther's fundamental principles: Rulers are God given and therefore must be obeyed under all circumstances. So he vociferated in an article Wider die Mordischen vnd Reubischen Rotten der Pawren (Against the murderous and rapacious hords of peasants): Die Obrigkeit [soll] hier getrost fortdringen, und mit gutem Gewissen dreinschlagen, solange sie eine Ader regen kann. Die hie ist das Vortheil, daß die Bauern böse Gewissen und unrechte Sachen haben; und welcher Bauer darüber geschlagen wird, mit Leib und Seele verloren und ewig des Teufels ist … man soll sie zerschmeißen, würgen, stechen, heimlich und öffentlich, wer da kann, wie man einen tollen Hund erschlagen muss ... Bleibst du drüber todt, wohl dir, seligern Tod kannst du nimmermehr überkommen; denn du stirbst im Gehorsam göttlichen Worts und Befehls und im Dienste der Liebe deinen Nächsten zu retten aus der Hölle und des Teufels Banden (The authorities shall confidently proceed and strike with good conscience as long as they have blood in their veins. It is an asset that the peasants have a bad conscience and unjust items; a peasant who is beaten is lost with heart and soul and will belong to the devil eternally ... Those capable should break, choke, and stab them, secretly and publicly like slaying a mad dog ... You are blessed when you are killed in action. A more graceful death you will find nowhere; you will die in the obedience of God's Word and His order and in the service of love by saving your neighbor from hell and devilish bondage).

The Jews subdued by the Catholic Church were invited by Luther to follow evangelical freedom. When they refused to convert an infuriated Martin wrote: Wir müssen mit gebet und Gottes furcht eine scharfe barmhertzigkeit uben jre Synagoga oder Schule mit feur anstecke und was nicht verbrennen will, mit erden uber heuffe und beschütte, das kein Mensch ein stein oder schlacke davon sehe ewiglich, yre Heuser des gleichen zerbreche und zerstöre, damit man mag sie unter ein Dach oder Stal thun, wie die Zigeuner auff das sie wissen, sie seien nicht Herrn in unserm Lande, wo sie rhümen, sondern in Elend und gefangen. Außerdem solle man ihnen ihre heiligen Bücher wegnehmen, ihre Lehrer zum Schweigen bringen, ihnen verbieten, zu reisen oder Handel zu treiben, und ihren Besitz einziehen, denn alles was sie haben haben sie uns gestolen und geraubt durch jren Wucher (In praying and in the fear of God we must exercise a sharp charity in burning their synagogues, their schools, and cover up with dirt things that cannot be burned so nobody may see a stone or cinder for eternity. Break and destroy their houses, place them under a roof and in a stable like gypsies so the Jews may learn that they are no masters in our country where they exalt but are in misery and in captivity. Take away their books, silence their teachers, prohibit their travel, and ban them from commerce. Seize their goods and chattels for all their belongings they stole and robbed by ripping-off).

Did Luther have a bad conscience when in one of his sermons he repeated: Sine vi humana, sed verbo. Ich bin dem ablas und allen papisten entgegen gewesen, aber mit keyner gewalt, jch hab allein Gottes wort getrieben, geprediget und geschrieben, sonst hab ich nichts gethan. Das hat, wenn ich geschlafen han, wenn ich wittenbergisch bier mit meynem Philipo und Amßdorff* getruncken hab, als(o) vil gethan, das das Bapstum also schwach geworden ist, das jm noch nye keyn Fürst noch Keyser so vil abgebrochen hat. Ich hab nichts gethan, das wort hatt es alles abgehandelt und außgericht. Wann ich hätt wöllen mit ungemach faren, ich wolt Teützsch lanndt in ein groß plut vergiessen gebracht haben, ja ich wolt woll zu Wurmbß (Worms) ein spil angericht haben, das der keyser nit sicher wer gewesen. Aber was were es? ein narren spil wer es gewesen. Ich hab nichts gemacht, ich hab das wort lassen hendeln (Without human violence only by the Word. I was against indulgence and against all papists but without any violence. I solely propagated God's Word in preaching and writing otherwise I did not do anything, God's Word did everything while I was sleeping or when I was drinking Wittenberg beer with my Philipo and my Amßdorff*. I have weakened papacy more than the emperor or the princes. I did not do anything, the Word dealt with everything and acted. If I had intended adversity I would have caused great bloodshed. I could have made a play at Worms with the emperor feeling unsafe but this would have meant just fooling about. I did not do anything I had the Word acting.
*Philip Melanchton and Nicolaus von Amsdorf

