Tag Archives: flammkuchen

CA: Days #16 & #17

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Thursday we did end up on a rooftop overlooking the vines of a local (& BIG) German winery called Alde Gott. Had a local spätburgunder (dry pinot noir) & a bacon/onion/cheese flammkuchen & enjoyed the view & the people watching. We did get to sit under a rather large umbrella,  (stretched across 4 or so tables), but I would have been perfectly fine one floor down in the tasting room with actual a/c & (just about) the same views we enjoyed from the roof. (Point of order: the roof views were far superior to the next-floor-down views, but the draw of the a/c made it all-the-more attractive to me. But not to anyone else who decided to go to Alde Gott that day… esp. the one I am married to.)

Eventually made our way back to Julia’s flat for a chill evening & a Hallmark movie (in Englisch!) that had received 4.8 out of 10 stars. It earned every single bit of it & was actually really funny & enjoyable to watch with the girls.

Friday was a day to hang out with Julia & her sister, Linda, & her husband, Heiko. Heiko is a leader in the Arche church led by Roland & attended by all Julia’s family, & helps oversee the Royal Rangers program that is really popular all over Eurasia (& beyond.) He’s like the ultimate boy scout & youth pastor & survivalist & great cook & so many other things all rolled into one. He recently joined a local association (Man Group)  that is connected to a local vineyard that has the distinction of being (one of) the most steeply graded vineyard in all of Europe. With typical American hyperbole I claimed it as THE most steeply graded vineyard in Europe, but with also typical German precision, I was voted down based upon the fact that we couldn’t know for 100% surety that it truly was THE most steeply graded vineyard in Europe.

Based upon Heiko’s access through his Man Group (he’s the youngest member – 38 years old; there are guys still active in the group in their mid-90s, which after accessing ONE OF the most steeply graded vineyards in all of Europe & hearing that these nonagenarians not only ACCESS the property, they help MAINTAIN it & actually cut the grass on the hillsides), we entered through a gate & began our hike.

When I say “hike” I mean “part-hike, part-climb, part-trek, part-hanging from security cables so you don’t fall off the side of the hill & tumble to your death on the rocks 50 feet below” kind of thing. He & Linda did bring Joah, their 6 year old, but he is evidently part mountain goat & weighs about 50 pounds & does more before 9 a.m. than most people do all day & his dad is the Head Royal Ranger, so he’s probably been training & stuff…

it was daunting. Fun. Exhilarating. Stretching. Beautiful. Scratchy (the brambles from the blackberry bushes snagged us a few times. Oh, & we ate blackberries til we didn’t want no more blackberries at all.)  The best part? When we (finally) made it to the top of the hill (about 500 meters/1600 feet or so climbed, NBD) we discovered the Man Group maintains a spartan little shack with table & some solar power. Heiko & Linda pulled out a German picnic: baguettes, salami & meats & cheeses; some hummus w/garlic & tomato that tasted like pizza sauce, a red-wine made from the actual vineyard we were sitting it (Engelberg – Angel Rock is what Heiko translated it as) & enjoyed the view & the respite. Took lots of pictures, but mostly just sat & conversed, laughed, & enjoyed the presence (& GIFT) of friends who were sharing their precious selves & lives with us.)

Eventually we navigated back down the mountain (different way – still rocky & steep but no safety wires required) & made it to where our cars were parked. The whole thing took about 3 hours & now, evidently, it was time to head to the place for dinner, so we dragged our sweaty & tired carcasses to the car & drove the 5 minutes to their house.

Klaus & Pia, Julia’s parents, joined us for dinner on the open-air terrace, which was a Raclette -party (click the link to make it easier on me). Kinda like a fondue-party feel, but with everyone having personal sized buffet to choose from, heat up on the flat-top in the middle, & then smother with cheese. We ate to our hearts content… lots of laughter, good talks, & never-ending entertainment with Joah. He has batteries that never run out.

It was 10:30 pm by the time we were done & Julia is usually in bed by 9:30 every day… so we scrambled to the car & drove to her house before she completely turned into a pumpkin. Showered when we got home (so good to get the stink & sweat off me) & then  TheBean & I sat up & hung out in our room for a bit… enjoying each other’s company & conversation.

