How about a hike?

Einsiedl, Germany

The day after the party, Sam and Katrin wanted to take us on a hike to Herzogstand. Hiking is one of Sam and Katrin’s favorite things to do. Eric was tired, having gotten in late before. He slept most of the way there, but was ready to walk once we got to the base of the mountain.

We had to take a tram up the mountain to the base of the hiking trail. The day was a bit overcast, but we started up anyway. 2/3 of the way up, there was a small restaurant. Antonia’s parents and brother stopped there, and we continued to the top with Sam and Katrin. It was good to get out and walk and shake the jetlag once and for all.

Hiking is a very popular German pastime. It is not uncommon for people to use their vacation time to go to another area in Germany, stay for a week, and hike the surrounding area. Sam and Katrin, who are much more athletic than we are, go for a hike or mountain bike ride every weekend, which is the only real time they use their car. Otherwise they ride their bikes or take the underground to work.

Once at the top of the mountain, the view was a bit obscured by fog, but was still lovely. You could see lakes and rolling green hills all around.

We headed back and made our way and some Kaiserschmarrn for Antonia. Kaiserschmarn is a traditional Austrian dish, which is like a thick crepe cut up and covered with powdered sugar. Yum! Eric ordered a “Radler” (“Radler” means “biker” in German, and a “Radler” is a drink of beer and Sprite, so that you aren’t too drunk on your bike ride home. I didn’t try it, but Eric enjoyed his.)

Unfortunately the service at the restaurant was terrible, and we had to wait a long time for our food. Still, it was nice to have a family day.

On the drive home, Sam let Eric drive his car on the German Autobahn. Driving on the autobahn was spectacular. The autobahn is curved, possibly to keep the driver engaged at high speeds. Eric enjoyed taking the car up to 175 km/hr (109 mi/hr). He particularly liked the design of the autobahn with only two lanes. If you are in the left (fast) lane and someone comes up behind you, you have to get over to the right. There is no passing on the right. Much safer!

That night we took Eric to his first Brauhaus (brewery). Eric was surprised by the sheer size of the building, and the really long tables that seem to go on for forever. It’s a real communal dining experience. Things that you can get to eat at a Brauhaus are 1) pork – any part of the pig, 2) sausages, 3) multiple potato dishes, and 4) there is no 4). Although Eric is not a meat eater, he did enjoy his pork with cracklings and his flour dumpling. Eric also had his first German beer. He started off with a lighter beer, but one that still had a much richer flavor than anything he has had in the States. It went really well with his pork, two things Eric normally doesn’t eat, and certainly not together. If you haven’t had a real German beer, you don’t know what you are missing. If American beer tasted like German beer, Eric would do a lot more beer drinking at home.