The First Day - 14 March (Sat)

We really had no definite plans for the first day. We had decided that we would play things by ear depending on how the trip went (which I think went very well since we felt pretty good) and depending on the weather when we arrived…..which was gorgeous! OK – well, the weather was pretty cold most of the days that we were there, but it wasn’t extremely cold. We had the right jackets , hats, gloves and shoes to be comfortable. It only rained for small bursts on about three of the fourteen days. All of our hosts were amazed at how nice the weather had been.

Breakfast was on the table when we arrived in Burggen. It was a traditional and famous Bavarian breakfast – Weisswurst (white sausage), Bretzel (large, soft, warm pretzels) and Weisen Beer (Wheat Beer)….of course the boys drank fresh apple juice instead.



There was still snow on the ground all around the house. Immediately after breakfast, the boys went outside to play. My boys had not played in snow so deep ever, so they started building a snow fort. Penny wanted to take a nap, so after we brought our bags into the apartment, she slept for a couple of hours.

Burkhard gave me the tour of the house and barn (which the boys had already seen) and we went back inside to talk. It was great to see them again and to hear how things had been going for them. We made some plans for the afternoon and then waited for Penny to wake up.

When the boys came back in from playing in the snow, Marget made them another German specialty – Kaiserschmarrn – which is basically a very fluffy pancake or crepe which they ate with powdered sugar and applesauce. This was a big hit!



At 1:30pm, we drove across town (we would have walked, but we knew we were moving on from here) to a place where a Rally Race was being held. This is a race for hobby racers. I think they don’t win any money, but they compete in different places each weekend. This weekend, they were racing close to Burggen. One of the race teams was actually renting the other apartments from Marget and Burkhard. We stood in the snow and watched a number of cars come flying over the little country road and handle a hairpin turn as fast as they could.






We went on to one of the favorite hikes for Marget and Burkhard. We parked the cars and walked across snowy fields and up to a place called the Feuerstein Schlucht (Firestone Ravine/Gap). The ultimate destination was supposed to be a beautiful local church at the top of a medium-sized mountain, but we were not ready for this much snow. Keane was getting cold and his feet were wet. Burkhard wisely suggested that we turn around. It was enough for now.










Back at the house, we were warming up. They stoked the fire in their central oven. Marget made coffee and unveiled the Schwarzwaldkirsch (Black Forest Cherry) Cake that she had made that morning. Burkhards mother, Paula and father, Hans, came over to meet us and they brought coffee cakes too. Wow! What a great start for our vacation.




Did we stop then? No way. We were freshly fortified with cake and coffee and now we were underway again. This is still the first day, remember?

Jakob, their youngest son, had been invited to a birthday party for his best friend from school, so we delivered him to the party and then all the rest of us drove to a smaller town outside of this small town (Burggen only has about 1500 people in it I think). The other town – Sachsenreid – has a farm that was owned by Burkhard’s uncle, but now was owned by Burkhard’s brother, Wolfgang. Today was also the birthday of one of Wolfgang’s sons, so Burkhard wanted to say hello and happy birthday to his nephew.

The farm was amazing. It was an incredible mixture of old, traditional farming (as far as I could tell) and new technology. They had about 60 milk cows. The barns and houses were very old, but had been renovated for generations. The second youngest daughter of Wolfgang was doing the milking when we arrived. Wolfgang practiced his English on us and was very good at describing all the workings of the farm. The cows actually carry transmitters so that when they get to the feed trough, the appropriate food comes to each cow depending on their needs and their milk production. The whole family works on the farm.









We went back home and for dinner we ate Brotzeit (literally Bread Time). We ate this many times during our trip and it is a very common thing in Germany. It is a very simple way to eat. They basically bring out all the bread, sliced meats and cheeses, spreads, jams, fruits, juices and beer or wine (of course). We talked more and then we noticed there was a movie on “Wer frueher stirbt ist laenger Tod” (Who dies young is dead longer). It is a very funny movie, but especially difficult to understand because the movie uses such a thick Bavarian dialect that it was very fun for them to help me try to understand it. I was finally done by 9:00pm. We all headed to bed. The room, the beds and the blankets were unbelievably comfortable.



Keane had a rough night. He kept waking up crying because he was overtired and very confused. We finally got him to sleep and we all slept about 13 hours. That was pretty much the end of our jetlag.

What a DAY!