Only 6 ½ weeks to go.  It seems both a long and a short time.  It's a long time to be in-limbo, where we are now.  Not soon enough to pack things up (we have to wait for the movers to do that on May 26), too early to start a really thorough house cleaning, and too soon to start making any serious arrangements on the other side since we don't close on the house until May 5.  But, it's too short a time to fit in all the things we have yet to do and see everyone we want to see before we go.  So, we plan and make lists and make insignificant efforts to get ready, like cleaning drawers and purging the closets.

Suzi, from the masters swim team, asked what I'll miss most about Germany.  The short and glib answer is 'everything'.  Then I started to list some of the small things - krokettens, walking and biking trails, curry ketchup.  From there, the list grew.  Each day, some small thing will remind me of more things that I'll miss.  There are so many things we take for granted here that we won't have when we return to the states - things that have become part of our typical day and typical life.  These things are so 'average' here that we don't think about them, but so foreign in the US that the impact of not having them will be drastic:  Green space around each town with easy access to biking and walking paths; each town being a livable and walkable community where I never have to get in my car to get groceries, run errands, go out to eat, or find entertainment, but if I do want to venture farther afield, I can easily jump on a bus or train and get anywhere conveniently.  I know regardless of how much more outdoors I am here - walking Spike on the trails, going to the farmers' markets, eating and drinking at outdoor cafes - it's not a fraction of how much we could or how much German's do take advantage of the pedestrian friendly environment they've created here. 

Even in the winter or with bad weather, there's more going on outdoors here all year round than there is in most places in the US, even Charleston with its wonderful climate.  THAT is something that isn’t easy to articulate to anyone who hasn't experienced it, and something that I'd imagine will be difficult to adapt to when we return.  How do you adjust to that live your life indoors, behind privacy fences, sequestered in your house or car lifestyle that we have in the states?  I keep imagining things like biking to the store, then the practical side hits me - there are no/few bike paths or sidewalks, and drivers aren't taught to watch for bikers and pedestrians, and the crosswalks, where they exist, aren't really for pedestrians because of the abuse of right-on-red that drivers take to mean 'right of way'.   

Here's our list of what we'll miss most.  It gets longer every day - not surprisingly food and drinks make up a big part of the list!

WHAT WE'LL MISS MOST (see pics of these in the photo album with that title) 

Biergartens in medieval castles, in the forest, along bike trails in the middle of nowhere - EVERYWHERE!

Krokettens

Dog-friendly malls, restaurants, stores, historic sites, etc

Curry ketchup

'Toothpaste tubes' of condiments (mustards, wasabi, tomato paste, horseradish, ketchup-mayonnaise, etc)

The Filder-Neckar-Teck Senioren Schwimm Gruppe

My SMART Car

Käsespätzle

Our house - and solidly built brick/block houses, in general 

Driving on the Autobahn

Good drivers!

Semis and slow drivers staying in the right lane

Döner Kebabs and Imbisses

Our town's Eis Café and their awesome gelato flavors

All of our friends - especially the Perrys, Taylors, Ballards, Saylors, and those who we already miss - the Pukanskys, Lenkeits and Lucases

Mövenpick ice-cream

Outdoor everything - regardless of the weather - hiking, biking, dining, sitting on park benches, swimming, walking

Walking and biking trails EVERYWHERE

Hanutas!!

Ritter Sport candy bars

Müsli and good yogurt

Dr. Oetinger Frozen Pizzas

Our neighbors

Edeka (grocery store)

Walkable, pedestrian friendly towns

Twice a week farmers' markets

Bakeries

German Wings, TUIfly and other discount airlines

German bier

BIO-products readily available in all the stores

A real 'downtown' with everything we need in walking distance

Restaurant Zum Trauben

My houseplants

Our garden

The Röhms

REAL and the AWG Center (shopping)

Good, cheap wine

The Nurtingen Hallenbad and Friebad

Trains, buses and easy public transportation

The Fests - Frühlingsfest, Volkfest, Weindorfs, Zwiebelnfest, Knoblauchfest, Vinzenzenfest, Fasching . . .

