A very grapey week

September is warming up a little this week. After some days last week where we barely reached in to the 50's (12-14 degrees C) we finally got a week of warming weather. Not to say that the days don't start cool - we keep threatening to freeze - but the sun has been coming out consistantly and we are hitting the high-teens during the afternoon. I think it got up to about 19 on Sunday, which is pretty respectable for this time of year. But it has been very dry this month. Now, I know some of you are saying "Didn't Michael write something a couple weeks ago about a 'Very soggy Saturday'?" Yes, I did. But that was the only rain of significance we have had this entire month. It just happened that we decided to take a trip when the rain came. Oh well. Good thing we are from the Pacific Northwest. However, we have integrated into the German culture when it comes to umbrellas. Back in the PNW, you can generally tell a non-local because they carry umbrellas. Locals either wear a cap or have a good rain jacket with a hood. In Germany however, everyone carries an umbrella when the weather threatens rain. We now do the same for the most part. Of course, if I am riding my bike, an umbrella will not do, but generally, when walking or taking public transportation, we have our Regenschirm nearby. Most businesses provide umbrella stands - I don't remember the last time I saw an umbrella stand in the States. Darn thing would probably get stolen anyway if you left it to go shopping...

Okay, enough about weather. As I said, the sun has been shining which is perfect weather for picking grapes. As some of you may recall, the school has a small vineyard out in front of the school. It is a built up burm of ground with about a dozen rows of vines. There are several different varieties of grapes planted there and we (uh, I mean our students) get the priviledge of harvesting the grapes and making grape juice.

It is always a hit with the kids no matter how many years we do it (and frankly, we get so many new students every year that it is always a new experience for 1/3 of the school). Also, what better field trip is there than to get the young ones dressed up in grubby clothes and wellies, trudge across 20 feet of grass and be spot on your destination. The students are very proud of their accomplishments AND they get to sample the fruit of their labors - literally.

Just a second, the laundry finished and I have to iron my wrinke-free shirts...

Okay, mission accomplished. While the washing machine does a great job of washing, it spins the clothes at about 1100 RPM, wringing all the water out that it can. Unfortunately, this also tends to wrinkle even so-called "wrinkle-free" shirts. I find however that if I iron them straight out of the washer (yes, men can iron...) that it both removes the wrinkles and helps to dry the shirt out.

As I said, the boys and girls at Rhein International Academy really enjoy the grape harvesting. Or, maybe it is just that they get out of the classroom and get to do something different. Well, either way, the smiles say it all.

These girls were very productive - I think they produced more buckets of grapes than any other team. Mr. Walz is very proud.

We paired up older with younger students (they do have pruning shears you know...). We always emphasize "Safety First" but make sure that the younger students do get the opportunity to actually cut off some grape clusters.

You can see below just how close the vineyard is to the school... The green bucket is on a trailer at the bottom of the vineyard. Literally just a few meters from our front door.

Two kindergarten students are helping each other lift the enormous bucket laden with the fruit of the vine. Below you can see some of the variety that will soon become juice. Doesn't God make beautiful things! And tasty too...

The students are facinated with the grape press. With the pulp squishing out of the press several squeeze forward for a look. It takes an amazing number of grapes to make just a small quantity of juice. We plucked two bucketfuls of grapes from their vines to produce enough juice for everyone to get just a small sample. But it was all worth the effort. Now, when the students go to the store to buy juice, they KNOW from where it comes.

Here is a picture that captures just a little of the creativity and joy we see at RIA all of the time. During Art club, one of the teachers discovered during art that the heel of a shoe makes a pretty good painting stamp and the student was shown how a straw can be used to blow colors around to make pictures. In a couple of weeks, Michael will be starting up Chess club again (because the weather will make it increasingly difficult for Football (Soccer) club to meet.

It seems appropriate that at church we are spending several weeks looking at God's Creation - our place in it and our response to it. God has created beauty almost any place one looks, if one takes the time to really look. I hope you are able to take time this coming week to contemplate the simple, complex beauty of a flower or a sunrise and be blessed by it - and out of that to be a blessing to others in God's creation.

A Fairly Normal Week . . .

After a year or so of Michael faithfully writing the weekly blog, Delynn is taking a turn. Here goes. . .

