We didn’t make more schnapps today. Perhaps tomorrow.
Instead, William and I went out and cut the grass and weeded the perimeter of their garden. Sounds simple, right? Well, almost 5 hours later we still hadn’t finished. It’s not even that large of a garden! We would have finished but it started raining during lunch so they let us off work early.
Grass is obnoxious. Particularly the roots. We have, however, seen a lot of slug sex the past couple days. That’s fun. There are a lot of slugs here, particularly when it is so wet. Did you know the German word for slug is Nacktschnecke, which literally translates to “naked snail”? These things are important.
Lunch was homemade Spätzel mit Käse and caramelized onions. So much yum. And how could it not be with spätzel, homemade with backyard eggs, and local cheese? I’m sure the onions were from the garden, too. It was a slow lunch and we talked a lot during it, which I think is one of the best parts of being here. I have really enjoyed learning from our hosts.
Some fun tidbits we learned today: 1. Spätzel is a tradition dish to the farmers in this region. It is made from things they easily had on the farm – wheat, eggs, and cheese. 2. The town we are staying in, Ingenried, has a population of about 300 people. It is primarily farms; there are only a couple businesses. Most people go into Pforzen or Kaufbeuren for anything they need. Because of this, there are about as many cows as there are people. Thankfully, the cow smell isn’t too strong. I think the town smells mostly like cheese.
And as promised, here is a picture of the eggs here. These pictures do not do those yolks justice!
Even though it is only our second full day, I am already starting to feel comfortable here. I am really enjoying my time, even when I am getting stiff crouching over grass and weeds, and I can see a bit of a routine forming. I love watching William speak German with our hosts, and I enjoy listening and seeing what I can pick up.
Updates on the apartment front: We contacted three places, two WGs and one apartment 7km out of town, today. We haven’t heard back yet, but hopefully we will soon! WG stands for Wohngemeinschaft, and is a flat share. Essentially we would be someone’s roommates. This is a great option because we have people to help us get settled, it is already mostly furnished, and we don’t have to deal with all the legalities of getting an apartment rented. But it is hard to get into one as a married couple.
I’m enjoying your updates Chloe. I am so excited for you & Will. What a wonderful adventure.