The new Zellertal Reisen bus

Zellertal Reisen's new bus

Sunday March 15th was "Open Day" for the new Zellertal Reisen bus in the Drachselsried Dorfplatz. Sekt and small refreshments, along with good weather provided the opportunity for local people to talk to the management team and inspect the new bus added to the growing companies fleet.

Lucky people get a test drive

More information on Drachselsried

Drachselsried is an International village

An International Village?

It has been reported in the local paper, following the first meeting with the new Bürgermeister, that there are 46 people from 16 different countries living in area.

Good reasons could be the excellent air quality, or maybe all the resources for a good live style are in the village, or it could be good house prices, or maybe because its one and half hours from Munich Airport.

Whatever, its great to see the village growing and prospering.

Golden October in Drachselsried

The best Golden October

Finally the weather has changed, and one of the best Golden Octobers for many years is coming to an end. The 19th October was one of the super days and many people decided to make the last trip into the Nature Park. Here are some images of a great month.

European Day

European Day 

May 9th is European Day, and as is normal, the European Flag is flown. The vast majority of people do not know there is a day to recognise the European Union, which is why so few flags are seen. At least there is one in Drachselsried.

European Flag

Cost of petrol varies

Have you ever noticed how the price of petrol varies depending on the time of the day? In Drachselsried we have a Shell station, and over the last few days it has gone from 146.9 to 158.9 cents per litre. This can make quite a difference if you are filling up.

There is now a website that works all over Germany, that shows all the petrol stations within a given Post Code area. The Post Code for Drachselsried  is 94256 and shows petrol stations as far as Regen, so if you are in the area you can fill up at the best current price. Just input the Post Code and the kilometre range, then you have it. A great App.

The website is

Enjoy and have a great New Year.

Drachselsried Rainbow

Drachselsried weather

The weather in Zellertal which runs from Bodenmais to Bad Kötzting, is often very different from the weather in other parts of East Bavaria. Part of this is due to the proximity of the Arber mountain.

Arnbruck and Drachselsried are situated in the middle of the Zellertal along the "Glasstrasse" or the Glass Street called because of the wide range of glass designers and products produced along the route for more than a 100 years.

Sunday 13th October weather

Very strange looking sky, then suddenly it started to rain and the sun came from behind the hills above Blachendorf to produce a wonder rainbow, with intense colours.

Drachselsried Kirwa street market

Drachselsried street market and Kirwa 2013

200 hundred market stalls were quickly located early Saturday morning for the very popular street market. The weather was perfect.

Video to be added shortly with descriptions.

Drachselsried Kirwa

Drachselsried Kirwa or Kirchweih

The first Drachselsried Kirwa was held in 1926 and was a one day event. This years Kirwa was fortunate to have good weather for the procession which started from the dorfplatz and proceeded to the Falterbraü festival hall. Falterbraü was founded in 1878 and is one of two breweries in the village.

Images of the Kirwa

A video of the procession will be added shortly.

Kirwa time again

Kirwa is a Drachselsried festival

The name Kirwa is Bavarian and comes from the German word Kirchweih, which means an end of season celebration.

Starting on Friday 30th August and finishing on Monday 2nd September 2013 the Kirwa festival involves a procession on Friday at 18:00, marching from the village centre or Dorfplatz, to this year's brewery festival hall. The festival is held every year, the last week-end in August.

Drachselsried is fortunate to have two successful breweries, Falterbräu and Schlossbräu. This year it is Falterbräu's turn to host Kirwa. Expect music, plenty of noise and lots of beer.

As Saturday dawns, the street market opens with up to 200 market stalls. normally from 08:00 to 14:00.

Welcome and enjoy yourself. Don't drink and drive, it can be fatal.

Images of Drachselsried

Bavarian Forest Nature Park

There is a difference between the Nature Park and the National Park. Both are in the south eastern park of Germany. National Parks are protect wild life areas and are strictly controlled. The Nature Park is an area covering towns and villages from the Danube to the Czech border, and is possibly the largest Nature Park in Germany.

Drachselsried is in the middle between the Danube and the Czech border, and benefits from the large surrounding forest, with very good air quality, high living standards and friendly people.

