Family Time in Stadtroda

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As always, Ralf did an amazing job of selecting the perfect place for some memorable time with our German family. I struggle because I have limited opportunity to get to know them and to hear about Ralf's upbringing from their perspective so it's always nice to have a cozy, relaxing location to spend time together. Ralf's choice was Hotel Hammermühle in Stratoda, Germany. It was a quaint country inn based around a former mill and not surprisingly, the staff was out of this world friendly! We got settled in our sunny room and welcomed Johannes, Martina and Ines a short while later. Ralf had arranged for the traditional coffee service which involves an enormous tray of cakes and coffee or tea in the late afternoon. Then a nice walk on the path near the hotel through the woods. The colors are just starting to change so I am thoroughly enjoying that. Then a sauna and dressed for dinner! Dinner was a special menu that Ralf had planned with the chef ahead of time and served in our own private area of the restaurant for fun night of good food, lots of laughs and attempts to try out my recently acquired German language skills. The first course of dinner was Carpaccio (a personal favorite), shrimp, and pumpkin soup. The main course was a quartet of medallions of beef, chicken, kangaroo, and ostrich! Believe it or not, I enjoyed all of them despite being a little hesitant on the latter two! And then for dessert, a little cup of mango smoothie, chocolate torte and crème brulee and cappuccino. What a fantastic meal! (Mom, pictures for you! I know you like that part of my blog). After dinner, and more conversation, the wait staff looked like they were ready to go home and the last guest before us had left at least an hour prior, so we moved down the hall to the cozy little front reception area and continued the fun. The next morning we all had a nice breakfast together in the cozy breakfast room before Ines had to leave to get back to Dresden for work and Ralf and I to check in to the bungalow.

We dropped Johnannes and Martina at home and headed for the bungalow. Ines had left us welcome flowers, champagne, chocolates and a huge bowl of fruit. Our friends, Friedi and Anja, left us flowers, beer and coffee! What a wonderfully warm welcome home! It was a great feeling to unpack the suitcases and do some laundry and finally get settled for the week.

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Photos

Main course
Kangaroo and Ostrich...oh my!