Thin Places, Thick Places Day 32--Warm and Wet

Thin Places, Thick Places (Series)

Day 32

Warm and wet

This morning the information came out, as Agent Shades and I developed a strategy for the day, that we were both exhausted. Princess Bride Torture Machine exhausted. That makes for one long day.

The pattern of one intense busying-about/exploring day intermittent with one "chill" day which allows the kids to burn energy seems to be a win.

SO...I found a fun indoor/outdoor water thermal pool place. It was nothing like you'd ever find in the United States. It was an indoor tropical paradise. Lazy rivers, wave pools, WARM thermal water.

AAAAAND mixed gender changing rooms.

When it's how you are raised (mixed gender and no body-consciousness) it's just not a big deal. I think, at this time in my life, I prefer that to being stodgy. Just keeping it real.

Because we had adults and children in our group we were relegated to the family changing rooms (just past the mixed gender rooms) which was comprised of many adorable naked toddlers running around.

A notable thing happened...

The wave pool's waves felt like deep ocean rolling waves. It was a REALLY deep pool with about 2-3' swells. It was rather relaxing, but the swells came and went with rhythmic urgency. Up, down, up, down, up, down. A little daunting, actually.

Everyone in the wave pool was buoyed by AT LEAST two blue long pool noodles. A real noodle party. That is, everyone EXCEPT AGENT SHADES.

I offered Agent Shades some blue pool noodles, to keep him from drowning. He just looked at me, with a proper smidge of indignation. I then gathered my head and remembered that he is a former Navy SEAL. Um, he doesn't need a noodle.

He was the ONLY person in a sea of about 100 people bobbing up and down, up, down, up, down, up, down with NO noodle and swimming about effortlessly. Ha!

Tomorrow, we have high hopes for a day-out adventure. We'll see what actually happens.

To be continued...

#thinplacesthickplaces #navySEALscanswim #dontofferaSEALanoodle

Thin Places, Thick Places Day 31--I Heart Munich

Thin Places, Thick Places (Series)

Day 31

I heart Munich

Munich. Lovely architecture, lovely people, lovely food, and LOVELY LOVELY LOVELY automobiles.

I. Can't. Deal.

So many beautiful cars as far as the eye can see. In a row, driving by, sitting still, revving high, on the street, parked in a line, in a lot, feeling fine. I love German cars.

My kids are even getting into it. I get ridiculously giddy about it. Like spotting wildlife in a National Park.

Moving on...

To get from point A to point B, in the car, we used THREE GPS units. It was comical. But we got to where we aimed with zero problems.

Today was a lot of walking again. I finally took the girls to a clothing store after a week of them begging. H & M to the rescue. It's the same H & M you might know and love, but nothing like the H & M you might know and love in the US. Many more options!!! Happy girls.

The Munich town hall stopped all of us, even Agent Shades, in our tracks. UN. BE. LIEVABLE. Built in 1908, the exterior rivaled that of a cathedral.

Hofbrau House was our eatery of choice for dinner tonight. What a place. The waitresses could give the Rock a run for his money. We watched one after the other pass by while carrying about six HUGE beer steins full of beer in EACH HAND. They had Popeye forearms.

There were two pretzel vendors wandering around the restaurant selling the largest pretzels I've ever seen to those who needed to absorb the immense amounts of beer they were drinking (I think...).

I actually ate a bit of apple struedel. I did. First sugar in forever. I chose this dessert because (when made properly) isn't very sweet. It was PERFECTION.

To be continued...

#thinplacesthickplaces #beautifulchaos #somanycarstolove

Thin Places, Thick Places Day 30--The Land Of Automobile Perfection

Thin Places, Thick Places (Series)

Day 30

The land of auto perfection

Munich. We arrived via 6.5 hour train today into beautiful Munich. We rented a car and zipped along between Munich and our new airbnb located about 30 minutes outside of Munich.

Two thoughts. 1. I don't mind driving in a big German city. Wasn't sure how it would go, but driving an Audi V6 is the bomb (even if it is a wagon) and the teenie narrow roads make it all that much more exciting. 2. The overwhelming distraction of the hundreds of amazing cars that surrounded us made driving through Munich difficult.