The Patch Ski Club and ski trips to the Alps

Maultaschen

MezzoMix

Apfelschorle

Full and comprehensive waste program - recycling, incineration (waste-to-energy), reclamation, and land-filling as a last resort

Cheeses - lots and lots of cheeses

Olives

Frischkäse-stuffed peppers and tomatoes

Sit-as-long-as-you-like restaurants with no-hassle wait-staff

Dr. Richters (the vet)

People doing environmentally sound things (recycling, building energy efficient buildings, stormwater runoff control, bio/organic, developing solar and wind energy, fuel efficient vehicles, etc.) because it's right, not only if/when you have to

 Hills and mountains

Historic to prehistoric sites all nearby

Cultural diversity

The cool shutters on our house!

What won't we miss?  Matt won't miss work - that's been a struggle for him since he got here!  We won't miss the weather, either.  While I've toughened up some, I'm still a Caribbean girl at heart and need some sunshine and warmth.  We were incredibly lucky our first two years here, and I really didn't believe those who told us "this is unusual, just wait until it returns to normal."  This last year, it returned to normal and what a depressing year it's been!  Thank God for travel to warm and sunny climes, otherwise I'd sit in a corner and cry!  Last April was the last consistently nice weather we've had.  After that, it went downhill and stayed there.  May and June were cold and wet.  By then, I'd given up on the Freibad.  The summer before, I swam every day starting in May through August.  Even when it was still cold, the sun was out and the water was nice.  Last summer, it seemed to be in the 50s and rainy most of the time.  All the yard work and housework that required opening windows or hanging anything outside had to be done on the few warm or sunny days we had.  I only went to the pool a few times.  I thought I'd miss the onset of real summer while I was in the states.  I did get a short dose of sun and warmth during my few days in Charleston, but then went right back to 'scheisse wetter' in New York and even more of it back in Germany.   AAARRGGGHHHH!

Of course, with all the crap summer weather, we were due a spectacular Indian summer, right?  Wrong - more rainy, cold weather.  And just when we thought we'd have a brilliant, snowy winter with those gorgeous, crisp days with cloudless blue skies for winter, we got more of the same weather.  It rarely snowed, but I'd have loved the snow over the cold, damp, drizzly yuck that passed for winter this year!  We've had a few nice days this spring, but they've been few and far between.  Each false start brings hope, only to be dashed a few days later by snow (twice in April - more for Easter than for Christmas and New Year combined), or more rain.

Still, I'd be willing to tolerate the miserable weather for another year to take full advantage of the items on that big, long list of things we'll miss most.

THE BERLIN ZOO

We spent the long Presidents' Day weekend in Berlin for the swim team's Championship meet.  The kids did great and Matt and I added a day before and 2 days after for some sightseeing.  We got in a number of the sites that I'd visited last year and knew Matt would enjoy - Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Reichstag, and went to some spots that I missed and wanted to get to - the Kaiser Wilhelm Kirche, Alexander Platz (the tv tower, although it was too rainy and foggy to warrant a trip up to see the view), the Pergamon Museum (amazing!), and the zoo. 

The zoo was my priority 1.  Knut, a baby polar bear was born on December 6 - just about 6 weeks before my last visit, and the controversy was just heating up.  Knut's mother shunned him and his sibling, who subsequently died.  There was quite the furor over what to do with the poor cub.  Should a zoo let nature take its course and not interfere if the mother refuses to take care of her young, or do they intervene?  Luckily, the decision was made to intervene and baby Knut was raised by the zoo keepers.  He's since become the biggest attraction at the zoo.  Even though he's over a year old, he's still a 'baby' and I wanted to see him!  We'd also heard great things about the Berlin Zoo, overall, and we weren't disappointed.

Berlin Zoo is the oldest in Germany, with the largest number of species.  We visited on a drizzly, gray day (no surprise - it's February!) so there weren't any crowds.  We strolled around by ourselves, only occasionally running into other visitors while outdoors.  Most folks stuck with indoor exhibits like the aquarium and lions' house.  Outside, it was one of the most active zoo visits we've had!  There were lots and lots of young animals and lots of rambunctious ones, too.  The first and one of the most striking animals we encountered was a Bactrian camel - a two humper with the coolest dreadlocked beard, and a face with serious attitude!  He seemed to enjoy posing for the camera and repositioned himself a few times to give Matt a better angle!

We saw baby hippos (that's the manatee looking 'blob' laying on the ground by its pool in the photos!) baby warthogs, a baby rhino, some other piglet looking things, lion cubs, and, of course, Knut.  We also saw a lot of future baby animals in the making!  A male bear chased a female into a corner and went at it, a zebra, after chasing down some gazelles in their shared enclosure, jumped another zebra.  We think he may have been an adolescent and hadn't quite figured it out yet - you'll see why in the pictures!  It seemed like a lot of the other ungulates were ready for spring, too!

