Cold, still and clean Zurich, CH was a retreat after the endless party in Italy. The family caught a cold, bought closed toe shoes and hiked high in the alps. Somehow we happened upon the town where Heidi was filmed, picked apples, hung out at the parks and counted Lamborghini's by the dozen. We saw more friends and were super glad to catch up with those that are neglected by our normally far distance.

We had a brief stop in Freiburg, Germany to see some friends from back home. Josh and I felt guilty hearing about how their kids were doing in school. Crap, we thought, we'd better hurry up and figure out a place to stop for the year. Fortunately we were able to save face when at the dinner table Angelo shocked us all by starting up a conversation about all the different currencies we have seen... Whew, it at least appeared the kids had't lost brain cells over the summer.

We decided to head farther North for Copenhagen before the winter rolls in. To get there was an 11 hour drive through Germany. I had only been told tales of the autobahn in Germany... I was relived to see that there was (contrary to hearsay) a speed limit of 130 kph. That relief was short lived after 15 minutes on the road when it became clear that the speed limit was not obeyed or enforced. We sped up in the caravan to an uncharacteristically fast 85 mph. Still people where blowing past us. Really, going like in the 200's according to Angelo's calculations.

We stopped for the night somewhere in the black forest. We aren't sure if it was the "official" black forest but it sure was dark, rainy and spooky just like the storybooks. It was 1am, behind a Mc. Donald's, in a strange hotel where we managed to get some shut eye. I was amazed that I could sleep with the howling of traffic outside. The "howl" was truthfully more like an otherworldly ghost cry. Even Josh couldn't explain it. After 5 hours of sleep I couldn't stand it any longer and carried everyone to the car to sleep while I drove the early morning shift. It's wonderful the distance you can travel if you head out early. A beautiful gold morning light broke through the drizzle and the miles ticked down. We made it to the car ferry for Copenhagen by 2pm and my new nickname was born, "Road Ahnemal" (you must pronounce this with your worst Arnold Shwarzenegger accent). What a relief Copenhagen appeared after three weeks in Switzerland. Rainy, dirty, salty, royal, unpractical, liberal, friendly and just plain San Franciscoish.