Well, it's all a bit bizarre really. I'm in a village in Bavaria. I don't know what it's called and I've no idea how to get back to where I came from. It's a very pretty place though, but also very remote.
This morning I helped Sungshin look after the kids while Katrin, the mother worked at home. She's an architect and is currently managing a huge project to convert a local school into one which completely runs on renewable energy. It sounds like a huge task, but she also seems to be an extremely competent woman. The kids, Finlay (18 months) and Leoni (4 months) and both blue-eyed and blond. Finlay takes a lot of energy, but Leoni seems easy to take care of. We walked around the village first. There's a kindergarten in the village and a church and a school. But the only business I saw seemed to be a tractor repair shop. Though the one customer that pulled up when we were passing, opened his boot to reveal a crate of beer. So perhaps this is the kind of business where money doesn't even change hands. We then walked for a couple of hours though the country roads past corn and barley fields, nice forests and a farmer or two, before stopping to rest in the shade. It's really a pretty place here. Friendly, peaceful, natural. A wonderful environment for kids to grow up in I imagine.
Katrin made lunch in the afternoon and we ate in the garden and played with the kids. And in early evening Sungshin and I headed to "the lake". I've started to notice that Sungshin seems to underestimate, or under-explain, just how much effort is needed to reach a destination which she has suggested (eg. her home, or "the lake"). Man, it took ages. We cycled all the way back to the train station. Had just enough time to buy a quick picnic from the supermarket. Then loaded the bikes onto the train which was already overloaded with bikes. We traveled about 30 minutes to a town called Ausburg and then had another 40 minute cycle to the lake. Sunghin's bike is too big for her and after several almost-falls, she finally broke her sandals. As there were no shops in sight, I gave her my sneakers and cycled in socks. But it was quite far by bike. When we finally got to the lake, it was pretty, but not exceptional. The sun wasn't far off setting so we had a quick swim and then our picnic with a bottle of peach liquor that Sungshin had brought. That was quite nice and relaxing and there were no annoying insects.
The cycle back to Ausburg station wasn't too bad, despite being tired and shoeless, and we only got lost once. At the station Sungshin informed me that there is only one train per hour, always at 53 minutes past. This would have been good information to know beforehand as it was 9:20pm. So we bought some beers and snacks and hung out at the station before boarding yet another over-biked train. The cycle back to the village was long and tiring, but not as long and tiring as the night before when we walked it. And the beautiful sky above, abundant with stars, made a nice distraction.
This morning I helped Sungshin look after the kids while Katrin, the mother worked at home. She's an architect and is currently managing a huge project to convert a local school into one which completely runs on renewable energy. It sounds like a huge task, but she also seems to be an extremely competent woman. The kids, Finlay (18 months) and Leoni (4 months) and both blue-eyed and blond. Finlay takes a lot of energy, but Leoni seems easy to take care of. We walked around the village first. There's a kindergarten in the village and a church and a school. But the only business I saw seemed to be a tractor repair shop. Though the one customer that pulled up when we were passing, opened his boot to reveal a crate of beer. So perhaps this is the kind of business where money doesn't even change hands. We then walked for a couple of hours though the country roads past corn and barley fields, nice forests and a farmer or two, before stopping to rest in the shade. It's really a pretty place here. Friendly, peaceful, natural. A wonderful environment for kids to grow up in I imagine.
Katrin made lunch in the afternoon and we ate in the garden and played with the kids. And in early evening Sungshin and I headed to "the lake". I've started to notice that Sungshin seems to underestimate, or under-explain, just how much effort is needed to reach a destination which she has suggested (eg. her home, or "the lake"). Man, it took ages. We cycled all the way back to the train station. Had just enough time to buy a quick picnic from the supermarket. Then loaded the bikes onto the train which was already overloaded with bikes. We traveled about 30 minutes to a town called Ausburg and then had another 40 minute cycle to the lake. Sunghin's bike is too big for her and after several almost-falls, she finally broke her sandals. As there were no shops in sight, I gave her my sneakers and cycled in socks. But it was quite far by bike. When we finally got to the lake, it was pretty, but not exceptional. The sun wasn't far off setting so we had a quick swim and then our picnic with a bottle of peach liquor that Sungshin had brought. That was quite nice and relaxing and there were no annoying insects.
The cycle back to Ausburg station wasn't too bad, despite being tired and shoeless, and we only got lost once. At the station Sungshin informed me that there is only one train per hour, always at 53 minutes past. This would have been good information to know beforehand as it was 9:20pm. So we bought some beers and snacks and hung out at the station before boarding yet another over-biked train. The cycle back to the village was long and tiring, but not as long and tiring as the night before when we walked it. And the beautiful sky above, abundant with stars, made a nice distraction.
Walking with Finlay.
Walking Leoni.
Peaceful countryside.
Picnic at the lake.
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