We’ve got a rest day Saturday (plus doing a little wash & packing up,) then we are headed out to Frankfurt late Sunday. Really thankful for a great trip & visit here, wishing we could fit Julia in a suitcase or ship her back with us.

Deutschland 2023 – Day 2… “Time with family…”

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Sleep. It’s what we needed after a “i’m barely able to keep my eyes open but I’m pushing through it” travel day. Ended up crashing at about 8:30 p.m. according to my never-too-happy-with-my-sleep score Garmin watch.  And still, it tells me we got 11 hours (!) , albeit with a middle of the night “who/where/what am I doing?” moment followed by a couple hours of both of us trying to convince ourselves & each other that “Yes, we were indeed Ready, Willing, & not quite Able to return to the Land of Slumber.” But eventually we both dozed off again & slept well until about 9 a.m. 

Woke up to the smell of coffee & a spinach, bacon, onion, & shrooms frittata graciously prepared by the gifted Eddy & Laura. (In their 1st year of marriage, Laura made 365 different dinner meals for Eddy. For reals. She cooks like that & does mathematics {M.I.T.} too, ladies & gentlemen. But I digress…)

All the ‘kids’ (Taylor, Elliott, Max, & Kira) were either at school or in their space doing school online, so we settled down to Psalm 90, a prayer of thanksgiving, & to a couple hours of talks, interspersed with coffee & water refills & lots of laughter. 

We talked about family & the changes that come over time. About seasons of life & church, the  Working Genius assessment & how it can help within the context of life, relationships, church & work; God’s continued process of growth & healing in our lives; vulnerability, friendship, partnership, marriage, etc. Could have gone on for days.

The ‘boys’ come home from/finished up with school. I say ‘boys’ but they’re  20 & 18… young men.. both with a killer sense of humor, & definite/obvious gifts & applied intelligence. Taylor & Elliot added all sorts of joy & insight & perspectives to our conversations. 

In addition to pastoring a church Eddy is the VP at a worldwide company that does digital platforms for businesses, so he had to tackle some work meetings. My theBean & I started the process of getting ready, packing up & preparing for today’s travel by train to Baden-Baden late this afternoon to see our Julia.

The 90 minute train trip to Baden-Baden was uneventful & Julia met us right on the train exit. It’s been 7 years since we’ve seen her in person (we text & send Marco Polo’s to each other on the regular) & it was so good to see her! She swept us (& our luggage) into her car & transported us the 20 minutes or so to the house of her sister Linda & her incredible brother in law, Heiko. We first met them back in 2008 when they escorted teenage Julia to the US. For Hillsiders – imagine Cole had a German cousin who loved to cook & help as much as he does, (church, home, & Royal Rangers,) & add in a bevy of ATV’s, & you get a glimpse of this man.  

Also joining us @ the Casa de Tilgner (Heiko & Linda’s last name) were Julia & LInda’s parents, Klaus & Pia. Such gracious people who adopted us into their tribe when Julia originally came to stay with us. What a joy to be brought to the table of a family to celebrate life, eat great food (tonight it was round after round of different types of Flammkuchen – savory, veggie, & sweet) & tell stories, laugh til it hurt, & catch up on what God is doing & what is happening in their lives.

The time today (& the times over the last couple of days with the Dueck family) really make Acts 2:42 come to life… the powerful connection with God & each other that happens around shared meals, + shared time, space, & experiences. It requires that we give of ourselves, that we stretch into sharing a type of  ‘divine hospitality’ that reaches beyond the comfortable & invites the Holy Spirit to the table in a manner that develops, establishes, & maintains kingdom of God family connections. This is the way.

Around 11 pm, Julia drove us to her flat – so cute. After a quick tour, we headed to bed & ended up crashing pretty good shortly after midnight. Woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee (Julia has grown a lot & even incorporates coffee into her daily routine. If you know, you know.) I decided to finish this post (yesterday’s/Day 2’s) post & then dive into the day of fun, relaxation, & good talks. 

Thank you for your prayers – we are seeing the goodness of God & divine appointments set up for us on the daily. 

The pictures are Julia, theBean & Pia; theBean, Julia, Pia, Klaus, me, Heiko, & Linda; Klaus & me