Weinlese

Hi Friends!!

Fall has come to southern germany and I must say this is one of the most beautiful seasons that I have ever experienced. The weather is wonderful, the sun shines and the sky is a wonderful blue.
Last weekend all the Trainnes got together in Meckesheim, a small city not far from where I am living now. It was so nice to see everyone again. We shared about our experiences and it was great to hear what the others have experienced. On Saturday afternoon we visited Heidelberg. What a beautiful city!! We walked around the 'Altstadt' and looked at some churches and the Schloss.
This past week the 'Weinlese' the wine harvest has started here in this region. There are many vineyards in the hills in this area and Magdalene, the mother of my host family comes from a family that has owned a vineyard for gernerations. It was her fathers, but by now her brother has taken it over. Some of the vineyards that we have harvested on have belonged to this family for hundreds of years.
Anyhow, they still harvest all the grapes by hand, so there is plenty of work to be done and the whole family helps out. Magdalene has three brothers and everyone who can comes and helps. It is so great to see how this family works together. They are so friendly and open to let me into their lives. When they sit together at the lunch table I don't always understand everything as their dialect is very different than any german that I am used to, but I love to listen to them. The language flows in a totally different way.
On Thursday was the first day that we harvested. We started at one in the afternoon. I was handed gloves, a pail and a pair of sissores, showed what to do and given a row. On this perticular day was only 'Vorlese' this means that we where not taking everything, we only wanted to cut out the moldy grapes. This was very slow work, when you find a bundle that has some mold on it you cut the whole bundle out of the stalk, cut of the moldy part, which ends up on the ground, and the rest of the bundle which is still good goes in the pail and gets used to make wine like all the other grapes. We where working with grapes that will become 'Roter Qualitätswein'.
On Friday we also did more 'Vorlese' but we were in differnt vineyards. Some where super old and very steep where you really had to watch how you placed your pail so that it didn't go flying down the hill. We harvested 'Weiß Riesling'. We had lunch together in the vineyard and then we worked from about 13:30 till 19:00. The work is not really that physicaly demanding, but at the end of the day I was quite tired from bending forward and down to cut the grapes, but also from being out in the sun all afternoon.
On Saturday we started at 8:00 and this time around it was 'Haubtlese' so we could harvest everything. This was so much more fun, so much faster and those rows and stalks are now finished. We worked from 8:00 till 10:00 and had 'Bretzelpause' a bretzel break. The bretzels here are so good!! Then we worked till noon and had lunch. By the time where were finished at 17:00 we had harvested 600 kg of grapes that will become 'Roter Qualitätswein'.
It amazes me that when we stand in the rows and are harvesting by hand we are doing something that people have done here for hundreds if not thousands of years. The harvesting is part of these peoples lives. They talk and sing as they harvest and because you always go down the rows in two's, one person on each side of the stalk, you always have someone to talk to. I have had some great conversations with people that I do not know, but because we are working side by side we have the opportunity to get to know each other. Sometimes we just work in silence, but this to has been ncie. I have really enjoyed these past three days and am looking forward to the next weeks of the Weinlese.

September!!

So much has happend since I have last posted anything, that I do not even know where to start!!
I got back to my placement in Sinsheim on Monday September 7. After getting on to the wrong train because I assumed that it was the right one when really it was not I got here in one piece. The kids where very excited to see me and I was excited to see them. We went out for ice cream together and it was good to catch up and hear about their holidays.
On Wednesday I then left again. My Aunt lives in Grenzach which is the 'Vorstadt' of Basel, which means it is th city righ before Basel, but it is still in Germany. It was nice to visit them. Florian, my cousin and me cooked lunch on Thursday and went to this store where you can get Swiss Chocolate and such for super cheap. Then in the evening my Aunt and me cycled accross th boarder into Switzerland and looked around Basel. What a beautiful city!!
On Friday morning I took an eary train into the heart of Switzerland and meet up with one of th other trainnes. Together we hiked in the Swiss Mountains for two days. It was amaying. We where not even in the Alps and it was breath taking, I can not even imagine how magnificant the Alps must be. We even saw two 'Alm Abzüge' which is when the farmers bring their cows that have been grazing in the mountains all summer back down to their farms. They all dress in their traditional Swiss Dress. It was so neat to experience this. I felt like I was experiencing the story of 'Heidi'. Heidi was my favorite story as a child and being in Switzerland, everything that I saw and looked at reminded me of Heidi.
The hiking was super fun to. We did some crazy things, but we had lots of fun and experience so much, the weather of the mountains, the fog, the beauty, the dangerousness. It was a good time!!
On Sunday I got back to Sinsheim, and now life is back to normal here as well. The kids have started School and the fall weather is making it's appearence. I had a very nice birthday yesterday and am very excited to see what this 19th year will bring with it!!
For now this will be all, hope to hear from you!!