July 15

July 15th (sunny and very warm)
Had a very relaxing morning enjoying the sights of Mecklar. It was a very hot and humid day with very little breeze. I forgot to mention that Alfred and Anneliese are hosting a young man from Le Mans, France for three weeks. He is here to learn German and his parents are determined that he has a command of the German language. Although he has been at it for six years, people say that I speak better than he does. He is very shy and does not seem that interested in improving his language skill.
In the afternoon, Georg and I, along with Daniel (A & A’s son) and his girlfriend Christina, watched all the French kids come down the fulda (river) in canoes. It is a three-hour ride and they get picked up at the other end. We plan on doing the same trip this Friday.
Alfred and Anneliese went to another birthday celebration during the day and Daniel cooked us a wonderful bratwurst barbecue before he headed back to his job in Nurnberg. He works in the insurance business in Nurnberg and takes the train home to Mecklar each weekend.
Later on, after dinner, we drove into Bad Hersfeld about 8 kms from Mecklar for beer and drinks at “Dasboothaus”. It was a lovely evening sitting by the water enjoying our drinks and conversation.