The best adventures include turmoil, challenge, and characters who overcome it. In this story the turmoil was in my stomach and the (obvious) challenge was the weather. Yet, like many stories, our adventure was great because of the characters who overcame these events.
Before setting off on our fantastic hiking adventure to the castle ruins of Sausenburg, I had the wonderful privilege of hosting a portion of a progressive dinner. The dinner was for the birthday of a friend. So, in celebration of such a special event, I broke out my new fondue set*. I figured that the fondue appetizer would be heavy enough to sustain me on the hike, but not has heavy as a meal. I failed to consider, however, the affect of hot cheese on my stomach.
We had not been on the hike 15 minutes when my stomach began to demand my attention. I felt sick and dizzy all at the same time. I couldn’t believe that we had not even topped our first hill before I needed the group to stop for me. Luckily my friend Kristi noticed my anguish and stopped with me for a while and allowed the rest of the group to move on. I couldn’t believe how bad I felt and that I had become the needy one in the group. I typically can’t stand when people are dramatic and feel the need to draw attention to themselves. Here I was, in need of help and complaining about my stomach. Thankfully Kristi was kind enough to share my load and patient enough to hike at a slower pace with me. Later Emily slowed her pace and joined me as my challenge became more about overcoming my being out of shape, rather than my illness. I thought my legs were going to give out on some of those steep hills! Yet, these friends were gracious enough to help me face these challenges. The sickness seemed to fade as I turned my attention toward the physical challenge of making it up the hills.
Less than 2 hours later, we reached the castle! Unfortunately, our light was fading and rain clouds covered the sky. Each of us scattered to different ends of the castle, exploring the ruins before it became too dark. Eventually most of us ended up on the top of the tower, where you could see as far as Switzerland in one direction and France in the other direction. Following Emily’s example, we took a seat on the railing and turned our attention toward Switzerland. The clouds were being lit with lightning above Switzerland, providing us with entertainment. I could have sat there for hours, absorbing the fantastic view, if it were not for the rain that finally caught up with us.
The six of us (Emily Kelly, Jill, Marit, Kristi, Emily Kremer, and I) grabbed all of our belongings and headed for shelter. We found a dry place to hang out in the corner of the main castle walls. It was a cave, so to speak. We piled our things in the corner, took a seat against the wall (forming a semi-circle), threw our food together in a community pile, and sat our head lamps on various stones in the wall (providing mood lighting). It was at that time that I shared my surprise with the group. I pulled my ipod and my portable speakers out of my bag. So, we told stories and laughed with one another for hours with the soundtrack of jazz, big band music, and Jack Johnson. I couldn’t have asked for a more chill atmosphere. There we were, snuggled up in a cave, with rain at our doorstep. It didn’t bother us a bit. We were content to relax and get to know one another better.
That night, our sleeping arrangements were interesting. Kremer and Marit took the two-man tent, Kristi and Kelly found a place in the castle tower, and Jill and I remained in the cave. I slept decently, but I was most disappointed that I was unable to use my ENO. I had set it up as soon as we reached the castle, but had taken it down because of how it blocked the entryway. When I returned to it in the rain, I found it resting in a puddle of mud. Otherwise, I would have slept in the rain.
The next morning we awoke fairly early, packed our things, and headed back to town. It was Sunday morning, so most of us needed enough time to shower and get ready for church. Yet, we had allowed enough time to enjoy breakfast with one another. So, we returned to Kristi and Emily Kremer’s apartment where Kristi prepared a wonderful meal of crêpes with various toppings, including: Nutella, jam, apple strudel, bananas, and syrup. Emily Kelly also contributed to the meal with her tasty coffee. Enjoying this delicious meal with one another was the best way to end our trip!
Even with the challenge of my hard climb up to the castle and the rain that never let up, castle camping was one of the most memorable camping trips I’ve had thus far.
*A few weekends ago, a very kind family took me to a wonderful flea market in Lorrach. While I was there, I was able to pick up some essential and some not so essential items for my kitchen. My most prized find was a complete Fondue set. I have never seen anything like it. The set has sat in a place of honor in my kitchen for about 3 weeks now, untouched. So it was with great pleasure that I took the opportunity to use and show off my grand fondue set.
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