My First Full Week in Kandern

After returning from the weekend in Italy, I had a weekend in Kandern to relax and unpack.  I also started learning about how to run the bed & breakfast: how to prepare breakfasts, make beds, and generate invoices and bills.  I went to the two grocery stores in Kandern, Penny and Hieber.  They’re just like normal grocery stores except all the labels and tags are in German.  Some of the items I can guess because the German words are similar to American words and/or because of the store section I’m in—refrigerated meats, dairy, household utensils—but other things I can’t guess at all or are things I’d never think of.  For example, mayonnaise and mustard are kept in large toothpaste-like tubes.  Thankfully Mrs. L explained that to me; otherwise, I'd be wandering the grocery store aisles someday this summer, completely lost as to why the store doesn't carry sandwich condiments.

People in Kandern were gearing up for the World Cup that week too.  German flags hung from windowsills and balconies and cars - a rare sight, Mrs. L told me - and even some food had German flag colors or player numbers on the packaging.  I'm not into sports, but it was fun to see how enthusiastic Germans are about their football.  

Then on Friday the 15th, family friends of the Ls rolled into town.  We all hung out, went shopping, and did a hike together.  Then on Monday the 18th, all twelve of us squeezed into two cars and set off for a week in France.  I'll write about that more in future posts.  For now, here are some photos of Kandern.

This is the oldest building on Kandern.  It was built in 1604.

One evening we drove about ten minutes out of Kandern and walked along a lane between vineyards.  to my left, I could see the town of Binzen and beyond that, I could see all the way to Basel, Switzerland.  To my left, I could see the French countryside. 

Kandern is located in such a beautiful area, it astounds me all the time.