Marburg Grab Bag

Guten Tag!

Eric and I stayed in Marburg again over the weekend. Eric had a looming paper deadline so we spent most of our time at the apartment. We ventured out to do a little grocery shopping but like last week nothing too exciting. I have titled this post 'Marburg Grab Bag' because it encompasses a variety of random Marburg experiences.

Riding Lessons

I have been taking western riding lessons in Corvallis (and Washington) for several years now. Very few people ride western in Germany (and Europe for that matter) so I knew I was going to have to switch to Dressage. Luckily I was able find a barn very close to Marburg. I have been taking lessons there for several weeks now but have been slow to take some pictures until recently. The barn in large and very similar to barns in the US.

This is Rasputin waiting for our group lesson to start; he is one of the horses I ride.

This is the covered arena where the lesson magic happens.

 This is the end of a group lesson. (I am not in the photo).

This is Marduk waiting for me in the covered tacking area. There are a couple different horses I ride but I have been riding Marduk a lot lately. He is kind of difficult...

 Us before the lesson.

My vest and pants were part of my Christmas present from my parents. 

Here they are, pristine and without horse hair.

Marduk and I after the lesson.

One of the best things about the barn are the 2 barn kittens! Although this one doesn't look much like a kitten anymore. He's trying to warm up a horse blanket in the barn aisle.

 Brush Shop!

Eric decided he wanted a brush for cleaning potatoes. He used one at our friend's house and was smitten. Where does one get a potato brush? At the brush shop of course! I posted a picture of the front of the shop in one of my first posts. Here it is again;

Here is Eric being excited for our big purchase. After talking with some German friends it was revealed that the brush shop is a unique entity to Marburg.

So many brushes!

There are even brushes for brushes!

Many different veggie brushes to choose from; Eric making careful considerations.

Success! Plus a bonus mushroom brush!

Grocery Store

The grocery stores have taken some time to get used to. They are much smaller, have limited hours, and of course everything is in German. However I did find this really embarrassing 'American Section'. There are exotic imports like maple syrup and marshmallows.

Note how an off brand box of macaroni and cheese is 3 euros! Not to mention the disgusting array of cheese sauces next to it...

Something that is cheper in Europe than the states is Nutella! It is everywhere and comes in huge jars. This is the 800 gram holiday snowman jar. We have the smallest jar of Nutella I could find (still rather large.) Eric always comments on my Nutella eating habits although he has eaten much more of the jar than I have!

Old Botanical Garden

Near downtown is the old botanical garden. I was walking by so I stopped to take some pictures. It is quite pleasant but definitely has that air of neglect. Maybe because it is the fall; might be a different story in the spring.

Auf Wiedersehen!