the cherry tree.

When we first moved into our home, our landlady told us we had an apple, plum and cherry tree in our yard. She said they only bear a great harvest every two or three years. Boy, was she right! Last year, our cherry tree was slim picking, and by the time we realized the cherries were fully ripe, the birds had stolen much of the fruit. 

This year, however, it was impossible not to notice the cherries. They are bright fire-engine red and there are TONS of them. Together with our friends, we have been picking buckets full and snacking on them for three days and there is still no shortage! We also have wild strawberries peppering our yard - a delicious treat! 

Here are the pictures I took of Iris picking cherries last year!

a little taste of summer.

Summer in Germany is punctuated by an abundance of fresh fruit. I don't mean to say that the markets are stocked with fruit (although that is usually the case.) The fruit relevant to this post is grown right in our own backyard. Most yards and other open grassy areas boast at least one fruit tree. 

Our home has three fruit trees growing out front - yellow plum, apple and cherry. It's really quite a wonderful feeling to pick fruit that grows right outside your door. The convenience of supermarkets has taken that simple pleasure away from many of us and it feels good to get back in touch with nature. It was especially nice to show Iris exactly where fruit comes from - she loved this experience!

We even picked these on the side of a back road in our town!

a slice of Germany - Schloß Café

I've decided to introduce a new feature to my blog - A Slice of Germany! I plan to document and post all about the beautiful and interesting places we visit during our time here. I'll likely mostly feature restaurants, as enjoying food is something of particular interest to me! I hope not only to share a bit of our life here, but also to document our experiences for us to look back on. 

The town of Malburg is a short 30 minute walk from where we live. It's quite a workout to walk anywhere in our town or near it, as we are located in the base of a valley, thus lots of hills! I admit that lately I've found myself to be in the best shape I've been in years with all the uphill walking both ways I do every day! We initially had planned to walk into the next town over and then return home, but I decided we should walk around a bit to see if we could find a restaurant our landlady had recommended to me. 

We ended up at the peak of a steep hill, atop of which is the castle of Malburg, which we didn't visit that time around. However, sitting right below it was a small café and we decided to check it out! They had a fairly simple menu with appetizer type plates of meat and cheese, small sandwiches, cake, ice cream and all sorts of refreshments. It looked like the sort of place that people of the town frequent after church, as we were there on a Sunday and it was full of well dressed people when we arrived. 

Since we'd already eaten lunch, we ordered some of the most divine cake I have ever tasted. It was so light and yet full with the flavors of chocolate, cherries, sweet liquor and whipped cream. On a similar note, I should mention that Marius and I are self-professed beer connoisseurs and it's quite an intense hobby for us. We ordered a beer called Kasteel Donker, a quadruple style which is brewed in Belgium. The name Kasteel, which was world-class delicious albeit sweet for our palates, also translates to "castle" in Dutch. The staff were lovely and helpful and I am simply amazed that we live just a 30 minute walk from a place like this. I will never tire of the simple pleasures of Europe. Since moving here, I've been bombarded with requests for pictures of our new home - those will be coming soon! For now, enjoy the photos I took of this wonderful little café in the town next to us, Schloß Café. 

The sign translates to "Castle Cafe. Coffee + Cake. Beer Wine ice Cream"