Porsches (SO MANY OF THEM), BMWs, Mercedes, Land Rovers (we saw a CONVERTIBLE LAND ROVER!!!!), Volvos, Audis, OH MY...oh, and a Ferrari DEALERSHIP.

Gorgeous, well-maintained, shiny, sparkly German-made and other drooly yummy automobiles. I'm normally not a "car fan". However, ALL the cars I love are ALL HERE in one convenient location. Sigh.

All the kids are together now. Jonah had a WONDERFUL time with his group. He even has a rash from all the sugar he ate.

I'm realizing that THREE kids is MUCH MUCH more than TWO, when traveling. Wow. Agent Shades even hit the hay earlier than usual. I think we're giving him a run for his money. That doesn't really make sense in this particular context, but let's just say that the two adults in this situation are beat. Holy smokes.

For dinner we found an ITALIAN eatery in which the waiters spoke Italian. It was a profound relief. Not that I speak Italian, but we were able to communicate through some odd stewish mix of English, German, Italian, and Spanish. Having to speak ONLY German is difficult for non-German speakers. We are, however, getting very proficient at German formalities.

To be Continued...

#thinplacesthickplaces #beautifulchaos #threeiswaymorethantwo

Thin Places, Thick Places Day 29--Day of Chill

Thin Places, Thick Places (Series)

Day 29

Day of chill

Today was a day of chill. I don't mean cold. It was a day to not leave the abode until about 9:30am, walk to the grocery market/bakery, and then walk around a bit. No trains, no crowds, no chaos.

The market is about 200m away and I think the whole town passed through there this morning. It wasn't busy. Tiny town. AND they don't refrigerate their eggs. FYI.

The breakfast in the market bakery was either sugary baked goods or sandwiches. Score for Ms. A, Miss I, and Agent Shades. I'm still trying SO hard to resist all breads and sugar. That stuff is like crack to me. Seriously. Once I start, I can't stop. Still....resistance is feeling futile. Not sure how long I can withstand.

After grabbing, and dropping off at the airbnb, some basic groceries and snacks for today and tomorrow's breakie, we headed out for a little walk.

The town, at 10:30am, was VERY VERY quiet. I felt incredibly conspicuous with my clomping and loud 8 year old doing what she does, which is, well, LOUD. The town felt (did not look) post-apocalyptic. I expected zombies to pop out from around the next corner.

I realized, today, how much I adore texture. There are so many various textures to mesmerize me here in Germany. The buildings pull me into a historical fantasy of my imaginings. Each building has a story to tell and I want to hear it.

After roaming we headed out of town, on foot, to the (apparently) famous Glasmanufaktur Harzkristall. It's a glass manufacturing plant/museum/tour/shop. VERY cool. They even had free candy for kinders (kids). Miss I was elated. As IF she isn't getting enough sugar...sigh.

Tomorrow, back to the train station where we will grab my son and we shall ALL head to Munchen (Munich).

To be continued...

#thinplacesthickplaces #architecturalstories #peaceandquiet#derenburgislovely #glassislovely

Thin Places, Thick Places Day 28--Oh, Derenburg You Blissful Oasis

Thin Places, Thick Places (Series)

Day 28

Oh Derenburg, you blissful oasis.

Today, a day on which NOTHING is open in all of Germany it seems, we departed from Berlin via a lovely train with a gaggle of people (Ms. A, Miss I, Agent Shades, me, and Mr. J's school group). Our path took us from Berlin to Halberstadt (about 2.5 hours outside of Berlin).

Once in Halberstadt, our little group (Ms. A, Miss I, Agent Shades and I) broke away from Mr. J's school group to head over to our airbnb in Derenburg (about 15 minutes away from Halberstadt).

Derenburg. Sweet little Derenburg. People in this area speak less German than in Berlin but are immeasurably more patient about it, which I appreciate.

Derenburg is peaceful and quaint. Hooray!

Upon arriving at our airbnb we were met by the hostess, Sylvia. She spoke a teenie bit of English and we managed communication by way of some understandable words and charades. She is a lovely woman.

