Freiburg memories: Martinsbräu

This passage to the Fressgässle and Martinsbräu is where I used to go have lunch quite often when I worked at the University. Not much has changed in this image (but if you notice anything, drop me a comment). The Fressgässle, in contrast, was completely renovated years ago and changed quite a bit. It is a good example of something I wish I would have taken a picture of – I took pictures of monuments and outstanding things, not everyday things, and it is the latter that interest me today.

Martinsbräu is what Americans now call a craft brewery. It serves local cuisine, and you sit next to the copper vats where the beer is brewed. It's an okay beer; Freiburg is actually a wine region.

I remember an old slogan that Martinsbräu used. Thankfully, they have abandoned it, for it was an insult to the city, though no one I pointed that out to seem to realize it at the time: "Ein Bier wie unsere Stadt - naturtrüb" ("a beer like our city – naturally cloudy", though trüb also means "dim, sad, and turbid"). The slogan clashed with the city's attempt to position itself as the Solar Capital of Germany (which has also since become Green City Freiburg).

At the top of that building is a dancing school where they also have concerts. My long-defunct a cappella sextett had a memorable concert there, where my three-year-old stepson, who was sitting in the audience being held by his aunt, ran up on stage crying to be with his mom (who was also in the group). When we sang our encore, he held her hand on stage. It was a mellow lullaby-like song, but the audience was rolling on the floor laughing.