Wadern

Friday and Saturday, July 26 & 27 

Friday morning we awoke and went downstairs to find Nadine had set an amazing breakfast table, with baskets overflowing with fresh rolls and croissants, platters of varieties of cold cuts, cheeses, juice, jams, spreads, coffee, you name it.  We dined leisurely and discussed what to do for the day.  The weather was a bit iffy that morning, with clouds and some drizzle.  We thought we would try to find something indoors to do.  They had mentioned that there was a dinosaur museum not to far away, with an indoor play structure.  We all agreed that would be a good way to entertain the kids, and so we set off in our German station wagon caravan and drove for half an hour or so until we reached the Gondwana Das Praehistorium.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, and was slightly taken aback by the steep admission price, but in we went to see what this place was all about.  

Part of the Argentinosaurus skeleton in the lobby

Given the giant exhibit of the massive Argentinosaurus skeleton in the lobby, I thought that it would be similar to the dinosaur skeleton galleries, much like what we have seen before at both the Natural History museums in London and Washington DC.  Instead, however, it turned out to be more of a time travel experience where we were led through a series of rooms that were incredibly lifelike recreations of prehistoric times, beginning in the Precambrian period, with the very first forms of life, and then moving through the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods, and on to the age of mammals and cavemen.  

We were all very impressed by rooms with incredibly lifelike animatronic dinosaurs, and settings complete with water, plants, even “snow.”  In addition, the lighting set the mood, as well as a soundtrack of animal roars and squeals coordinating with the movements of the reptiles.  It was extremely cool, like nothing I had ever been to before, and the boys of course loved it.  

We had a late lunch in the museum cafe, and then sat for another hour or so while the boys played in the indoor play structure.  The weather was quite warm, and they boys were itching to get back in the pool, so we headed home and sat outside while the boys played and splashed around.  The next door neighbor kids even hopped the fence and joined in on the fun.

Since we had such a late lunch, we weren’t hungry for dinner until quite late, and we decided to keep it simple and just order pizza, since we got back late.  Once we put the boys down, Gavin and Jörg headed down the street to a neighborhood birthday bash, where Gavin had the chance to practice even more speaking in German, his fluency rapidly improving by the hour.  Nadine and I stayed at the house with the boys, and had an evening of girl-bonding.  Though it was somewhat difficult for us to communicate with her limited English, and my non-existent German language prowess, we discovered we shared a love of music.  Somehow the subject came up that she had a guitar, which she had at one time taken lessons, but never played.  She produced it, and I played and we sang for the next two plus hours--everything from the Beatles to Nena, from Bob Marley to ABBA, thanks to my awesome Ultimate Guitar iPad app.  So fun!  The big boys came back from the party after 1:00 AM, and we all stayed up talking until nearly 2:00.  

The next morning we all slept in a little, thankfully, and Nadine assembled a fantastic breakfast spread yet again.  Our plan for the day was to visit the Schalenrutschbahn in Braunshausen,  which in winter, is a ski area, and in summer, a super fun zone where the highlight is a summer bobsled, but also includes super long metal slides and bungee trampolines.  It was a beautiful sunny day as we drove just ten or so minutes from their house and arrived at the park.  We purchased tickets for the bobsled ride and got in the slow-moving line.  Ewan wanted to ride with Mommy, as he was scared to go too fast.  We boarded the 2 seater wheeled bobsled (that had no sort of seatbelt or restraint, mind you), and started our journey as we were towed up the long, green, grassy slope.

Nils, Finn, and Ewan in front of the bobsled run

Going up with Mommy

After two rides with Mommy, it was time to take a turn with Daddy to go really fast!

Once at the top, we curved around the track to where there was a ride operator who paused us, allowing for adequate distance between us and the sled before us, and once that was reached, he let us go.  Down the metal track we flew amidst squeals of delight and woo hoos from us both, despite my somewhat heavy handed braking (for the first run, anyway).  We proceeded to ride the bobsled for a total of 4 runs, which probably took us close to two hours between the wait times and actual ride times.  After we rode the bobsleds, the boys begged to go on the bungee trampolines.  The operator set up the three boys in their harnesses, each on their own trampoline... and there was one more trampoline left... just begging for a passenger.  I was too tempted, and decided to give it a try.  Up and down I bounced, jumping higher and higher, as Gavin was down below, egging me on to attempt a backflip, which I did with surprising ease, several times even!  

