Marie's Maultaschen Project

Marie announces she is going to teach me how to make Maultaschen, her favorite dish.  Her Oma (Grandma) has given her lessons over the years.  This summer Marie called her for the recipe and went solo.  Oma is originally from Stuttgart, in the Bavarian region, and Maultaschen is a very Schwäbisch (southwestern region of Germany with a distinctive dialect) dish.  

First Marie establishes who is in charge of this undertaking.

I follow instructions, though the dough recipe is homemade pasta, so I have past experience.

Marie keeps an eye on me anyway.

The ingredients are simple, resembling ravioli filling, but with German sausage.

Marie recommends I take off my ring for this next step.

Our sausage coated hands are so appetizing!

Next comes rolling out the stubborn dough to a thin sheet.  Marie advises me to step up on a chair to get more traction - it works.

The expert determines we have the right thinness and now we commence to the next step.

Marie has made a meatless filling for vegetarian sister Sophie.  I suggest adding some Parmesan cheese for extra flavor for Sophie.  Chef Marie first rejects this idea as non-traditional, but eventually reconsiders and adds a little.

Amelie and Ginny stop by to see how the project is progressing.  The Maultaschen is cut into diagonal portions and dropped into simmering broth.

They hold together beautifully and will be heartily consumed for dinner in a few hours :)

Marie allows the cooks a sample. Guten Appetit!

I Can...Kanu?

Sunday's plan is a canoeing expedition on the Lahn River for 13 km.  I get Marie as my steering companion, figuring her good driving skills may extend to the canoe.  We have a lazy float that does require regular paddling.  To beat the heat there are many sorties of splashing the other canoes.  Temporary alliances against the others quickly turn to mutiny.

After a couple of hours we come to an overhanging swing and everyone takes a turn at leaping for it from the canoe, dangling then dropping into the refreshing water.

There's a little beach skirted by a short section of shallow mini-rapids. I try it once but my butt drags on the bottom.

Eureka!  Our life jackets add the extra flotation and protection needed.  

In spite of looking ridiculous, eventually almost all of our party gives the innovation a try.

Amelie, tall and lithe, is a perfect mermaid.

Gitta gives it a try very successfully.

Clouds have been forming all afternoon and frequent thunder is followed by a rainshower. As the thunder gets louder, the girls wisely insist we get out of the river.  The last loud clap convinces us all. Quickly we tie up the boats with another pair of rowers and wait out the storm.

The last 5 km go slowly but we get to see a muskrat floating on his back like a sea otter, white swans with their grey teenagers, and lots of duck and geese families.

We reward ourselves with beer and a Hessen dinner on a terrace overlooking the river. 

Ginny knows something is up this morning as our household of teachers and students bustle around on the first day of school.

Marie says she has a morning smooched face from staying up too late.  We think they are both very fashionable school girls.  Sophie doesn't start back to her law studies until October.

We feel very fortunate that a cool day is forecast because Ben and I have the ambitious plan to ride 40 km today to Marburg and see the imposing castle.

With a map app we head out and have a few mystifying wrong turns and wish Siri would just let us know when we head north instead of south..  This impressive stone building has a biergarten and also marks a very steep downhill ride to the Lahn River.

Signs are reassuring.

The leafy forest portions of our ride are enchanting.

The bike path takes us through many quaint towns.  This vet's office was charmingly painted with animals.

Every town had a kirche with a steeple that can be seen at some distance.

River views are lovely.

We arrive in Marburg and see quickly we are in a university town.  Bikes get parked and we start climbing the hundreds of stairs necessary to get to the old town and ultimately, the castle.  Wrong turns add more climbing. 

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary was canonized because as a young widow at the age of 20 (married at 14) she used her dowry to build a hospital where she herself cared for the poor.  Marburg was an important pilgrimage for centuries.

The castle is closed to visitors on weekdays but we can stroll around the exterior and the hilltop garden.  The views are fantastic, but pictures from on top wash out in the sun.

This is a good postcard view showing the castle and St Elizabeth's church on the right.  After some cake and tea, we decide to take the train back to Giessen so we only have to ride the 9 km home from there.  40 km (25 miles) is enough for me today.

Gitta is glad to learn that we figured out taking the train on our own.  We might have omitted how a conductor gave us a demo on the ticket machine :)

"Thode"ally Fun!

Getting our arms around Marie again was a joyous moment.  She arrived from camp in France the morning after we landed in Frankfurt and she dropped her bags and came running to scoop us into big hugs.  The camp returnees were bonded as only those who have shared survival on canned ravioli can be.

The whole Thode family has taken us in as long lost relatives.  Gitta has added two more plates to the table and made us promise to help ourselves to whatever we want from the fridge.  Since it was over 32 C (90 F) when we arrived, they even stocked some ice cubes, knowing that Americans can hardly survive without ice.  Outings were planned.   Saturday Marie, now 18 and a skilled German driver, drove us to a nearby swimming lake, a welcome reprieve from the heat.  Gitta endured a little lecture from the lifeguard meant for me because I had unknowing used a noodle toy to float around on.  

We stopped at an Eiscafe on the way home in Licht.  Ben and I thought we would just have a scoop each, but soon we realized there was much more on offer.  We can't find an exact American equivalent to the Eiscafe.  "Ice Cream Parlor" doesn't suffice.

Ulrich, Gitta, Sophie and Marie walked us around the town and posed in front of this church est.1600.

Marie joined me in my plank workout that evening and tried to get me to add "burpys".  Let's agree I made a halfhearted effort at that exercise.  She is building strong legs for her role in Legally Blond at school.

Saturday morning we set out by bike to the farmers market in Giessen.  The heat was wilting the produce and us, but the atmosphere was festive and colorful.

Marie is fresh as a daisy even in the unseasonable hot sun.  Ben is in his favorite milieu with his last AFS daughter :)

These curious creatures caught my eye.  What a way to sell pasta!

That evening the Thode family planned a barbecue and invited the kind friends who had already loaned us their bikes for the family excursion to farmers market.  The whole family pitched in to get the house ready.

A delightful warm evening on the patio ensued. Dana, Amelie's best friend, told me all about her recent travels to Turkey in flawless English (though she has never studied English outside Germany) and how she greatly enjoyed new friendships with Turkish youths.  She and her Mom felt perfectly safe at their island resort as the coup unfolded.  Around 11 we joined the group game of Werewolf, a game I don't understand at all but somehow won with Sophie.

We are so glad to be part of this busy, fun-loving household :)