A valuable lesson that must be remembered!

I have forgotten about the snow ridden roads that increased my driving angst today.

I have totally forgotten about the first traffic jam we have sat in (since leaving home) on the A99 autobahn to Munich.

I have completely forgotten about the wrong turning in the services only to be blocked in by 101 juggernaut lorries, one with a puncture and riling the others!

And there is a very simple reason. It is flipping cold once again outside, Hugo has electricity, we have good parking, we are safe, we are in Munich.......but we are in a house! The part of me that gets guilt ridden by people offering free hospitality has been beaten down today by Christian Foppl who made it all too easy for us to accept his help. I suppose it is easier to start at the end of the story.

We are now in the living room of a beautiful house in a village north east of Munich. The fire is roaring, there is a bountiful supply of logs, Clare has a glass of red, the children are sleeping soundly next door, and our host..... Well, he is about 2km down the road staying at his wife's house tonight. So yes, we are home alone, Hugo is plugged in and warm on the drive and the crate of Munich based beer left by Christian is gorgeous. We have cooked in the house, eaten in the house, showered the children in the house, and we are feeling tremendously relaxed and at home. And when did we meet Christian? Well only a few hours prior to him leaving us home alone!

It is a long story, but the Foppl brothers and their families are being really supportive of our adventures and helping us navigate our way through Germany and Austria. We have found travelling through the winter a little lonely compared to our summer adventures. We have not met as many people recently, which is why it is such a pleasure to meet such fantastic and warm welcoming families. We are truly grateful, and tonight we are feeling truly humbled by the warmth and generosity received. 

What have we learnt? Well, I'm not sure that there is one single "thing" that we have learnt, but I hope that the children take many "things" from our visits to the Foppl families. The warmth, kindness, generosity and general help provided to us of late is something that must be passed on. You never know who might need a room for the night or need our help, but over supper tonight Maya and Jasper were very understanding of the situation, and both were clear that there are very kind people in this world. They have enjoyed meeting Christian and like his "hotel"! I hope they log this memory away deep in their brains, because this is a valuable life lesson!