I was anxious beyond belief about this trip. Packing. Security. Plane boredom. Lost luggage. Lost kids. Language issues. But off we went to Germany to visit Lisa's longtime friends, The Dischers.The kids were perfect on their car ride to the airport and all through security. They ate their way through their airport wait. Luckily, British Airways boards families with kids first, so we lucked out. Once we reach our "steerage" seats we made ourselves at home. Takeoff was exciting for the kids and soon we were watching movies on the individual t.v. sets.
After dinner the kids went to bed. There were occasional territorial disputes involving which kids could sleep with their feet where, but for the most part they slept until landing in London. That was 2 a.m. New York time. We groggily made our way through security again and through the labyrinth that is Heathrow's Terminal 5. Then onto the short hop to Basel.
The pressure changes at landing did a number on Stella's ears, so she was not a happy camper. Soon we were in Basel in the most underutilized airport that I've ever experienced. Lisa's friend Claus was waiting for us with candy and snacks for the kids and we set off on the 90 minute drive to Gengenbach, Germany.
The girls and I slept on the way. Lisa and Claus caught up on life.
Once in Gengenbach the Dischers finally got to meet the Shepards. Within an hour the girls were off with the boys, trashing the place.
Bedtime was at 9 and the girls were bone tired. They slept straight through until almost 9. Waking up was slow, but soon both girls were back in rare form.
We finally got our act together at about 2 and headed for Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof. The girls had a great time experiencing what appeared to be the German equivalent of Old Sturbridge Village. Grist mill. Cider making. Wool spinning. Pottery making. Geese. Cows. Goats.My favorite part was the authentic Black Forest meal of mashed potatoes, sausage and sauerkraut. And beer. There was an accordion player and a table full of locals singing (I believe) authentic German songs. Marni found this all very satisfying and even attempted to sing along.
Our next stop was the alpine slide just down the road. To summarize: Marni yes. Stella no. Stella would absolutely not do it. So Marni got to do it twice. And loved it.
Both girls napped on the way home. When we got back to the Discher's it was Stella's first chance to see boyfriend Philipp. Luckily, the magic was still there (at least from Stella).
Dinner. Play. Bed by 8.
Tomorrow, soccer and a visit to a castle.
