They arrived on a Thursday evening in time for dinner and they were thankful to get out of the car after hours driving on the Autobahn, to sit down to a meal in a house, do a load of laundry and just relax. The next day they had decided that a trip into the Black Forest area would be enjoyable so we set about soon after breakfast to pack up drinks and snacks and cameras and jackets for a drive into the Schwartzwald for a day of sightseeing.
As we were backing the cars out of the driveway a man walked up and introduced himself as an employee of the Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (German Red Cross). He was here to assess our couch that we wanted to donate. So we let him in and five minutes later he was on his way out again after handing us another person’s name and phone number for scheduling the donation pick up. Thus, we jumped back into our cars and started backing out again when a huge tanker truck pulled up and blocked our way. We got out of our cars again and spoke with the driver and realized that this was the oil delivery truck here to refill our oil heating tank since we were packing up and moving out in a few days. So, we waved on my Dad and brother and stayed behind while the man turned our heater off and filled the oil tank. When he finished, he told us not to turn the water heater back on for several hours. So, when he left, we once again piled into the van and off we headed down the autobahn to meet my family in Triberg in the Black Forest.
Triberg is a small but highly touristy town that is known for Germany’s highest waterfalls and the world’s largest cuckoo clock. We had a wonderful day in there, walking around, lunching at an outdoor café, sightseeing and cuckoo clock shopping. After lunch, when my family decided to take a trip through the local Schwartzwald Museum, that we had already seen, we headed to the outdoor playground by the entrance to the waterfall. The girls and I swung and climbed and rested in the shade while Cory headed up the hill to hike around with our son. They headed up a trail and then happened upon an outdoor climbing park complete with zip lines in the trees around Triberg. Since it was our son’s 14th birthday that day, they paid their money and geared up and spent an hour or so climbing and sailing through the trees.
When we finally drove back home to our town, we fed the kids leftovers, got them ready for bed and put a movie on the T.V. Then the adults headed out to dinner to the nearby town of Weil der Stadt. We drove into the city and parked near the old city wall. We walked around the marktplatz until we found a crowed Gästehaus. This is a small, usually family-owned and run restaurant with good food and a warm atmosphere. There we partook of a tasty traditional German dinner before finally heading back home late. My Dad, brother and company were heading out early to catch a nearly 6AM flight back to the states. So, they made sure to pack up and gather their luggage and belongings for that early departure. My sister-in-law and my Dad’s girlfriend, Diane, even took showers that night just to be more prepared to leave come morning but they failed to mention to us that the water temperature wasn’t hot. In fact, it was closer to lukewarm by the end of their quick showers. Everyone went to bed and Cory and I didn’t get up until long after they all departed. We were greeted by a small, perplexing, scrawled note on the counter, near the coffee pot that said simply, “Thanks for everything.” And, “Heater might be off.”
Well, as soon as we read it over, we suddenly looked at each other in an “ah ha,” kind of moment and my husband said, “The water heater! It never got turned back on after the oil tank was filled.” Well, sure enough, we went to the basement and everything was in the “off” position. So, later my brother informed us that his shower was less than lukewarm and then my poor Dad was the last to shower that morning and he had to endure an icy cold shower in my house before leaving! We felt awful. In the business of the day and evening we had just completely forgotten to turn back on the water heater for our company. I'm so sorry about that Dad!!!
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