We meandered through all the paths, pavilions and exhibits.  The aquarium is a cool, old building and the exhibits are nicely done.  The other animal houses are typical - when the animals have had enough outside, they come in and get stared at some more.  The lion house was exciting!  The lions are fed at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.  Monday is a fasting day, and that's the day we were there.  Dad lion was none too happy about not getting his meal, and he knew it was 3:00.  His roar echoed through the hall and grumbled in our bellies.  That got Mom lion in the next cage going and her screams were added to the din.  So, the cubs knew something was up and THEY started in, too, with adorable, high pitched, 'Mrrows' of their own. 

We found Knut in his own private enclosure, we weren't disappointed.  He's not a tiny, cuddly cub anymore, but he's still adorable!  But, I think the poor guy is lonely.  He strolled down to the edge of the moat separating him from the crowds and waved a paw, sniffed the air, like he wanted to join us.  Of course, it might not have been us he wanted to join, but the 'other' polar bear he could see reflected in the glass across the moat from him.  Made me want to climb over and give him a hug.  Which explains why I can't work in a zoo - I'd be one of the statistics of zoo keepers who were mauled by the animals!

I'd highly recommend the Berlin Zoo, maybe because I'm partial to Knut and maybe because we were there on a day without too many other people, but we enjoyed it.  If you want to see wonderful pictures and video clips of Knut, there are some below.  Our next zoo visits will be the Nurnberg Zoo where another baby polar bear was abandoned by its mother in November, and Stuttgart, where 'Wil-bear' is the newest polar bear cup in Germany.

Knut's page on the Zoo web site (in English)

http://www.zoo-berlin.de/en/experience/young-animals/ice-bear-knut.html

Knut's Blog (in German - great pics and video clips)

http://blog.rbb-online.de/roller/knut/

ROTA, SPAIN

 We returned to Spain for the long Thanksgiving weekend, this time to the southern coast.  We stayed at the Navy Lodge in Rota - a cute, coastal town that probably picks up in the warmer months, but is pretty quiet in November!  They take their siesta seriously in Rota.  Matt and I went for a stroll through the old section of town, looking for some lunch at about 1:00 p.m..  Armed with a map and recommendations from the receptionist at the Lodge, we wandered through quiet, shuttered-up twisty alleys and plazas, only occasionally running into any other people!  We did find a tiny restaurant (4 tables and a counter) and had a fabulous lunch of octopus salad, olives, bread and other tapas.  The boardwalk and beach were equally deserted, aside from one or two lunchtime joggers, we had it all to ourselves. 

TANGER, MOROCCO

We wanted to go to both Gibraltar and Morocco - both easy day trips from Rota - but also wanted to see more of Spain.  So, we decided on a day in Morocco and a day in Seville.  We left Spain from Tarifa on a fast ferry.  About half way across the Strait of Gibraltar it got rough - the customs station on-board the ferry shut down when the police officer manning it turned green, the crew hurriedly ran around passing out seasickness bags, and the poor woman in the on-board duty free shop had her hands full picking up cartons of cigarettes from the floor only to have them fall off the shelf with the next lurching roll of the vessel.  Our 35 minute crossing took 1 hr 15 minutes - then we were in Africa.  One of my favorite movie lines is Matthew Broderick describing the southern heat in 'Biloxi Blues': "It's hot.  It's damn hot.  It's like Africa hot!"  Well, I have news for you.  Africa isn't always hot!  Morocco averages 3" of rain per year.  They got 1.5" of it the day we visited.  It was a cold, wet and just plain miserable day!  Everyone was wearing their heavy wool kaftans and djellabas (long-sleeved, hooded kaftan-type garment for men).   And I was eyeing them enviously as I shivered in my lightweight jacket and slacks (and thought I'd overdressed!)

I'm glad to say that following a friend's recommendation we took the guided tour offered by the ferry company.  They handled customs, money exchange, transportation and meals.  While it might have been an adventure to try navigating the Kasbah on our own, it could also be rather dangerous.  Talking with two men - a Russian and a Frenchman - on the ferry afterwards, it could also be an exercise in futility.  They spent the better part of the day asking for directions and being 'held hostage' for payment in return for those!

