We took the chance to experience the joys of packing one last time without children. Read: we packed way too much. The caption for the pic below would read: and where's the room for the kids?
I was wanting to go cross country skiing in the Bavarian Forest...but there, unlike Colorado, was no snow. So, Eva being the great wife she is, suggested that I bring my mountain bike. Perfect idea! Even though there was no snow, there was plenty of mud.
Pic during one of our afternoon hikes along the 'klein Arbersee'. I give Eva tons of credit: even being 8 months pregnant, she has the energy to do some hiking. Next year, I'll carry our child during the hikes...
For New Year's, we did a sort of While Elephant Gift event (Wichteln). Everyone brings and wraps something that they don't want, and through various rules of the game, you end up with someone elses 'junk'. Below, Eva's cousin Sebastian with a new apron.
I forgot to mention...we stayed in this really small village right next to the area brewery (which makes 3 million liters of beer a year)...literally 50 meters from the brewery...which was right next door to the village church.
...how cool is that ??? Part of the brewery is on the left...and the church is on the right.
Another picture...from the bottling part of the brewery with the church in the background.
Not to make you think that we sat around and drank all day, but we did take a brewery tour one morning. The tour guide was one of the two brothers that owned the brewery. The brewery had been in the family's hands for about 150 years.
Even though his age made it difficult to walk, his mind and heart was full of the history of the brewery and the family.
After the tour, he invited us to the little cafe next door, we had a few beers, and he told stories of the area, the family, and the family business...of course, with a half liter of beer.
All in all, we had three hour tour, led by the owner, with a half liter of their beer. Cost: Free.
Below is a picture of me with 10,000 of my new best friends.
Some of the winter scenery during one of our hikes.
The half bald man in the pic below is me 'kegeling'. It is a German form of bowling. 9 pins instead of 10, and the goal isn't always to knock all of the pins down. Similar to bowling, however, is that beer is never very far away.
Göttgens and Lümmer family photo. Believe it or not, but all of us are standing on the same level. If our child is lucky, our child will get some of the Göttgens and Lümmer height genes.
Despite the lack of snow, I did make it out one day for some cross country skiing...the routes weren't that clean, but there was just enough snow. I went on one route that took me to the Czech border (border crossing sign in the background).
On our last day, the whole family went on a hike together. Below is Konstantin and Eva's dad playing 'baseball'. Eva's dad had some issues hitting the 'ball', so Konstantin just made the snowball bigger and bigger to help out.
As with just about all German hiking trails, especially in mountains, there was a mountain 'hut' (Berghütte) along the way. It was particularly foggy that day, giving a particularly eerie feeling.
Inside, however, was warm and cozy...a perfect chance to warm up and to get a bite to eat before the hike back to the valley.
The next day, we headed back home. It was a great and relaxing week in the Bavarian Forest. Eva and her family have been going there for almost 20 years, so it is a very special place for the family...and a place that we'll continue to go to as a family.... next time, we just need to leave room for our child...
On our ride home, we stopped by to see Keith and Manuela in Munich. It was great to stop by their place and to spend a few relaxing moments with friends during Christmastime.
