Well, I'm really behind updating the blog. We've been through Germany, spent eleven days in Sweden, and we are now in Paris for the final leg of our journey. But, I'll backtrack a bit (in a few separate postings) and describe our experiences the past few weeks.
Where was I? Oh, yes, we were in Wasbuttel, Germany with Johanna Finke. We left her home on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 4 and drove about 5 hours north into the very northern area of Germany. We had arranged to stay with Frauke and her family in her very small village of Windeby - very close to Eckernforde on the Baltic Sea.
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| The back of the Fabel home. |
The journey was fine -- I've become quite comfortable driving on the uber fast autobahns in Germany. What we've all heard about those roads is true -- there are areas with not posted speed limits. So, I stayed primarily in the right lane driving 120-130 kilometers (a snail's pace at 75-80 mph) while being passed by speeding Audis, Mercedes, and BMWs.
We ran into our first traffic jam on this drive -- something that seems to be well controlled on European highways with little construction (the highways are in very good condition, so they must do road work at some point), a very structured system of driving on the right while passing on the left, and a series of roundabouts on the secondary roads to keep traffic moving by not using stop lights or stop signs. We were warned about the tunnel under the Elbe River in Hamburg, which is exactly where we were delayed by an extra 45 minutes to an hour.
With our trusty GPS (truly amazing technology -- it accurately leads us to even the most remote addresses!), we arrived in Windeby in the early evening just in time for dinner.
Our plan at this stop was to stay in Frauke's neighbor's guesthouse, but there was a miscommunication and the place was being used. Frauke's family were wonderful and managed to fit all of us in their home -- Frauke (who no longer lives at home) slept on a mattress in the living area! We all had the second floor to ourselves -- and two of the kids were pumped to sleep in a loft above Frauke's room. In the end, the accommodations worked out just fine. My only concern was that we had arranged to stay for five nights thinking that we would not be a huge burden on the Fabel's, but now that we were actually in their home, I felt as if we were staying a tad longer than I would have otherwise. But, we were there, the family was incredibly welcoming (we had another American flag upon our arrival and a bottle of celebratory champagne), and we had a flight to Sweden on the back end of our stay, so there was no leaving earlier than planned.
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| The view from our bedroom at the Fabel home. |
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| The front yard of the Fabel's and the neighbor's thatched roof home. |
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| Daniel with the American flag. |
I have to describe dinner. The food on this journey seems to be a main focus for us. It may be, in part, because I'm a foodie, but it's also because each of our host families has gone all out to show us the best of their world and that almost always involves the local foods, flavors, and culinary customs. The Fabel's introduced us to Danish hotdogs -- Eckernforde is only about a half hour drive from the Danish boarder, so there is a great deal of influence between the two countries.
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| The table as it looked when we arrived! |
The kids were thrilled to actually see a hotdog on a bun that resembled an American hotdog roll. In other parts of Germany and even Switzerland, they became accustomed to eating hotdogs in a hollowed out length of French bread (baguette). But, what makes a Danish hotdog unique are the toppings. I'll try and list them in the exact order (because there IS an exact order) -- ketchup, mustard (more dark than our yellow French's mustard but not super strong), remoulade (sort of a mayonnaise with some pickle -- a little like 1000 Island salad dressing but without the ketchup, so it's more creamy looking), crispy fried onions (little bits that are purchased and are not in any way like our purchased fried onions....they are very lightly battered and fried and so good that I wanted to eat them by the handful!), and bread and butter pickle slices (or sweet pickled cucumbers). It may sound like an odd combination of flavors, but let me tell you, they are fabulous!
We had a terrific night's sleep, woke to a full German breakfast (hard boiled eggs in egg cups, meats, cheeses, fresh rolls and breads from the local bakery, homemade jams, Danish yoghurt - yoghurt is poured from a liter size carton in northern Europe, muesli, Nutella - the kids were THRILLED to see that on the table once again!!!!, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and sometimes peppers, etc.) We also made great use of our host's washing machine -- always great to have clean clothing.