So after church last Sunday, we walked down to Alt Weil (old Weil) where the annual StrassenFest is held. This is a street festival where the main attraction is food. It also marks the beginning of the 'Fest' season - which means that somewere in the area will be a festival every weekend between now and the end of the year. Along with the food are a few craft stalls. The picture below is of a craftsperson making straw shoes/slippers. We remembered this person from last year. I wonder how comfortable the slippers really are - and how well they hold up. When we were at the Open Air Museum (see the previous blog post), we read about the traditional Black Forest straw weaving. Apparently, it is alive and well and the tradition continues!
The week continued as normal - going to school and working with the students. Chapel is held each Friday and the teachers take turns leading it. There are 2 chapels - one for Kindergarten through 2nd grade and one for the 3rd to 6th grades. It was Michael's turn to lead Chapel for the younger children. One of the songs was 'Jesus loves the little children' and here are the students holding up the 'Red and Yellow, Black and White' papers when the words were sung in the chorus.

After work on Friday, I stopped at the store to pick up items for Nachos. I gathered up the meat, cheese, jalepenos, chips, etc., went to the register and checked out. As I went to my wallet, I realized I only had about 1/2 the amount of money needed to pay for the groceries. Being utterly surprised, I said "Meine mann hat meine geld", meaning "My husband has my money". Now this wasn't to blame Michael - it was just a statement of shock because I didn't have enough to pay for the groceries and if I didn't have the money, Michael must (along with the shock of being able to conjour up a complete sentence in German!). Of course the next thought was, "How do I say take some items back until I can pay for them?" This sentence did not come so easily and by then several more people were in line. Well, somehow the clerk understood and I paid for the items I had money for and went home wondering where my money was. About 1/2 hour later, Michael came home and when I replayed the scene, he said, "The money is in your coat pocket." And sure enough it was because a few days before when we went to the store together, Michael gave me the change and I put it in my coat pocket but neglected to put it in my wallet. Of course, I told Michael I couldn't show my face in that store for a week or so! Thankfully, we do most of our shopping at a different store. I don't think that has ever happened to me - in any country! At least I was able to laugh at myself. And actually, I went back to that store the next day, but I made sure not to go to the same cashier.

There's a first time for everything. Have a wonderful week and be sure you have enough geld with you to buy your groceries.

A very soggy Saturday...

Did I ever mention that sometimes, it rains just like in the Pacific Northwest? You know that rain... The rain that just never lets up the entire day. The rain that comes with the deep steel grey clouds (or are thay gray clouds?) - where it feels like the very clouds themselves are straining down under their damp loads to touch the earth. You know that rain. Well, we had THAT rain today.


Not that I'm complaining, just setting the backdrop for a trip we took with our friends to the Freilichtmuseum in the Schwarzwald. The Freilichtmuseum is an open air museum near the town of Gutach, deep in the agrarian country of the Black Forest. It is beautifully green land highlighted with steep valleys and thick forests. The Freilichtmuseum is a series of a dozen historic farmhomes and outbuildings (bakeries, mills, storehouses) taken from throughout the southern region of the Schwarzwald. The farmhomes are dismantled, transported and maticulously reconstructed with the original materials on the museum grounds. The only building not moved is the one pictured below (with its storehouse on the left), which inspired the idea of this open-air museum.




This farmhome was build in 1601. Yes, that is not a type-o. 407 years ago, this farmhome was built. Like most of the Südschwarzwald farmhomes, it was both house and barn. It housed families, animals and farm equipment. It serverd as a storage barn for feed and a workshop for weaving, forging and carpentry. This farmhouse was in service until about twenty years ago when it became the centerpoint for the museum.

The many valleys of the Schwarzwald gave rise to many, many different and unique communities. While quite similar in many ways (generally poor, rural farmers), the peoples developed varied styles of traditional dress (Trachten) that could identify individuals to a very specific area, sometimes with only a few miles separating the communities.

Above is the traditional Gutach Tracht. Whenever you see a young lady with the hat festooned with red pom-poms, it conjours a traditional Schwarzwald feel. Oh, yeah, when you marry, you trade in the red poms for black ones - I wonder if there is a double meaning hidden in that somewhere... You will notice subtle differences with the Furtwangen Tracht below (and the not-so-subtle differences to the 21st century Tourist Tracht). The communities of Gutach and Furtwangen are less than twenty miles apart.

