Aesculus hippocastanum is a large deciduous tree, commonly known as Horse-chestnut or Conker tree. In Britain and Ireland, the nuts are used for the popular children's game conkers. During the two world wars, horse-chestnuts were used as a source of starch which in turn could be used via the Clostridium acetobutylicum fermentation method devised by Chaim Weizmann to produce acetone. This acetone was then used as a solvent which aided in the process of ballistite extrusion into cordite, which was then used in military armaments. It is native to a small area in the mountains of the Balkans in southeast Europe, in small areas in northern Greece, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and Bulgaria (Pindus Mountains mixed forests and Balkan mixed forests). It is widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. horse-chestnuts fruit develop on each panicle; the fruit is a green, softly spiky capsule containing one (rarely two or three) nut-like seeds called conkers or horse-chestnuts. Each conker is 2–4 cm diameter, glossy nut-brown with a whitish scar at the base. The common name horse-chestnut is reported as having originated from the erroneous belief that the tree was a kind of chestnut, together with the observation that eating them cured horses of chest complaints. The nuts, especially those that are young and fresh, are slightly poisonous, containing alkaloid saponins and glucosides. Although not dangerous to touch, they cause sickness when eaten. Some mammals, notably deer, are able to break down the toxins and eat them safely. They are reputed to be good for horses with wind, but this is unproven and feeding them to horses is not advisable. The saponin aescin (a complex mixture of triterpene glycosides), however, has been used for health purposes (such as varicose veins, edema, sprains) and is available in food supplements, as is the coumarin glucoside aesculin. In the past, horse-chestnut seeds were used in France and Switzerland for whitening hemp, flax, silk and wool. They contain a soapy juice, fit for washing of linens and stuffs, for milling of caps and stockings, etc., and for fulling of cloth. For this, 20 horse-chestnut seeds were sufficient for six liters of water. They were peeled, then rasped or dried, and ground in a malt or other mill. The water must be soft, either rain or river water; hard well water will not work. The nuts are then steeped in cold water, which soon becomes frothy, as with soap, and then turns milky white. The liquid must be stirred well at first, and then, after standing to settle, strained or poured off clear. Linen washed in this liquid, and afterwards rinsed in clear running water, takes on an agreeable light sky-blue colour. It takes spots out of both linen and wool, and never damages or injures the cloth. In Bavaria the chestnut is the typical tree for a beer garden. Originally they were planted for their deep shade which meant that beer cellar owners could cut ice from local rivers and lakes in winter to cool the Marzen Lager beer well into summer. Nowadays guests enjoy the shade to keep their heads cool - even after the second Ma? (a mug with a liter of beer).

The Germans love them their big pretzels. We grabbed a quick meal near the Chinese Tower. It was 11:30 Munich time, but our bodies still believed it was 5:30 despite our having tried to convince them otherwise by having been up and about for the past 2+ hours, so I wasn't up for much food. Stefan, on the other hand, had been looking forward to having some of his favorites at this, one of his favorite places, and wasn't going to let anything stop him. On my tray on the right, you see a giant (and I mean giant -- what we see in America as "big pretzels" are nothing compared to the pretzels that are ubiquitous to Germany) pretzel and a half liter mug of Coca-Cola. On Stefan's tray on the left, there is the giant pretzel, a slice of "liebenkassen" (a sort of commercially processed German meatloaf), an order of "German fries" (OK, they called them "pomme frites"), and a one liter mug of beer. Giant mugs of beer were as ubiquitous as the giant pretzels.