Spring!

Kelly: I think that spring has decided to creep into our sleepy German town...hopefully, to stay. A crisp frost coated the purple flowers that laid near the soil in the roadside gardens this morning. The refreshingly crisp air slowly warmed, and by mid-bikeride in mid-afternoon, we were definitely warm! We did plenty of Sunday walking last weekend in Paris (sigh), and given that we got the bikes ready for riding yesterday, we decided to take them out for a spin. We started out meandering through our neighborhood and joined one of the many bike/pedestrian trails in the region. Like many of our experiences in Germany, our expectations were violated when the trail ended without warning, leaving us to navigate the gauntlet of parked cars, street traffic, mopeds, pedestrians, and other bikers on the small town streets. It is easy to spot the American bike riders...we have our spiffy bikes with brand names blazen on the sides, and we wear protective helmets. The Germans ride older-style bikes in impeccable condition adorned with baskets, and they are dressed in casual clothing without helmets. We moved through the neighoboring town and decided to ride to our Austrailian/Surgeon friends' home in the adjacent town. We rang the doorbell and were surprised to be greeted by an older gentleman and a "good-day mate." The Aussie's parents were visiting and had not been able to get a flight back due to the volcanic ash in the air. The surgeon was at work, as usual. So, we hydrated and chatted about their recent trip to the South of France. Our trip back was not as smooth. The Aussie guided us through a pasture on to a nice, paved path. Our uphill ride was complicated by Matt's out of control allergies and frequent "snot breaks" as I endearingly named them. The day was truly splendid...one of those rare crisp but warm first days of spring when everyone is out and about. I convinced Matt to check out a nearby lake. It was sized closer to a pond, but was replete with a gastutte (beer hourse), a playground, and a few trails. We circled the pond...er, I mean lake and sat on wooden steps opposite a small railed dock area. As we chatted and enjoyed the sun on our faces, we notice that the group of children on the other side had multipled. We assumed that their parents were at the nearby garden cafe area, keeping as eye on them. The latter assumption was challenged as we watched the youngsters strip and frolick in the shallow water. This didn't alarm the parents. Cultural differences in personal responsibility or lousy parenting...we weren't sure. As more children disrobed, the growing group slowing migrated out the of the railed, enclosed water area to the open beach. Finally, a father came down from the beer garden, talked briefly to the group, laughed with them, and returned. We weren't sure what to make of it. We left soon thereafter. Another interesting cultural experience.

Runaway Blog

Kelly: Over the past month, every time I tried to log into my blog, random websites would flash on the screen. I'm hopeful that the nice people at Google have fixed it and I can continue to write about our experiences here...let's find out if this will work...

Volksmarching!

Kelly: Matt and I participated in our first Volksmarch last weekend. We boarded a bus with 30 other members of the local Volksmarch Club and arrived 2 hours later in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. We had an amazingly sunny day. The Start Hall was filled with walkers of all levels and sizes from many countries. We had a little trouble finding the first Kontroll Center where we got our ticket stamped, but we weren't alone...plenty of veteran Volksmarchers also had difficulties. We completed a 6K outside the city. We had hoped for the 11K but because it took us about 3K to find the first stop, we got a late start and were ready for lunch at the end of the 6K. The city was a charming mideval walled city. We ate at an authentic German restaurant off the beaten path. The grandmotherish server knew little English. Fortunately, the chef was younger and knew English well enough for me to ask if the baked fish contained gluten. It didn't, and it was tastey! Matt had baked chicken with a delish salad. We explored shops, walked up on the ramparts, which was a really cool experience, and then stopped for coffee and tea at a modern, hip coffee shop before boarding the bus for the ride home. The DODs teachers in front of us were very chatty on the way home. Matt can tell you all about Mille's cat!

