I Am Woman

Last year I traded my old Charlie Brown tree for an upgrade. It is definitely an improvement. However, there is something to said for having a small tree. My former little tree was so much easier to handle. I got the tallest tree that would fit in our house. Our tree ended up being an inch too tall. The star on top was a little lop-sided because it didn't have enough room to stand up straight. But I was pleased with the tree . . . until I had to pack it all away in the attic.

I brought the tree down from the attic in three pieces, and it had to go back in three pieces as well. Down was much easier than up. I wrestled and wrangled the tree, half-afraid that I would fall and break my neck with any wrong step. I was lucky and escaped with no injuries. When I finished loading the tree and all of the other Christmas boxes back into the attic I felt strong, independent, and capable. I also thought, "I am not looking forward to doing this again!"

I saw the merits of dealing with a real tree--but it is what is. I also thought of one of the bonuses of having teenage boys. Todd and Ryan don't know what's in store for them yet. I am sure they will be anxious for the day when they surpass my height and are able to prove themselves stronger than their mom. When that day comes I will gladly announce their reward: Christmas Tree Duty!

No Snow?

My hair has lost its curl. Sometimes it's kind of nice--in a flat and lifeless sort of way.
My fingers are cracked, and I have had to resort to wearing gloves each time I wash the dishes to protect my chapped and red, raw hands from greater pain and damage.
Everyone in our house has doubled up on the bedding.
Todd and Ryan have asked for hot chocolate every morning for two weeks.
We just missed out on having the 30% chance of precipitation turn out to be snow. After the rain, the clouds cleared and the temperature dropped back below freezing.
We have had to keep a light on our dear, covered orange tree.
I ran errands and did a little "me" shopping today. Somehow I came home with two sweatshirts, one blazer, a pair of tights, knee-high socks, and a ski band for my ears. (Not that I don't have some of these things at home that I have already been putting to good use.)

In other news . . .
It's C-O-L-D here in Florida!

Germany - Auf Wiedersehen

I deal with change fairly well. I am not one who has a hard time saying good-bye. I didn't have much of a problem leaving my husband and two young boys for three weeks while I crossed the Atlantic Ocean to live the life of the carefree tourist. Okay, so I had no problem with that.

I will admit that I was a little nervous about flying over this big ocean for so many hours. (If something happens to the engine, we are going straight down into that freezing cold water where, even if we survive, no one will ever be able to find us--I made sure those kinds of thoughts were few and far between.) Mostly what I felt was pure excitement, and a little worry about my ability to communicate.

While I was in Germany, I enjoyed myself completely. I knew that my family was well taken care of. And I knew that in three short weeks I would be coming back home with an exciting adventure to share with them.

When my time in Germany was up, I knew it was time to go. After all, three weeks is a fairly long time to leave your kids for a vacation. I was starting to miss my family; I was looking forward to a big hug from Brett, and I had lots of kisses to plant on the sweet necks of my boys. It was time to come home.

As I looked out the window of the plane I was struck by the beauty of the clouds. And then I felt the sadness of saying good-bye. I missed Germany, and I hadn't even made it home yet.

I had such a wonderful time with Sigrid and her family. The weather could not have been better. I saw so many new things, tasted such wonderful food, learned so much--everything was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

When can I go back?

Germany - Alone in Munich

After two and a half weeks of being in Germany Sigrid was ready to let me loose on my own. If she could trust me on my own, I could trust me. With Pit's help we looked up all the info online about the train to Munich, checked the map for the places that I might want to see, and made a plan. On Tuesday morning Sigrid helped me buy my ticket and made sure that I got on the right train. It was so easy with an experienced native by my side.

The train was quite crowded that morning. My seat did not have much of a view and the folks nearby didn't look like they were interested in conversing, so I wrote some cards and got some reading done. When I arrived in Munich I searched out and found the tourism office, picked up an English city guide, and quickly made my way into the city center to see the Rathaus Glockenspeil in Marienplatz, which only goes off a once each day. I just barely made it.

The square was filled with people, all listening to the bells and watching the figures go round and round. I thought it would only go on for a minute or so, but it seemed to last quite a long time. I was glad that I had made it.

I made my way in the general direction of the Viktualienmarkt, snapping photos here and there of buildings and streets that looked interesting.


I enjoyed walking around the market and wished that I had taken more pictures of some of the stands. There were some amazing cheese and fruit stands. I had wanted to buy some physalis fruits, having just been introduced to them, but I kept walking thinking I would come back to them--only I didn't. (Next time...) I did take a photo of one of the flower stands.

I thought these geese were fun.

I thought this fountain was interesting, and I would like to know more about its background. Does the woman hold her beer stein year-round, or is it just for Oktoberfest. If she does not always hold the stein, what is her hand doing the rest of the time? Inquiring minds want to know.

We had seen a few street performers and "living statues" in Salzburg (which I neglected to photograph). In this photograph you can see the green-painted woman who also acted as a living statue. Kind of amazing, actually.

