September 1
The next morning we got up early for a good German breakfast – bread, butter, jam, eggs, juice, tea, and the cutest little apple pie you have ever seen. We took fruit, bread, meat, and this spreadable herb cheese I am obsessed with for lunch.
My breakfast (some of which was my lunch)
Then in search of WiFi so we could get info on our appointments for the day. Nothing in Bad Wildbad, and the tourist office we used last year for internet was closed. Eventually we found it a little outside of Calw (yes, Calw, not Claw). We huddled in the sprinkling rain outside of a McDonald’s to confirm our appointments and text my parents. And there was much rejoicing.
With rest, water, and a regular meal, we were feeling much better and could really appreciate the gorgeous countryside. Like the fact that the farmland is different! And I don’t just meat a giant field of soy versus a giant field of corn. We saw patches of cabbage, among others.
They also have similar road construction to Minnesota. Makes sense: Milder winters, but still a similar climate. We never saw any giant pot holes, though. Overall assessment of driving: we figured it out, but we have no desire to own a car. Trains are just fine for me!
We arrived in Neugablonz around 11:30 to look at an apartment. It was nice. In good shape and a decent size. But we need to fully furnish it, including buying a kitchen and a washing machine. We have to decide by tomorrow morning. It seems like a good place and we have no other options for as soon as we need a place, but that is quite the investment. We also picked up a cell phone and a prepaid SIM card to tide us over until we can research phone plans.
From there we got lost trying to find our way out of town thanks to some road construction and made our way to Ingenried. It is a little town north of Kaufbeuren where we will be staying for our first two weeks on an organic farm. What we are doing is called WWOOFing. We work for the family in exchange for room and board. It is a very nice little place and our room is huge! There is one other traveler here as well. Surprisingly, also from America! We have taken it pretty easy tonight, but we did harvest onions and potatoes. It started raining while we harvested the potatoes and we actually got a bit cold. The stiffling heat we dealt with all day disappeared quite quickly with the rain.
The family is vegetarian, but between the eggs from their free range chickens and the amazing lasagna we had for dinner, I’m pretty sure we will manage.
Tomorrow looks to be another busy day – we have to pay our deposit by 9am, return the car at 10, and then earn our meals and who knows what else.
View out our bedroom window
