I didn’t drink a lot that night…. comparatively speaking. Haha, actually, I really didn’t have much. But it was a lot of fun—even though I could speak to no one.

Our media friends realized halfway through that we had—OOPS!—missed our train home and offered us (even before we asked) a place to stay. They had a flat back in Munich and drove us there (yay for driving on the Autobahn!!!), letting us crash on the floor. Early in the morning, we took the first train back to Altenstatt.

We arrived at 9am, just in time to help move Hans-Peter’s brother-in-law & wife out of their home. We had offered to do this before we left for Marktl. Ordinarily, this would have been a slog of a job. Moving someone out after a night of celebration, a poor sleep on the floor (much less a short sleep), and a long train ride home—this would be enough to vanquish any soldier. But not this soldier! WHERE’S THEM BOXES?

Now, as beautiful as Marktl was, this moving day was better. Far and away, hands down, and all other clichés… This day rocked. Hans-Peter, Steve, and I walked a couple blocks to his brother-in-law’s house… yes, just a couple of blocks. Altenstatt is cool like this: there aren’t more than 2,000 people who live there. And those that do are all family. Nearly all of Hans-Peter’s family is there and nearly all of Lucia’s family is there. They all grew up in the same town—some the same house—and they all go to the same church (which is the center of town). And with Munich just an hour away, they can work in the big city and come home to their roots—this is where they have been living for about 800 years. Family, Tradition, and God. Beautiful.

So we walk to the house, and meet all the guys of the two families. Because, oh yeah, when you’re family, you help out. So all of the men were loading up furniture and boxes. And since this is Altenstatt, the new home is only a couple blocks away. Also because this is Altenstatt, you don’t rent a moving-van. No, you use the grand-father’s farm tractor and the wagon attached. Load the baby up and go for a ride!