Last Day

Greetings again from Aschaffenburg!

Saturday evening saw us hitting the town for Museumsnacht. It was a fantastic event- there were cultural events hidden away in all pockets of the city, from the choir and brass band outside the church built in the 900s, to the jazz singer in the beer garden, to the blues performer in the cafe, to the stage showing all sorts of highlights in the castle courtyard. There were also a number of comedy events, outdoor cinema and plays, but a language problem made them lower priorities on our list. We strolled around for an hour or so after a delicious meal at Lena's friend Kathi's house. Kathi had some friends staying from when she went on exchange in England so it was a fun night all round.

The next day looked bad: was it going to rain or not? The night before, we had decided to visit a nearby treetop ropes course, but our plans were very dependent on the weather. We did not want to pay to enter the park, only to be rained out 20 minutes later. We decided to go for it and were glad we did, I think we got 2 drops of rain but had a fantastic 2 hours attempting first the 5 metre, then 6 metre and finally 9 metre high courses. Attached to a safety harness and well briefed (in German, with lots of demonstrations and assistance from our translators) on how to use the carabiners and flying fox attachments we crossed rickety bridges, scaled tiny ladders, walked on swinging planks of wood, and crossed a vertical netting. The reward at the end of each course was to travel by flying fox back to ground level. Great fun!

Racing home for a shower and lunch, Lena and I hopped back in the car to drive the hour and fifteen minute drive to Heidelberg where we met up with the other exchange students, strolled around the town (Lena has never been there) and met up with a University friend of Lena's who now studies there (we had previously met her in Oslo). We headed home late in the evening and after a chat on Skype with Lenka hit the sack ready for the next few days.

Monday was a very relaxing day at home- reading, a leisurely lunch, trip to the supermarket (very exciting to see all the meat products available!) and a movie in the evening- Gran Torino shown in English. It was a lovely night- we cycled to the cinema for the 9 o'clock show, down cobbled streets, parked our bikes right out the front and enjoyed the movie.

Tuesday saw us up early with a mission. I had volunteered to cook for the family to thank them for having me. Being stuck for ideas about typical Australian food, I remembered the Australian shop we found in Frankfurt last time I was there. As soon as I mentioned the idea of cooking Kangaroo to Lena she was very keen: thus, having never cooked it before the pressure was on me to deliver. I planned a menu of Kangaroo rump steak with sweet potato fritters and vegetables, followed by a pav. I had hoped to get some crocodile from this shop as well to serve crocodile skewers as an entree, but at 31 euro a kilo the crocodile meat was only available in large quantities. Luckily the entree problem was solved by whipping up the family guacamole dish, probably a good idea as the meal was huge already (thanks Wendy!).

So after completing our mission in Frankfurt, stopping for a coffee in a cool cafe 6 floors up that has an outdoor balcony and strolling a bit around the old town (hint: there's a cat shop behind the old buildings complete with very content long haired white cat on a cane chair out the front) we hit the supermarket for the rest of the ingredients. Most of the supermarkets we frequented in Norway were small affairs: a couple of aisles, 1 or 2 cash registers. Thus it was a shock to end up in the biggest supermarket I have ever seen. Lena and I kept losing each other as we went on our search for elusive ingredients such as sour cream and taco seasoning mix. The drinks section alone was bigger than the Norwegian supermarkets! Finally emerging a considerable time later, we set off for home to test my cooking skills for an audience of excellent chefs.

Luckily, the evening went perfectly: the Kangaroo tender and delicious, the sweet potato fritters (something I choose on a whim, having never cooked them before) didn't fall apart and the pav maintained a deliciously marshmellowy centre despite the lack of translations for many of its key ingredients (including caster sugar!). Even the Sydney Harbour Bridge napkin fold worked. What a relief!

Washed down with some quality German wine and interesting conversation, the night was a success and hopefully the Australian Tourism Board can add 3 visitors from Germany to its tally in the next few years.

Incidentally, I later found out that the Kangaroo rump steak (at 13.50 euro a kilo) is about half the price of beef steak here!

Yesterday started out with terrible weather again, a shame when I was hoping for a swim in the lake, but miraculously at lunchtime the sun suddenly came out. With 26 degree weather we rushed over to the lake and spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun, reading books (and for me, swimming). We came back home quickly to change and then Lena's parents took us out to dinner for my last night in the Schaff. I had a typical specialty for the region: I think it was pork with a crispy crackling, spaetzle and salad. They also arranged for me to try some of the local mushrooms. I was so full but it was delicious. We dined outside, with a view of the castle and some more nice German wine. Yum!

Today is my last day in Europe and luckily the sun is out, so it's back to the lake for some relaxation and then hopefully a trip to another nearby castle. Then back home for some dinner before my flight leaves at 10pm tonight. I arrive back in Adelaide on Saturday morning.

So, my European adventure ends here, but I'm coming home with lots of great memories and friendships. I hope you've enjoyed hearing what I'm up to and thanks for your emails and comments.

Best Wishes,

Anneke