A Whole House Upstairs

Endingen, Germany -- Rest Day 1

After breakfast this morning, Kylie announced, “It's great to wake up, go upstairs, and find a whole house!”  I agree. And it’s better yet when the house is filled with good friends like Axel and Marion and their two young children, Ida (almost four) and little Theo, (one).

Axel explained that he and his father (also a mechanical engineer), built the house during the course of one very busy year. It is clean, modern and efficient. Like most European structures, it's built of stone. There are currently a half dozen small cranes working on homes or apartments in Endingen (population around 5000). One of the things we have grown to love about European houses and hotels are the external metal blinds on all the windows. They can be used to completely block out the sun and provide extra insulation when needed.

We've been building our German vocabulary with the help of Theo’s books. If we are ever stranded on a German farm or lost in the African savanna, we got it made -- pferd (horse), regnwurm (earthworm), schwein (pig), regenbogen (rainbow), nashorn (rhino), lowe (lion), nilpferd (hippo)….

Theo is one of the most content babies we’ve ever met. He can eat buttered bread like nobody's business and is Never Ever without his trusty spoon. We're pretty sure he can conquer the world as long as he has his spoon. Ida kept us entertained with her numerous outfits -- one for breakfast, one lunch, another for afternoon tea....

The main activity for the day was a beautiful hike up the nearby hills.

On the way down through the local vineyards (most still owned and taken care of by families in town), we had a picnic at a gazebo built by the community. We also got our first taste of the super popular Haribo gummy candy, which comes in a dozen shapes, colors, and flavors. They are all very yummy, and we've yet to meet a flavor we don't like.

Axel and Marion treated us to a wonderful barbecue -- sausage, salmon, chicken, and bacon wrapped pork. You’d have thought Dex and Kylie hadn't eaten for a week. Tonight's game was France vs. Iceland.  Although we were rooting for Iceland (in support of Kylie’s classmate, Isold), they didn't stand a chance against Les Bleus -- 5-2 France.

Before dinner ice cream