In the houses that grew at lower elevations, where grain was more plentiful, thatched roofs protected the homes from the elements. The thatching is at least 20 cm (~1 foot) thick and we can personally testify that it keeps the rain out. The homes are kitted out with traditional furniture and accessories. The people of the Schwarzwald lived simple, God-fearing lives. They worked hard - a characteristic that is well known and respected even amongst the industrious German populations of other regions.

Of course, farms needed to be mostly self-sufficient. They grew their own food, sawed planks from hewn logs, ground flax for oil, backed bread 40 loaves at a time, pressed their own juice. We were amazed to find this huge pumpkin growing in the garden of one of the farmhouses (Delynn was added for scale). The Schwarzwald clock was also developed by these inventive fellows. By using wood instead of costly metal, the clocks of the Black Forest became a standard throughout Germany and Europe. Because they were inexpensive, it allowed affordable time-keeping to middle-class families for the first time ever. It seems weird to think of that today, but this was a breakthrough industry in its day.

Of the lesser known skills inherent among farmers of the Schwarzwald is the ability to craft and decorate fiberglass cows. While it may seem that this is a purely fruitless pursuit, it does augment the ticket sales (at €6 a pop) for the museum.

We really had a great time together with our colleagues despite the weather. It is the shared exploration and discovery that makes days like this special. Life is truly a journey, don't get stuck on the side-lines. Travel life, wherever you are. Live a peace with each other. Serve others with abandon, expecting nothing in return. Love all.

Peace be with you.

A late summer stroll through Weil a. Rh.

Another beautiful Sunday meanders its way slowly to sunset. Weil am Rhein can be very lovely at this time of year. The grapes are not yet ready, so the paths that wind their way through the various vineyards are not yet closed for harvest. As summer winds down, we need to take advantage of fair weather to relish what God has created for us to enjoy.

We had a great worship in the morning, but we nearly always arrive back home tired. We ate a simple meal and read through Der Sonntag newspaper. This is one of the two free newpapers that get delivered in our mailbox. Did I mention that mailboxes are much more open in Germany than in the States. Not only is your official post placed there, but all sorts of ads and such (like our free newpapers) are stuffed right into the box. We, like many other folks, get tired of all the junk ads that we ignore and have to recycle, so we put a label on our mailbox that asks for no advertisements. And do you know what? The people that distribute the stuff actually respect our request and don't put ads in our mailbox. Anyway, I digress.

For some reason, reading through a newspaper (regardless of the language) always puts us in the mood for a Sunday afternoon nap, so we threw in some wash (which gives us a good 90 minutes until it is done), read a little more and dozed for a while. We awoke refreshed and the weather had turned warmer and clearer than expected. After finishing up our chores, we decided to take advantage of the fortuitous climate and stroll up to the vineyards east of town.

Our stroll took us up above the towns of Weil and Haltingen (the picture immediately below is of the town of Haltingen). There are kilometers and kilometers of roads (tractor paths mostly) that criss-cross the vineyards and apple orchards blanketing the hillside above our town. We came across these wonderful sunflowers as they were turned to catch the rays of the evening sun - they look so happy...
The vineyards are getting heavy with grapes, nearly ready for the harvest. The harvest should begin by late this month or early next. Already, some grapes are being harvested for juice - and let me tell you there is nothing that compares to fresh pressed grape (or apple) juice. We are so fortunate to live where this is all so abundantly available. Mmmmm. I apologize, but we just received a call from some friends of ours inviting us out for a kugel (italian ice cream), so enjoy the pictures below while we go for a much earned ice cream (we walked for 90 minutes!).

Okay, we are back. I had a Cherry-cream and Stracciatella (sort of italian chocolate-chip) double scoop and Delynn had a Stracciatella and Chocolate. We are very satisified...

Oh yeah, garden gnomes are quite popular in this part of the country. They are called Zwerge in German and they come in all shapes and sizes. This one seemed quite content in his garden home...

The Rathausplatz in Weil am Rhein. Next week, Weil will be celebrating with a street festival in the old city (Altstadt) - it is the start of festival season throughout the region, so we will have lots to fill up our weekends. We pray that everyone has a blessed week. Keep the faith!

So much to tell. So little time.

