It’s been another busy week! Before we know it, we’ll be at the end of the year and past the 300 week mark. It’s crazy to think about how quickly time is flying by!
Matt has been working in the building all week, but somehow I still haven’t managed to run into him. I know he’s there because a few of my coworkers have spotted him, but it still feels strange knowing we’re working in the same place without actually seeing each other. We aren’t able to carpool just yet because he’s still waiting for access to several things he needs to work independently and set his own hours. We’re hoping everything will come together by the end of next week, and hopefully, it won’t be much longer before our schedules finally line up and we can make that commute together!
Friday night, we headed to the Hawkes’ house for their annual Halloween party. Amy is an incredible decorator, and I honestly don’t think there is a single blank space in her house. Everything is so thoughtfully put together, and she manages to make every corner feel like part of the theme.
This year’s theme was Dynamic Duos, so Matt and I went as Tinkerbell and Peter Pan. My costume was a bit of an adventure, taking four attempts over the course of six weeks to get just right. The final version finally arrived Friday afternoon, and thankfully, it fit! All that effort paid off because we even managed to take home second place in the costume contest.
There was plenty of delicious food, and Amy and Heath definitely went all out with their costumes. They dressed up as a Christmas Tree Cake and Little Debbie, complete with Little Debbie cakes incorporated into the decorations. All the Americans were pretty excited about the treats since they aren’t something we can normally get over here. It was such a fun evening filled with great food, good company, lots of laughs, and a much later bedtime than usual!
Saturday was Halloween, and while Ryan headed out with friends, Matt and I, along with the pups, finally tackled a Black Forest hike I had been wanting to do for quite some time. It was a cold and very ‘frische’ day, as the Germans say, but we bundled up and headed toward Altensteig. Altensteig is one of those quintessential Black Forest towns, with a beautiful medieval old town filled with half timbered houses, narrow cobblestone streets, and steep little stairways. An old castle overlooks the town, making the whole place look like something straight out of a storybook.
We parked and set off on our hike, which turned out to be much shorter than we had expected. It took us only about 30 minutes to reach the top of the hill, where we were rewarded with a lovely viewpoint overlooking Altensteig.
On our way back down, the noon bells started ringing, making for a pretty perfect little Black Forest moment. The scenery was beautiful, but since it was still so early in the day, we decided to keep exploring and make a few more stops.
Our next stop was Alpirsbach, a small town tucked away in the Kinzig Valley. It is best known for its impressive Benedictine monastery, which dates back to the 11th century, as well as its traditional brewery, home to the popular local beer, Alpirsbacher. The town is also surrounded by the beautiful scenery of the Black Forest, making it another lovely place to explore.
We had hoped to find somewhere to grab lunch, but quickly discovered that most places close around 2 p.m. Apparently, we had missed our window! With lunch no longer an option, we made the most of our visit by quickly exploring the monastery, brewery, and cloister gardens before heading back to the car.
Back in the car we went, this time heading to Schiltach. Schiltach is another gorgeous little Black Forest town, known for its beautifully preserved half timbered houses, historic market square, and winding cobblestone streets. Located where the Schiltach and Kinzig rivers meet, it is one of those places that looks like it belongs on a postcard.
Unfortunately, our luck with finding lunch wasn’t getting any better. Everything seemed to either be closed for the season now that summer was over or had already closed for the afternoon. After trying two different towns and striking out everywhere, we finally gave up and headed to McDonald’s. Delicious! Sometimes you just have to know when to call it quits.
We eventually made it home, took a much needed nap, and got up just in time for the trick or treaters. We didn’t have a huge turnout, but we did have a few groups of kids stop by. Halloween isn’t quite the same here as it is in America. German children who participate generally go door to door, ringing doorbells and calling out “Süßes oder Saures,” which is the German version of trick or treat. Not every neighborhood participates, and you won’t necessarily see the same number of decorated houses or children out and about as you would back home.
In recent years, though, with more and more Americans moving into our neighborhood, we’ve started seeing more trick or treaters each year, so we made sure to prepare for them this time around. Unfortunately, we didn’t end up getting quite as many visitors as we expected. There were probably a couple of reasons for the smaller turnout. With protests taking place across Europe, Germany had temporarily introduced restrictions on face coverings, which may have affected some Halloween celebrations. Baden-Württemberg was also on school holiday that week, so quite a few families were likely away for the break. Both may have contributed to a quieter Halloween night than we had anticipated.
After the trick or treaters slowed down, we settled in for a movie while Ryan had his own Halloween plans. He went trick or treating on base with friends, then came home and the boys decided to make a seafood boil. Apparently, that wasn’t enough excitement for one evening because they eventually set up camp in the basement pool. I think they managed to make their Halloween a pretty good one!
Sunday, Matt and I headed out again, this time to Untertürkheim to hike through the vineyards and take in the changing autumn colors. We brought the dogs again and I am imagining what they must think of all these adventures we are taking them on.
The vineyards were beautiful, with different shades of yellow, orange, and red stretching across the hillsides. We didn’t make it quite as far as we had planned because our legs were still feeling Saturday’s hike, so we decided to call it early. We’ll hopefully head back next weekend to finish the route, including making it to the observation tower.
We finished off the weekend with a visit from Alex and Chiara, who brought along Gigi, their giant dachshund. And when I say giant, I mean GIANT! He is absolutely enormous but also the biggest baby. We ordered takeaway, caught up on everything, and enjoyed a relaxed evening together.
Between Halloween festivities, exploring more of the Black Forest, wandering through picturesque little towns, and taking in the autumn vineyard views, it was another good week in Germany!