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| Our daily breakfast spread! |
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| Irmi with a locally smoked trout that we enjoyed for dinner one night. |
Karsten, Frauke's dad, went to work in the morning while Frauke and her mother, Irmi (short for Irmtraude -- I hope I have that spelling correct!!) took us to the beach in Eckernforde for a little tour and to see Trudi. Trudi (the German spelling may be with an "e" instead of an "i") is a seal that has found her way to the beach in Eckernforde and has parked herself there for the summer. She most likely came from the North Sea -- on the opposite side of northern Germany. No one knows why she is there or how long she will stay. She is on the beach most of the time in a roped off area to protect her. She goes into the water sometimes (although she was on the beach while we were there) during the day and almost always in the evening and at night to fish. The kids loved her, and she seems to love kids -- in fact, she almost poses when she has camera-wielding visitors.
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| Trudi the seal with cabanas in the background. |
The kids had a great time playing on the rocks that jutted out into the sea -- well, until the boys fell into the water and emerged wet with a few scrapes and bruises. The town also has a zip line in the beach playground area, so that was a huge attraction.
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| Dan on the zipline. |
Oh, one other cool tidbit about the beach. Local families place personal cabanas on the beach (pictured below). They are small wicker half shell structures that have a bench that seats about two adults. A gate folds up and locks to keep them secure when the owners aren't on the beach and, in Irmi and Karsten's case, they store a small table and other items they need for a sunset drink or a day on the beach. I'm sure the cabanas are found in other European beaches, but this is the first time we've seen them.
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| The kids in the Fabel's beach cabana. |
While we were at the beach, Karsten called and offered up some ideas for the afternoon (well, I should say later in the afternoon -- our days begin late and end late!). One was to meet with friends of theirs on their boat that was docked north of Eckernforde in a small harbor on the Baltic Sea. We would go for cake and coffee and perhaps a short cruise. It sounded like a great idea. So, we met Karsten back at the house for a quick lunch and headed out. On the way, we made a few stops to see some manor houses/small castles and a few other local sites.
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| We had a personal tour of an old manor house. |
When we arrived in Kappeln -- a sweet fishing town on the Baltic Sea -- late in the afternoon. We met Johan and his wife Anika at their boat. By this time it was raining quite heavily, but Johan had a big umbrella that kept us somewhat dry. I don't know much about sailing or boats, but I think it was about 40 feet long. It had a lower deck with a small kitchen, a two bedrooms (one of which was very small), a bathroom, a small powder room -- really a WC, and a table with seating. Irmi had brought a homemade strawberry tart and Anika and Johan had other goodies. We had tea with our cake, and Johan and Anika showed us a special Danish way of drinking tea. I can't recall the name of the tea, but it was a strong black tea. We each had a small cup to which a rock of sugar was added -- about the size of a chocolate truffle. Then, the hot tea was poured over the sugar rock causing the rock to crackle and pop (yes, sort of like the cereal). Cream (or heavy milk but it looked like cream to me) was poured onto the top so it swirled into the tea. I stirred my tea, but the idea is that you should drink the tea without stirring.
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| Our special Danish tea. |
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| Terry, Dan and Hannah before cake was served on the boat. |
After our cake and tea (which was unfortunately interrupted by little scare with Adam and his nut allergies -- long story, but Adam has some mild to moderate nut allergies and nuts are in virtually ALL baked good in Europe. He had a bite of some cake and announced that his mouth felt funny...of course, I could not find the Benadryl that I vowed to carry with me everywhere! I had an epipen, but the condition wasn't that severe. My mom had left her bag in the car, which contained a Benadryl, and Karsten offered to walk back to the car in the teaming rain to fetch it for her. All was well...just a little scare (well, a BIG scare for me) and Adam felt fine after taking the meds.
Johan offered to take us all for a short ride, and we gladly accepted. We cruised around the harbor -- beautiful northern German countryside with a stormy sky as a backdrop -- and into the Baltic Sea before turning around and returning to port. Johan was terrific with the kids and gave each of them a chance to steer the boat. It was a great day -- yet another day that was so much more special because we were given a more local view of life in Europe.
