I am currently sitting at Andrea’s kitchen table, enjoying a hot cup of coffee, and looking out thewindow with a clear view of the Black Forest. As I sit here, I have to ask myself what I did to deserve such a wonderful life. While it’s not a perfect life, it’s a great one. I woke up this morning and realized a full week has gone by. I arrived to Germany early last Friday morning and was greeted at arrivals by my friend, Andrea, and her father, Karl. They are all now officially my “German family”. Don’t worry Alabama family, you will not be replaced but you can rest easy knowing that I have a family here that will be there for and take care of me. Now you’re probably wondering what I’ve done in a week. Well…
Friday was a nice relaxing day and nothing too exciting happened. Saturday morning, Andrea and I went to a castle Hohenzollern.
The weather was a little chilly and it was overcast but the castle was still beautiful! We took the tour and then afterwards, enjoyed a sandwich in the car with a view of the castle. It was a nice German tailgate =)
From Hohenzollern, we headed back through the Black Forest toward Sinzheim. On the way, we stopped at the Mummelsee for a quick walk around the lake. I had been before but wanted to check it out once more.
After leaving the Mummelsee, we went straight to Andrea’s parents, Melanie and Karl, for a barbecue. Now you’re thinking of a nice American grilling with a large grill and tons of meat. There was a wide assortment of meats but with a small table grill. It was absolutely delicious! We had various sausages, some steak, chicken, and pig belly. While the meat was the star of the dinner, we also had some roasted vegetables, bread, and a tomato/mozzarella salad. I did my best not to overeat but it was tough. It was great to spend the evening with the family. Not only were her parents there, but her niece, Hannah, and Hannah’s boyfriend, Fabian, also. Fabian had just gotten back from a 3 month trip and Hannah had been to Connecticut before Christmas so we had a lot to talk about. I truly enjoyed sitting around the kitchen table eating, drinking, and enjoying conversation. Those are the times that remind me of home =)
Sunday, we had breakfast with the family and then headed to Rastatt. It’s a city not too far from Sinzheim. There we walked around the city and then took a tour of the palace. It was a rainy, windy day so we make our city walk quick and then went for cover in the palace entry way until our tour. It was a nice time to be there because it was “experience the palace life” day. There were knights and people dressed in courtly attire walking around the palace grounds. I hate that it was raining but it was neat to see. Our tour was a lot of fun as well. We were greeted by a courtly woman dressed in green. She did an excellent job throughout the tour. She talked about how you would proceed throughout the palace and the various lifestyles of the time. She taught us how to greet the royalty and how we would get dressed as nobility. The palace was pretty but the most interesting part was her talking about the courtly life.
After the tour, the sun came out long enough for us to enjoy a Bratwurst in a Brötchen (roll)…..DELICIOUS!! It was back in the car to head to Sinzheim. I left Sunday night on a train headed to Bochum so I wanted to get some things packed to make sure I didn’t miss the train. Train travel is something I love in Germany. I did make it with time to spare. When my train rolled around, I hopped on and made it safely to Bochum. In Bochum, my friend, Valarie, and her boyfriend, Werner, were waiting at the station to pick me up. It’s always great to be greeted by a friendly face when you arrive somewhere.
I spent Monday and Tuesday with Val and Werner. Monday was extremely interesting and informative. We, of course, got up and had a nice breakfast before heading to Essen. It took about 15 minutes to get to Essen where we had a 2 hour tour planned for a coal mine. Now I know you’re thinking a 2 hour tour is way too long, but I have to say, it went by so fast I didn’t even think about the time. Our tour guide was extremely good. We were a mixed age group with kids and older people so she gave enough information to please the older ones but she also made it fun for the kids.
