Christmas in Bad Rothenfelde, Germany!

SO... after accidentally sitting in the smoking carriage of the train to Osnabruck, I was very thankful for a burst of fresh German air. It was a big task, but evetually all 8 of us and our accompanying luggage fit into Klaus and Dorithea's cars. I was in Klaus' car on the way to Bad Rothenfelde- a route which required us to drive on the 'autobahn'... a road much akin to the M1, however there are NO speed restrictions!! Just for kicks, Klaus took his Audi to 210km/hr which was both fun and scary at the same time. That's actually the fastest I've probably ever been on land... don't worry mama, Klaus was in control the whole time =)

OK. So we arrived at the Melches' house to a very warm welcome! The next day was Christmas Eve day so we prepared for the ensuing days and simply enjoyed getting to know such an awesome family. We are so thankful for their hospitality and openness to a group which actually outnumbered them for such a special occasion as Christmas. As for Christmas... WOW! What can I say. It was the first Christmas I have ever spent away from my mum and dad, but a Christmas that i could not wish to have any other way. Being able to spend it with a family that loves their Lord and values family togetherness made it such an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. Amongst the memorable events were:

- Attending church services spoken and sung entirely in German, trying our best to work out what was being said and what we were singing about.
- Frequently singing German and English carols in the lounge room with the fireplace and real Christmas tree with REAL candles to light it up (we got to help decorate it!), listening to the girls play songs on their varied sized recorders ( i never knew they came in so many sizes!)
- LOTS AND LOTS of delicious food and drinks (embarrassingly, I ate so much on the 26th- a day they call "2nd Christmas" that I threw up that same night...tried so hard not to, but felt so much better afterward, as the rest of the people in the room can vouch for- sorry guys, and thanks).
- Walking through the wild bore forest, yes WILD bores. Klaus made it all the more exhilirating with his bore stories and demonstration of what to do if a bore decides to attack you (we like to call it 'the drop and roll')
- Snow on the 27th!!, same day we cooked an Aussie meal for them and covered the table with as many Aussie souvenirs as we could muster together.
- Sleeping all 8 of us in the same room and Kizzie demonstrating the 'steamroller' to our German friends on the last night when they also decided to sleep in the room.
- and MANY more memories! THANKYOU so much for Klaus, Ute, Dorothea, Barbara, Christina and Katharina for having us and for giving us the opportunity to get to know you!!!

After a train ride to Dusseldorf, we caught a very small jet to Paris where the story continues!!! Hope you're enjoying it!