This morning
we were all packed up and at Sonya & Tarsten’s place for a Fritsche family
breakfast at 0930. Delicious food & coffee, fun with the kids, good chat
with the adults, neighbour popped over with his black lab cross puppy who was
doted on by all and sundry, we got to keep up with the score during the All
Blacks vs Australia semi-final and all ended well there too! Yay!
Eventually
we all piled out of the house in the sun and headed to the car. Much fun for
the older three kids as they sat on the car and were rocked by Simon while Noah
the 1yo got to be a rocket ship with Brayden! After hugs farewell and thanks
all round we hit the road. Sunshine again – we are super spoilt with the
weather!
As we drew
closer to Konstanz the lake mist/fog took over and the temperature dropped a
wee bit. A carpark was located and we walked past the bar Simon used to work
at, some of the Uni Maren attended and into the old town. There was some kind
of mammoth fun run-mini marathon going on and people of all sizes running
everywhere – some wearing competition numbers, others warming up, heaps of
littlies in bright orange race t-shirts and many supporters. We had many
opportunities to clap their progress!
The boys
were peckish so bought some sausage and glühwein – this is a hot,
spiced wine that is very popular at Christmas and in the colder months (like
mulled wine) Bray is not a fan!!
Carrying on
through town we reached Das Voglhaus
, an old favourite from Simon & Maren’s time in Konstanz. Time for a coffee
– a good one! – and a chance to try out their famous toilets/bathroom. VERY
cool – won’t tell you why in case you get a chance to go there yourself!
Maren left us
then to visit an elderly friend of hers for cuppa and catch up. We three
(Simon, Bray & Roni) walked through the old town some more – seeing a funky
fountain, more character buildings, plenty more runners and eventually Lake
Konstanz. It is HUGE!!
There were
birds of all shapes and sizes, statues of Graf Zeppelin and Imperia, and a
great view despite the fog. A line of about seven Ferrari glistened by the
water and the boys talked and looked while Roni photographed them.
On around
the waterfront we went – to Switzerland!! There are two paths next to each
other and a bunch of statues where there used to be a border crossing in former
times. Now it is simply a border you can leap over – as the boys did – or have
one foot on either side. Tick off another European country not on our list that
we have touched...yay!
We used a
mall for its bathrooms before beginning our search for a donor box – Simon had
four Turkish places he knew of that we could try. One place had been
demolished, another taken over by the casino and the third was shut. Our last
option was next to the train station where we were to meet Maren. It was open,
very busy and staffed by one very over stressed man. Eventually we got our
donor box and drink which we ate outside while playing the German version of ‘I
Spy’. Still no word from Maren so we headed to our meeting point for a hot
drink and to warm up – the temperature was in single figures and we had enough
of sitting outside in the cold by then.
We chatted,
looked at pics from the day and had a coffee until Maren arrived. The ‘bread
things’ they do at this particular cafe are very famous so Maren & Simon
shared one before we headed back to the car.
Time to
catch a ferry across Konstanz then – exciting! We drove on, paid, looked out at
the lights around the lake and stars until the chill sent us indoors. Passed
the 15 minutes or so it took to cross by teaching Maren & Simon how to play
coin rugby...a Kiwi school days institution!
Once on the
other side we had a short drive from Meersburg to Friedrichshafen.
We found Christian’s flat successfully and settled in while creating pasta
& salad deliciousness for dinner. After clean up and a wee chat Maren
headed to bed and Roni retired to the lounge with a book while Simon &
Brayden shared pics, memories and a little of our NZ life in the kitchen. The
boys were up bonding until well after 12 and the stage was set for a slow start
tomorrow!