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| Dan learning the ropes! |
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| Hannah, Johan and Karsten readying the boat for departure. |
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| Johan and Daniel steering the boat out of the harbor. |
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| Adam taking his turn. |
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| Hannah |
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| A few thatched roof houses along the banks of the Baltic Sea inlet. |
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| A passing boat. |
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| A German flag on a boat and a lighthouse at the area where the harbor meets the Baltic Sea. |
Friday morning (August 6) Frauke and the kids went for a swim/walk on the beach and a round of minigolf. Irmi escorted Terry, my mom, and me into downtown Eckernforde for a little tour and a bit of shopping. The city is really a village that is situated directly on the water. The streets are cobblestone, church steeples are the highest point of the skyline, and fishing boats dock along the harbor area. It's a summertime tourist destination and, because of this special role, the grocery stores and shops are opened on Sundays, which is not the case throughout most of Germany.
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| Eckernforde is a lovely seaside town. |
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| An Eckernforde street. |
We met Karsten at home in the afternoon and decided to take a trip to the North Sea -- about an hour drive from Eckernforde. The North Sea coastline is dotted with small islands. Some are protected by rising waters from levees while others lose part of their land when the tide comes in. We drove out to an island -- I'm embarrassed I don't remember the name -- that was covered with grazing sheep. The sheep roamed wildly and often walked into the one-lane road preventing the cars from moving any further. One other note about northern Germany (and much of Germany for that matter) -- they have cornered the market on wind energy. As we drove through the countryside, we saw fields and fields of HUGE windmills, pictured below.
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| A windmill field taken from our moving car. |
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| Hannah saying hello to one of the sheep. |
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| I think the sheep are posing for Frauke. |
About halfway into the drive down the island road, we stopped at a small cottage that was used as a birding station. It was closed, but Irmi (unbeknownst to us) brought along a thermos of coffee and cookies. We found a bench on the sunny side of the cottage and Irmi found a small folding table on the porch of the cottage that she carried around to use as a serving area. We sat for a bit and drank our hot coffee (the day was sunny but cool) and ate our butter cookies.
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| Our coffee break - thanks to Irmi!! |
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| Irmi and Terry walking towards the Sea. |
At the end of the island, we parked the car and walked towards the water, which was just beginning to rise from the incoming tide. The bottom of the sea (set below a tall sea wall of stone) was a muddy sand, but the kids, Karsten, Irmi, and I removed our shoes and walked into the sea. A father and his children were way out into the water, which was quite shallow way out into the sea. Hannah and Adam walked out quite a distance, but I had them come back in since the tide was rising. We sat on the steps to the sea and timed how long it took for the water to rise from one step to the next. Each step was about 1 foot high and the water rose about 3 inches in 7 minutes. The kids had fun watching the water rise so quickly, and Hannah caught a small North Sea shrimp.
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| Standing in the North Sea mud before the tide came in. |
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| Hannah's North Sea shrimp. |
On Saturday we travelled to Hamburg where we split into two groups. Frauke and I took the kids to the zoo while my mom, Terry, Karsten, and Irmi went to the Emigration Museum. I can't speak about the museum but the zoo was fabulous. It's situated in the city but once inside the gates, you're surrounded by trees and greenery. All the animals live in incredibly natural settings. We all met near the harbor area later that evening for one of our few restaurant meals.
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| Daniel and Frauke at the zoo. |
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| Hannah and Frauke in front of the elephants. |
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| The kids enjoying some popcorn at the zoo. |
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| Scooting along the harbor in Hamburg. |
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| Waiting for the boys along the Hamburg harbor. |
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| Hamburg |
We spent Sunday (a rainy day) finishing up some laundry, catching up on e-mails, and repacking our suitcases. The next day, Monday the 9th, was departure day. We flew from Lubeck, Germany to Stockholm, Sweden to see the final two au pairs on our journey. So, after a very teary goodbye to Frauke and her family, we were off...
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| Hercules, the big, FAT cat. |
