Germany

In which our intrepid heroes brave the frigid air of the stratosphere to visit their kith and kin across the pond (and over the hills)
It was an epic adventure. Sure to be told in song and story for years to come.
As soon as we recover from jet lag.
Here are pictures!

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Day Zero - The Flight

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Due to my inherent panic about being late to anything, we arrived at the Grand Rapids airport in plenty of time. At least half an hour before the plane was to start boarding. Once we're comfortably seated at the gate, I can finally relax. So here I am at the Grand Rapids airport, relaxing while waiting for the start of our trip to Germany!	Cheryl patiently put up with my anxieties and kept busy by working on her latest crochet project. She was also looking forward to continuing the project once she got in her seat on the airplane. Well, that makes sense. We'll be sitting on airplanes (and in other terminals) for at least the next twelve hours or so, which is plenty of time to make good progress on a craft project!
Finally, we're in the air and making progress towards our destination! Cheryl is a happy flier and looking forward to several hours of restful crocheting. I'm looking forward to several hours of either sleeping, or watching movies on the teeny-weeny screens they have.	Our first stop was Washington, D.C. From there, we went on to Zurich, Switzerland before heading to Leipzig. Along the way, we were able to see some of the Alps!

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Day One - On to Bad Schlema!

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We finally got into the Leipzig airport where James and Tabby picked us up and took us back to their apartment. We were very exhausted - Cheryl because she doesn't really sleep on airplanes, and me because I don't have enough common sense to turn off the little TV screen in front of me and stop watching multiple movies at the same time. (Did you know that you can see five or six screens from your seat on one of those overnight flights? It's better than having control of the remote because you can watch five movies at once!) Once we got a chance to lie down, it was Nap Time!

After a nap and a very nice dinner out and then a restful night's sleep at the apartment, we got up early and headed over to the train station to catch a ride to Bad Schlema where Tabea's parents live. We had decided that it would be more comfortable for everyone if we went there right away rather than spending another night in Leipzig since there was more room. Plus Sten was going to barbecue! Yay, food!

Another thing that we really enjoy about traveling around in Germany is how comfortable the trains are. There is always a bit of a panic in my head when we have to get to the platform by a specific time in order to catch the right train, but once we are on board, it is so nice to just relax and let them deal with "driving". And with four of us, we could sit around a little table and just chat. Or check our phones. Or read.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the feast which awaited us in Bad Schlema. Which is probably a good thing, since it would only consist of pictures of people stuffing their faces with all sorts of yummy food. Mostly I just felt guilty because I had not been studying my German lessons like I should have, so missed out on a lot of excellent conversation. Still, it was very nice to just sit and listen and watch people's faces and try to guess what was being said by the expressions on people's faces. Every once in a while, James or Tabby would interpret someone's comment, but most of the time, we just sat and listened and smiled and laughed when it seemed appropriate, and told everyone (in our meager German) how good everything was. Because it was very good!

To Be Continued...