Guten tag from the beautiful Black Forest in Germany!



 



We picked up the car in Paris and headed to Belguim on Friday, but got horribly lost and ended up heading to Germany without seeing Bastogne. We are trying to figure out how to get there before the end of the trip. We have a couple of options, so it could still happen.

 

Arrived in Todtmoos last night and slept in this morning. My trip to the grocery store was an amazing education in German innovation. Imagine going to get your grocery cart to find it locked up? I kinda hung around until a little old lady strolled up, slipped a coin into the handle and viola! it unlocked! Then ya know what? when you return to the locked carts and relock, you get your money back! Brilliant!



 

 



The rest of my "quick" trip was the same, watching others do their shopping and then copy-catting. They must have thought I was crazy!

Not many people speak English here, which has been another challenge. We managed through today though and have a surprising number of key phrases under our belts! Plus, the kids discovered that Germans watch the same tv shows as we do and have been watching a Disney movie tonight in German. They keep saying "oh! that means ____!"  



We are in a very mountainous area, surrounded by the Black Forest. Winding roads are full of dare-devil motor cyclist in full leather gear flying on the hairpin turns like they are on a race course! Villages are tucked in to the valleys, built into the hillsides and surrounded by postcard-perfect scenery. Cobbled streets, fancy boutiques, hiking trails, sidewalk cafes... lovely!

We visited Todtmoos, St. Blasien and Wehr today. Each village has a beautiful, ornate church. St. Blasien was the most impressive, but locked up so we couldn't go inside. Not being Catholic, it seems rude tromping through the church in Todtmoos , but we weren't chased away. (we did our best to be quiet and turned off the camera's flash). 

We are off to Freiburg tomorrow in hopes of finding a laundramat and to see the town. Colmar, France is also on the list this week. Fortunately, our wonderful hosts, the Luthys, worked hard this morning to get us connected to the internet. I was so worried about getting Bryan a message that we were safe and sound this morning! Looking forward to our Skype call tomorrow!

 Oh! There was frost - thick frost - on the car window this morning! Much chillier here than I expected!