21 Excited Kids Discover the Bavarian Forest

Peronnik on holidays 

Mossy rocky outcrops, lush green mountain meadows with wild orchids, a swim in the ice-cold torrent in front of the house, the summit cross of the small Arber after several hours of climbing: unforgettable impressions that the 21 Peronnik children and teenagers will take home with them from their vacation trip to the Bavarian Forest this summer. Most of the children and teenagers with social-emotional development disorders have never seen mountains before. When, after a good 8-hour journey by coach, the first mountains appear and the roads narrow shortly before the destination, a mountain hut in Zellertal, the amazement is great.

‹For our children and young adults, going on vacation together during the summer vacations is the highlight of the year. They usually look forward to it for weeks beforehand.› Pauline manages one of the six residential groups at the Peronnik Children’s and Youth Services facility and organized the vacation trip. This year, she says, the children were particularly excited – the expedition to faraway Bavaria was already much more exotic than the well-known sea in neighboring Denmark.   

A foreign region, an unfamiliar vacation home and a large group – these are existential challenges for many Peronnik children. This time there are also many younger ones. 10-year-old N. has been with us since the beginning of the year. He really wants to go to the Bavarian Forest, because it is an opportunity for him to get to know the children of the other residential groups better, and besides, he’s a big nature and sports fan and already excited for the activities. For his caregivers, it was not given that the two weeks will go smoothly. But it worked out, and at the end of the trip he has a lot to talk about. What was his best experience? ‹Making friends with another boy, and the campfire every evening.›

The other children and young adults are also completely satisfied with the many new experiences. We’ve already mentioned mountain climbing and torrents, plus a canoe trip on the Black Rain (with real rapids!) and visits to a silver mine and a glass-blowing workshop. A special surprise was to rediscover the Baltic-Adriatic long-distance hiking trail E6 above the mountain hut where we spent the two weeks, which also leads through Sammatz! Hiking back instead of coach was not an option after all …
After two weeks of action, the children are looking forward to Sammatz again, to their own bed, to the familiar surroundings and last but not least to the farm animals. The Peronnik children love them and missed them especially. I wonder if there are already new calves?