Our tour took us through the streets of Morocco on a bus, a quick overview of the city's history, and then dropped us off at the gates to the Kasbah.  A guide through that maze of alleys, dead-ends and bazaars is essential!  The streets are filled with people speaking every language imaginable.  I had the no-so-brilliant idea that we'd fool them by switching languages.  Obviously, all of the street vendors spoke English - the universal language - and French, since they'd been a French colony, and Spanish, since it was such a short hop away.  So, when they started in English, I switched to German, which they quickly and fluently picked up!  Then I tried Spanish, knowing full-well they'd just as easily switch to that!  I would have given up and gone back to English, but most of the American's in this group were such the typical 'ugly Americans' that I refused and stuck with Spanish or German.  Our fellow-tourmates were an embarrassment to all Americans!  They refused to eat a fabulous lunch at the ambiance-filled restaurant that we stopped at because it had all this 'funny foreign stuff' like couscous and curry chicken!  With terror in their eyes, they huddled in a bunch in the middle of the group, shooing away the street vendors, kids begging for money and even the clerks in the bazaar, as if they were contagious.  I;m happy to say that by the end of the day, the every decreasing prices for the plates, teapots, fezzes, bongos and jewelry the vendors were hawking even broke their xenophobia down and they boarded the bus loaded down with all of the 'bargains' they got at the gate as we were leaving the Kasbah. 

Matt and I did pretty well in the bargain-hunting department - I think.  Or perhaps as well as any tourist can do there!  We came home with a beautiful plate, a brass and bamboo window-mirror, a small decorative teapot, henna lip gloss from the apothecary, a kaftan for me, and a small carpet that went from 700 euro to 150 to 80 in the course of 20 minutes!  It's a gorgeous carpet and now I refuse to put it down because it might get dirty!

After our visit to the Kasbah, we boarded the bus and drove down the waterfront to an open field with the remains of an old stone building where three camels were grazing.  And here's where I got my camel ride.  Almost passed on it because I felt so sorry for the poor thing - kneel down, get some big, fat American or a screaming kid on your back, walk around in a little circle, do it all over again.  But, touron took over common sense and I rode the thing.  Not the most comfortable ride; and, eau de wet-camel makes wet-dog seem like perfume!  But, I did it, have the photo to remind me.   The day was indeed an adventure - and we can add not only a different country, but a whole other continent to our list of travels!

SEVILLE, SPAIN

While Barcelona is a bustling, modern city with incredible, cutting-edge 'modernisma' architecture, Seville is filled with old-world charm.  The Seville Cathedral embodies this with its towering gothic spires and details.  The church was built as part of the city's 'celebration' of the reconquest of Spain from the Moors.  The canons of Seville went on a 100-year austerity budget in order to fund construction of "a church of such a kind that those who see it built will think we were mad."  The cathedral is the third largest church and the largest Gothic building in Europe.  It also has the largest altarpiece in the world.  The cathedral, along with the Archivos de las Indias (where all the documents pertaining to the discovery of the New World are housed) and the Alcazar (the royal palace), is a World Heritage Site.

Entrance to the cathedral is via the Puerta de San Cristóbal on the south side. Near the doorway dedicated to the saint he was named after is the tomb of Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón in Spanish). Columbus was originally buried in the cathedral of Havana, on the island he had discovered on his first voyage in 1492. But during the upheavals surrounding the Cuban revolution in 1902, Spain transferred the remains to Seville.

Seville, like most European cities, is a very pedestrian-friendly, walkable city.  It's also incredibly clean and friendly - even more so than Barcelona.  We wandered the length of the city, through palace and cathedral gardens, public parks and plazas, past orange trees, palm trees and giant Norfolk Island pines, then walked back along the riverfront to see the Bullfighting ring and museum and the Tor d'Oro, ending up back and our starting point where we watched sunset over the river as we had a glass of Sangria:  A delicious end to a wonderful day.

You can see pics from both of our Spain trips in the photo albums of 'Barcelona', and 'Rota Seville and Morocco'.

SPAIN - NOVEMBER 2007

November was our Spanish month.  We traveled to Barcelona over the Veterans' Day long weekend and to Rota and Seville (with a side trip to Morocco) over Thanksgiving.  They were whirlwind trips, and Rota included one day at the base pool for a swim meet, so we piled a lot into the remaining days.

