David's Diary: Sunday, Sept. 23, 2001

Welcome To Germany

We decided to something unique today and take a day-trip to Germany. Strasbourg, where we are staying, has been a transportation crossroad for centuries. With Germany next door and Switzerland just to the South, you can visit other countries in less than an hour.

Where we live in Vancouver is similarly close to the United States, but driving to the US is not a cultural experience. Last March, we drove from Vancouver to Seattle to view a boat we were considering for our trip. It was the first time any of the children had been to the US. There comment once we got to Seattle was "it looks just like Vancouver."

Today was a different story. We were in Germany within a half-hour of leaving Strasbourg and we stopped in a small village to get some German money. All of us noticed the change in language, but Jocelyn, Kevin, and Allen all pointed out that German drivers stopped for pedestrians at cross walks. This is something that rarely happens in France. There is no way that we could experience this kind of cultural change within such a short geographic distance in Vancouver.

German Lunch

We drove through the Northern section of the Black Forest. The start of our journey saw us working through the valley leading from the Rhine river to the mountains. Once in the Black Forest we saw a lot of logging operations. The forest was similar to BC coastal forests, except that the trees were neither as large in diameter nor as tall. One thing that really surprised us is how much clear-cut logging was taking place. BC logging companies are criticized for their clear-cut logging practices and we had been under the impression that other parts of the world do not clear-cut. They certainly do in the Black Forests of Germany with quite large cut blocks visible throughout the mountains.

We stopped at the peak of the Northern section of the Black Forest in Mummelsee. At 1,036m Mummelsee has the highest alpine lake in the region formed from a melted glacier. We stopped for lunch and were again treated to a traditional German restaurant and food, quite different than what we are used to in France. But my lunch was perfect -- pork stuffed into pasta, served in a frying pan with an excellent sauce and potato salad on the side.

After lunch we continued through the forest until we came to the town of Baden-Baden. Baden-Baden is known for its hot springs and we had kept the children going in the car with the promise of a dip in the pools. We navigated through town and made our way to the large indoor complex that houses the pools. More than two hours later we were still enjoying the various pools, different ones at different temperatures, but dinner time was approaching so it was time for us to leave. In just over an hour on the auto-route we were back at home in Strasbourg having enjoyed a Sunday drive that showed us a different people, place, and culture.