As we pull out of the station at Regensburg headed for München, we both feel quite satisfied with our 9 days in the little Bavarian village. The Hoeh got to speak German, but didn't HAVE to. The Rake learned a few words and even sentences! We experienced daily life in an extended German family, in an old, small, rural town. Completing the apple harvest, cooking for a busy mother, helping on a construction project and a website made us feel reasonably useful, though none of it was difficult or very demanding. Our hosts were utterly welcoming and open-hearted. We even found and cooked wild mushrooms - although the famed Steinpilz (porcini) all but eluded us.... Our workday was only 4 hours, and we had bicycles and a rowboat at our disposal, and could have used a kayak as well on the little back yard river if we'd had more time. They even have a climbing wall in their barn! We got lots of exercise running on the bike path and in the woods on one of many public hiking paths through the seemingly limitless forests in the region. Staying in a place like this for a solid stretch makes it possible to glimpse some commonplace but significant elements of a local culture.
Last night Maija and Stephan rustled up a little taste of German Christmas for us, with Lebkuchen, Stollen and Glühwein. It was a sweet little farewell and we'll miss them.
Some of our memories:
Making a squash soup wit yogurt and pumpkin seed oil
and a quiche with oyster mushrooms and caramelized onions
finding and cookong black trumpets and lactarious deliciosus
views of freshly plowed, dark soil of the valley fields
the climbing wall in the barn
the work on the barn
Zoe, Lina, Julius, Stephan, Maija
Maija making bobbin lace, an incredibly fussy and meticulous hobby with beautiful results
trying our hand at bobbin lace
looking for Schwammeln (mushrooms)
finding the big one
the river n theback yard
Zoe and King Julian
Maija's parents with their apples
And now on to Munich to visit the German guys we met in Robidišče!
The squash soup looks amazing! As does everything else!
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