We'll laugh about this...someday

Kelly: Here are the highlights (!) and low-lights (-) from our trip to the states
1. My luggage was lost on the way to San Antonio (-)
2. Matt's flight left Frankfurt on time (!)
3. Matt got stranded in Charlotte, NC on his way to BWI (-)
4. Matt made it in to BWI on the following day (!)
5. Matt had to wait at the airport for several hours while his parents dug out their driveway because they didn't think he would get in (-)
6. Matt's meetings went really well (!)
7. Matt picked me up at the airport and we ate at Edo (!)
8. We scored a kitchen table at Volt and had an incredible lunch (!)
9. We had a great time with my family and my adorable niece (who looked like a cutie patootie in the sweater that I gave her) (!)
10. We found out that my sister sold her house (!)
11. I had great conversations with both of my sisters (!) which made me miss being away from them (-)
12. My parents FINALLY cashed in their Christmas gift from years' past and purchased beautiful new flooring to cover their retro linoleum (!)
13. Our niece had a stomach virus (-)
14. We visited our old neighbors on the way back to Matt's parents (!)
15. I got sick during the 10 minutes we spent with our neighbors (-)
16. My adorable niece passed her virus to EVERY member of the family (-) How could someone so cute spread such a horrid virus???
17. I continued to get sick so we had to stop at a hotel for the night (-)
18. I was sick for 8 hours and Matt was sick for about 5 (-)
19. We still felt like death the next day and had to spend another night at the hotel to avoid passing the virus to Matt's parents (-)
20. We were stable enough to fly back on schedule (!)
21. We didn't get to spend any time with Matt's parents (-)
22. Matt and I had to take different flights back to Frankfurt (-)
23. Neither mine or Matt's video player or light worked on our respective flights (-)
24. Matt was very grumpy and yelled at me when he first saw me at the Frankfurt airport (-)
25. I had to go directly to work from the airport for two hellish days (-)
26. Our kitty was healthy and happy to see us (!)

What a trip!

We are happier to be back than we thought we would be. We realized many things on our trip and perhaps have a healthier outlook now.

All American

Kelly: I have managed to cram many "American" experiences into my short stay in TX.
1. I shopped at an overpriced, gourmet, American grocery store
2. I spent way too much time (but not money thanks to the limits on what will fit in m suitcase) in Target, Ross, and World Market (ironic)
3. I shopped at an outlet mall
4. I saw many many obese individuals, most with fast food in their hands
5. I ate at a chain restaurant (not my choice)
6. I've driven by miles of strip malls
7. I've channel surfed for at least 30 minutes without actually watching anything

That sums it up...thankfully, I have a few more days in my beloved US of A, so more to come :)

To the States

Kelly: After a 23 hour trip with confusing ticketing, poor airport signage, and lost luggage, I made it to Texas. I've visited San Antonio for work twice, so I know enough about it to know that I wanted to spend my one free, sleep-deprived day outside of an Antonio. I drove to Austin and did my favorite Austin activities--visiting Barton Springs Pool, walking on the Zilker Park Trail, watching the rowers on Town Lake, eating at the ginormous Whole Foods, and strolling by cute shops. Traveling to new places is exciting because of the novelty and the challenge. Traveling to a favorite destination is equally exciting because of the familiarity and the chance to re-experience a loved activity with new life experiences, making the once familiar, slightly different. During the walk today, I encountered bleached blond soccer moms who came to the trail to escape thier children but could do nothing but talk about them; harmonica playing men perched on the hills cheering the runners on, new couples who strode together carried by thier fresh love, dogs who are as fit as their owners, and dogs who did not seem to agree with their master's new year's fitness resolution. It was a great day!

Therapeutic Laughter and Home

Kelly: What a week...much of the week was spent trying to ensure the safety of my high-risk patient...multiple appointments with me and coordination of care with other docs. It is the first time I have had the main responsibility for such a high-risk person. So, today, after a provider told me she was very worried and asked if I could see him, he came to my office. What was the intervention: laughter. I didn't intend for it to be that way, but he smiled, and that was my in...I poked fun at him, he poked back, and we kept going and laughing and smiling. Treatment there is very serious and very heavy and this was an instance where a simple "normal"
interaction did more than all the CBT I could therapize :)

We invited our new cat-sitter over for dinner last night. I loved her, and I knew Matt would, too. We chatted and feasted on salmon, beans, rice, and lots of cheap red wine which could explain my reluctancy to get out of bed this morning. What is the reason we need a cat sitter? I am going home. Home is a tricky location. Our German house doesn't feel like home yet. Maryland, in general feels like home, but I won't be returning to our townhome. I'll be visiting family in PA, which will always be home...like the comfortable sweater that never goes out of style. So, after a week in Texas, I'll be stopping in MD before heading to PA...I am so excited!

We've been trying to get reservations at Volt with no luck and finally realized that we'll be in MD over Valentine's Weekend, hence not a reservation to be found...bummer. The good news is that we just made friends with a woman who is tight with the famed Top Chef/owner at Volt. Super!

So, I'm off to pack my bags (very lightly because my thrift shopping obsession has not been exercised for 4 months and I plan to come back with many bargain finds). I've really been admiring vintage blouses lately. With any luck, I'll find one in Austin, or just some cowboy boots. Enough procrastinating...