I arrived in France and was picked up at the train station by the host I would be staying with for the next 3 weeks.  The town I was in was called Le Perigeuex vert.  The land was 30 acres of beautiful woodland with a 500 year old stone cottage and barn.  Unfortunately, I left my camera in Turkey and was unable to take any pictures until the last couple of days.  It rained every day that I was there, which made it tough to do garden work.  I was the only volunteer there for the first few days and I worked on building a raised veggie bed, setting up a small green house and turning over the massive compost piles.  

Once the other volunteer, Charlotte (from Australia), arrived, the weather was too bad to do any work outside.  We would sprint outside at the slightest bit of sun.  Instead of gardening, we worked on sorting and cataloguing books that the host, Alex, sells online.  He is a 29 year old guy from London and he moved to this property about 8 months ago to run his book business and enjoy the peace of the country. 

The three of us had a lot of fun watching movies and playing games and trying to stay dry.  We went to a farmers market one weekend, saw a band at the local cafe and went to a few BBQ’s with Alex’s friends.  One night we went to the cafe because we had heard there was going to be line dancing.  When we arrived, we found 12 French people dressed in matching cowboy/girl uniforms doing a line dancing performance for some British people having dinner.  There were more performers than guests...  It was one of the most bizarre things I’ve seen.  They were part of a line dancing club and met weekly to practice.  The dancers were very serious about what they were doing and were clearly miffed when they made mistakes.  After we watched this for a while, the dancers invited the audience to learn a dance, which was a blast.  We then decided we had had enough and went home. 

Charlotte and me

A few days later we picked up another volunteer, Salina, from Switzerland and we went out for dinner and drinks together.

Charlotte, Salina and me

The next day I received news that a family member was very ill and they weren’t sure how much longer she would live. So I decided to cut my trip short and return home in hopes of getting there in time to see her.  It feels like the right decision for me. Europe will always be here and I look forward to returning one day.  I have had an incredible time here and feel fulfilled by the experience I had.  I learned a lot about myself and grew in ways I couldn’t have imagined.  Thank you to those who have followed me on this short journey. Your love and support were always felt and greatly appreciated.

Until next time,

Jake

Stuttgart and Bavaria

Stuttgart and Bavaria 

After leaving Turkey, I flew back to Stuttgart to spend some time with my friend Meike.  It was my third time visiting her since I’ve been in Europe. She is always so welcoming and goes above and beyond to make sure I’m comfortable and happy.  We spent a few days hanging out with friends.

With Susi (left) and Meike (right)

Meike planned a trip for us for the Easter holiday.  We drove down to Bavaria and stayed in a little bed and breakfast owned by one of her friends.  When we arrived we explored a little bit and had some fun.  

Meike's friend, Caro, and me

That evening dinner was made for us and we all sat around drinking German beer and speaking in a mixture of German and English.  

The next day we woke up to a TON of snow.  One of Meike’s selling points for coming back to Germany in April was that it would be warm and I needed to give Germany another chance. Yeah, that worked out...  

Meike rides horses competitively and one of her old horses was at a barn near where we were staying. So we went for a visit.

I've never seen a horse do a barrel roll before

Getting some horse love from mama and baby

Afterward we went out for some traditional Bavarian food

And stopped to admire the view

We were really into jumping for pictures

The next day the snow was gone again and we decided to go see Neuschwanstein 

This is what it looks like, but it's impossible to take a picture of the whole thing when you're there.

That afternoon we drove back to Stuttgart and a few days later I flew off to the south of France to work on another farm.