Messenheim

Bibi,Vincent(5)and I drove back through the Black Forest to meet up with Eddie, Maria(15) and Emilie(13) today. Both girls are competing in a one day event (over 3 days) equivalent to our Pony Club Champs for Baden Wurttemberg. Maria has ridden in the National team and she rode very well to finish 2nd her section, and just 0.3 points behind the winner. Emilie was riding Eddie's big grey horse, as hers is too young and Eddie is not allowed to ride yet after an accident with his horse earlier this year, which resulted in him suffering two strokes. They travel around the shows with a big horse truck and a caravan and with 5 of them, there wasn't room for me, so Mrs Oppenheim is staying in a Gasthaus in Altenheim and there is a huge tent with a street party and an oom-pa-pa band playing outside my window! A hunter came in tonight dressed just as in children's picture books with knickerbockers, a hat and a gun slung over his shoulder! In the event centre tonight there was a very good display of 'voltige' - a kind of ballet and gymnastics as a horse gallops around on a lunge.It was fun being back in the horsey world.

Sigmaringen

Here I am in the gorgeous Obere Donau country ie where the Danube rises, with Bibi and Vincent. Eddie and the two girls are in a riding competition near Freiburg and we have decided to go over and join them tomorrow. They have 6 horses and their lives revolve around them , just as mine did at the same age! I will enjoy watching the girls eventing and otherwise I wouldn't get to see Eddie. This area is also spectacular with its trees and huge limestone cliffs. There are squirrels and foxes here and also chamois in the rocks on the cliffs. I went riding in the snow high on the top of these cliffs the last time I was here in 1999.It is a popular holiday area - you can hire canoes and horses and there are good swimming holes in the river. Also a lot of maize which is grown for biofuel.

Schwarzwald:Day 4

It is cooler and drizzling today so we have had a quiet day. We went to see the huge St Blasien cathedral, which has been totally redecorated, mostly white with beautiful marble columns. I liked it's simplicity. The Kloster has a huge Jesuit boarding school attached and Heidi taught in St Blasien. There was also a wood carving competition taking place. Had a lovely meal for my last night here in a little local Gasthaus and we had a trip down memory lane looking at Hans' photos of Fox Peak from 26 years ago! I have had a really lovely time with Hans and Heidi and I go on to Sigmaringen today for a couple of nights then to Oberammergau. Look at Moritz using the little Katzentreppe because Hans and Heidi's house is 3 stories high!I have spoken mostly German here and Heidi tells me I now sound like a German!! Don't you love the name 'Aha' - that was Lilian's sailing club!

Schwarzwald again

This is such a pretty part of Germany. Today Heidi took me on a round trip back to Staufen where I studied 12 years ago. It was lovely to retrace my footsteps in this charming little village with a river running through it, cobblestone streets and the castle on the hill with its vineyards. Both the Goethe Institute and my Wohnheim are now shut, also the little railway station. However we went into Lottes Kneipe, the little pub where we used to drink and had our weekly Stammtisch. Lotte, now 81, was still working in the kitchen and was so pleased to see one of her old students. We went down the Munstertal and back up the Glottertal. There are huge farmhouses and many have little chapels - originally because in the olden days it was too far to go to church in town and the bells were also rung to tell neighbouring farmers if there was a fire and they needed help.We also looked in the lovely St Peter im Schwarzwald Kloster, a huge baroque church.I went mad with my camera as is all so picturesque.

Schwarzwald

I am back in one of my favourite parts of Germany and comfortable temperatures again. Hans picked me up from the airport at Karlsruhe Baden-Baden and we drove through the lovely Glottertal. It is hilly, very green and has the famous forests, little streams and huge Black Forest farmhouses which house family, animals ( mostly cows here) and tractor all under one roof. Many also have little chapels.It is a very attractive area with flowered balconies and old houses with shutters and slate roofs.Today Heidi and I took Micha, one of their 3 dogs for a long walk in the forest to a lovely little lake called Feldsee. This is such a picturesque part of Germany and lots of people were out walking.