The Lake! The House! The Food!

Today Barbara (formerly known as "B" here on the blog) took us and a friend of hers on a short drive out of Berlin to her parents house on a little lake. In less than half an hour, we were in another world, and furthermore, at a house that could easily be featured in a garden/home magazine. Barbara's parents are devoted to their garden, and it shows:


I think for the first 20 minutes at least, Erin I. and I walked around just simply saying "Wow" and taking pictures...of the house, the garden, of each other in the house and the garden. You get the idea. One of the most charming things we discovered was that in honor of our arrival, Barbara's dad was flying the red, white, and blue. When I took a picture of him and Erin, he put his hand over his heart, so she quickly followed suit:

We kept exploring - it is the kind of place where there is always a hidden little nook of something delightful - the raspberry patch, the shade garden, the little building that had a tiny "summer" kitchen and shower for coming back from the lake. Our favorite outbuilding was the little dacha-style house that was original to the property. It's tiny, but has a working kitchen, bedroom, and loft with two more beds. Not a bit of wasted space.

Mulberry from the mulberry tree in their yard - delicious.

Inside, on the bookshelf, we found some familiar faces:


Back outside, the table was set for lunch, which began with some homemade salads - carrot/apple/orange, sauerkraut, and potato salad.


What followed was a five-course meat extravaganza, all grilled by Barbara's dad on a little grill a few steps away from the table. I stopped taking pictures since I felt silly, but in any case here, in order, was our meal: 1) bratwurst (small and delicious) 2) souvlaki style lamb 3) beef 4) small pork chops, and 5) we finished back where we began, with a final brat. Erin and I dug right in and enjoyed every bit, being the non-vegetarians that we are. In fact, I'm smiling right now just remembering it all.

Of course, following this kind of eating, there was nothing to do but retire to the lounge chairs that Barbara's mom had arranged for us in the shade, and read/sleep the afternoon away. When we all got a little too hot, we walked across the little path to the lake.


Erin and I jumped in and swam to the other side, passing three older ladies paddling and laughing together, floating on our backs for a while, and avoiding the giant dog that was chasing sticks into the water. Once we were back at the house and showered, the table was set for dessert. Rhubarb cheesecake, homemade of course. I forgot to get the recipe. :(

We each ate a piece, and then Barbara's mom came 'round with seconds, which were given to everyone, no questions asked. Again, Erin and I managed just fine. We sat and talked - the parents mostly in German, us in English, Barbara kindly translating when needed. Subject matter ranged far and wide...we talked about World War II and Barbara's dad's work with a group that's trying to help find the families of those who were lost, killed, or disappeared during that time. We talked about Obama's election and how they were all checking our election results early in the morning to keep track of the news. I told them the story of finding my village in Slovenia and they helped me correctly pronounce my family name. :) Nerd that I am, I really couldn't get enough of hearing about 20th century events from folks who had lived them in a different country. And of course, Erin I. told stories about her students that made everyone laugh. I love teaching middle school, but I realized that they don't compare with 3rd graders to make grist for cute stories.

Dessert was followed by cocktails, then a few more pictures around the house and yard (I tried to be short, since Erin I. wasn't wearing her shoes), and we drove back into the city laden with leftovers from the day. Barbara's mom packed them for us and walked us out to the car, just like my mom does every time I'm home, which made me smile. (Hi mom!) Really, I couldn't have dreamed up a better day.

Erin peeking at me from the "winter garden" room next to the main living area in the house.