Emily and James and I set out this morning on a mission. We were on day three of our transportation shortage, and rations were starting to run low. I decided to ask Emily and James if they were up for the challenge of the 8 kilometer round trip walk through the Altmühl Forest, down into the valley, and back up to make a trip to the nearest grocery store. As usual with youth, what they lacked in comprehension, they made up for in enthusiasm. Regardless, the walk turned out to be an extremely beautiful walk through forest, along fields of corn, hay, and barley, and down through a wooded river valley. Complaints were few, but questions were plentiful.
While on our walk, not more than a kilometer from home, we stopped at the side of a local farmer’s field to examine the grain. My experience with homebrewing helped me realize it was a field of 2-row barley. This particular type of barley is commonly used as a base malt when brewing German beer, but it can also be used for other purposes. We each grabbed a stalk of nearly ready grain, and would pick seeds and munch on them as we walked.
On our way back from Riedenburg, we walked by another field that was growing 6-row barley. This kind is particularly suited for animal feed, and we could see why. The kids noticed the seeds were more plump, softer, and had more of a flavor to them. We enjoyed our walk, our snack, and four hours later, we found ourselves back home with a backpack and two bags full of groceries.
I’m terribly proud of those two kids for making that whole journey with me, but I am even more amazed at the incredible surge of energy they seemed to have when they got home. They started running around, wrestling each other, and generally wreaking havoc. It was a good opportunity to send them over to the spielplatz to burn off more steam. We’ll see how they sleep tonight.
What an adventure and what a long walk for those little legs!! How proud we are of your spunk and tenacity with survival tactics. We love you to bits!!! Mom and Dad Schwab Love all the pixs