30th and 31st July
After breakfast the teams fetched their washings from the local laundry in Freudenstadt which added a somehow nicer smell to all members and this had to be celebrated at the local “Brauhaus” a little brewery in the centre of the huge “Marktplatz”…..
After a little recovery snooze they proceeded to Kurt and Waltraud’s Schafstall for a black forest grill or braai as it is known to the South Africans….
On the way there the team members purchased a good supply of charcoal and fire starters as they promised to be the “braai masters”… It was very nice to see so meny of Will’s family taking their time to make this indeed a very festive occasion with some having travelled from long distances to attend…
Listening to the team members travelling stories – Willy’s cousin Johannes and his friend Christoph insisted that they want to become a cardinal. … a task which Johannes managed to achieve after the 6th try whereas Christoph was of the opinion to rather finish this task during his next visit to South Africa – his 3 tries having taken its toll….
Johannes – the new Cardinal of Glatten – was amazingly fit and introduced the team members to a new combination of head stands and roll forwards – gravity at this stage did not allow his legs to stay up in the air for more than a split second.
2 further Cardinals completed the procedures namely his excellence Mark – the cardinal of Freudenstadt and Denis the cardinal of the Blackforest.
All cardinals and their congregation celebrated the achievements , fine food and drinks as well as the friendship extended by all present – it was a wonderful evening and again a big thank you to Kurt and Waltraud for the venue and food as well as to Ingrid ,Sylvia and Sieger and all the other girls who provided nice spreads of salad , deserts, cakes and meat.
A much needed rest was required after this wonderful festivity………….
Early wake up on Sunday morning and off to Stuttgart to catch the plane to Venice. Ingrid and Michael met the team members at Stuttgart’s airport to take back the VW minibus – named black beauty – and after the normal waiting period the team members proceeded to board the Berlin Air plane and took off to Venice…
From the airport in Venice the waterbus was taken to take the team members to St Marco’s square – and to the close by hotel in this amazing town.
Needless to say that this time of the year Venice is packed to capacity with tourists from all over the world – but the teams made it via the Marco square and Formosa Piazza to the Rialto bridge which crosses the Canale Grande….
Alongside this canal a nice restaurant was found serving nice carafes’ of Italian white and red grape juice together with delicious pizzas and pastas.
The trip back to the hotel required a few stop overs to taste the team members new favourite beverage – White Vine mixed with Campari…
Eagerly awaiting good news the following day from the shipping agents the team members dozed away when Saturday became Sunday……






