Grüss Gott from Aalen! We're in southern Germany, and that's how you say "hi". (Really, just say "goose guts" really fast and they'll think you're a local). We are now hanging about with Nick's relatives in a small town called Unterkochen, close to a slightly larger city called Aalen, in the south of Germany. To find it, first find Stuttgart, then slide your finger east until you are roughly halfway between Stuttgart and Munich. We're in the more rural south, where churches dominate every town, no matter how small. There's an Unterkochen and an Oberkochen, both named for the Kocher river (here it's more like a fast-moving creek that cuts through the town) in this land of low hills and valleys. We are in Swabia, and here they speak a dialect of German called "Schwabisch" (shway-bish).
... read more