Before leaving, my sketching-and-cycling friend Claire reminded me that while traveling, if something can go wrong, it will. And it did. I didn’t chronicle every single one of them, for your sake and mine. But here’s one I really wish did not go wrong:

When I was getting ready to head to the Ottweiler train station on my first day, my brother Brian was rushing around to get out the door for his own bike ride. I of course was half hoping that Brian and Petra would be leading the marching band down to the station, but whatever. When I later returned to Ottweiler, he told me that actually he had made a beeline down to the next train station. He was going to surprise me and get on the same train I was on and ride along for a bit. But I didn’t make that train, so I missed him. Dang it, that would have been a good one. 

I was woefully out of foreign-traveling shape. I got tired of feeling stupid for not knowing the local language. I didn’t like the reminders of how much physically older I was since last visit. There were several times when I said to myself, whose idea was this anyway?

And yet ….

You may have noticed that I had already started thinking about next year’s trip, perhaps visiting some of the places my grandfather had been. Plus, friend Claire will be over there next summer and we just have to do a cycling and sketching tour, right? 

Heart

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