The Beginning ... and end.

First, the end. I knew we could afford this trip and wanted to go now because our health is still good. Today I decided it was time to pay bills and balance the check book. So I checked at the bank to see what the ATM charges/exchanges were. In Germany we took out 400.00€ and my statement read $567.86! And a few days later we took another 300.00€ to the tune of $422.89. Talk about sticker shock. Whew! But we'd do it again in a minute. It was the perfect time for us. Thanks to ALL who made this happen.

Bernd and Pat came from Tucson, AZ & Chuck and I came from Rochester NY to meet at Chicago, O'Hare for the second leg of our flight to fly to Frankfurt, Germany to start our adventure that has been in the planning stages for more than a year. The flight was uneventful, but long.

We rented the car that Pat arranged for and were off to Mannheim, south of Frankfurt. There we met Clara Kind, one of the 2 girls who translated our grandfather's journal, as she attends university there.

After checking into our hotel (there were the FEATHER BEDS!), Pat called Clara and we met at Clara's apartment. Thank goodness for GPS. What a delightful young adult Clara is. Chuck & I were so glad to finally meet her in person.

I wanted to do something special for these 2 girls that started this whole adventure for us, so I made a lap quilt for each of them. Clara was delighted with her green & yellow "Friendship Star" lap quilt and I certainly was delighted to make it for her! It was like Christmas for her as Pat & Bernd had gifts, too. It was fun for all of us to watch her enjoyment.

After a tour of Mannheim and the university we were off to dinner at Vapiano where we talked, ate and talked some more. Clara was very up to date on our politics and it was a delight to hear her opinions. By then we were exhausted and Clara had a party to go to. We told her to call us if it was any good and we'd join her. If she called, we slept through it.

The next morning Clara rode her bike over and met us for breakfast. Oh, did I miss those breakfasts. I know I could fix them here, but I'm not willing to get up early enough to go to the bakery for those fresh rolls and pastries every morning and the choice of cheeses, meats and fish would get moldy before I had time to finish them. So I indulged royally while I was in Germany each day. I am so sorry we did not have more time with Clara and certainly hope that we will meet again ... here or in Germany.