Raclette Night

Everything is ready. All we need are people to eat the food!

The "Oven"

They call this a Raclette Oven. The cheese is sliced in about 1 cm. (between 1/4 and 1/2 inch) thick slices from a 5 kg. (11 lb.) rectangular block of cheese, and one slice fills each tray. The trays on the top have cheese in them, warming, waiting to go in under the flame. The lower trays are kept under the flame unit until the cheese is melted and bubbling. If no eaters appear, the trays can be lowered to stay warm, but not burn. When you come with your potatoes and plate, you get the whole tray-full of cheese slid on to your plate. No small portions allowed.

The Eaters

Here is the first table. (Our plates are the empty ones in the foreground. Work before pleasure, you know...)

And another table full of hungry people.

Here's the whole group, hard at "work."

We even got to wear our "dress" aprons.

At the Pfadiheim

This was our room for the night. We were attending a "Retreat" for training of the Stake Leadership. I slept in my sleeping bag on the bed that you see. I didn't get a picture of the 4x4 bunks where Steve slept. And it doesn't look as chilly as it was that night (unless you can see the ice and snow on the roof windows). Nor can you tell that the bathroom was two floors below, down a spiral staircase (with a handrail only on the inside), and there were no lights in the halls at night. (We had been told to bring a flashlight, and we did.)

The "Dream" District

The best District ever! We were sorry we were all together for just six weeks. From left (besides Elder Fox) are Elder Wolf, Elder Glorius (and he was), Elder Kunze, Elder Bernhardt, Elder Venzles and Elder Wilde. All are German except Elder Venzles, who is Hungarian. Three of them are from the same ward! Elder Wilde and Elder Wolf were companions, and in a District with the Foxes...