There and Back Again: Germany Day 4

Good morning!

Jet lag has hit all of us and we are dragging. It's also raining so today seems perfect for a day off. Christian and Grandma spent the morning drawing and painting together and Jon also finished his drawing of the view outside his window.

Grandma and Christian paint together

Christian and his frogs

Grandma teaches Christian

Christian's frogs

James, Camille, and Jon planned a little trip out, Will wanted to stay home and relax, and Christian of course wanted to do more biking. Rain was not going to deter him. He and I set out with the intention of seeing where he went over the cliff.

Jon's drawing

There are a ton of beautiful bike paths behind our house but the cliff path is on the other side of town. I hate biking on the roads here, they are so narrow they barely let two cars pass by each other. They are also very curvy with low visibility, especially at our main intersection in town. There are a lot of walkers so the sidewalks are also not a great option, especially since the many tight turns mean you often can't see far on them either. And these bikes go fast! So a carefree Christian and his very worried mom flew into town, stopped to grab drinks, and then were off to mountain bike trails.

The fields of Krun (Christian's pic)

Krun (Christian's pic)

The trails were across a river and immediately after the bridge the path turns to gravel and begins to climb. I tried to switch to a lower gear on my bike but the chain jumped off so I pulled over and had Christian fix it for me. He said it was fixed so I went to climb on my bike again. But as my foot pushed down on the pedal the chain jumped again, the pedal dropped, and the bike and I went down. I landed hard on my knee on the gravel path.

Wheelie across the river

I immediately called James, hoping that he hadn't yet left town. He was on the road but turned round to come and get me. My knee hurt but I didn't think it was that bad. My intention was to start walking back and meet James in town, but I was suddenly overcome by a wave of nausea. Even after that passed I still felt too faint to get back on the bike. James called and came all the way to the bridge to get me, he said I was really pale and a little green. Jon and Christian took the bikes home while James drove me. Once we got home James cleaned out my cuts while Jon got me a cold drink and tried to take care of me. He's a good son.

Lake Eibsee

Ducks on Eibsee

Eventually James, Jon, and Camille left again on their outing. They picked up some art supplies for Camille and Jon, then drove to Grainau where James and his family used to stay on their yearly vacations here. On the way they stopped at Eibsee, a beautiful Alpine lake. The sun came out for them and James said the lake was so clear you could see right to the bottom. Then it was into Grainau and a trip down memory lane. They drove past all the places they remembered, where they had stayed, small cafes they'd visited, etc.

The restaurant they used to visit in Grainau

The guesthouse from James' childhood

After that they returned to Garmish and went to the Kronner, a cake shop James had taken the boys to the last time we were here. James says that it wasn't nearly as good as it used to be and the cake selection was much smaller. They finished their trip with a little more shopping and Jon was unfortunately not able to get the one thing he really wanted from Germany, a $200 bottle of cologne.

In the meantime those of us at home took some time to rest. Christian went out again for another ride, promising me he'd stay on this side of town. Later he and Will returned the bikes and walked back up the hill to our vacation home. A cat came by to visit Will for a bit. And I spent the afternoon resting my knee and trying to avoid stairs. Which is really difficult in this multi tiered house!

Walking home after he returned his bike (Christian's pic)

Bike paths of Krun (Christian's pic)

Will made a friend

James made us meat sauce for dinner and although it was really good, no one ate as much as we usually do. Or perhaps it was that he was only cooking for six and he isn't used to that. James and I tried to take a little walk after dinner but I didn't make it very far before needing to turn around. My knee was starting to really hurt and James said it looked swollen. I've taken some medicine and I'm really hoping I'll be able to get a good night's sleep. Hopefully I'll be better in the morning.