Germany, Day 2

5/21/2011
Farchant, Germany
I.S.'s apartment

Quite a day today. After sleeping in a bit, I got up, showered and dressed, and was ready to start the day just as I.S. came back in (she had to work this morning). I.S. lives in paradise, by the way. Farchant is nestled in the mountains, and the scenery is breathtaking. It's the kind of place you visit, and you think, "can you imagine living here?" And you can't imagine it, because it's just so beautiful, it doesn't seem real. Except I.S. does live here.

I.S. is also an exceptional host. It's true that the fact that she lives in paradise makes this job easier, but she goes above and beyond. On top of everything she's shown me and done for me, I'm totally dependent on her linguistically, because that 3.5 years of German? That was a long time ago, and I didn't retain much of it until test day, much less 15 years later.

As part of I.S.'s exceptional hosting, she took me to Koenigschloss Linderhof, which is a villa/castle that King Ludwig of Bavaria built based on Versailles. It's beautiful and ornate, and includes a man-made grotto and various buildings for the express purpose of staging Wagner's operas. Apparently Ludwig was a fan. In his grotto, he also had a pond/lake/body of water, and a little row-boat. From time to time, he would have a costumed servant row him about in his grotto. I don't see how one can do this and not feel a little bit silly, but somehow King Ludwig managed.

After we saw the castle and wandered the grounds, we left Linderhof and went to the Partnach Gorge. It was just as breath-taking as you'd expect. You actually walk along the gorge itself, as you marvel at the fact that water can cut through rock that way, and look down at the water still cutting through the rock. There's an observation about power here, but I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader. Along the way to the Gorge, we stopped in for some coffee and a bite to eat. I ordered Weissbraten -- white sausage -- which I.S. says is a traditional Bavarian food. It was served with sweet mustard and one of those large Bavarian pretzels. It wasn't bad -- I wouldn't eat a lot of it (it came with three links, of which I ate two and let I.S. finish it for me), but in small doses it was tasty. After the Gorge, we took a gondola down the mountain, and then headed back to I.S.'s place, where K was waiting. We regrouped and headed out to I.S's sister's place.

I.S.'s niece is getting confirmed on Sunday, and this evening the immediate family was getting together for a barbecue. This included I.S.'s parents, her two sisters, their husbands & children (including the Niece of Honor), and I.S.'s brother. It's no surprise that I.S.'s family is charming and wonderful. Everyone was very friendly, and every one of them spoke better English than I speak German. Still, they're a German family, and they speak German to each other. I catch every tenth word if I'm lucky. The nice thing, though, is that I know that if someone around me is speaking English, they are in fact speaking to me.

We arrived, I'm introduced around, and I do my best to remember names (but of course I don't). I'm served a plate of delicious food, and given a beer. I'm having a good time listening to the young boys practice their English for my benefit, and generally having fun, when I.S. comes up to me and explains that she's leaving -- they're putting up a tarp for tomorrow, and she has a bigger one, so she's going to run home and get it. I'll be fine, right? Of course I will. Still, I.S. thinks the bravest thing I did today was try the weissbraten. I think this was. I wasfine, though -- even when it started raining and we moved everyone inside (her sister, to me, "I think we should move inside, ok?" -- this was because I was sitting, suddenly by myself, watching raindrops hit the sausage on my plate, wondering what to do...).

I.S.'s family is warm and kind, and of course I.S. knows that, so she didn't worry about leaving me with them. She returned after not very long, and the night wore on, with lots of laughter and camaraderie. I learned some new German words, including "Schussel" (bowl) and "Schlussel" (key), and "Secht" (sparkling wine). (I'm probably misspelling all of them, and possibly mixing them up too). For dessert, we had grilled bananas with chocolate. Then we said our goodbyes and headed home to sleep.