To know more about the Bavarian Forest Nature Park follow the link.

Bayern3 visit Drachselsried

Bayern3 in Drachselsried

Tuesday 23rd July was the day Bayern3 radio station visited Drachselsried with video cameras and sound recorders. The children from the local schools danced and gave interviews. A video will be created and included here shortly.

Another reason why Drachselsried is so popular are the many activities and involvement of the local people.

The Bürgermeister from Drachselsried, Hans Weininger and the Bürgmeister from Arnbruck Herman Brandl were both interviewed by Bayern3.

The first English Stammtisch

English Stammtisch

Stammtisch is a table in a restaurant or bar that is reserved for a group of regulars and often has a sign on the table to notify guests the table is reserved. The first Stammtisch for English speakers was held on 28th January in the Dorfstadl in Bodenmais.

With about 40 guests for the first evening the meeting got off to a good start.  With guests from Bodenmais, Zwiesel, Viechtach, Regen and Drachselsried. The Bodenmais mayor, (Bürgermeister) Joli Haller, and the head of the District Authority (Landrat) Michael Adam both attended.

The oldest member was 92 and originally cam from the island of Java in Indonesia, but now lives in Drachselsried.

The next meeting will be held on the 25th February, same time, same place.

What is that plane over head?

Flight Details

 Living in a small village there is often the opportunity discuss many aspects of life. One of my favourites is, what is that plane overhead? where has it come from?, where is it going? what type is it? Just questions, but now there are answers in real time from a website. There is a live demonstration on the Small Business Support website. You can have Apps for tablets and Smartphones.


Pete

English evening in Bodenmais

English in Bodenmais

A new couple that moved into Bodenmais about 6 months ago, is organising an English conversation evening on the 28th Jan at 19.30 in the "Dorfstadl" in Bodenmais. If you like speaking English, or are English, could be a fun evening. See you there.

Bodenmais voted HolidayCheck winner 2012

HolidayCheck winner 2012

Congratulations to Bodenmais

Drachselsried is very close to the winner of the HolidayCheck Destination Award 2012, which is Bodenmais. Choosen from more than 5,000 destinations, the award has some real meaning. Seven countries are listed, and voting was made by 450,000 visitors. Sorry, nothing from the UK. To see more check out report details.

If you want to experience the wonderful climate, excellent facilities, for both wintertime and summer, then this Nature Park area of the Bavarian Forest should be high on your list.

17th Drachselsrieder Weihnachtsmarkt

Sunday 10th December was time for the Drachselsried Christmas Market. Held in the village market place it had a range of stalls and food stands. Pictures are worth a thousand words it is said, so here are the pictures.

The snow started later in the afternoon and was really heavy by Monday morning.

The winter season starts in Drachselsried

The 19th October is the first time this winter for Kesselfleisch at the Gasthaus zur Eiche. It is expected to be very busy. Many guests are there from 17.30, but it does not start until 19.00. Time for a few beers.

The Kirwa is open

Every year Drachselsried holds a Kirwa festival, which this year runs from 31st August until 3rd September. A very rainy start to this years festival, but it did not stop the procession. Saturday was a little better and the rain held off during the open air street market.

Freshly grilled chicken this Saturday 7th July

Sitting outside on a Saturday evening with friends, eating a portion of freshly grilled chicken and drinking a glass of beer from the local Falter brewery. Can be busy at this once a month summer evening. Very good value.

See you there.

Freshly baked bread, every Saturday in Drachselsried

Every Saturday, summer and winter, bread is baked using the traditional Bavarian method in Drachselsried.  Bread has been baked like this for more than hundred years. The photos show a mobile and a standard baking oven.

A wood fire is the first step, to heat the oven to the correct baking temperature, the remaining wood and ash are removed, the hot stones are cleaned ready for baking. Baking the bread takes about one hour fifteen, to an hour thirty minutes.

Clearing the burnt wood from the oven

Ready prepared bread mixture

Marking the bread with a cross

The Bread is ready for baking

The freshly baked bread is ready.

Waiting for the customers.

A son of the baking couple built this traditional "Backofen" Backing Oven. For German viewers the link is www.ofenbau-zelzer.de