Spätzle

Hallo from Deutchland!

Fresh off almost 14 hours of plane travel, we arrived in the beautiful city of Stuttgart, Germany. We ate lunch at the Panorama Cafe, which is on the top of the tallest tower in all the land - and victim to 60 mph winds that day...After an afternoon exploring the city we drove to Ebhausen where Lisa and the Ensslen family live. It is a quaint village right at the edge of the Black Forest, and the home of many memories made these last few days. It was very special to be in Lisa's house after having her live with us in California.

Every food we ate was very good. We ate lots of good breads and cheese and - of course - many types of German sausage! Our favorite food was spätzle. Lisa has made it many times, and we ate it almost every day. It is a type of German pasta that you make from scratch by combining flour, egg, and salt, putting through a spätzle maker and boiling in hot water. Perhaps the most memorable part of the weekend was when Lisa's father, who has never made spätzle before, made a new German food creation with the new, modern 'Spätzle Shaker', the magical tool that allows everyone, even Americans, to make this fabulous dish! He excitedly told me, 'Sarah, zis is first time I make spätzle too!' Unfortunately, it did not go as planned - so we fried it and added cheese, which formed a sort of German mac 'n' cheese that all but Lisa ate (the stubborn girl). This is what happens with Lisa's mom leaves the house for dinner...

We enjoyed exploring the surrounding area, seeing the neighboring villages, and walking for two hours in the rain today to get lunch at the top of a mountain - many memories were made in this country! After a wonderful four days in Germany, we say goodbye and leave on the plane for Madrid tomorrow morning for our next adventure with the hopes that Lisa will come see us soon. More later!