On the Wednesday before the wedding, we organized a hike in the Black Forest -- and not just any hike, an alcoholic one. An *officially* alcoholic one - we were on a Schnapsbrunnenweg, a hiking trail through vineyards and orchards with stops at "distilleries" every few kilometers. This is a big fruit-growing region, and the local farmers make small amounts of spirits (in German, Schnaps) from their excess fruit. The farmers then make their Schnaps available to thirsty hikers passing through.
"Hike" is probably a stretch here - I put on my hiking boots because that's what I do, but it was totally doable in jeans, and even a stroller came along (though it sometimes had to be carried). There ended up being about 30 of us doing the hike together, which meant that we got nowhere fast - but the views were lovely and the company was great! The full hiking route has at least 5 Schnaps stops, but our leisurely pace meant we made it to all of one (some speedsters made it to two). However, I've done a different section of this trail before and I can tell you that even if you start out fast, it means you drink more Schnaps, and then your pace slows considerably. So this is a hike for the bon vivant, not the mountaineer. :) The start and end point for the hike was a traditional restaurant in the town of Sasbachwalden, with a great garden looking out onto the surrounding vineyards. Our guests then got to experience an extreme version of German restaurant service -- we arrived, with a reservation, at 7 pm, and the last people got served their food at 10 pm. So yeah, this is not America. (In fairness, waiting that long for your food is also crazy by German standards.) But there was plenty of beer and I think everyone stayed happy. Phew!
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