We are a little behind this week (and it's only the third week of school!!!) - the weekend was just chock full of fun, meaningful, joyful, tough, tiring, smiling activities. It was one of those weekends when you need a day off to recover.

Last week occasioned RIA's 5th anniversary. In addition to celebrating with a school party (wait till you see the cupcakes that our friend Kelly made...) we had a classroom theme day on Friday and a family fun celebration (and grill party) on Saturday. Each class came up with a theme that the students could use for a dress-up day. While you can probably guess what the 1st and 2nd grade class chose (9 girls, no boys), some of the other classes were pretty inventive.

Kelly put together each little lion (our mascot) cupcake by hand. I think the cornflake manes were the most clever.

So, did you guess that the girls would dress up as fairy princesses? These girls jump at any chance to wear pink! Oh yeah, I think we got a unicorn in there too!

The 3rd/4th grade class decided to go on Safari! Guess which one is playing the tourist? The students really loved the monkey puppet!

The 4th/5th grade class decided on a "wear your flag" theme. This special student and her full-time assistant are both proud to wear the stars and stripes.

I was forward thinking enough to bring my special apron that nephew Matt made for me way back in middle-school. It is a cow-print design - which by the way is very popular with our Swiss families. Since I had the apron, I had the joy of doing the grilling. Now, in Germany, we don't have bohemouth gas grills that pump out 40,000 BTUs. The school has a Weber knock-off with an 18-in diameter grill. Luckily, we had plenty of wood coal; Cam and I got it stoked and burning. We grilled ears of corn, three-dozen burgers and just as many wiener wuerstchen over the course of about an hour. We danced around the grill, moving the meats from hot spots, turning the dogs and avoiding the smoke as much as possible. I only had one burger too charred to eat. We had a great (but tiring) time.

Just as we finished cleaning up, I drove Delynn and two other staff to catch a train to Solothurn. They had made arrangements to overnight in the city before the big walking marathon which was held on Sunday. Delynn will share a bit of her experiences but let me just say how proud of her I am. (Is that correct English?) She trained, she sweat more than I have ever seen her sweat in 13 years of marriage. She suffered through blisters and bruised toes but she kept up the rigourous training schedule for the event.

I was scheduled to lead Music worship at ACB Sunday morning, so I stayed in Weil a. Rh. until after the morning service before I took to the road with my friend Cam (whose wife was also walking) to Solothurn. We arrived about 90 minutes before the race closed - interesting thing. The Swiss timed the race start times so that to complete the marathon, everyone had to keep a pace of at least 6 km/hr (which is almost 4 mi/hr) - a pretty blistering pace for 42.2 km. The marathon ended at 16.00 (4pm) sharp. In fact, they had the entire finish area pretty much torn down and stowed by 16.30 because it was right in the middle of the city's old town. We really enjoyed our brief look around the town, but the walkers weren't too interested in doing any sight seeing after the race, so we will have to make a return day-trip of it.

Here are Delynn and Jennifer soon after the close of the marathon. Frankly, I think the smiles are delirium. I took the picture below right after I asked these two parents "Are you ready to go again?" - I believe they thought I was off my rocker.

Here is what Delynn has to say about the whole marathoning experience:

I didn't feel like doing much last night when I got home, so sorry I didn't send out the results sooner. I walked (and walked and walked) yesterday, but I didn't quite make it to the end. I walked 35 of the 42 kilometer marathon, which is close to 22 miles. The course was designed so the 'challenging' part was at the end - this means there were 2 big hills in the last 12-14 kilometers. I made the first one OK, came down and was doing OK and made it to 35 before I just couldn't do anymore. The organizers called someone, who drove me back to the town. In the car, the man told me there was another big hill past where I stopped. So, I'm glad I stopped when I did - the second hill was very steep both going up and coming down. All in all, I am satisfied with my results. I wish I could have finished but there was no sense causing more bodily harm to myself.

I am pretty tired today but my feet are in pretty good shape - no blisters but a few bruised toenails. For the statistically inclined: A total of 5515 people completed the marathon with distances of 6 km, 10.5 km, 21.5 km and 42 km. In the 42 kilometers category, only 38 people signed up and 31 finished for walking. There is also a category for Nordic walking which had 179 people sign up and 161 finished. So I guess even to go 35 km was more than the vast majority of the people went.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.