EXTREMEly fun days!

We've had some really hot weather while we've been here so to find some relief, we've had to source out some swimming pools (in addition to the lake we rode our bikes to). We ran into a lovely couple from Vancouver who sent us off to a pool called "Montana" on the backside of the Black Forest to where we are staying. So, off we went. It was packed there but in a beautiful setting - the diving pool was almost like an infinity pool - going off the edge of the cliff.




We noticed a big difference in the level of supervision at the pools by lifeguards. Basically, there aren't any. Once in a while you see someone who looks official walking around but we were never quite sure what they were doing. Consequently, the slide would become a little chaotic with kids going down upon kids and once you dove off the diving board, you better swim for your life before the next kid jumped off or you would have been wearing him/her on your back! As for running on the pool deck, well, go for it! Nonetheless, Adam and Sylvie's diving has improved and they didn't wear each other on their backs!




But, on a not so hot day, in fact, it had been rather cool, we took off on our bikes later in the afternoon just to get out of the house and stumbled upon the local pool here in Buhl. To our delight, it was open and there was not a soul there. We raced back home, got our suits and within 30 minutes we were swimming, sliding, diving and soaking in the hot tub all alone. It was great! Once in a lifetime. This pool, by the way, is not just one pool. There are multiple pools there. It's really quite the place. People often come and spend the day there - there are grassy areas to lie around on with trees for shade to boot!







On a day we were just driving around exploring the area, we stumbled upon something called "Parcour". This particular place was situated at a local ski hill. Since we discovered this particular place, we've noticed that there are quite a few of them in Germany and they are quite popular. Basically, it is a high off-the-ground obstacle course. If you ask me, something like a cross between "Fear Factor" and "Wipe out". You have to strap yourself on with safety gear, walk on the highline like a tightrope, zip line from A to B, walk on ropes, swing like Tarzan, you name it. The gang was sold so off we went.














Sylvie had to be rescued from this zipline. She came in, hit the landing platform at full speed, bounced off and settled back in the middle of the line. She hung there for a good 5 minutes or so while we tried to figure out what we had to do. All the while, she enjoyed the relaxation until the staff realized that she wasn't going to go anyplace in a hurry and eventually a lady went in to retrieve her off the line and tow her back into the platform.



All in all, it was a great day.


Adam here -

Hey everyone. Still in Buhl. But, I could still stay to eat more schnitzel. We went to this Parcour and it was pretty dang high. Me, dad and Sylvie had not too much trouble, but Mom, on the other hand, had quite a bit of trouble. But it was so much fun anyway. Then we did swimming. We had the whole pool to ourselves and the lap pool was the size of Griffin alone. There were four outdoor pools, three water slides and two indoor pools.

Sylvie -

We had so much fun the last few days. We went swimming in this awesome pool in Buhl and there is 1 water slide, 2 small kids slides, 4 diving boards. Everyone would like it there. We went to an obstacle course as Mom likes to say - Parcour. It's like a really high and hard playground with levels.

David's bit -

Those were some really fun days. The swimming pool in Buhl is First Class (best I’ve ever seen). The day we had the pools to ourselves the pool staff made sure we were taken care of by turning the big water slide on and keeping the jets going in the giant hot pool. On the other occasions when the pool was busy, I found the lack of supervision very refreshing (the beer and food served poolside didn’t hurt either). Everyone had a good, safe time without their every move being scrutinized.

That also applied to the obstacle course. They told us what was expected of us (always have at least one carabiner tied in), showed us how to use the gear and that was the last we saw of them until Sylvie needed help. This type of business would probably go over big at home but I am sure liability issues and regulations have already killed anyone’s attempt.



Apologies for the cuss word in this video. No need to explain. The video says it all.