Flexability

Travelling internationally is something to experience. One needs to be flexible in the greatest sense of the word. Our family has travelled quite alot and yet I've stated it doesn't really make it easier. What IS easier, although, interesting is the ease in which your experience allows you to flow from one culture to the next. I can't really remember what it is like to see Germany with brand new eyes. And honestly I am thankful to have gotten along this far. Still, I am a very sentimental person which makes for some evening time to sit here on my 5th floor tiny balcony at sunset with "ein glass rotwein" and reflect on the past 3 days. Let's see....4 days ago we were all ( except for Stefan in brown) decked out in patriotic american colors and watching the 4th of July parade roll past my parents house. There were brats and Miller Lite , lemonade and watermelon. It was awesome !
The next day we boarded the airplane, Lufthansa , which was a great airline to fly to Germany as "probezeit" ( practice) for me as all written materials in the plane were both in english and german. I tested myself all along the way... We didnt' sleep a single wink so there was plenty of time.
Upon arrival and getting our rental vehicle Stefan eased onto the Autobahn - understanding all the signs easily and being only slightly alarmed at keeping up the pace at 140 KMH (kilometers per hour).

After 2 years absence from Germany we arrived at the doorstep of my dearest friend Ursula and husband Martin and their 6 children. Immedietly we all shook hands as is highly respectable even for children in Germany. Our language immediately switched to german and we were offered a glass of " sprudelwasser" which is fizzy mineral water and considered the only drinkable water here. The kids were given juice mixed with sprudelwasser! We sat down to a warm mittagsessen because you always eat hot food at lunchtime. Later it was utterly normal to sit down to a formal "kaffeezeit" with freshly made strawberry and peach cakes with cups of coffee an fruit tea for the children ( or thank goodness for our americanized children - kakoamilch )! After some typical activities for families around the globe ( a walk to the park and a magic show given by the children for the parents) we sat down for Abendessen - called Vesper in Schwaben. To our delight was the expected bowls of grainy bread and plates of cheeses and meats ! This was all a little strange and yet quickly remembered by our children right to the end of day where we all settled into our beds with extra large fluffy feather pillows and only a duvet covered feather tick to sleep with Zzzzzz......another country but soooo familiar. Wir sind Wilkommen in Deutschland


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Location:Zwickau, Deutschland