The airbnb is an old farmhouse situated adjacent to a courtyard amongst other sweet little old farm "houses". There is even a clothesline covered with drying clothes. It's SO beautiful and peaceful. We took a wee walk after lunch and it was splendid.

She turned us on to a very VERY delicious restaurant in a hotel a mere 200m down the road. It is, quite possibly, the only business open today (Sunday). The same waiter served us for lunch and dinner, and NO eye-rolling. He spoke a good amount of English and convinced me to try an herb-infused schnapps after dinner. Which I was happy to try after my attempt to politely finish my Herring dinner. I didn't really now what I was ordering...

Tomorrow we are hoping to investigate a glass blowing business and connect with Mr. J and his group, back in Halberstadt. There is also a little cathedral and bakery in the neighborhood. Oh, and let us not ignore the "Army Store" a few doors down. OH, OH, OH...apparently there is an Illinois museum. Yes, like the state in America. I'm pretty sure we'd like to see what that's all about. I'm sure we'll feel proud :).

Sadly, I've eaten so much I could pop. Tomorrow we shall be back on track with our 6-7 miles of walking, I hope.

To be continued...

#thinplacesthickplaces #beautifulchaos #idyllicgermanvillage#somuchyummyfood

Thin Places, Thick Place Day 27--Wrapping It Up in Berlin

Thin Places, Thick Places (Series)

Day 27

Wrapping it up in Berlin.

I thought I would try to write this during the day because I've been writing at night and I literally need to check my...everything (grammar, spelling, words, content)...because I fall asleep a number of times while typing.

Today, Berlin and our group struggled to get along. Berlin has been rather welcoming, overall. However, today it's been difficult to get certain logistics wrapped up. I've needed train tickets and couldn't navigate the website. So, we ended up taking a train to the central station at which I could get tickets.

About 2/3 of the way through our transaction the customer service lady literally rubbed her ever-reddening eyes and face with her hands, shook her head as if there was a cockroach climbing through it and rolled her eyes. Apparently I have that affect...sigh.

Language and culture barriers are the culprits. YET, this is why Taylor and I wanted to bring the kids out into the world.

We take EASE and being accepted for granted.

It is important to BE a minority in a place. I mean that with zero disrespect to minorities. Guess what, we're ALL minorities SOMEWHERE in the world and we all need to find that place and experience it.

Further frustration at our cultural and linguistic ignorance (or maybe it was something else) was conveyed when we took a taxi. Same taxi, second time, within 15 minutes of the first trip.

It was clear he didn't want to taxi us. He literally rolled his eyes.

Don't get me wrong. I'm NOT saying Berliners are mean or unhelpful. We've experienced some amazing people. Still, it was one of those days when we had little success feeling or experiencing success.

That is the essence of travel. Hold things loosely, keep a damn good sense of humor, stop and breathe to regain a sense of centeredness.

We take a train tomorrow to a sweet little town two hours away called Halberstadt.

To be contined...

#thinplacesthickplaces #somedaysgoodsomedaysmeh#ithelpstospeakthelanguage

Thin Places, Thick Places Day 26--Out and About and No Particular Place to Go

Thin Places, Thick Places (Series)

Day 26

Out and about, no particular place to go.

Today Ms. A got to join Mr. J and his school group for day. They were kind to include her for the tour of a concentration camp.

Miss I, however, wasn't too fond of her two besties taking off without her. She made it known that she wasn't too fond of having to hang out with the "old people" (myself and Agent Shades).

Still, we managed to get some smiles out of her. She's a tough customer when she gets in a "mood".

The Aquarium, fountain, lunch, ice cream, and a puppy sitting next to her at dinner all improved the situation.

Good Lord, I'm tired. I actually keep falling asleep as I write this. Ask my husband. I'm a borderline Narcoleptic. I can fall asleep in two seconds.

To be continued...

#cantstayawake

Thin Places, Thick Places Day 25--Making Everyone Happy

Thin Places, Thick Places (Series)

Day 25

Making everyone happy.

It's not easy being in constant motion and flux with a 13 yr old, an 11 year old, and an 8 year old.

