Father's Day: This Year with No Broken Bones

The same Culinary Hike we went on last year on Father's Day where Isaac broke his arm on the bouncy house, Brian was dying to return to for Father's Day this year without being interrupted by a broken arm.  We invited everyone we know (three other families ended up coming) and brought a new friend along too.  Brian is a "the more the merrier" kind of guy, so this was just what he wanted for his Father's Day.

All of the culinary hikes are in the "middle of nowhere" so to speak.  The villages are spread out here and that leaves a lot of "middle of nowhere" space in between which is absolutely beautiful.  A bunch of families came straight from Mass, but we were not all following each other so we arrived at different times slightly.  There was a one way road and some construction this year that caused us to go to different starting points.  Two families ended up on one side and two on the other.  We decided to just all park and walk towards each other. We met up and had a fantastic day!

At each stopping point there are food and drinks for sale with a smattering of tables.  They were not prepared for four Catholic families though.  There were not enough tables in most places and we sat on blankets.  I was happy to see that the death trap of last year's bouncy house was replaced with a new one.  However, upon closer inspection, this one was pretty dangerous as well.  Kids were climbing up in the top where the holes are in the "soccer ball" (see picture) and it was causing the house to start to collapse on the kids inside.  There were so many big kids in there that I didn't let Bobby go in.  He wasn't thrilled about this, but he's too little to hold his own in there.

This was the day three of Bob's potty training, but he had no problems here since he could pee anywhere, and who doesn't love to pee in the bushes?  Besides me, I mean.

After we made it home, Brian had to leave for the airport for his Father's Day present.  He went for a week to Scotland to go fishing all by himself.  

Volksmarch and Cistercian Monastery (with a brewery, of course!)

We drove 2.5 hours to this volksmarch and walked 5 kilometers.  It had some steep places, but it was primarily in the shade and was so nice.  The views were stunning, and the children did very well.  No complaining from anyone.  The kids were actually running way ahead of us.  Bobby was in the Ergo on me.  I switched him to my back because he was discontent on my front.  It was actually easier on me that way.  Brian pushed Judah most of the time except for a short time when we put Bob in the stroller because he was asking to go in it instead of riding with me.  Judah doesn't last long though on the steep parts.  A friend of ours walked with us so we were in good company and had lots to talk about.

The whole crew, but I guess Bob is mostly hidden.

Drew with his walking stick he found.

After the walk we went with our walking group over to have lunch and a tour of the brewery at a Cistercian monastery.  Then we went to the church where we caught the end of a wedding ceremony.

After the wedding party cleared out, it was almost time for vespers (evening prayer) so we stayed for that.  It was so beautiful.  The monks sung their prayers and it echoed throughout the church.  I took a couple small videos towards the end.

Bobby was a trooper even with a very tiny nap in the van in between the walk and lunch.

That is where the monks stood for vespers until the end when they walked over to a small altar next to us.

This video is when the monks were standing in front of the altar next to us.  Bobby could have reached right out and touched their vestments.

It was a very long day, leaving at 7am and returning at 8pm, but it felt good.  I'm so glad the summer is here.  Nevermind that our a/c was out in the van or that it was 90F.  At least I wasn't cold!

Another Culinary Hike

While Brian was gone, I also decided to get wild and crazy and go on another culinary hike with some friends.  It was about 7 kilometers long.  We ate Flammkuchen and some sausages.  I alternated between carrying Judah and Bobby in the Ergo carrier while I pushed the other in the stroller.  

Beautiful day and good walk mostly in the shade!

Culinary Hike with Family and Friends

Sunday morning we all went to Mass.  Then we quickly hopped on the train to go to the culinary hike that we went on last year.  Last year it was horrible weather, but this year it was amazingly perfect.  It is a beautiful hike with breathtaking views, but it was also a challenging one. The very first part of the walk was a steep incline that gave Nanna a run for her money.  About station number three there was a short cut back to the main square, and so she ended up taking that option when she looked up and saw the groups walking across the valley on the other side of the town.  

The station with the smoked salmon is the most popular, and also the one my children most look forward to.  The line once we got there was really long, a wait of almost two hours altogether.  We saw many friends at this station since it was like a dam, collecting people in it's line.  I sat and watched the kids play while the others waited in the line.  Can I just say that I don't even like salmon, so that long of a wait was hardly worth it to me?   

After that we were actually running short on time in order to catch the 7 o'clock train.  We ended up backtracking to station three and taking that short cut (which isn't so short when you have to backtrack to it.)  We picked up a couple pizzas and ice cream for the children on the way to the square to find Nanna.  Then we had just a little time to spare and stopped at the Denk Mal, a hundred year old bar that literally leans, for a quick drink.  We crammed onto the over-stuffed train, and 15 minutes later we were back in our village.

First Volksmarch of the Year: Bad Durkeim

The weather finally held out for us to have a nice walk.  A Volksmarch is basically a scheduled and mapped out hike on a path with a bunch of people.  The walks are always beautiful.  They usually have three or more distances and have signs marking where the trail turns for each level.  We usually do the shortest one with the kids.  This past weekend was a 5K, and we invited some friends of ours to join us.  Brian pushed Judah and he pretty much didn't walk at all this time.  Usually, he'll hop in and out if we have the stroller.  I wore Bobby.  Both the little guys were super happy in their comfy spots.  With a friend to talk to the walk just flew by for me.  At the end of the walk, we stopped at a flea market and grabbed some brats and currywurst for lunch and then we walked into town for ice cream.

Bad Durkeim was just under an hour from our house and has a signature giant wine barrel which is where the walk began.  Another fact about these walks are that there are many groups of volksmarchers.  We are members of the Roadrunners.  Many of the Roadrunners go on a march every weekend and collect stamps from the walk and patches.  Throughout the trail there are check points where you can get your booklet stamped.  Usually, there are snacks and drinks available, like hot tea and cookies were provided this time.

It wasn't nearly as cold as Judah makes it look.  It was in the 50's and sunny, but if you weren't moving the wind did make it chilly.

The kids enjoy them, but Hannah always complains on the way there.  She just doesn't like to leave the house for almost anything.  Our walk was Saturday and on Sunday we took the kids (after Mass) to the Lego Batman movie.  This was the first movie that we have all gone to together since Genna's first movie in a theater, Horton Hears a Who.  This was Judah and Bobby's first movie in a theater.  Bobby did fine, but only watched about 60% of it.  He ate his lunch and an apple to help keep him busy and seated.  Judah thought the movie theater was pretty cool and said his favorite part was when Batman shot the rope at the Joker.

My First Volksmarch

 I went on my first Volksmarch today in Rodenbach.  Brian has been taking the oldest four on them without me and the babies.  This one was close and the weather is finally getting more tolerable so I braved it.  On the way there Judah threw up all over himself.  I am pretty sure it was the dairy we were trying out on him that morning.  He had a German donut with a chocolate glaze.  I knew the chocolate glaze probably had some dairy that wasn't "baked in" enough for him, but I thought we'd try it just to see what happened.  Now we know.

We decided to put him in the stroller just in case he threw up again.  He was a prefect little angel in his stroller and so very quiet.  He usually is a chatty one, but not in the stroller.

It was a 6K walk and took us about an hour.