First Kilted Weekend

[TheSp8]

We took a trip to the Tirol region of Austria for our 22nd anniversary over the Labor Day weekend. I finally got all the stuff needed for my kilt wearing a day before we left. My wife has been very supportive of my desire to go kilted and encouraged the wearing of the kilt this weekend.

About the kilt. It is an e-bay special Black Watch, 80/20 wool mix. The belt, sporran, and sporran belt came from the Scottish Tartans Museum. The kilt pin is another e-bay special.

Sat. we drove over to Mittenwald, GE to walk through the old part of town and see how it looks without being snow covered. As luck would have it, there was a floh markt that day. I scored a lederhosen knife with the pommel end carved to look like a hounds head. Very nicely done and only 65 euro. There were several noticable reactions to the kilt, such as women nudging husbands to point it out. I found it amusing that some of the looks came from men wearing lederhosen and looking like they stepped out of a postcard. Later, we went to wander along the Isar river to let the dog have some fun. We then did the Peace Bell trail. We passed quite a few folks and several looked me up and down but didn't say anything other than hello. When we went to supper it was a different story. I was still wearing the t-shirt I'd worn all day so I didn't think I was looking particularly good. The waitress (the owner's wife, Helga) came to take our drink orders and tell us the specials of the day. She had seen us the night before when I was wearing shorts. When she saw the kilt she really liked it. She said it was the first time in 30 years working there she had seen a man in a kilt. She asked if I was Scottish to which I repied no but maybe way back in the family. When she asked why the kilt I said it was comfortable. She replied with of course you don't have all the (insert crunching noise) with hand motions down there. She said it made me a beautiful man. My wife agreed and added she thought it was sexy. Helga agreed and was happy my wife said it first. She mentioned repeatedly that with the kilt I was a special handsome man. Happily, my wife agreed each time. One of the specials was a venison filet with vegetables and stupfnudeln. I ordered that and she said of course the venison, it's saturday and you're wearing that. As we paid the bill, she said she wished she had known I'd wear a kilt and she would have brought her camera. We told her we'd be back the next evening.

Sunday was spent walking the Leutasch Klamm. There were several looks again but no readily discernable comments, even from the few Americans we saw. We went to the river again for the dog and she had a good time as well. I decided to put on a decent shirt for supper in case Helga did remember her camera. She did! No sooner had we walked in than she has us stand still while she got her camera and took our pic. She again commented on how nice the kilt looked. Supper was again a tremendous event, they had the best food we've had in Europe in the past 4 years. Helga remembered which beers we liked. After we had finished eating and she had cleared the plates away, Helga brings over a bottle of McAllen 12 yr old and two glasses and says she'd like to offer a drink in honor of the kilt and looking so good. Naturally we were honored and accepted the scotch with great thanks. After we finished we got our pic taken with her.

I have been told that barring something unforseen, I'll next be assigned to Ft Sam Houston, TX. My wife made mention several times that I'd need to get some lighter kilts. What a wife!

Sorry this is so long. Pics are in the Pictures forum. Can't wait for the Utilikilt to get here.

YMOS,
Tony

[Rex_Tremende]

What a fantastic first outing. There will be many more to come, no doubt, but there's nothing like that first time. I'm glad it went so well. Thanks for sharing the story!

Regards,
Rex in Cincinnati

[Tattoo Bradley]

Thanks for sharing this with us. That is indeed a very special first outting. I think it's terrific how Helga treated you. But, it's no surprise. I spent two years stationed in Germany myself and as a whole it's such a warm inviting culture. I never wore a kilt while I was there. But, we received much of a similar treatment on a weekend trek to Koln. Enjoy your time there.