After 5 minutes on this thing I couldn’t believe how out of breath I was, and how much my quads burned--this was indeed a real workout!  Seeing how much fun I was having, Gavin couldn’t resist trying it himself.  Not about to be outdone, he proceeded to do a double flip, and then, even managed a few TRIPLE flips--not bad for a 40-year-old man!  Afterwards, we all needed a drink, so we wandered up to the ubiquitous beer garden for some refreshment, and then the grown ups stayed there on the deck overlooking the giant slides where the boys took turns speeding down the metal slopes, gliding on little carpets that reduced the friction and increased their speed.  A good time was had by all.

Our next stop was Jörg’s mom’s house.  Now for a little background: Jörg came to California in 1990 and stayed with Gavin’s family for a month during Gavin’s junior year of high school.  In turn, Gavin went to Germany that following summer, and lived with Jörg and his family for a month.  The two boys became very close friends, and Gavin had so much fun that he returned the following summer, right after he graduated from high school and stayed with Jörg’s family for another month.  Jörg’s mom hadn’t seen Gavin since 1991, and when he showed up at her door unannounced, she was completely taken aback, not even recognizing him at first, and full of emotion.  “Gavin? Gavin?? Gavin!!” (pronounced as Kahveen, in her cute little German accent).  She positively shook with joy as she embraced him, her eyes full of tears (as were mine, and even Gavin’s!)  She was beaming as she cupped Ewan’s little face in her hands, and enveloped me in a huge hug as well.  We went in the house and sat down at her table where they reminisced and caught up.  Though the conversation was entirely in German, I surprisingly understood the majority of it, given I’ve been married to this man for so long I know what he’s going to say anyway!  Jorg’s mom disappeared for a moment and came back with a set of faded and well-worn quilted placemats, which had obviously been a hostess gift to her from Gavin (though they were clearly chosen by my mother-in-law), when he had been there in the early nineties.  We had a lovely visit and she was truly sorry to see us go, as she waved us off, more tears in her eyes.

She still has the placemats, 22 years later!

Gavin and Jörg's mom

Back to the house we went, and the boys wasted no time in changing back into swimsuits and into the pool yet again, while Jörg started a fire for a barbecue to end all barbecues.  Nadine proceeded to pull out a large bundle of meat, neatly wrapped in butcher paper.  She unrolled it to reveal multiple types of kebabs, pork steaks, bratwursts and cheese-filled sausages--enough for at least a dozen people--which Jörg arranged artfully on the typically German round grill, which was suspended above the fire from a tripod-like stand.  

While Jörg manned the grill, Nadine was in the kitchen assembling several salads and other side dishes, and once it was all ready we sat down to an amazing feast.  We ate until we thought we would burst, it was so good!  

To help us digest this huge meal, we decided to head out for a little hike.  Just a mere 5 minute walk away, along a wooded trail starting at their back fence, stand the ruins of the 13th century Dagstuhl Castle.  It was remarkable to me how close they are to something so historic--that’s one of the things I so love about Europe.  The boys kept themselves busy finding sticks to use as “swords” and “guns” as they scampered about the ruined walls.  Gavin brought his tripod so we could take a group portrait, as no one else was there.  

A nice group photo...

And, the silly pic!

After snapping more photos we continued along the trail to the newer Dagstuhl Castle, which is a historic country house with a small chapel that serves as an event center, and is actually where Jörg and Nadine were married.  After our little hike we got the boys to bed and spent the rest of the evening sharing photo albums, their albums physical, our albums digital, of course.

The "new" Dagstuhl Castle

The next morning we enjoyed one last amazing breakfast spread before packing our bags and heading off on our two-hour drive to the Frankfurt airport.  Everything went smoothly, and we arrived home on time, relaxed and sad that our vacation was over, but happy to come home to our cats and our own beds.  It truly was an epic vacation, full of wonderful experiences and treasured memories that will last a lifetime.