Now, there was A LOT of information given so I can’t recall too terribly much but in looking at pictures, I could explain some things =)
After our tour, we had a short break before our next tour. We grabbed a sandwich at the Café before walking over the Kokerei (coke oven plant). There we had another 2 hour tour. You know, I never knew how much was involved in coal mining and I never even thought about how many functions coal had. Once again, we got lucky with our guide. He was interesting and even had some personal things to add but didn’t go overboard. It was an extremely informative day. I got a lot out of it and found a new word that I will be using in my classroom, Kokskuchenführungwagen. That’s a word the students will get a kick out of spelling. We headed back to the car and got on the road back to Bochum where we went straight to the city center, parked, and headed to Oh Scuzzi! to eat. It’s an Italian restaurant and it was delicious!! After a nice dinner, we made it back home in time to relax on the couch while watching some of their favorite television shows. Tuesday, Werner had to work so Val and I slept in. When we both got up, we had a nice, late breakfast and talked. At about 2, we decided we should get ready and get out of the house. We walked to Herne’s city center for a little browsing in the pedestrian zone. They actually live in Herne but Bochum a bigger city with a better train station close by. That’s why we spent some time in Bochum. While browsing the shops, we worked off our breakfast so we decided to grab some Turkish for dinner. Man oh man, do they know how to make a Döner. Before I headed to the train station, I wanted to say bye to Werner so we stopped briefly by his office. I am glad we got to the station early because I had read my departure time wrong =( I made it to the platform with 2 minutes to spare. Val and I said a brief good-bye and I hopped on the train back to Baden-Baden where Andrea was there to pick me up.
Wednesday, Andrea had to work so I slept in and then walked to her parent’s house for lunch. It was so yummy! Her mom made Rouladen and Spätzle as well as a nice salad. Those are two of my favorite things to eat so it was a perfect lunch. We sat on their back porch to eat and just enjoy the nice weather. Oh, we also had some of the best strawberries I have ever had for dessert. They were extremely fresh and just the perfect amount of sweet. Melanie had a funeral to go to so we cut the afternoon short. I did a little shopping before heading back to Andrea’s. I had a date to talk to my sis. It was so great to get on Skype and chat with her. I also got to play peek-a-boo with Davis, my nephew, before he went down for a nap. We talked over an hour before we both had some things we needed to do. When Andrea got home, we had a pizza and went into town to see Kung Fu Panda 2 in 3D. It was cute but as usual, I think the first one was better.
Thursday was a holiday in Germany, Pentecost. She had made some plans with her brother and his family so we got up early and headed to Emmendingen. We got there with no trouble and were greeted with a beautifully set breakfast table. Unfortunately, her brother had to work but her sister-in-law, Petra, her nephew, Marius, and his girlfriend, Leah, happily had breakfast with us. Marius came with Andrea this past March for a southern tour so it was great to see him again. Leah, I had spent some time with a couple of years ago and it was nice to see her again as well. Ok…I digress…After a filling breakfast, Andrea, Marius, and I got in the car for a tour of the Black Forest. We made our first stop at Schauinsland where we climbed the hill and then the tower for a nice view of the surrounding area.
Then it was back in the car where we headed to the Feldberg. This is the highest point in the Black Forest.
We rode the gondola up the mountain and walked around there for a little while. It was extremely windy so we didn’t stay as long as we normally would have. From there, it was off to the Titisee.
There we stopped at a lovely hotel with a terrace. We enjoyed a nice cup of coffee/tea, a piece of cake, and the view. From there, we drove on and made a stop in St. Peter.
There’s a monastery there so we walked around for a few minutes before driving on to Kandel.
From Kandel, we continued on our journey back to Emmendingen. Once back “home”, we all loaded up to go to dinner. The whole family was there at that point, Jürgen, Petra, Marius, and Hannah. They recommended the Kartoffel Hof for dinner and I was happy to be invited. The atmosphere was nice and the food was so yummy! It was a great ending to a wonderful day! I just love spending time with the “family” and they are all so welcoming. Other than being German, they really remind me a lot of my family. I think “southern hospitality” can be international and that in some ways we are all alike no matter where you’re from.
So that’s my first week. I’m packing up today and getting on a plane tonight for Vienna. This will be home for the next five weeks. You have a lot to look forward to. Until next time….
