Baby boom follows hard winter

View on the Embach cross country ski circuit - with mist blanketing the valley below

Out for an afternoon stroll, we came to what here amounts to a traffic jam in the middle of one of Embach’s lanes: eight adults standing talking together...four couples...and four prams.

That’s four babies, all born within a month or two of each other. And that isn’t all of the children born here this past autumn. There are at least two more that I know of.

This is a good sign for the village. Children are being born. Young couples are making their homes here and not heading for the city as is so often the case in rural communities. The future of our village Volksschule or primary school, looks more secure.

Another encouraging sign is that in the past ten years about a dozen, or possibly a few more, houses have been built in Embach. Young families, mainly from the village have established in their own homes. These are not houses built speculatively, but by and for each family.

That the baby-rush has anything to do with the extremely cold and snow rich winter at the beginning of the year is mere speculation. A local long-range forecaster is warning of another very cold winter (though at present it is like spring), so, we’ll see.

Meanwhile, for those not pushing a pram, Embach’s cross country ski trail (the Loipe) is currently in brilliant condition. The 8km circuit is beautifully groomed with two lanes for classic skiers and, alongside, a “fast track” for the speedy skaters. Winding across the meadows, it will take you to corners not normally accessible in summer with vistas to take your breath away – that is if the effort of skiing leaves you breath to spare.

This morning, while the early-morning sun shooed the mists away, a thick blanket of cloud covered the villages in the valley. Embach, on a sunny shelf high above the river valley so often enjoys clear skies and sunshine when below, gloom pervades.

Some lovely spots along the Embach Loipe today