We are now in Unsleben (Upper Bavaria), staying in the Gardener's Cottage of a 12th century castle. Not at all what we expected it to be - we imagined a castle in the German countryside, isolated and surrounded by forests. When our GPS sent us to the center of a small town, we drove around in circles for 15 minutes shaking our heads and wondering if we had been duped. We finally figured out that the castle was tucked behind a wall and several other buildings - once we found the entrance to the courtyard, we could see the towers and buildings comprising the castle...really amazing and tucked away in the middle of the town. The castle is surrounded by a moat that now meanders behind other buildings and houses. You would never know this castle exists from the street - almost a trick of the eye. As Aidan says, "it feels very 12th century." Our cottage is very old and very charming. Doorways that just clear the top of my head and slanting, uneven floors and beams...surely would not pass the county inspection in Orinda! There are modern appliances and some updated features, but it is very authentic and wonderful. There is a little garden outside our door and a pond full of fantastic frogs and other things that the kids spend hours looking for. A friendly hedgehog appeared tonight and meandered through our courtyard.
It is really amazing how simple our days are right now. We are painting with Nana, playing lots of gin and war (Ava is becoming quite the gin player!) and waiting for frogs to surface on the pond. Our pace is the opposite of our life at home...partly because it is very hot here and partly because Unsleben is the so quiet we feel as if we are the only ones here. The beautiful church bells chime periodically to remind us that we are in a town. There are many houses and cars, but it seems that no one makes any noise. It is very relaxing and different. The kids did meet our neighbor who was tending her incredible garden. She loved the kids and gave them fresh arugula, basil and tomatoes and then invited them to dip into her swimming hole to cool off. Cullen played his violin for them and they gave us more vegetables!
We are planning to do some hiking and exploring of the area this week. On Tuesday, the boys and I will go to the Buchenwald Museum - will be difficult. Nana doesn't want to go and Ava won't understand, so they will stay home and watch for frogs. We are having lots of discussions about WWII and Nana's childhood of hailing Hitler - she is trying to explain to the boys that the German people loved him at one point, revered him. How she would raise her arm with her hand stretched out and her thumb tucked in the way they were taught in school and say "Hail Hiltler" to passing friends and strangers. They look at her with amazement because they know the horrible atrocities that occurred and they can't understand how it all happened. Going to the concentration camp will be a sobering, educational experience for us.
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