LANDED AND HOT

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well after a long flight from melb to Frankfurt via Hong Kong, we stepped out from Customs att around 6am to a smiling niece and her finacee. Hugs and kisse all round , then in search of the car. Unlike Melbourne airport, the arrivals lounge has you walking directly into the carpark, and only when exiting the park station did we get our first glimpse of daylight in Germany. Good thing we had a driver.....we would have no idead where to go, what lane, in what direction. It is quite confusing. Eventually Clauds got the Merc up to over 200kph (when allowed) and trust me, you would not know unless you looked at the speedo.

We arrived in Hassloch around 7.00am, to find the house locked up and no-one home! karin had gone out to get the fresh bread, deli meat (which is all pork based) and flowers, thinking we would be a while longer. So Phil & I sat on the front door step, pretending to be little lost souls until she arrived. What sort of a welcome was that!

Anyhow, all was good, brekky eaten, champers drank and then the nasty 'Wall of Sleep' prevailed upon us and off to sleep we went at around 10am. Woke around 2pm, to a 30c temperature outside! Ate n drank some more, and then we had to prepare for our first outing.....The Deidesheimer Wine Street Festival.

Music, beer/wine tents, food vendors/ the towns people all put up tents or open their homes to cater for the crowds. It is tradition that a person buys a large drink called a scholler, which is 250ml of wine & 250ml of mineral water and it is shared amongst your group, along with a communal snack of Flammkuchen, which is a very thin dough, smothered in Creme Fraiche, then topped with onion and bacon, and baked. Too die for!

We wander around looking at the village buildings, checking out the age, design or decoration or stopping to watch the various bands, both oompa and rock!!!, and decide to choose another venue to drink and eat at. And the pace is set. By nightfall the streets and alleys are crowded and a younger set of festival goers are walking with their drinks or standing around the many bar style tables placed everywhere. Time to go home as we 'oldies' are hot as well tired. The amount of smokers everywhere, inside eating tents as well in the street was astonishing. The Germans have not embraced the smoking restrictions like we Aussies have! I have to say, i am very glad that we have got those rules.

Tried for a sleep in on Sunday morning but I guess our body clocks have still got a bit of adjusting to do! Anyhow it was still bloody hot and no doubt going to get hotter by the hour, and this we have to adjust to as well. karin had planned a BBQ late lunch today, so after a bit of preparation, we sat on the terrace outside, with fans moving the air around as well as having put up beach umbrellas to ward off the sun. I was happy to see some chicken on the menu as pork is the meat on offer here in every shape, form, and flavour. Loads of salads too but they were quite normal as far as our tastes were concerned. So now to find a wine that I liked. It is a challenge i am prepared to take on! and so far haven't quite got a flavour I really like. Will keep you posted :-)

Another hot. humid and restless night followed and so today, we start allover again. Except it is now 35c and no wind or rain in sight. So what can I say.....more fluids must be drank and that's what we did!!!!

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Comments

[Stewart Connelly]

Jealous!!!
the only thing I can say is we have reasonable weather here at the moment! Enjoy it all you lucky couple! You deserve it.