Vignettes #12

Quite a few years ago - I still had my own car - Ursula and I decided to take a drive around the countryside outside of town. It was a bright, sunny and warm summer afternoon, and we had time. The plan was to drive around and take in the scenery and afterwards stop at a village tavern for something to eat. We had heard of one place in the village of Penk in the Naab valley that was supposed to have a pretty beer garden and good food and beer.

We were told that it was on the valley road just outside the village, so if you find yourself in Penk you have accidentally passed the place. So we enjoyed our drive and just before arriving the village we saw a beer garden and stopped there. However, it wasn't pretty at all, more like the hole in the wall of a barn and maybe 3-4 tables outside. Well, we decided to try it anyway.

Besides us there was only one more table occupied, a group of maybe 5-6 men, obviously locals, probably farmers. They were having their usual rounds of beer and some chat and having a good time. Ursula and I ordered, I had a schnitzel and a pint of beer, and although it wasn't such a nice place, we did have a view of the valley and the river, and besides it was shady. You could also overview the road more than a mile in each direction and the fields located all along the valley. There was hardly any traffic.

At one point you could see a tractor approaching, it was about a mile away, and you could distinctly hear the sound of the vehicle. The guys at the other table changed the subject of their conversation. "That's Tony, I know the sound of his tractor!" one guy said. A lively discussion started on how to distinguish the local farmers by the sound of their tractors. Someone disagreed about Tony approaching, but most of the guys agreed.

So finally the tractor arrived and passed the beer garden, the guys cheered "Tony, what are you working on a day like this?" and the driver shouted back what he was doing - I forget exactly what it was - all this in passing. After a minute or two he was gone, but you could hear his tractor rattling for a while longer.

We paid and left when we were finished with our meals, and driving toward the village we noticed a huge and pretty beer garden, jam-packed with guests obviously all out-of-towners enjoying the day. To this day we never did try out that recommended place.