heritage

Oktoberfest 2025

Time to look back at all of the Oktoberfests we attended this year! I had a great time wearing my favorite Rare Dirndls various places and celebrating my heritage!

First Chickadee and I went to Grant’s Farm in mid-September. This was a first (or at least the first time in a long time) for us. We were there pretty early, so we didn’t get to see the entertainment, but we did share a pretzel and it was top-tier…super buttery and one of the best we had!

Next was Belleville Oktoberfest, which is always something of a disappointment to me…the pretzels weren’t even very good! But it was an excuse to wear a dirndl and walk down Main Street.

Third was my favorite local Oktoberfest in St. Charles, MO. The music and dancing were amazing and the pretzels were delicious! Plus, it seems like the most authentic one in our area (says the woman who has never been to Munich…).

We always celebrate Oktoberfest at home. I made our standard German feast of schnitzel and spaetzle and red cabbage, with Black Forest cherry torte for dessert (not to mention fondue with pretzels, pickles, and brats for lunch), and not to brag, but the pretzels at our establishment are pretty good, too!

For the second year, we went to Soulard’s Oktoberfest, and I have to say, I really love this (relatively) small event! The pretzels were only so-so, but the cheese sauce was excellent, and the brass band was one of our favorites!

I was worried we weren’t going to make it to Zootoberfest at the St. Louis Zoo, but we managed to get there on the final day. As always, the pretzels are the best in the region (and the beer cheese they serve with them is outstanding), and I got to hear a polka band, complete with accordion!

This was a really fun season of festing…I’ll leave you with Brasshaufen Brass Band (a group we enjoyed both in St. Charles and Soulard) doing one of my favorite Oktoberfest numbers. Prost!

Tasty Tuesday–Another Year+ of German Cooking

It’s been over a year since I took a look back at some of the German recipes I’ve been making, but I’ve continued to try something new (or a new variation on something old) most months, and mostly thanks to the monthly recipe share in my Rare Dirndl Facebook group.

  • Reformationsbrötchen (Luther’s Rose Reformation Rolls)
  • Kinderpunsch (Non-Alcoholic Glühwein)
  • Linsensuppe (German Lentil Soup)
  • Dampnudeln (Steamed Buns with Warm Vanilla Sauce)
  • Neujahrsbrezel (Sweet New Year’s Pretzel)
  • Zitronen-Berliner (Lemon Custard-Filled Donuts)
  • Pflaumen-Berliner (Plum-Filled Donuts)
  • Custard-Berliner (Custard-Filled Donuts)
  • Hungarian Beef Goulash
  • Buchteln mit Marmeladefüllung (Baked Yeast Dumpling)
  • Flammkuchen (“Flame Cake”)
  • Tomatensalat (Tomato Salad)
  • Kaiserschmarrn with Cherry Compote (Torn Pancakes)
  • Engelsaugen (Thumbprint Cookies)
  • Schupfnudeln (Potato Noodles with Sauerkraut and Bacon)

Besides these new recipes, I continue to make old favorites on a regular basis…German cooking has become quite a staple in our household! I can’t wait to find even more German recipes to try!

Oktoberfest 2024

It’s time for a look back at all of the Oktoberfest fun we’ve enjoyed over the last month or so!

We started close to home toward the end of September, with Belleville Oktoberfest, which begins even before the big celebration in Munich. It’s not my favorite Oktoberfest, but it’s easy to attend, and I love any reason to wear a dirndl!

Next up was my favorite area Oktoberfest, in St. Charles, MO. This year’s event was interesting because it was super muddy, but still a lot of fun, with music, dancing, food, and shopping.

We went back to Zootoberfest at the St. Louis Zoo…they still have the best pretzels!

New to us this year was Soulard’s Oktoberfest in St. Louis. There was more good music with the added bonus of a stroll through the Soulard Market.

And finally, our family Oktoberfest, once all of the other area celebrations had wrapped up. We started with an Oktoberfest Eve meal of brats and sauerkraut, plus German tater tots inspired by the ones we tried in Soulard, and apple strudel made by Ladybug for dessert.

