Now you may be startled the first time a German tells you to Gluck Auf but don’t fret they’re really just wishing you good luck.
Gluck Auf is the everyday greeting of Esseners who hail from the mitten in Europa (the middle of Europe).
Hardy folk the Esseners, mining as they did its land for 150 years.
And versatile too as they have transformed themselves from the coal centre of Europe to its green champion.
While preserving the hardy and resilient character which is, for want of a better word, their essence.
And which they reference in that exhortation which translates as Luck Up.
The everyday exchange between miners before they descended in the bowels of the earth.
Wishing that they would see each other again safe and well above ground.
Ruhr odyssey
We are continuing our odyssey in the Ruhr region.
And hearing of the greening of the Ruhr, Germany’s industrial heartland which is now leading the way in sustainability.
To such an extent that global warming has turned the Ruhr into Reisling Country.
Not that you need to worry though that they might have dropped the Beer part of the Coal, Steel and Beer appellation.
We had learnt on our Football Cult(ure) leg of our German Travel Mart experiences the lengths clubs will go to to keep their supporters libated.
When Schalke 04 ran out of beer on their centenary party at their stadium and had to serve non-alcoholic beer it was a red flag.
And so they built pipes into the ground to ensure that never happened again.
Bear in mind too that Schalke serve up 45,000 litres of beer at their Veltins Arena every match.
Not to mention enough curryvurst sausages to put a fresh hole in the ozone layer.
Sustainable future
That though is tempered by the sustainable flora and fauna forward planning.
And blue-sky thinking that has seen former Chancellor Willy Brandt’s prophecy from the Fifties come true.
That one day clean air would return to the grey Ruhr region.
And it has, with blue water too which has made it a hub for canoeists and water sport aficionados.
While hikers and cyclists too have been drawn to the countryside trails.
Old King Coal
Those very same bikers have found in the post-industrial landscape a playground for their passion.
Which they demonstrated, as did the street and breakdancers, on our opening night.
In the impressive UNESCO Zollverein Coal Mine Complex.
No such exertions for our party, just sit back, drink our Ruhr Reisling, eat our curryvurst sausages.
Clink glasses, exhort Prost, look each other in the eye and add Gluck Auf.
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