BARCELONA

Barcelona is an eclectic mix of modern, old, utilitarian and fantasy.   The 'working' city center is like any other - high rises, glass, concrete and steel and rather bland.  But tucked away are little pockets of breathtaking and unconventional beauty  - the art deco-style buildings (known as 'Modernista' in Barcelona) along La Rambla, the 'Fred Flinstone'-like Casa Milá or (La Pedrera, which to me sounds more like the Bedrock-style house it is!), the surreal, sand castle spires of La Sagrada Família church, and the child-like fantasy-scape of the Park Güell.

We roamed the city with abandon; that is to say, without any plan.  Up Mountjuic at night, following the sweeping spotlight beam to the Palau Nacional, to find the spectacular fountains (from the photos, at least) were temporarily closed for maintenance.  But, we did find the Olympic Park and a wonderful little tapas restaurant along the way!  We stumbled across Miró's Dona i Ocell in the Park de Joan Miró, the statue of Cristobal Colon, and strolled along the waterfront, checking out the boats getting ready to depart in the morning for the two man Around the World race.

The Sagrada Família church, begun in 1883 and still under construction, is an architects' and artists' wonderland.  The spires look like nothing less than wet sand dripped into cones atop a cavernous church.  Looking closely, you find bits and pieces of the construction mimicking bits and pieces of nature.  The cathedral columns branch upward like trees, windows are honeycombs, spiral stairwells imitate the curling chambers of a nautilus shell, and the rooftop of the former school undulates and curls like a leaf. Fruit baskets top the spires, representing bounty from God.  Colorful Venetian mosaics on rounded spires meet minimalist, angular sculptures of the crucifixion on the façade.  Contemplating the intellect of the person who could conceive something all at once so complex, diverse and unified boggles the mind and makes one really appreciate the genius of Antoni Gaudí.  Even if you've never heard of the man, even if you aren't an architecture-buff, by the end of a visit to Barcelona, you will be!  And we were.

Our focus now shifted to tracking down some of Gaudí's other masterpieces.  We ventured to the north side of the city to the Park Güell.  The Park was originally planned by Spain's equivalent of the US's 'Robber Barons' to be a residential 'garden-city', a utopian enclave for the industrial elite.  WWI and a general lack of interest by the bourgeoisie brought an end to that plan while the park complex was still in its infancy.  The park was eventually used for parties and celebrations, and was made a public park in 1922.  UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1984 and since then, the park has undergone an extensive restoration.  Like the Sagrada Família, the park is filled with surprises: Promenades where you 'surf' under the breaking stone wave, mushroom headed chimneys, colorful mosaic animals, wavy benches, a column-filled marketplace, and fairy-tale buildings of curved rooms and birthday cake roofs.  It's obviously a popular park.  After a stroll around the paths, to the stone Calvary at the top of the hill (Mount Menas) we were ready to sit, relax and people watch.  But there wasn't a spare seat on the 110m undulating bench that surrounds the large square above the columned marketplace!  Vendors, musicians, groups of young people and families spread and sprawled everywhere in the park.  The view over Barcelona is gorgeous!  Green parrots flit from palm tree to palm tree, and doves peck at leftover crumbs around the benches.   It's both a relaxing and energetic place where one can discover new nooks, crannies and details with every visit.

From there, we headed for the Casa Milá -yet another of Gaudí's truly inspired works.  It's commonly called 'La Pedrera' or the Stone Quarry - a very fitting name given its right-out-of-Bedrock appearance.  Certainly Hanna or Barbera must have gotten the inspiration for 'the Flinstones' after a visit to this building!  This is an 8-story apartment block has no straight walls anywhere!  The building wends around two circular courtyards, the apartments wrapping around it - a window-lined hallway wraps around looking into the courtyard, while each room looks out over the streets of Barcelona from wave-like walls with seaweed balcony rails.  The rooftop is a surreal walk over waves, up and down short stairways, through arches and around sculptured chimneys and airducts known as 'espantabruixes' or witch-scarers.  Again, the imagination and exotic forms attest to Gaudí's unique brilliance as an architect and artist.

Everything about Barcelona, from the energy of the waterfront, to the evening throngs of La Rambla with its eclectic mix of souvenir shops, galleries, markets, 'adult stores' (including the Museu de l' Erotica, which we had to visit - early 20^th c 'porn' films are just too funny!) to the delicious tapas is appealing and invites you to explore a little bit more, and a little bit farther afield, and a little deeper.   It's a great city.