Bavaria 2025

In November ETF (European Triod Festival) was held at the Banz Monastery in Bad Staffelstein, a historic and unique location.

We have been attending European audio conferences for ten years and have used them as jumping off points for many of our travels. ETF is usually held in the same location for three years. The previous location was Holland, and this year's in Bavaria will be followed by two more. John enjoys the gatherings because he learns a lot, and we both enjoy the wonderful sound systems, music and people we have come to know. I have become friends with a few women who like to hike, so while John is learning about amplifiers we explore the surrounding countryside.

The monastery was a beautiful location in the Bavarian countryside. If it looks a little grey, it was. November in Northern Europe is not like sunny California, but we were prepared for it.

I didn't photograph the sound systems or the attendees, so there aren't inside shots. John created an amplifier for their competition and he made it to the final stage which is very impressive since the majority of the attendees are professionals and building audio equipment is a hobby for him. He was very pleased.

After ETF we visited Bamberg, a medieval town nearby and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Their traditional Christmas Market was the first we visited in Germany.

There were some sculptures that caught my eye.

What John appreciated most was the Rauchbier (smoked beer) at Schlenkerla, a famous brewery.

Rothenburg am Tauber is another UNESCO medieval site renowned for their Christmas markets. Per was in Sweden which is not so far, so he met us there.

Rothenburg am Tauber was beautifully decorated and we got into the Christmas spirit.

John and I are fans of the natural hot springs in Japan and had heard about the thermal baths in Germany so Wiesbaden was our next stop. The rooftop bath at our hotel, Nassauer Hof, was heavenly.

Wiesbaden is a beautiful city and the Christmas market and decorations were magical.

We strolled through a park not far from our hotel lined by old grand mansions, reminding us of the historic splendor of the town.

It was drizzling on Sunday so we visited the Reinhard Ernst Museum, which features abstract art. The main exhibit was of Helen Frankenthaler's work, which I was not familiar with. They had some more recent works of Frank Stella which were a surprise and of interest to me. It was an unexpected pleasure.

We had a great trip and look forward to ETF next year. Since we were in Germany twice this year and there's a good chance we will return the next two years, maybe next time we'll head down to sunny Italy after ETF :)