I'm going to keep this very quick, because I am going to be up tomorrow at 5 am.
Today was great. Rain can't ruin Germany for me. :)
We took the tour of the family factory, Reich, which is a caravan utility enterprise. They buy raw materials and wiring, melt the supplies down and prepare the parts to be sent to a plant where they are aluminium plated, and sent back to the same building where they are assembled, and shipped off. This group is really amazing... 35 years ago, Pauli's grandfather created it with a friend, and started off with 3 employees. Today, the company stands, inventing, designing, marketing, researching, theorizing and realizing their products. I could feel how proud they are to be so independent, and with every right. It was a great experience!
Next, we went to a family lunch, at one of their favourite, traditional restaurants! I would attempt to give the name if I didn't fear my abundances of errors would convert the name into some vulgarity. I had schnitzel, which is ham covered in bread crumbs, and in the case of this particular order, bathed in a french mushroom gravy. Can you say YUM?
Pauli, her mom and I went to see the local ruins (oxymoron? not in the castle capital of the world!). It was really, really stunning, and having had a 800 year old bell museum to visit? I got my daily dose of music culture! I was quite pleased :)
A trip to town and a hazelnut mousse cake later, I had walked more cobblestones streets, ogled a few more adorable boutiques and been dropped off once again at her grandparents. Unfortunately, my camera eats batteries the way I've been eating fresh bread rolls with Nutella here, and there are no proof pictures of the handsome black Porsche. I didn't go for a spin in it either: Opa took us off roading in his land rover to show me the property he rents for hunting! Being the nature freak I moonlight as, bombarded him with questions about deforestation, animal populations, hunting laws, and was abruptly quieted when the vehicle jerked to a stop. I blinked and suddenly the world had been significantly magnified by the binoculars in my face. A hundred metres or so to the left of the road (well off the path, and even better concealed by bushes might I add) was a roan doe. I guess a true hunters eyes never rest or age. It made me smile.
This is my last night in Germany. I can honestly say I will miss prettypinkPauli, and her family, but as such, I can also say that I hope not to be gone for long. This is a beautiful, organized, peaceful and cultural country, and I strongly suggest good walking shoes when you visit, because you really must! They are kind people, not offended by your blank stares when elderly locals teasingly suggest swapping her pretty gold sandals for your cowboy boots in the rain. Take caution though: this is not a place for the calorie fearing. Hosts will offer you mass amounts of delicious creations, and fresh local chocolate and spaghetti ice cream really is impossible to resist.
My naive, and little lived advice is to take the time everyday to find 3 beautiful things, to ask 3 questions you actually want the answer to and to reflect on 3 things you read or hear. I suggest taking fewer steps, but longer strides, buying less but indulging more and telling the medias image of beauty to go skrew itself: if you live each day to it's fullest, you'll find that in as little time as one week, your imperfections melt away somewhere behind the mirror, that your clothes spontaneously fit better, and no matter how tired you are, a smile comes naturally.
So much for I'm going to keep this short, right? :)
Good day and goodnight. This is OsomewhereNiceinGermany signing out.
We never use the G(ood)B(ye) word, so see you soon Germany. I'm ready to take on the biggest adventure of my life: Hello Nice.
xoxoooxoxooxxoxx
*O*
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