Everyone has different needs and tolerances. The 13 year old, Ms. A, is an incredible traveler. She BARELY complains. The 8 year old can drive her her nuts (legitimately), but overall Ms. A is a traveling dream.

Mr. J is a carbonated beverage that has been shaken. There is NO END to his capacity for movement, mind puzzles, brain teasers. He is undaunted and the world is a playground.

Miss I is 8 yrs old. She gets bored...and fast. She gets grouchy...and fast. She doesn't get the meaning out of the deeper things like history and age-old stories.

So...how does one select interesting and relevant activities for all three kiddos? It's very challenging.

Today we went to the Berlin Zoo. It was LOVELY. The animals seemed very healthy and content. This activity made us all very happy. Even though it rained on us.

Agent Shades' needs were met with a big cold German beer in a very large glass mug.

I'm happy to be twenty seconds away from sleeping for the evening.
To be continued...

#travelingwithkids
#thinplacesthickplaces #manydifferentneeds

Thin Places, Thick Places Day 24--Never Forget

Thin Places, Thick Places (Series)

Day 24

Never forget.

This day in Berlin had some thin place moments.

Holocaust Memorial. The physical structure is haunting and profound. It's truly spiritual to be in the middle of a city where the world changed only 70 years ago.

Berlin is a fascinating city. We happen to be staying in what was formerly East Berlin. It's artistic, young, vibrant, and colorful, a big contrast from what it was before.

Ms. A, Miss I, Agent Shades and I have gotten familiar with a decent radius around our Airbnb, which has resulted in walking about 30 miles in two days. Ouch.

We visited the Berlin Wall panorama. Wow. Just wow. Standing in front of the enormous photograph that depicted life at the wall, both on the Eastern and Western sides, gutted me. I can't believe it was only (roughly) 30 years ago.

Powerful history. Rumblings of past voices with warnings for us, today. I'm listening.

To be continued...

#thinplacesthickplaces #neverforget #historylessons #somuchwalking

Thin Places, Thick Places Day 23--Food and Fun and Humble Pie

Thin Places, Thick Places (Series)

Day 23...I think

Food and fun and humble pie.

First full day in Berlin! Mr. J's school group arrives in Berlin from Colorado tonight. He will break away from us for the next week. We'll lurk a little, but let him have his own time with his classmates.

He'll be missed because he's a decent interpreter!!!

First impressions of Berlin: they know how to do food. They know how to do quality food. We bought perfect strawberries from a strawberry stand at the...public transport trains station. Like a subway above ground. There were other stands with equally beautiful food.

We walk, a lot, when visiting other places. It's really tiring and really lovely. It reminds me how American I am. I usually drive EVERYWHERE. Not here.

Popped into the most unique little local shop full of EVERY kind of earring (and a few other types of bling). We spent about an hour browsing. SOOOO cute.

The "apothecary" was UBER enjoyable. Homeopathy, essential oils, and "natural" medicines are commonplace here. I was able to grab some Arnica for my neck/back with absolute ease. Now to figure out HOW MUCH to take. All the directions are in German. 😬

We grabbed some groceries at a "bio market". All was lovely until check-out. The cashier spoke zero English and my token and limited German was ineffective. At the conclusion of our transaction our pile of groceries remained untouched at the end of the counter.

Usually we are fine bagging our own groceries, when there are bags to use. No bags. No boxes. Ever-growing line of customers glaring and Cashier staring at me with a droll and mildly irritated expression.

I attempted a helpless version of sign language. Still, nothing. Finally, after a horribly awkward silence and inaction, the woman behind me pointed to large reusable bags located at the beginning of our line.

Smiling, excusing myself, waving my hands, and sweating through my shirt, I crouched down and grabbed one...oooops, not big enough...now two...big bags. Oh, they weren't free.

More irritated stares.

I really wanted, needed, a lifeline. Why didn't ANYONE SPEAK ENGLISH!?!???

Transaction concluded and I met the rest of my people waiting outside. The indignance and embarrassment I felt ran deep.

How dare that cashier not help me!

Yeah. Then it settled in. I'm on his turf.

To be continued...

#thinplacesthickolaces #germanslovegoodfood #nogmoshere#painfullyamerican