Carnival in the Black Forest

We headed up north to the Black Forest last weekend to catch up with the in-laws and see how this Catholic corner of Germany celebrates Carnival. The little town of Bonndorf has the most elaborate Carnival parade in the region, symbolized by the Pflumeschlucker, or plum gobblers. Legend has it that when the people of Bonndorf were introduced to the plum, they swallowed the fruit whole, pit and all.

Along with the troupe of Pflumeschlucker, there were bands of witches, pirates, and cute forest creatures like bears, frogs and snails. It all seemed very traditional and quaint as they threw candy out to all the kiddies.

Then some wild elements came out. A biker gang ran around pouring shots of Jack Daniels for adult on-lookers. My in-laws enjoyed shots of Eierliquor, a sort of German egg nog, served in mini, chocolate-covered ice cream cones. A fearsome group of Scots grabbed girls out of the crowd, flung them over their shoulders and stuffed them in a giant spinning barrel full of sawdust, which was mounted on their float. My husband was grabbed from behind by a wily witch who shoved confetti down his shirt. She just wanted to get her hands on him!

Overall, it was a big hoot. I loved all the interaction with the crowd. There was a lot of fun, mischievous energy, and you didn't know what to expect next. The town of Bonndorf was cute, clean and picture-perfect.

Black Forest travel tip: If you're ever in the area, for Carnival or any other time of year, I highly recommend a restaurant called Tannenmühle. It's basically a trout farm and smoke house that served the best smoked trout you will ever eat. It really is to die for.

A very good day

Do you ever have a day where everything just clicks? Things look up? Nothing could dampen your mood? I just had one of those. These were the high points:

1) It was gloriously sunny all day, and I spent a good part of it strolling about town, soaking it in
2) I met a sweet, old man named Hans at the park and held up my end of a one-hour conversation in German with him. I understood 75-80 percent of what he said. Woo-hoo! We covered a lot of subjects - the many merits of living in Switzerland, American politics and bad, bad Mr. Bush, staying healthy in old age, our families and our careers.
3) I filed an invoice for my first published article since I quit my job one year ago. Back in the saddle, baby!
4) We're leaving tomorrow for a weekend in the Black Forest with the in-laws. We'll be there for Fasnacht (Carnival), and I'm told they go all out for it there.

Global warming bites

I'm sad to report that global warming put a real damper on our ski week in Grindelwald last week. The slopes of Grindelwald, a resort town in the heart of the Swiss Alps, offered three kinds of skiing terrain while we were there: ice, muddy ice and grassy mud. Not too appealing, which is why we cut the week short and returned home two days early.

We were hopeful that a snow storm the previous week would improve conditions, but the new snow either melted under all the sunshine or never reached Grindelwald. I felt especially sorry for the skiiers who travelled from Asia, Canada and other far off places to be there. I found myself dreaming of the vast slopes of Lake Tahoe and the view of sparkling blue water from its run. Ahhh, California.

The week was not a total loss though. In addition to a day or two of skiing, I discovered the thrills and spills of sledding. I'd never been sledding before. It was fantastic once I learned, well semi-learned, to steer and brake. I only flew off my sled a couple times! The Swiss take sledding more seriously than we do in the US. There are sled runs as long as ski runs, and you can take the lifts to get to the top. There's still a bit of trekking required, but all in all a very good time.

The other thing that saved the week was the company. Lots of good times playing cards, Uno and Set, watching MTV and cooking up a storm.