Strawberries Galore

With all the hustle and bustle of our Mimi-visit-preparations back in June, not to mention the need to plan and pack for a fortnight in France, we almost overlooked the obvious ... a trip to the strawberry field.

Imagine, if you will, flying over ten hours into the "future" and then traveling another three hours along the autobahn and then stepping through the doorway to be greeted by five eager, excited grandchildren whose unified purpose (for this afternoon / evening) is to keep you from crawling into bed for some much desired sleep...and then you hear this bit of news:  "We're going to go pick strawberries tomorrow!"  And to top it off, you learn that you will be WALKING to the strawberry field because it is JUST a couple of kilometers away.  Welcome to Germany, Mimi!!

So, the next day (after the mandatory-first-morning-in-Germany trip to the backerei for whatever sweetness you might choose) we prepared for our strawberry excursion.  Baskets, water bottles, sunscreen, hats, plastic bags to line the baskets, euro (you-pick-'em berries in the field are not free ... cheaper by far than the commissary, but not free!), and two strollers -- one for Belle and one for the berries.

Ready to go!

Bear taking advantage of the "extra" stroller
on the way to the field



Teamwork

Inspector Belle

Sometimes you need help letting go...

Good thing we brought those hats!

Just a small portion of "The Haul"

Within an hour and with approximately eight pairs of hands a-pickin', we hauled in about 15 kg of strawberries ... roughly 30 pounds of berries!  Many hands make light work ... many hands also make you unaware of just how much is produced with that light work.  That's where the German gentleman in the pay-here-now booth will enlighten you ... after Husband adds a bottle of strawberry wine to the line of baskets waiting to be weighed!  Thankfully the enlightenment was nearly painless ... total damage was less than 20 euro (about $25).  AND we had berries to feast on for a week!