Zipping down the Dreisam on a Thursday afternoon*

Elias returned from his class adventure in Bonndorf having grown six inches and become independent beyond his years. Good food, good snow, good friends, good fun. He lost his flashlight, but found it again. He explained the many meanings of the English word "lift" to inquiring classmates. He didn't change his clothes once. Oh, "and the bus driver was really nice! Lots of people drank hot chocolate for breakfast--I had some too--and the bus driver had bags for everyone in case anyone needed to throw up. It was a really curvy road."

After lunch and a bath for the reeking child, we decided to walk to a park situated in the southeast part of Freiburg, along the Dreisam River, to try out a zip line I had seen on a jog. The park is about two miles from our apartment, and I had the brilliant idea of trying to cut over the Schlossberg to save us some time. Turns out the south side of the Schlossberg is rather sheer, so the shortcut--which included a lengthy series of switchbacks, narrow steps, fallen trees, and dead ends--added an extra hour to our trip. No regrets, however, as we got to see a cascade of tumbled down walls running from the top of the hill to the bottom, presumably part of the old fortifications.

We eventually reached the Dreisam and followed it to the park. The river begins between Kirchzarten and Stegen, at the confluence of the Rotbach and Wagensteigbach, and runs 29 km northwest until joining up with the Elz River in Riegel am Kaiserstuhl. As it flows through Freiburg, its water feeds the city's many Baechle (small canals). The river was re-engineered during the 19th century to deal with erratic flooding, and it now flows through disturbingly unwaveringly straight canals. Fortunately, the herons don't seem to mind.

*Sing along!