German family near the German border

I don't see my German relatives often enough  (but that counts for most of my family & friends...time is a scarce resource).  Yet since we spend so much time near the German border, it is so much closer to meet them and so we invited them over together with my parents.   A reunion half-way, so to speak. 

The date had been agreed months in advance so it was with a bit of disappointment that I saw the weather predictions. After weeks of reasonable fall weather, it looked as if the weekend would drown in rain, especially near the German border. Ugh, ...not much fun to be locked up with a big group in our smaller house if it is that ugly outside, but we'd see.

They arrived perfectly after a Kabouter's nap and after a short appetizer at home we went to town for lunch.  And fortunately enough after our lunch with pouring rain outside, it stopped just in time for a digestive walk through the valley. 

Once tired & digested, we could warm up again at home with some wine & cheese and lots of family pictures to share. 

the typical high hedges around the gardens in the area