Tuesday morning was a busy rush to get all our jetlagged guests out the door in time for a 7:30 a.m. train. The day’s travel destination was Freiburg, Germany, where we met up with Britt Sieber, a former exchange student from Germany who was hosted by Janell’s sister’s family back in 2008. Freiburg is a little over 3 hours from our apartment, and the route we took brought us through the Swiss cities of Yverdon, Biel, and Basel which are nestled along the edges of the Jura Mountains.
It was the first day for everyone to use their rail passes, and like most bureaucratic forms here, we had a little confusion figuring out how to fill them out. We were scolded by two ticket-checkers on the trains that we were supposed to get them verified in a ticket office, and fill out our day’s itinerary before boarding. Luckily though, we played the part of confused tourists well enough that they didn’t fine us for having improper tickets. In Basel we stopped at a ticket office to verify our passes, as well as buy a supplement ticket for Sandy, whose pass didn’t cover the ride to Germany.
Unfortunately we wasted just enough time at the station in Basel that we missed the train we wanted to take into Freiburg, and we ended up arriving 45 minutes later than expected. When we came into the Freiburg station, around 11:45 a.m., Britt met us as soon as we stepped off the train. After a round of hugs, we set off in search of a good old fashioned German lunch.
While catching up, we wound through the cobble stoned streets of old-town Freiburg, stepping over medieval canals carrying water throughout the city. The streets were nearly bursting at the seams with people who hurriedly shopped, and Britt even showed us how to properly handle the occasional person soliciting money or petitions. We meandered through the center square with its large Christmas market, and eventually found ourselves next to the Cathedral, in the very same restaurant that Melissa and I had visited a year ago.
Lunch was a delicious spread of pork, schnitzel, stuffed ravioli, potato salad, kraut, and of course a few local hefeweizens, and we simply enjoyed each other’s company in the centuries-old dining room. Afterwards, to burn off a bit of our lunch, we toured the cavernous, yet hushed Cathedral, and then walked to the Christmas market.
This was the first Christmas market the Johnsons toured, and it was filled with new experiences. Perhaps the best way to describe the Christmas markets here is as miniature State Fairs. The aisles are lined with small cabin-esque booths pedaling knick-knacks and many different foods. Everyone got to try gluhwein, which is called mull wine in English, or vin chaud in French. While we all enjoyed it, Janell fell in love, and that night we were already working to perfect the recipe in our apartment. We also tried some fresh Crepes and all had a good laugh when Britt pronounced it more like ‘Craps’. Another market highlight was when Sandy stumbled upon some unicorns in the market, and got few pictures with them.
After an afternoon filled with chattering, eating, drinking, and exploring, the streets grew dark and it was time to say goodbye to Britt. We boarded our respective trains around five and recounted the day. After so much food, wine, and walking we were all tuckered out, but Keith was determined to keep reading our guide book and plan the next day’s site seeing. He was so determined in fact, we discovered he has a knack for reading through his eyelids when he is face down in an open book. What was even more amazing though, is that a Swiss woman sitting kitty-corner from him said she also had the same talent!
After we finally made it back to the apartment, around 8, we sat down to our bowls of French onion soup, some glasses of Gluhwein and beer, and planned out our next day’s visits to Bern and Zurich.