Although I was enjoying navigating the city center by myself, I was also interested in seeing Brett's other cousin Dagmar whom lives in Munich. I was a little nervous about meeting her as we had never met, but I figured this would be my last chance. She called me back around lunchtime and we were able to spend the rest of the afternoon together.

I took a train to her neighborhood and we had lunch together at her home. Afterwards, she drove me around a bit and we saw some things together.

We walked around the extensive grounds of Nymphemburg Palace. It was quite lovely, and I appreciate that the grounds are open to the public. Dagmar said she often comes to the park for a nice walk.

I was also interested in seeing the Englischer Garten. It is a large city park in Munich (larger than New York's Central Park, I just learned). There are a few sights of interest, but mostly it is a green area with paths, open fields, lakes, and a few eateries. I found that I enjoyed leisurely walking through the park on that pleasant afternoon getting to know Dagmar better. When we were ready for a break, Dagmar treated me to an iced schokolade at one lakeside cafe in the park, which was quite tasty.

The Chinese Tower in the Englischer Garten

I always love seeing policemen on horseback.

The Monopteros in the Englischer Garten.

I was kind of looking forward to making my way back to Regensburg on the train, but Dagmar felt more comfortable driving me back. There had been terrorist threats targeting the Oktoberfest in Munich, a few of the roads had to be closed, and President Obama encouraged American tourists to lay low/play it cool. It made Dagmar feel very nervous for my safety. I graciously accepted her offer, and we continued to have a nice visit together. However, I am looking forward to trying my hand a doing a solo-tour on my next visit.

Germany - Alone in Regensburg

The week before I left Germany I had an open day with no planned activities. Sigrid thought I might enjoy venturing out on my again in Regensburg. She was right. I enjoyed having a beautiful sunny afternoon with a couple of hours all to myself to explore the city, do some shopping, try to get just a little bit lost, and try not get myself into any embarrassing "I don't understand the language" situations.

Sigrid dropped me off at the Regensburg Arcaden, a shopping mall close to the old city. I walked around for a bit, did some shopping, and continued on towards the city. In order to get to the city I had to go through the train station, which was adjacent to the mall. I stopped at a public restroom there and was stuck looking for a fifty-cent piece in order to use the toilet. I heard someone talking and assumed (naturally) that she was perhaps talking to a friend in another stall. I continued looking for my change, and half a minute later a girl came out of one of the stalls and started talking to me (in German). I was still rummaging through my coin purse when I realized, "Duh! She was talking to me the whole time, trying to tell me that she'll be out soon and I won't have to spend the fifty cents to use the bathroom." I felt a little stupid not realizing that we were the only two in the bathroom and that she had been talking to me. But I also appreciated her kindness. In the end, it was only a moderately embarrassing "I don't know the language" situation, and I felt comfortable continuing my solo adventure in the city.

I made my way through a nice park in the old city.

"Rebecca, do you realize how lucky you are to have such nice weather while you are here?" Yes, I do!

This was an interesting little corner between the park and the city. It was a sunny afternoon with a lot of people walking through the park. You heard the happy noises of the school children playing next door. The walls around this "sunken" (for lack of a better word) courtyard looked so old. Then I noticed two men sitting at a table down below. I fully expected to see them playing checkers together or some such thing in this ancient setting. Instead, I saw that they were looking at a laptop computer together. The whole situation--the mix of old and new--struck me as kind of cool and a little funny.

I ordered a Hazelnuss Eis and was just a disappointed when the server started talking to me in English and German. I had only said a word and I was identified as a foreigner. Was my accent and pronunciation that bad? Actually, it's pretty comforting knowing that you will be able to communicate in English with most people there. (But I would still like to be able to communicate in German some day.)
I walked down to the Donau and tried to take a "look at me eating my hazelnut ice cream in a beautiful old German city aren't you jealous" photo, but it ended up not being very flattering. I don't expect that it actually makes you that jealous. I need to add "Brush up on taking good self portraits" next to "Learn German" on my list of personal goals.

View of Regensburg from the Old Stone Bridge. (This photo might be more likely to make you a little jealous.)

Just across the River from the old city of Regensburg is a city parks that stretches along the river. I wish that I had a couple of hours on this warm day to lay in the grass and read a book or take a nap or eat more ice cream or watch passers-by or just soak in the sights of the city and the river.

I came across these flowers growing on the fence of someone's garden. They were a beaufitul shade blue.

On my first tour Regensburg, weeks ago, Barbara took us to a church for women. It was not a convent, but rather a place for wealthy widows with nothing better to do or nowhere better to go. (That is obviously a rough description. After four or five weeks the details fail me.) Barbara's tour of Regensburg was a quick one where we saw so much in a relatively short time. She knew that I would be able to spend more time on my own during my stay. She was right. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember where this particular church was. I kept looking for it and was getting a little frustrated. I was determined not to leave old Regensburg today until I found it. I tried retracing my steps from the first tour and . . . success!

I had passed by it a few times before, but the exterior is so plain that I had not recognized it as a church. I was able to go in and look around a bit before meeting Sigrid again.

It was a beautiful day and ended up being the last one I spent in old Regensburg. It was perfect day to end with. I really grew to love Regensburg and look forward to coming back.