a walk

Want to take a walk with us?

Today was a beautiful day for a walk! The Kandern area is known for its miles and miles of trails through the Black Forest. The other day, a gentleman in town told John how to hike to a castle ruins nearby so today we checked it out. We stopped by the bakery to grab a couple of buttered pretzels and mineral water to take along for lunch and headed out. We can literally walk out the door of the Art Factory and be on a trail in less than 5 minutes. It was nice to be able to take our time; the road/path was pretty ethereal. The Black Forest is full of these trees with tall, dark, smooth trunks and (at the moment) bright golden leaves. We would walk along and ahead of us the breeze sent these golden leaves cascading down, flickering in the sunlight. So beautiful. And so quiet!


Here's just a sample of the view from the top of the tower. John spotted the alps in one direction, and you can see into France from another direction. Totally worth it.

So what ran through my head the whole way home? German. Our teacher will ask us in class, "Was haben sie an Wochenende gemacht?" (what did you do this weekend?) So, I was rehearsing in my head how I will answer her - in Perfect verb form with lots of clarifying phrases in the middle of course! (We spend LOTS of time drilling Perfect tense). I probably don't have it quite right, but here's what I'll say: "Am Samstag Nachmittag habe ich mit meinem Mann und meinem Hund von Kandern zu einem Schloss im Schwartzwald spatzieren gegangen. Der Wald war sehr schon (sorry - don't know how to type the umlaut over the "o"). Die Baumen hatten veil Farben." I might try more, but we'll see. :) It never quite makes it out of my mouth as easily as it runs through my head, but if I get it right, our teacher will be really excited.

cattle dog of Rottweil

Rottweilers were originally "the cattle dogs of Rottweil". The town is actually pretty close to us here in Kandern.

When I came home from class today and opened up the computer, these photos popped up. John took them while out on a walk with Nia this morning. I had to post them.

One very clean faced cow...
busily grazing....


while one very eager dog obediently waits to check her out.


The dog gets to smell the cow...
and multiple cows come closer to check her out.


A brave one takes a turn coming Nia's direction.


However, despite her audience, she loses interest....

and so do they.

raclette

We had our first experience with raclette this week at Dinner and Dialogue here at the Art Factory. I was so curious before hand how this meal worked - there's a special cheese, a special electrical appliance, and then all these other accompaniments like potatoes, baby corn, sausage, tomatoes, peppers, pickles, onions, mushrooms. Can you imagine why I was curious? Have you ever eaten a hot entree with all of those foods playing a role?

So what I learned: Raclette: named for the specific kind of cheese that is sliced and placed in little trays under a heating coil to melt. Above the heating coil is a cooking surface where you can cook/heat your various vegetables and meats. On your plate is a boiled potato that you pour the melted cheese over and add all the other stuff in a combination of your choosing. I also learned from my tablemates that the French make it with a very distinct set of ingredients (potentially quite appalled by all the things we were including), that the pickles are a must have to Germans, that we see all the Raclette machines in the store windows right now because "it's the time of year for Raclette" -- and that it tastes really good. :)