Near Bergen, we visited one of the smallest German towns I have ever been in. Surrounded by rolling green hills, Doro’s parents live in a house which was first built in the late 1700s, re-built in the mid-1800s, and which Doro’s great-grandfather purchased in 1905.

Doro’s dad did a lot of work over the last 20 years restoring the house, and in the garden as well.

He has done a great job. At a very young 80 years of age, Doro’s dad took us around the workshop and the gardens where he’s done most of his work since his unofficial “retirement”.

Doro’s parents speak primarily Platt-Deutsch, which is kind of a country accent in German. It uses different words, doesn’t really have the same kinds of endings for words, and sometimes leaves words out altogether.

It is possible to understand Platt-Deutsch, but I *really* have to tune in to understand it. It was good practice.

In the garden at Doro’s parents, there is a huge variety of apple trees (6-7 varieties), grapes, raspberries, blackberries, plums, mint, and a full garden of vegetables.

We raided all of them. I ate more apples (maybe 7 or 8 medium sized apples?) than I’ve ever had in one sitting. They were so delicious.

It’s really nice to be back in the countryside with a bit of crispness in the air. Fall is definitely coming.

It’s also nice to be back to cooler evenings with the mountain air feeling. We’ve not really had that since leaving New Zealand, and not really lived in that feeling since leaving Ecuador.

It’s nice to be able to feel the start of the seasons changing again, and wonderful to have a quiet and relaxing night in the slower-paced countryside of Germany.