The Kitchen!

Today is the big day....we finally get our kitchen. In fact, the guys are here installing it now. I am hoping they will finish soon so I can spend the rest of the day organizing it and doing some shopping. Nathan gets off of school at 11:15 on Mondays and Fridays, so he will be home in a few minutes to see the process. I will post a picture when it is complete.

Look carefully at the picture....Notice that we don't have a stove?  We did have a nice glass cooktop brought in and set down on the floor to await installation, but when the installers were bringing in the countertop, the guy who was walking backward accidentally stepped on it and it shattered.  We will get our new stove on Tuesday (July 31!!!!!).  

Yesterday Nathan and Charlie went to the castle in Kaldenberg to attend the Middle Ages Festival. The Prince of Bavaria was the host. There were knights, a tournament and other middle age activities. I was feeling I'll, so I stayed home and rested.

 Nathan had a bout of home sickness last night after the tournament. He misses all his family and friends and speaking English. I think it helped him that I told him Daddy and I would probably have the same problem within a few weeks or months too. It is difficult living in a country where you don't speak the language fluently (or at all). Although we are learning a lot, and are becoming more adept at understanding German, we are still struggling to speak it. Even when I know the words I want to say, they look at me weird like they are trying to decipher my strange accent. Interesting being on the other side for once.

 We still love it here, though. Charlie and I discovered that July is Pfifferling season. It last about two weeks. Pfifferlings are tiny little mushrooms that are delicious. We went to a restaurant on the lake and sat on the patio and had PfifferlingCremeSuppe (Pfifferling cream soup), then a steak with pfifferlingen and some kind of flavorful sauce with potatoes and salad. It was so good. If you come visit us, you may want to seriously consider coming during Pfifferling season.  Delicious!!

We have also been exploring the town a little bit.  Here are a few pictures of the lake and the little castle that are here.

This weekend we attended the "SchlossGartenFest".  It is a huge Bavarian festival with live music, bavarian food (like fish on wood - fish on a stick), and traditional Bavarian water sports.  Here is a picture of big Bavarian guys in small wooden boats racing around in the lake.  Most of the guys ended up in the water.  It was a big hoot.  Charlie is already thinking about joining the race next year and has recruited one of our friends, Mark, to team up with him.  When we arrived at the festival, the band (all the members in LiederHosen) were singing the Bavarian version of Achy Breaky Heart.  Imagine Garth Brookes with an accordian player in the band.

We have been working a little bit more on the house and recently got some curtains for our big living room window.  Although we don't have a lot of furniture and knick knacks, the house is slowly beginning to take shape.