Hirtenfpad 11

No, this title has nothing to do with a sequel to “Ocean’s 11”. It is the name of a street in Kindsbach, Germany.

Saturday we came back from food shopping and were sitting at the table finishing our lunch. We were still living in the attic of our church, which we have now officially joined, and after two weeks, it felt like an eternity. Bob had a small, local English newspaper in his hand and had circled one of the ads in the Rental section.

“Here is the perfect place for us!” He exclaimed as he took the last bite of his tuna sandwich. “It’s right over in the next village from here!”

“You mean next to Landstuhl?”

“Yeah, it’s in the little village of Kinesbach so it can’t be too far away. It’s got all the features we’ve been looking for and is 130 square meters.”

Now you may wonder what square meters are. It means the same as square yards which is about 1300 square feet.

“Wow!” I said. “That’s a big apartment! What else does it have?”

“It has three bedrooms, living room, one and one half baths and an eat-in kitchen. It also has two balconies.”

“Okay, and is the price right?”

“Yes, it’s reasonable.”

It was about the price of a two bedroom apartment back home.

“Okay, why don’t you call the number and see what happens?”

He called and got a German answering machine and hung up.

“Nobody there! It figures.”

“Try again and leave a message,” I suggested. “Maybe they will call back.”

He did that and, you guessed it, they called back!

He got all the info and we drove there. It was only 2.2 kilometers away or about a mile and a half. The people were prompt to show up and let us look at the place. We liked it a lot and shook hands. In Germany, a handshake still is as bidding as a contract.

The apartment is on the third floor and overlooks the village. Cobbled-roof houses greet you when you look out the bedroom window. There is also a balcony there. From the other balcony, off the kitchen, a mountain looms right in front of you framed in snow.

Of course it has all the modern conveniences except for no closets. You have to buy your own. They’re called shrunks.  Also, it has only a tiny little refrigerator equivalent to the small ones you see in classrooms. You have to buy your own “American-style” freezer because Germans don’t freeze food much.

And the name of the apartment is: Hirtenpfad 11! It is a real answer to prayer! God is so good!

What does Hirtenpad mean? In German, we learned later that it means: path of the shepherd.

And I know what Shepherd that is...