This Cave is How Long??

After we rode on the toboggan run down the mountain, we walked about 1 km to the cave. Here is the trail along the way to the cave.

We arrived at the cave entrance and paid the fee to go inside.  After waiting, a group of about 100 people entered the cave through a small door.  We walked into a large expanse, and they closed the door.  I was thinking this was the cave.  There was a short program and then we started walking deeper into the cave.  Then deeper.  Then deeper.  Then down stairs.  Then up stairs.  Then deeper.  The cave is 1.5 km long and takes 1 hour to walk through.  I hit my head on the cave ceiling several times.





They call this cave "The Devil's Cave".  In the 1920's, livestock kept disappearing in the area so people thought the devil was taking them.  They found bones of all the animals that had fallen into the cave when the cave was discovered. 



A little paddleboat ride to cap off the day.

Random Thoughts

We've been in Germany for about 3 months now.  Time for some random thoughts.

Things I never dreamed of doing

• Listening to the Macarena with my German coworkers at work. (They play the radio all day long in the office.)  The radio station we listen to plays modern pop songs, but some of the filler songs are quite amusing.
• Listening to Gansters Paradise with my German coworkers at work.
• Going to Disneyland Paris for my birthday.
• Watching a town erect a Kerwa pole in the city center (every town we have seen has one of these for their Kerwa festival).  There was plenty of beer on hand to aid this task.  The Kerwa is a 2-3 day festival with music, eating, and drinking.  Each local town has its own version (at least in Franconia).  I didn't have the heart to tell them this tree is not going to grow.

Causes for Celebration

• I finally wiped the kitchen counter without banging my head on the range hood.  Still working on the light in the living room.
• Giant bottles of nutella.

• Mastering a new toy.

• No presidential campaign ads.

Things you may not have known until now

• About 70% of the music I've heard on the radio is American.
• Times I've heard "The Eye of the Tiger" on the radio in the last 10 years prior to Germany: 2
• Times I've heard "The Eye of the Tiger" on the radio since moving to Germany:  6
• Top speed thus far on the Autobahn 185 kph (we drive a van).
• American TV is pretty much banned here (even on the internet).  I haven't even seen David Hasselhoff.
• It is definitely not 1 gallon per flush.  The toilets here actually work.
• The German national handball team takes precedence over the gold metal basketball game for Olympic coverage.  Apparently, the 4x100 m men's relay final is not as critical as field hockey.
• There are no weeds in Germany.  Alright, that may be exaggerating a bit.
• Gummi Bears are a national phenomenon (this is not an exaggeration).  Here is the typical Gummi aisle at the market.

• American girls can play German Folk music.

• Dancing is allowed in the kitchen.

Dancers and Evil Range Hood

• Driving in Germany is awesome.  It is the way driving should be.  There are very few stop signs.  If there is line of sight at an intersection, you have a yield sign (even at t-crossings).  Rolling stops are very much encouraged to keep things moving.  Stop signs are only at places you can't see oncoming trafic.  I've seen about 3 stop signs since we've been here.  In addition to the obvious benefits of the Autobahn, I have yet to see someone pass on the right.  Very nice and predictable.  I'm in trouble going back to the U.S. 
• The Autobahn does have a speed limit in areas around cities, bridges, and curves.
• Blueberry jelly is more popular than grape jelly.
• You can buy peanut butter here.

German Language Tips

• You only need to know 2 words and one jesture in German to survive:  Genau (which means something like "right on brother", ja ja (ja means yes), and a head nod.

Here are some sample conversations with the use of your new language toolbelt:
-All rherorical questions: head nod.
-All statements not requiring a response: head nod with an occasional genau.  Hold the e sound longer for greater effect.
-Any question, just say ja ja and live a little.
-Statement:  "Your German skills are really lacking"  Response:  Combo: ja ja, genau with head nod

Plan B

It's a pretty rare event in a foreign country when something goes as planned.  I'm still waiting for the first one.  There are always unexpected surprises.  Yesterday was no exception, except that none of the plan worked.  Usually, the activity at least resembles the plan.

A coworker had briefed me on a great spot to hike and a good chicken restaurant. (In the Wasson family, sometimes you need to be able to find a good chicken to eat).  So we set out with maps in our hands searching for a castle ruins that dated back to 1000 BC.  We approached the castle and could see it on the mountain top.  I can see why it was built there, because armed with a car and GPS, we could not find our way up to the castle.  We decided to drive around the mountain and approach from the other side.  After about 10 minutes, I'm guessing we were about 10 km further away from the castle.

Time for Plan B.  Plan B always invokes some interesting family discussions.  We approached a little town and saw a parking lot near a playground.  It didn't look like anything special.  Here is the mountain where we parked.

Parked cars with no people usually means good hiking.  Another car pulled up so we did what we do best in Germany.  We followed them.  When in doubt, follow the crowd (that's a survival guide to Europe by the way).  Another good sign was a van labeled "climbers shuttle" was parked in the lot.  So we scavenged some walking sticks and set out for who knows what (well, we did know it wasn't a castle ruins).  Here are some things we encounter along the way.

 

Did you recognize me on the rope climbing the cliff?  Me neither.

Well, we did pretty good with our improvised hike.  Time to hit the chicken restaurant.  One thing is for sure in my family.  You do not want to have hunger as a passenger in the car for very long.  No problem, chicken was a mere 10 km away.  We had much better luck finding the restaurant than the castle ruins.  Unfortunately our German language skills are good enough now to read the sign "closed until August 28".  Another victim of European August holidays.  Now we're in a little trouble with growling stomachs.  So, Lady G to the rescue (that's what we call our Garmin GPS).  She did owe us one for not finding the castle.  Points of Interest, Food, NEAREST RESTAURANT.  3.6 km to the unknown.  Lady G delivers.  Here was our destination...

It was another castle.  There was only one car in the lot, but a sign said "open".  We approached the castle to a large set of closed doors.  We take turns being brave in Germany.  Today was my wife's day to be brave.  There was a buzzer at the door and an intercom.  Talking to strangers in a foreign country requires a bit of nerves, but the worst is phone calls from unknown German speakers and talking without any context as a reference.  With no hand singals allowed, I wasn't about to push THE BUTTON.  My wife didn't even hesitate.  She pushed THE BUTTON.  At this point, I noticed a tiny peep hole slide in the large door.  We waited to see if someone would open the peep hole.  I felt like Dorthy approaching the Emerald City or R2D2 at Jabba the Hut's lair.  Nobody answered, but I give my wife props for trying.

My wife then noticed a sign and some stairs.  Sure enough, there was a restaurant at the base of the castle.  Just for some perspective, it is easy to drop about 21 Euros for a McDonald's meal here.  At this restaurant, 25 (which included a tip) Euros bought us 2 steak meals, 2 bratwurst meals, drinks, and a large piece of cake.

Not too bad Lady G.

Oh, I forgot to mention the plan for the next day was canoeing so we stopped to find out how to make the arrangements.  They did not have any openings for the weekend (August holidays again).  I'm excited to see what Plan B has to offer tomorrow.