The Black Forest

With the folks of Musicosophia, St. Peter, Black Forest, Germany.
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People told us that the Black Forest in Germany has some sort of mystical or magical presence.  We were duly skeptical, as at first glance it seemed rather underwhelming compared to the Alps.  But once we got there, spent some time, and soaked it in, we started to believe in its charm a little.  Riding, walking or even driving through the thickly forested hills in the evening, I got that blissful feeling that only comes when you feel you´ve really sunk deep into nature.

Among other things, near St. Blasien we visited a local herbalist, who grows herbs and makes various medicinal and beauty products from them.  Happily, she also cooks up some wicked delicious fruit and herb liqueurs, which we very reluctantly tasted, after she begged and begged and pleaded with us to please try them, please.  Ahem.

we started to believe in its charm

We also visited the beautiful village of St. Peter, about 15 kilometers from Freiberg and home to Mark´s friend George Balan´s Musicosophia institute.  George and Mark have known each other for 50 years (wow!), and the anniversary of their first meeting, back in Russia, coincided with our visit.  George, who has studied classical music for all of his life, founded Musicosophia in 1979.  From there, it´s attracted an international following, and now very active satellites exist in Italy, Mexico and other places.  Musicosophia is a philosophy and method, from what I rudimentarily understand, of listening to classical music "consciously."  We don´t entirely understand what that means, but we are hoping to find out by taking a seminar in Mexico City next Spring.  Among the incredibly kind and warm-hearted folks we met there were a couple from Mexico City, and we hope to see them again, along with Hubert and Gephardt, for the seminar.  By then we hope to know some espanol!

St. Peter also provided Tole a chance to find out what a good strong electric shock to the gnads is like!  While hiking, we took a "short cut" (some might call it "trespassing") through a field of sheep and cattle, only to find an electric fence blocking our progress at the other end.  Tole volunteered, under duress, to make the first attempt over.  Turns out holding onto a metal pole while hopping over is not such a fine idea, unless you´re either an olympic high jumper or you´re hoping for a cheap neuterin´.

From here, we said goodbye to Mark & Alla, assembled the bikes, and got ready to head off for our viaje en bici!