Richard and Juanita Wirth, of Lutz, have been traveling to Germany for years, to join in Oktoberfest festivities.
This year, though, when they stopped in Tutzing, Germany, they were surprised to find a butcher shop called Lutz, Metzgerie.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
“We stopped and shared that we lived in Lutz, Florida,” Juanita Wirth said. “They were delighted to find the name had made it all of the way to Florida,” she said.
The shop is a popular place to eat lunch, and that’s where the Wirths grabbed a bite on their final day there.
They thought it was fun to find a place so far away, which shares the same name as the place that they call home.
Their Lutz got its name from two brothers, William and Charles Lutz, who both had connections with railroads that met and joined at Lutz Junction, according to research done by Elizabeth Riegler MacManus and Susan A. MacManus, co-authors of two local history books detailing the early days of Lutz and Land O’ Lakes.
(Courtesy of Juanita Wirth)
And, the Oktoberfest that the couple so thoroughly enjoys has its roots in history, too.
The popular German festival traditionally starts in the third weekend of September. It began with the Royal Wedding, which took place on Oct. 12, 1810, when Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I, was married to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen.
As for Juanita, a retired teacher and Richard, a retired postal worker and former plant nursery owner, visiting Germany is all about enjoying the festivities, admiring the country’s beauty, interacting with its people — and, of course, having some beer.
Published November 4, 2015
