German Hikes with a Side of Sausage

It's grill time, meine freunde.

Six german sausages, one bowl of sauerkraut, one bowl of red cabbage, eggplant, and plum tart with nutella spread all over it (I mean, maybe it's just spread all over my own piece…).

What? How did this happen? I don't even think that's sanitary you freaks.

Germany will treat you well, but just make sure you’re around people with whom you’re comfortable if you’re gonna be eating things like this, or else you should probably seclude yourself after dinner.

Men and their grills.

You think we don't know how to randomly crowd a grill? Oh, we know.
And for the record, those white veal sausages (weisswurst)  are the closest thing to culinary velvet I've ever tasted.
And for another record, culinary velvet is nothing like velvet clothing and/or cape material. It tastes much, much better.

And luckily, after three months of my being around new friends, strangers, and cultures, there are no three people with whom I could imagine being more comfortable than my mom, dad, and John.

Looks like somebody's ready for dinner...

Body language tells me that this is an intense moment filled with surprise, strength, courage, and maybe tears

I wonder what dad and I are looking at?

I loved France—don’t mistake it—but thirteen beds and over 2,100 miles in such a short time is exhausting, to say the least. By the end you just want a little bit of home.

What vacation wouldn't be complete without  at

least one jumping photo? (Answer: no vacation)

With my parents around, I can imagine that I’m home again, even if we’re in an isolated cabin in the middle-of-nowhere Germany (that's Hayingen, since I’m sure you’re planning on visiting).

This is where I took a self-timed photo and almost lost my
mom's camera in the creek

Now that we’ve gotten most of our tourism out of the way (castles! black forests!), we’re free to spend a couple of days just hiking and eating. Doesn’t sound like much, huh?

Things couldn’t get any better.

We vetured deep into the depths of Wimsen Cave, the only boat-accessible cave in Germany! It's a cute little ride, about 15 minutes, and there are even some kitschy (but genuine, I'm sure), cave-elves adorning the rock walls!

The entrance through which our tiny,
15-person boat will pass

The Black forest region has lots of random religious
relics popping up in various places

On our epic journey to the cave. You always have to wear
hats on epic jorneys, John. 

Soon we set off for a brief return to France (!?) before John and I move to Israel for the next six months.

And with that looming on the horizon, I felt like our sausage days are numbered...

And what cave-seeking expidition would be complete without
a piece of cherry custard pie at the nearby tourist restaurant?

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