Of course I had to put together one more look featuring Rare Dirndl, and it was also a bit of a Disney Bound, as a nod to the Disney Princess with my favorite fashion sense, Rapunzel!

We made pretzels, and instead of fondue, I made Obatzda, a German cheese spread that’s great on the pretzels.

For dinner we had all of my German favorites…Schweineschnitzel, spaetzle, and rotkohl….all homemade, too!

Every good holiday deserves a special drink…I made an apple pie mocktail with apple cider, caramel syrup, cinnamon, and ginger beer. It tasted like fall in a glass, and I even learned how to make an apple fan for a garnish!

And for dessert, one of our family’s all-time favorites–Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte!

I’m kind of sad that Oktoberfest season is over already…it’s become something I really look forward to every year!

Sartorial Saturday–A Touch of Magic

Did you ever think the word “luxurious” could be applied to a dirndl?

To be honest, it’s not a word I would have associated with my favorite form of national dress, either, but here we are. When Rare Dirndl offered a 50% off sale last month, I knew that it was (possibly my only) chance to add another piece from the “Zirkus” collection to my wardrobe…this time, the Magician dirndl. I had been admiring it since it first came out, and at half off, how could I resist?!?

I accessorized with an edelweiss necklace and bracelet, and a comb from Vixen by Micheline Pitt that is the perfect elegant hair accessory for this look:

I love the deep color of the dress and apron:

The fabric of the dress is so pretty, and catches the light so well!

Here’s a close-up look at the luxury. The beautiful jacquard dress, the sumptuous velvet apron, and the hooks, ribbon trim, and even bodice lining all scream opulence:

I love how it looks with my black lace dirndl blouse, but I’m already thinking about other ways to style it, too!

I can’t wait to see what Rare Dirndl comes up with next!

Sartorial Saturday–Lace Dirndl Blouses

I’ve been wearing dirndls long enough now to know what I really like in a look. While I do have a few other true dirndl blouses, and a few tops beyond those that also work well with a dirndl, I’ve come to realize that my favorite type of blouse to wear is the always-elegant lace dirndl blouse! I’ve built up a good collection of them in my wardrobe, so I have options for different occasions/events/weather.

My first lace dirndl blouse (and still one of my favorites) is a lovely, elbow-length, v-neck style in white:

I love white, but sometimes, it’s a bit too stark (for example, with the harlequin dirndl pictured here, which has a background that is definitely not white), so I was really excited when I was able to add an ivory blouse to my closet:

I know lace isn’t a warm fabric to begin with, but sometimes in chilly weather, you want something that provides a bit more coverage, even in sheer lace, and this three-quarter sleeve blouse in white is perfect for that. It also has a crewneck, which is very different from anything else I have, and also adds a bit extra coverage:

I also have a three quarter-sleeve blouse in black, and not only does it have longer-length sleeves than some of my blouses, it also has some added sparkle:

Finally and most recently, I added a true short-sleeve, v-neck blouse in white, which is great for summer:

White is the most popular color choice in my wardrobe which makes sense because it goes with everything and is easy to wear in bright sun or on hot days. I love that even though I have three blouses in that shade, they’re all different, from three different sleeve lengths to different patterns of lace and even a special overlay on one. I also love that for the times I don’t feel like wearing white, I have some other good options, too. Thanks to the fact that Rare Dirndl imports beautiful blouses in a wide variety of styles, and more importantly, sizes, I wouldn’t be surprised if I added something else to my closet eventually!

My Authentic Self

A few weeks ago, I shared a behind-the-scenes look at my exciting day filming a news story with KSDK’s Rene Knott…now here’s a look at the actual news story that aired on Today in St. Louis this morning!

And just for fun, I even took a picture of the TV this morning, with my face right there on the screen!

It was such an honor to be featured on the news!

Family Oktoberfest 2023

Today I finally got around to preparing our annual family Oktoberfest! Of course I had to wear a dirndl…I think I wore five of my six dresses to various Oktoberfests this year!

I didn’t make fondue this year, but I did make pretzels, and I even experimented with making a few larger ones. I need to work on rolling them out a bit thinner, but they were good!

