Family

So I'm currently in Marktredwitz which is where most of my family lives. I'm staying with my grandparents, but have also visited cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. Yesterday, for example, I went "bowling." With quotes, because it's distinctly different than "kegeln," which is the normal German word for bowling. "Bowling" specifically refers to 10 pin bowling though, rather than "kegeln" which is what we would call candlepin bowling. Of course, it then has to be pronounced with a Germlish accent, which is always entertaining.

A big thing for me here is also food, and food and family always go together. Upon arriving here, my family celebrated my grandma's birthday a bit belated, and so we went out to the Marktredwitzer Haus, where we feasted. I had schweinebraten mit sauerkraut und boehmische knoedel (a roast pork chop with sauerkraut and a...uh...boehmische knoedel, you know?). This happened to be the same meal I ate four days in a row, and I have to say, my grandma's with a wild mushroom sauce was the best. This is what the scene looked like at the Haus:

Also, sidenote: Andreas, I have a boot for you. It's a half-liter in size, and Stefan made me try it out. For those of you who don't know, don't worry. The short story is that my mom's cousin made me drink my first boot of beer.

Between reading German books and playing Chinese checkers with my grandma, I've been entertaining myself with long walks through town, the fields, and forests of the area. This is the lovely view in the area (Mama und Papa - das ist Richtung Thoelau, beim Tunnel unter die Eisenbahnstrecke hinterm Eigenheim):

However, the scene was different today, because it finally started to snow again!!!!!!! (Sorry, couldn't get it to turn)

I think that's all at the moment. Off to go relax in the sauna. (Yeah, life's tough)