The sunny weather continues as we continue to make progress on settling in here in Graf. Sunday evening we did end up doing a little hiking at a nearby village called Parkstein. We had considered renting a house there but decided with one car even a 10 minute commute would potentially cause too many hassles so we ended up in Graf. Parkstein is even smaller than Graf and is built around the base of an extinct volcano that erupted about 24 million years ago. On the very top of the old volcano sits a tiny church and there is a nice little path that leads you up to it. The kids loved getting outside and hiking and due to the great weather we were take in some beautiful views of the countryside. Surprisingly, Lydia thought the little church was "really cool" and kept going back in just to look a little longer. This bodes well for sightseeing in the future I hope. As an added bonus, I got to dork out on some columnar basalt that formed when the magma cooled and has since been exposed due to erosion. Unfortunately most of the park information was in German so I had to look it up on the internet when we got back home.
Parkstein from above (complete with soccer field and beer tent)
Bavarian landscape
Volcano Church
Lydia's favorite
Columnar Basalt!
I can't remember what we did yesterday, but today, true to my military experience so far, I spent 6 hours signing the lease for our house. I had a whole list of stuff I wanted to get done, but at least I got the most important one out of the way. I met the landlords, a German couple in their 60s I would guess. They only speak German which means to communicate either we speak through the housing office or play charades. They were very nice people and got a kick out of Haaken greeting them with "Guten Tag!". I took a picture of the outside, not a very good one since the yard hasn't been tended to in a week or two. I'll add more once we spruce it up a bit, but this will at least give you and idea of where we will be living. We are now free to start moving things in - we're hoping to be out of the hotel by Sunday night.
Hochstrasse 23 B (yes, it's purple)
Are you going to go to a service at the Volcano Church?
ReplyDeletei don't think the church is actively used. i should look into that though.
ReplyDeleteYea , Lydia I love churches, too. It's beautiful. House looks good,also, what a relief! I got rear ended today, damage to bumper and back of car. I'm ok tho.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea when I was in Parkstein that there is so much history behind the community! It is so exciting that you are finding so many interesting things so close to Graf! I now wish I would have taken the time to hike up to see that church.....next time!! Thanks, Matt, for these wonderful blog updates! It keeps everyone in touch with you, and you do a great job! Maybe you've found a new calling???
ReplyDeleteWe are so glad for you all that you've got the house now and can start moving soon. Matt, we are so enjoying reading your blog entries and love seeing the pictures of all of you and the places and scenery. Hugs to you all, Patty and Ken
ReplyDeleteHow do you know the landlords were nice if you can't understand them? The house looks lovely! I'd love to help you move this weekend, but I'll be out of town. Maybe I can help you move out in a year or so.
ReplyDeleteI'd say it's more of a periwinkle
ReplyDeleteI'm patiently waiting for an update. I hope the move is going well.
ReplyDeleteYou are doing a great job blogging, Matt. Alexis will love seeing the pics of Lydia!
ReplyDelete