Of course I had to celebrate in Animal Crossing, too:

I made our favorites for dinner…Schnitzel (which at this point, I think I’ve perfected!), spaetzle, and rotkohl. I still haven’t been brave enough to make sauerkraut from scratch, so that was store-bought. I did make Jäger sauce this year, though!

Yes, our house smells like a German restaurant!

For dessert, I made our favorite Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte…I wouldn’t dare make something else!

This is always a delicious day!

Tasty Tuesday–Even More German Cooking!

It’s been almost a year since the last time I shared a look at the German cooking I’ve been doing, so it’s time for an update. I’ve been cooking at least one German recipe a month thanks to the great suggestions in my Rare Dirndl Facebook group. Some have been new versions of recipes I’ve made in the past (like Kartoffelpuffer, not once, but twice, with two very different recipes and a new serving suggestion of smoked salmon), but most have been new to us. I also made a lot of new German Christmas cookies last Christmas, and I’m really looking forward to making some of them again this year! I really enjoy trying recipes my ancestors might have enjoyed in their home country, and sharing them with my children to help them feel a connection to the past!

  • Martinsbrezeln
  • Lebkuchen
  • Vanillekipferl
  • Pfeffernusse 
  • Kardamom Plaetzchen
  • Zimtsterne
  • Swiss Cheese Fondue
  • Bratkartoffeln
  • Beef Rouladen
  • Kartoffelpuffer
  • Brötchen
  • Lemon Strawberry Dutch Baby
  • Krautsalat
  • Currywurst
  • Summer Flammkuchen
  • Bavarian Obatzda (and pretzels!)
  • Kartoffelpuffer with Smoked Salmon
  • Sacher-Torte

I’m looking forward to continuing my adventures in German cooking!

A Very Exciting Day

Yesterday was a Very Exciting Day, because Rene Knott, morning news anchor on KSDK in St. Louis (along with cameraman Joe, who was very nice and made me feel quite at ease about wearing a mic and having a camera on me), came to our house to do a story on one of my favorite topics…fashion!

There was much preparation for the event…I was up at 5:15 to make sure everything was just right. It gave me a good excuse to wear a dressing gown, though!

I got to choose several outfits to feature, and I had a fun time planning the accessories and laying everything out so it was ready to go:

I’m not sure our den has been so clean since we first moved into the house!

I did a lot of work staging displays to reflect my personal style, focusing both on German-Austrian national dress/family heritage, as well as retro fashion:

I did the interview in the first dirndl I purchased from Rare Dirndl, and included some of my favorite dirndl accessories, plus my Docs:

I also modeled my favorite new outfit from Miss Candyfloss:

And a Miss Candyfloss piece from last year’s autumn/winter collection:

This was a dream come true for me…it’s quite an experience to discover that someone in the press finds something interesting enough about you to do a story on. While I was super nervous, it was also a lot of fun to get to talk about my heritage and fashion, and a great honor to meet Mr. Knott, who was just as great in person as you’d expect him to be from having watched him on the news! The story should air before the end of October, so, if you’ll excuse the expression, stay tuned! Until then, you may refer to me as “Local Celebrity Amanda Markel!”

Sartorial Saturday–Oktoberfest 2023

Time for a look back at the outfits I wore to various Oktoberfest celebrations this year! I attended a record four Oktoberfests, which means I got to wear 2/3 of the dirndls in my wardrobe. I wore my very first dress from Rare Dirndl to Belleville’s Oktoberfest, but with a fairly new apron:

I wore one of my newest dirndls to St. Charles Oktoberfest, but I again switched out the apron:

I decided to go for a lot of color at Zootoberfest at the St. Louis Zoo:

And I paired my new “Surprise Me” apron with one of my oldest dirndls at Oktoberfest at Das Bevo:

Looking back at the places I went, I can say that Belleville’s Oktoberfest is still the most disappointing to me, while St. Charles is the biggest and best. Surprisingly, though, the zoo had the best pretzels!

St. Charles might have the best Oktoberfest, but you just can’t beat the setting of Das Bevo. It was the smallest one I attended, but just look at that gorgeous building and fun tent!

I’ll leave you with everyone’s favorite call for a toast!