Luther, was he a Schreibtischtäter (pulling the levers)? Two well-known German authors, Heinrich Heine and Thomas Mann, may enlighten us about Luther's traits: Heine, exiled in Paris, wanted to present the German Luther to the people of France, who had granted him asylum. He wrote in 1834: Luther was not only the greatest but the most German man in our history. In his character, all virtues and faults of a German are amazingly combined, i.e., he, in his person, represents fabulous Germany ... He simultaneously was a dreaming mystic and a practical man of action. His thoughts not only had wings, but they had hands, too; he spoke and acted. He was not only the tongue but the sword of his time. He simultaneously was a cold scholastic quibbler and an enthusiastic intoxicated prophet. When during the day, he had slaved away at his dogmatic distinctions in the evening, he took his flute, looked at the stars, and melted in melody and prayer. The man who railed like a fishwife could be soft as a tender virgin ... He was full of a gruesome fear of God, full of devotion honoring the Holy Spirit; he was able to immerse himself into pure spirituality, but yet he well knew the splendors of this world and appreciated those. From his mouth blossomed the famous slogan: Who does not love wine, women, and song, remains a fool his whole life long ... He was a complete man, I like to say an absolute man: spirit and matter were not separated ... and in his pamphlets, he gave in to plebeian brutality that is both repelling and magnificent.

Seamlessly Thomas Mann wrote about Luther under the impression of the German defeat in 1945: Who would deny that Luther was an enormous great man, great in the most German style, as well great and German in his ambiguity as a liberating and back-setting force, a conservative revolutionary. Nothing against Luther's greatness! Everybody is a priest. With this, he promoted European democracy. He was a hero of freedom - but in the German style. Actually, he did not know anything about freedom.

Are my German readers missing the texts above in German? You shall find them on my website: Freiburgs Geschichte in Zitaten (Freiburg's History by Citations). I recently updated the Luther web page containing odd details about the beginning of the Reformation.
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Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Bratwurst News

A Happy New Year also among those bratwurst vendors on Freiburg's Münster market? Not for all; for two of them, it is over. They must close shops, sorry, stands on March 31, 2017.

Five bratwurst stands are located on the south side of the Münster church.
The other three are on the north side (©BZ/Schneider)
In the good old days, a maximum of eight stands, with five situated on the south and three on the north side of the Münster church, offered their Freiburger Lange Rote (long red-colored bratwurst) and other types of brats-to-go. The stands rotated, so sometimes a vendor had to sell his bratwurst at an unloved location on the north side of the Münster church, being sure to return to the sunny side of the business and the Münster market the next day. There was no real competition for all vendors asked the same price for their Lange Rote with or without steamed onions, and they all used the Deppenapostroph, e.g., Uhl's Wurststand. From April 1, 2017, Uhl and Hauber will no longer be present as the traditional vendors.

Hauber's Grillwürste.
Note the handwritten note in the background asking for supporting signatures.
In 2011 Freiburg eventually applied European law requiring that licenses for public vendors must be renewed in a five-year cycle. In principle, an invitation to tender has to be sent out Europe-wide. In a first go five years ago, the FWTM (Freiburg Economy-Touristic-Fair office) decided to allow one veggie stand selling tofu wurst. From this year on, the foods-to-go offered shall be further diversified. While the veggie stand remains, the number of stands that sell bratwurst will be reduced to five. One new vendor will offer the rather popular Fischbrötchen (fish buns), and last but not least, the eighth stand will specialize in Black Forest products.

Before Christmas, all tenders for the five remaining bratwurst stands were in, with vendors Uhl and Hauber failing. A storm broke loose. The Badische Zeitung received hundreds of angry letters to the editor, petitions were launched, and signature lists were circulated to support the two "losers." The most reasonable letter to the editor I read said: Five bratwurst-selling stands are sufficient.

Red Baron was relatively neutral in this quarrel until he discovered the best invention made since the birth of the Lange Rote. How often were you frustrated eating a bun rather than a bratwurst? While the two ends are sticking out, you start eating the sausage until you are left with the rest of the bratwurst hidden in the bun. What a sad ending!

The Lange Rote in a bun at Meier's Wurststand
When walking around the Münster market the other day, I saw a man enjoying his Lange Rote embedded in half a baguette. I asked the guy: Where did you get that? At Hauber's was his snappy answer.

The bratwurst "hang-over" is smaller in a baguette than in a bun.
I took the photo of my Lange Rote in portrait mode with my iPhone 7 plus.
Hauber's traditionally also sells bratwurst in buns visible in the background.
Although I rarely eat a Münster brat, I hurried to try the ideal geometrical combination: a Lange Rote and a baguette. Believe me, it is a whole new way of enjoying your bratwurst. 

Boy, how crusty a baguette is compared to a soft bun; you eat both bratwurst and baguette simultaneously. As a bonus, you get more steamed onions in the longish bed of a baguette.

My only egoistic conclusion: the Hauber's Grillwurst stand must remain.
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