Langlauf im Schwarzwald

First trip to Schwarzwald!

Winter has come to Germany, but it only stayed for two days. We had two days of cold this week, but before enough moisture built up for snow, it got warm again and now it just keeps raining. That's ok, because now we have rainboots! Nevertheless, we managed to go skiing for the first time today. My colleague Aude rented a car for the weekend, and we went with her to "Langlauf" (cross-country ski) in the Schwarzwald (Black Forest). It took a little over an hour to get to the ski area, and on the way Aude graciously explained what all the traffic signs mean. She is French, but has been living in Germany for 3 years, so pretty much knows everything in comparison to us neophytes. This exercise in road signs was very helpful and timely, as we'll apply for our German driver's licenses this week, and maybe borrow a car share car for the first time next weekend.

Joe guesses the tree's age

The Schwarzwald, even though it is higher than our river valley home, is also suffering from a lack of winter. It was above freezing when we arrived and it had rained the day before. Nevertheless, Germans were out in droves to enjoy their favorite winter sport. The trail conditions were suboptimal, but not enough to stop us from having a great time. We're contemplating a Schwarzwald ski weekend in February, and maybe even doing the 100 km ski trail that runs from North to South along the Schwarzwald next winter (don't worry - towns in between to eat and sleep). It's nice to know that even though our nearest trails don't have snow, these are quite close, and there are many more areas to explore. Plus, it only cost 1.50 euro for a trail pass! That's almost an order of magnitude less expensive than for a comparable area in the US.

In making Germany our home we've had to adapt ourselves to the local cuisine. After a few months, we now have a repertoire of home-cooked meals that have a Schwäbisch flair. So much so that I've even typed up a list of ingredients for all our successful meals and stuck it on the refrigerator so we can easily buy what we need for each meal. One of my favorite modifications of a Schwäbisch classic is spicy Kässpaetzle, where I make cheesy noodles and add Siracha. We're not gourmands here, ok, but a little spicy now and then goes a long way in this country. I like this with schnitzel, which I have made, but this picture is of a prepared cutlet (mine looked almost as good). This is made with chicken, but the majority of the meat here is actually pork ("Schwein"). Joe and I aren't so fond of pork, so we usually go for chicken.

Although Germany has wonderful bakeries and amazing sweets, one thing they don't have is pie. Our friends Chris and Rachel have long lamented this, because Chris really likes to bake and loves pie. Well, their sadness about the lack of pie or pie sympatico here must have rubbed off on Joe, because one day this week he decided to make an apple pie. I thought it was quite good, although we still haven't purchased a dish that will properly cook a pie or quiche. He's turning into the perfect Hausherr and my evil plan is working... I mean, until next time, "Auf Wiedersehen" from Germany.