One Litre Mugs, large Pretzels and the huge Bavarians in Dirndle and Lederhosen

It was a chance visit by Sven Heymann, a good friend, from Landheim Schondorf school near Munich, to Paris and an invitation to participate in a Round Square regional conference from Mr. Helmuth Aigner, The Head Master that took me to to the land of Beer, pretzels, Bavarians in traditional Dirndle and Lederhosen (literally 'leather pants').

It was a short flight from Paris to Munich, the nearest big city to Landheim Schondorf about 40 kms away. The countryside was lush green broken by spots of brown and white Bavarian cows. The German Autobahn was a mind-blowing experience where the cars have no speed limits at all and one could drive as fast as 250 kph without batting an eyelid. I suddenly realised, while on the Autobahn, in Germany cars decide the speed while in India, roads decide the speed.

France and Bavaria are a study in contrast. The French are suave, sophisticated, arty, finely featured people who drink wine and are fashionably late. The Bavarians are huge, relaxed, traditional, technically oriented people who drink large amounts of beer and are, painfully (for me!), punctilious.

We were treated to humongous amounts of Bavarian Beer, huge salty, pretzels and deliciously creamy milk. The food at Landheim was extraordinary in the fact that it consisted of fresh fruits, nuts and dry fruits along with traditional German love of pork and other meats.

The school was a 'paradise' in progress. The facilities were state-of-the-art, the science laboratories were remarkable and the dining hall was exquisitely designed. High quality wood was used abundantly everywhere. It was a 100-year old school with a hoary tradition. During my short stay at the school, The school-leaving batch, the year-13 students, celebrated their success in the final exams. The Germans have a unique system where secondary schooling is completed when children are 19 to 20 years old.

The table below might give a good idea;

Grade	Average ages of Pupils	School level (Berlin/Brandenburg)	School level (rest of Germany)
1	6/7	primary	primary
2	7/8	primary	primary
3	8/9	primary	primary
4	9/10	primary	primary
5	10/11	primary	secondary
6	11/12	primary	secondary
7	12/13	secondary	secondary
8	13/14	secondary	secondary
9	14/15	secondary	secondary
10	15/16	secondary	secondary
11	16/17	secondary	secondary
12	17/18	secondary	secondary
13	18/19	secondary	secondary

The school is situated in Schondorf, a small town on the banks of a large lake, The Ammersee, where students go sailing and swimming. The lake was idyllic and the area breathtakingly picturesque. The air smells of pine, birch and beer(!). There are similar towns dotting the banks of The Ammersee.

During the Conference, we were taken on a visit to Munich and visited The famous BMW headquarters and were taken on a guided tour in BMW Welt ('World'). The stunning architecture is to be experienced to be appreciated. We spent a whole afternoon ogling at the latest BMWs (and when the occasion demanded, at Bavarian blondes!)

We also saw the jail where Hitler wrote his Magnum Opus (sic) Mein Kampf. It was still a functioning jail and had a sombre atmosphere.