~Fish, Feet & Forests~

~Watch out.. the catfish are going to eat you up. Steve's annual dental picnic was help up in Manheim this year. We were walking around the park and saw these boats. It was a hot day, so we decided that a boat ride would be perfect. Then all of a sudden we are sailing along, enjoying the experience... when all of a sudden there are thousands.. seriously.. thousands of catfish coming up to our boat. I have never seen anything like this before in my life.. it was creepy and hysterical.. open wide!~


~During the last two decades, about 60 barefoot parks have been founded in Germany and Austria. They are open to the public and offer the opportunity to walk for some distance (up to three miles) on natural ground and to feel a variety of materials with their bare feet~


~Visitors can enjoy balancing or climbing exercises and walk through brooks or even rivers. Some barefoot parks include playground sections designed for barefoot use. This healthy combination of barefoot hiking and playing has become a real tourist attraction~


~I don't think a place like this would be very popular in the states. First of all, we walk around without shoes all the time outside.. which is a huge no-no here. Every time my boys or myself goes outside without shoes.. the neighbors start wagging there finger and telling me that it is not safe to be outside without shoes~


~It is funny to watch the Germans walk around without their shoes on.. they think that it is the craziest thing they have ever done. It is meant to be good for your feet and stimulate healthy veins~


~All I could think about was foot fungus, disease and lawsuits.. I guess that is the American in me~


~We just had a huge day of rain the day before.. so the mud was everywhere, which definitely added to the enjoyment of the day~


~Inside this mud pit were sharp rocks that we had to walk very carefully across. We had just finished walking on broken glass right before this.. can I say ouch!~


~You can only imagine how slippery it was to walk around the park the remainder of the time.. we were sliding around everywhere.. we did have a lot of fun~


~We ended with a playground.. then it was time to scrub our feet and get all of the mud and other diseases we had picked up along the way off of us.. so glad that we were able to enjoy this cultural experience while here in Germany~


~Our fabulous neighbors, the Nagels asked us last year if we would be interested in riding on the historical steam engine train through the black forest.. we thought the boys would love it.. so when the time came... we got on board! The scenery was gorgeous, and we chugged along past beautiful, small towns in the black forest region. The boys were all smiles.. and I am glad that we were able to see some beautiful countryside~