In Murrumbateman again

Your favourite blogger (hehe ;) has safely returned by flight to Sydney, where he stayed one day at his friends before moving on in his van.

And now he is in Murrumbateman. You will recall that his friends Evelyn (from Germany) and Richard (from Australia) have a top-class bed&breakfast and restaurant there, named Country Guesthouse Schönegg.

Martin can stay here for a week or two, play games with the children (Mathias and Katja), and make himself useful helping his hosts around the house, for board and lodging (Kost und Logis). This is fantastic, every day brings new learning experiences, but the best of all is to be integrated so cordially (herzlich) into the family. This place is really a home away from home.

There is good news too: Evelyn's father (Wilhelm) is in much better health now than a few months ago; he's home now and no longer in hospital. The woman on the photo with the full moon is Evelyn's mother (Magdalena).

Continually updated activity list:
- play Carcassonne and Tri-ominos
- make mushroom dumplings
- weed the front yard
- mow the grass with a ride-on mower (all men in the world love this job!)
- drive to Yass to buy flowers for Mother's Day
- fetch firewood
- scramble 75 eggs
- update the blog
- set the tables
- prepare the the Mother's Day brunch buffet
- serve from the buffet during brunch
- clear the tables
- prepare starter plates (Vorspeisenteller)
- prepare flower pot breads (Blumentopfbrote... zu lang, das jetzt zu erklären!)
- fetch all kinds of things, or put them away
- play more with the kids
- dry the dishes and put them away
- polish the glasses and cutlery
- update the blog again
- drive Katja to the school bus (Mathias is ill this week and must stay home, tonsilitis)
- operate the dishwasher (scrub, prewash, stack, wash, clear and dry)
- set the breakfast tables
- hire DVDs and watch Ratatouille with the kids
- more dishwashing
- make up the guest rooms
- get GPS coordinates for the Schönegg website
- clean up the plant beds
- prepare lounge room for a conference
- more table laying, clearing, dishwashing, polishing and putting away
- repairs on mower and trailer
- trim the hedges
- prune the rose bushes

This business is amazing to watch and participate in: it runs like a gearbox. Alle Räder greifen ineinander. They have a couple of well-trained helpers, as required, and it is clearly a sign of excellent management that even on a busy day like Sunday, everything goes smooth and without any of the harsh tone that is apparrently so typically found in the catering world. Everyone here is nimble, efficient, anticipating, friendly and considerate to each other. Martin is extremely impressed and doing his best to merge in, while learning by listening, watching and doing. He thinks he didn't do too bad for his first day... at least he didn't drop anything! :D

Martin was too busy today to take any photos. So for visualization, please imagine him proudly wearing a black waist apron and a navy blue polo shirt with the Café Schönegg logo. :)