Mooching around Mellendorf

28 September 2023

Another day, another dog walk!

The weather was fabulous yet again today. A crisp start, a warm sunny day and a cool evening. Just right!

When Germany begins to “rub off” on you.

We “Frühstücked” outside this morning because …. we could. And I’ve gotta say that for people who don’t normally eat breakfast, Grahame and I are certainly making a meal of it. Coffee, juice, bread rolls, jam, cheese, hams, eggs, pickled herring (!!!) , marzipan honey, cherry tomatoes! Why not?

Both the Plinkes and the Marj’s had some paperwork to do this morning, so while Hans Heinrich prepared Apfelkuchen (apple cake) for this afternoons “Fika”, Sophie and I logged on to the Australian Government website to sort out their visas for their up coming visit, and Grahame researched and booked accommodation in Cologne. Sophie helped me organise our train tickets and yes, tomorrow we are moving even further west. Success all around!

The big plan for today was a bike ride around Mellendorf and it’s nearby villages.

We weaved in and out of little streets in Mellendorf before reaching the trail that lead to various points of interest. We cycled on quiet streets , dirt roads and narrow walking paths. Fortunately our borrowed bikes were up to the task.

Our first stop was at Loenssee, a picturesque little lake in the forest. We visited here in 2016 and it looked exactly the same. A little oasis in the woods.

We cycled on to “Jens’ Wood”, a special little plot of land, a long way from Australia. (Our future son-in-law’s little piece of Germany.)

The Bissendorfer Moor (a nature reserve) is a “sprawling, open bog area & natural preserve with biking & walking trails & abundant wildlife.” (according to Wikipedia). Given the dry conditions, there was not much bog to be seen but there were plenty of “Viewing Platforms” to view. Had we the time to stop, we may have seen lots of birdlife, deer and wild pigs. We didn’t!

But I did view some of locals!

Our journey through the moor was somewhat restricted. Sophie, as your leader, had to alter our planned route several times.

All this cycling , climbing and viewing obviously made us a little hungry and a lot thirsty. Next stop, Restaurant Waldkater.

I’m starting to notice a trend (that’s if two constitutes a trend) with little country Pub/ Restaurants around here. They have farm animals!! Todays offerings included goats, pigs, donkeys and little ponies.

This one had the added attraction of “Parking Places for Horses”.

It also had “Currywurst”! And I’m becoming a bit of a fan.

After a late lunch we prepared ourselves for the final few kilometres back to Mellendorf. But…. We had a problem. There was a slight issue with our bike locks. And rather than go into detail, suffice to say that power tools were involved.!!!

Forgot to press start. We did start and finish at the same place

Finally back in Mellendorf, we had afternoon tea and Apfelkuchen with Jens’s Cousin Laura, her husband Fabian and their son Armandus. At five (?) years old he had trouble comprehending our inability to speak German with him. He was very confused and I think he thought us more than a little strange. (If not, stupid.)

That’s all that was left of the Apfelkuchen

Ok so this is something I never thought I’d do or say. But today Sophie and I went Hedgehog food shopping!!! Yes, it’s a thing!! The dear little hedgehogs are growing fast and eating lots more now. (Eating the Plinkes out of “house and home”??). Sophie needed to replenish their supplies, so off we went! To the shop that sells Hedgehog food (“Igelfutter”). Apparently it’s a delightful mixture of earthworms, beetles, caterpillars,earwigs and millipedes. And it smells ….. interesting! The shop was doing a roaring trade!