Schönaich

Saturday

We slept in.  In fact, we didn’t change out of our pj’s till after noon.  But we got some planning in – that is to say, we actually decided where we are going from here.  It was a good day to sleep in anyway, because most things were shut down due to the fact that Germans take their May Day seriously.  At around 1:30 the three of us took off walking toward the center of Schoenaich, the Burt’s village.  We passed the “schönaich” (beautiful oak) itself on our way to the fest by the May Pole.  The way to celebrate in this land is by eating wurst and, more importantly, drinking beer.  At the little fest in the town, we ordered some wurst and drank some … appleschorle (it’s like apple beer but milder and better.)  The teenage boy who gave us our wurst explained to Wayne what his schweinsteak was: “it’s from the neck of a pig.”  He looked like Zac Efron.

Schönaich’s fest was just a preview of the REAL fest in Stuttgart.  We swung by Claralyn’s soccer game and picked her up on our way.  The fest was like a county fair, but better because it was German.  There were booths and rides – we rode one almost exactly like “Colossus” at Lagoon – and lots of Biergartens.  Apparently people get beer for half the price if they are dressed in their traditional German liederhosen.  The drinking age here is 14!!?!

Sunday

Church with the Burts was nice.  Afterwards we went to Schloss Solitude, which overlooks Stuttgart.  There was this big flock of sheep with a shepherd and sheep dog grazing on the lawn.  Apparently that’s not uncommon around here.

We also visited the Stuttgart rubble heap, where they piled all the debris from WWII.  Now it’s a big grassy hill, but there is still rubble visible at the top, and a great 360-degree view.  We were amazed at how difficult the reconstruction of this country must have been after the war. 

We are currently in the throes of an intense game of Carcasonne with Claralyn and Ben.  It looks like Nate is going to win.

-A

The weekend in Photos

I know we haven't put up photos for a while, so here's the last few days.   ARE YOU READY??

Thursday: Trier, Metz, Ramstein

Trier: The Porta Nigra, a Roman gate.  Check out my beard.

The accident.  Debbie remained so calm.  The cops came so quick.

Cool organ guy in Metz.  Anne asked him to play Bach and he did, from memory.  

Chagall: Adam and Eve in stained glass.  in Metz.

Also in Metz:  the McDonald's has codes on the bathroom doors.

BXPX: the mall in Ramstein US Air Force Base.  The bases are a world unto themselves.

Alsace, France

Outside Haut-Koenigsbourg.  Misty, foggy, medievaly day.

Haut-Koenigsbourg.

Sooooo many halberds.

Can you see it in the background?

Abandoned castle probably somewhere in eastern Gondor.  RAD.

Eating crepes in Riquewihr.  I don't think you can tell, in this photo, how pretty that girl was.

Annie in Riquewihr.  Who cares that it's raining?  There's Debbie on the right.

Riquewihr.  This guy seriously had the stereotypical French laugh.  Spoke no English but he was charming about it.

Schönaich/Stuttgart

Beautiful cemetery in Schönaich, where every grave has flowers PLANTED on it and well cared for.

We found this while wandering around the town.  Go Jazz.

The Fest in the village.  Zac Efron in the background.

Chester, the Burts' dog, who we all completely and totally love.  He's such a good dog.

The Stuttgarter Frülingsfest.  One of the colorful bursts on the wall exclaimed "Be inspired!"

More Fest.  Rollercoasters in the rain = AWESOME.  Also, Claralyn told us there's a big Turkish community in Stuttgart.

Yep.

Sunday in Stuttgart

Here's the Burt family at Schloss Solitude, overlooking Stuttgart.  Claralynn, Ben, Dave, and Debbie.  We love these people.  A lot.

Here's the herd of sheep we found at the top of the hill grazing around the Schloss, plus Ben and Claralyn hanging out with them.

On top of the rubble hill overlooking the city.

At the end of the Mother Of All Carcassonne Games.  The Burts are just fun.  I kind of feel like they're our cousins.

--Tomorrow:  We're leaving the warm nest of the Burts' house and striking out once again into the cold wilderness of independence . . . after Debbie gives us a ride to the train station.  Next we're headed to a city whose name is derived from the German word for "Monks", because it was founded by a group of Benedictine monks in 1158 AD.  More recently, it hosted the Summer Olympics back in the '70s and is home to one of the soccer clubs playing in the finals of this year's European club championships.  It's the host to the headquarters of the BMW car company.  It's gonna be dope.