Black Forest Adventure

Greetings all

I now have a few minutes to create an entry about our Christmas here in Germany. We left Muenster on the Friday before Christmas for the south-west corner of the country to a small town called Sallneck. We were just 20 minutes from the Swiss and French borders! It took quite a long time to get there - 9 hours with a long lunch and traffic jam - and we arrived after dark. The view from our little house on Saturday was just gorgeous! No snow, but because the forest is mostly pine, it was storybook pretty.

Our first trip was to some Roman ruins in Switzerland - Augusta Raurica. They had quite a nice museum dedicated to the study Roman lifestyle, including a video showing what it was like to eat then. One screen showed a rich person dining, and the other a poor person. The kids really liked this because of all the gooey, slurpy sound effects. I guess the only utensil they used was a spoon with a sharp, pokey handle to spear things with. (Mostly, they ate with their hands, another point in their favor, according to the kids.) Anyway, we left and attempted to drive home through Basil, and got completely lost. Ah, the frustrations of poor signage. It was late, we hadn't eaten- the kids were protesting for McDonalds. Well, lo and behold, we found the way out and the McDonalds to boot. Steve parked and I ordered and got the kids squared away - the bill? Um....50 euros!!! Steve and I even shared a salad and french fries! UGH.

Sunday was just sunny and beautiful, so we decided to visit a German mountain peak nearby. Not the Alps, certainly, but you can see them from the peak we visited - see picture.
The Belchen peak was only 1400 feet high, but as you looked over to where the Alps towered, it was like looking over a sea of white foam. You could even tell that there wasn't much snow in Switzerland either. Poor skiers! As for Christmas eve, we hooked up with some friends of ours from our Cairo days - Randy and Nancy Capp - who live just 20 minutes away, and visited their church. Nancy teaches at the English-speaking Black Forest academy, so there is quite an English-speaking community there. Anyway, it was fabulous to worship in our mother tongue. (Even if it was a little "dramatic" according to Evanleigh.)

Christmas morning was grey and misty, but this didn't bother us. We opened stockings, played games (we've been stocking up on the great German games here), and had a huge meal complete with turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes! We didn't venture out at all - and although the vacation apartment was teeny-tiny, we enjoyed the time together as a family.

The next few days went quickly - Steve and I hiked for two hours on a trail right behind the house. The Black Forest is just riddled with awesome walking trails. We visited another smaller peak, had dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Alps, and visited a natural hot springs "bath." This last venture was our personal favorite - imagine swimming outside in 38 degree weather! If you look at the picture of Bad Bellingen, you'll notice a sort of oval shaped part of the pool - this was powered by jets that just pushed you along like a river. There was another area where you could lie in the jucuzi-like bubbles. VERY COOL. Although after just 2 hours, I was entirely too water-logged and got out. Anyway, I have never been so relaxed as I was that night going to bed! Ahhhhhhhh, heaven.

So, we've been home now for a week - New Year's Eve here deserves a mention. We decided that the kids are finally all old enough to stay up, so we rented the latest Pirates movie, which was much longer than we thought, and had to pause it when we heard some fire crackers and thought to check the time. Well, as most of you know we live in an apartment complex, and EVERYONE was outside putting off quite strong fireworks! Especially loud, and maybe not as big as say, city fire works, but pretty darn close! The rockets were going off everywhere and in every direction! Honestly, you begin to understand why it's illegal in many states. We watched in fascination as rockets hit the side of our building, went off quite close to people standing near, seemed to bounce off cars...it was very strange. (Especially for what we've come to consider "rule-oriented" Germany.) Anyway, no one seemed to be rushed off to the hospital, no sirens were heard, so....we finished the movie and went to bed in 2007.

The kids go back to school on Monday, and life returns to 'normal' - German lessons, reading, writing, and just general learning. We eagerly await the second half of our sojourn here. We have much to be thankful for!