My Grandfather’s German Beer Stein

My Grandfather’s German Beer Stein

My Grandfather’s German Beer Stein is very special to me. I had seen him use his stein when I visited his home as a child for many years. This was a stein that could hold a liter of beer without overflowing. My grandfather would carry it around carefully and would have to set it down constantly because he talked with his hands a lot.

 

I asked him why he would set it down. He informed me this was a very old German beer stein and it might get damaged if he talked with too much passion as it might come in contact with something hard or someone’s face. I understood this because his hands were a constant flow of motion when he would explain matters that were close to his heart.

The German beer stein itself had a little fat character on one side of it that wore a hood that went to a point. This was like a long cloak to keep him warm on the cold Bavarian nights. He was standing on what appeared to be a globe of the world as they knew it back when this stein was crafted around the turn of the 20th century.

 

The rest of the German beer stein was intricate detailed with a town from German. You could see the doors and windows of this village with little flags on the roofs of some of the buildings. There was a long bridge with towers at both ends that were over the river that ran next to the village. There was even a detailed wall that enclosed this village to keep the towns folk safe from wildlife and intruders.

 

I remember there were many towers on the walls and within the village the craftsman of the German beer stein had placed there. What each one was I am still not sure, but they were all similar in design, but different. I know one of them was a church or cathedral because there was a large cross on the top of that particular tower. It was also the tallest building in the village.

The roofs were only of three different colors being red, tan or gray, but they were mixed nicely to make it really look like a real village. You could tell the artesian that painted this old German beer stein really had a keen eye for detail and was very good at what he did.

 

The handle of my grandfather’s German beer stein was large enough for my entire grandfather’s hand to fit into it. With the thumblift so high from the handle, I could never open it unless I used two hands. The lid itself was made of pewter and in the shape of a dome. The spirals seemed to go on forever in all directions. I remember thinking this artist really had a great imagination which he could translate to the stein itself.

 

It has been many years now since I inherited my grandfather’s German beer stein. He always told me that the picture of the angel in the bottom was his father. I believe it is him now watching over me as I grow up and live my life.