Last week I did something insane. I mean, really, really nuts. I woke-up at 1am to fly to Germany to visit the Wollmeise store while they were having their annual summer sale. Yeah, I really did. Honestly. I even have pictures!
I took the 6am flight from Gatwick to Munich on Easyjet. I didn’t want to check any bags, so I measured all my suitcases to see which fit the carry-on size the best. An older Boyt bag that I have had for a while now won hands-down.
It looks as though my Boyt bag was MADE for the Easyjet carry-on allowances!
I got to Munich around 9am and promptly headed into the city to be able to catch the train to Pfaffenhofen which is a bit outside of it. The countryside around Munich is lovely, full of orderly corn fields and farms. It felt a lot like where I grew-up in Iowa. Perhaps that’s part of the reason so many Germans settled in my area! Anyway, after a short train ride, I got off at the Pfaffenhofen station:
The cute train station in Pfaffenhofen.
I was leaving the station when I saw four women all walking together, all wearing knitwear. I asked them if they were going to the Wollmeise sale and they said yes and I walked with them to the shop. It was an easy, pleasant walk as we took a footpath that goes alongside the waterway that goes through the town. We got there and I was right into it!
One of the walls of wool at the Wollmeise Shop. This one was filled with really darkly dyed yarns, blacks with colors and undyed white yarns.
One of the many racks full of colorful Wollmeise yarns!
A larger shot of the same set of shelves.
Even though the sale was going on, the famous Wollmeise creatures were still on display!
Baskets full of Lace-garn were dotted around the shop.
Even with the store in sale mode, the displays were lovely.
So many colors!!!
The entire front window was one great big pile of lace-garn!
Of course I went into the famously pink bathroom! (Actually, it was my first stop!)
There were signatures from around the world.
At times the amount of Wollmeise yarn was a tad overwhelming.
The store was everything that I had been told to expect and more. Everyone that I met there was super friendly. Claudia had set-up picnic tables outside under the awning so that people could compare colors in daylight and so that there was more space for everybody to sit and knit and chat. I didn’t take any pictures of this area as I was really trying to not get folks in my photos, and there were always people hanging-out out there. I know that the shots that I got of the inside of the store makes it look empty, but I assure you, it was plenty busy the entire time that I was there. I just tried to take shots at moments when folks weren’t in the frame. I apologize for the quality of the pictures, but I was only using my iPhone to take them. I didn’t want to take my big Nikon and possibly take-up precious space for Wollmeise yarn!
After I had spent my budget, I took the train back to Munich and the airport. I had several hours to kill and by this time I was hungry and very, very tired. I decided to get dinner at the (only) restaurant in the terminal that I was flying out of. I got the special, which I thought was composed of: soup, sausage and a pretzel. This was what I got:
My unexpected dinner at the airport
It was sort of surprising when the lady took the 3 sausages out of a jar and stuck them in a bowl full of hot water. I mean, I guess that is sort-of a soup. It didn’t taste bad, but I was glad that I had the 2 packets of mustard! I also must’ve been dehydrated or really tired as that half liter of beer made me a tad tipsy!
Anyway, you don’t really want to see what I ate. You want to see what I got!
This is the glamor shot of all the skeins together.
It’s really hard to see the colors of some of them because a lot of them were the really dark black-with-a-color colors. So, for those of you keeping score out there. I got 16 Twin, 9 100% Merino and 2 Lace-garns. Not all of them were for me a (cough, hack) couple were for other folks:-)
Here are some more shots:
It was an interesting experience and I am deeply glad that I went. If you are ever nearby, I would totally suggest that you go and check it out!
(Edited to fix the problems with the photographs)
Sarah Jane Humke 
My friend got me 3 skeins of a lighter Dunkle Kirsche and I also bought 2 of the dark dark skeins of her loot. One day I will go there too! Btw. German beer has more alcohol in it than say American beer, so no wonder you got a bit tipsy (says the one, who does not like beer…)
So envy on my part except for the Weißwurst (you don’t eat the peel, did they tell you that) and the beer 🙂
Uh, no. Communication on how to eat the wurst was lacking. Though, it does perhaps explain why one gentleman was watching me eat so…intently. I just thought that he was weird. I bet he thought the same of me:-)
LOL 🙂 If possible we should do that trip together one day 🙂 Although I do have problems understanding the people in Bavaria too 🙂
Wonderful, lucky you, thanks for the post for those of us who didn’t go.