Rain Country

The idea was to have brunch on Michi and Gretel's amazing, Wisteria-overgrown terrace under a pale blue canopy buzzing with bees. Naturally, it rained. But we still drove out with John and Bine in their VW bus and managed to have a glass of bubbly out there before breakfast. And then seven of us round the table, with the two children running around - such a nice way to spend a rainy Sunday. Before we went back home, we took in the annual oldtimers show with cars and tractors and masses of country people. We saw a few nostalgic cars, a Porsche tractor, a trendy young Bavarian father with four children, three of them triplets, all his own, and a tractor with a baby seat - times have changed, even in Niederbayern.


A series of bubbles was blown to make this foto possible

A tractor show - the local buzz, with wheels dwarfing Bine

A handsome father of four

In the Eighties, my Mum used to have an old Opel Rekord, a bit like this one - it was known pretty much across Bavaria. She adored it and called it Timoteus. I often borrowed it when I was visiting from London, and always felt like a Queen driving it. Ah - in those days, cars - just like flying - were something really special.

We ate too much, drank before mid-day and generally had an excellent time, AND were home before six o'clock - way in time for Tatort (the Sunday night culty thriller series).