I'm back

Arrived in the US-Phoenix at 7:05 pm on March 10th. Flight was fine except for my stupidity. Left my laptop at security in Frankfort. Discovered this when I was airborne over the ocean. Would you believe it- It was found and turned in, not stolen. Germans are a responsible people. Best of all, I have a Sony protection plan that will send it back to me at Sony's cost. Just a matter of logistics to get it accomplished.

Phoenix is warming up-83 degrees at arrival. I love it. My roses look good and my 55 Ford will hit the road again today. Must enjoy the weather while I can, I need to go to MN in late March for a while, before the weather really breaks. But-even looking forward to that, remember the T-Bird is waiting there.

The disaster in Japan was on my mind all day yesterday. We heard from our Japanese Daughter Izu that she is not affected, we do not know about Naomi or other friends Sandy has in Japan. What a horrible set of images on TV coverage. Yet, I have profound respect for the people of that country and know they will pull together and recover. At this time it is also noteworthy that my interest in the country just raised a notch with the impending likelihood that Brenna will move ther later in 2011. Another opportunty for travel.

My dear wife is now officially a Senior citizen by one new standard-medicare eligible, as of yesterday. Just think, she only has 40 years to reach her longevity goal 105 years. By then she will have a new goal, to be the oldest living person and the standard will likely be 110. She can do it, based on the last few years activity, by that time all the parts that can wear out will have been removed-oops, should I be saying that? I am not wishing for the parts removal, but sure look forward to living as long as the body holds out.

All for now. No recent feedback so this may be sent to an empty house.

Germany continues

Wow, time goes by. Later this week I go back to Phoenix. Being with Parker and Brenna has been quite an experience. I will miss hanging out with Parker when I go but am gratified to know they will visit Phoenix in April. Everyday wth him is a new adventure. In a short two week period he has improved his babbling, perfected rolling on the floor to the left (needs some work on right to left) and improved his grasp and reach technique. The million dollar smile makes my day. He is learning to entertain himself more each day and crys very infrequently. The doctors visit on Friday found him in good health and weighing 18.5 lbs. I must say he has the most unusual hairdo I have seen on a child (pun not intended). He has what we call a Hitler patch of long hair on the back of his head that is novel. With the Child family history of male pattern baldness, I wonder if that is early compensation??

We all have had some fun times together, some just sharing each other and enjoying our  travels. The Sunsheim car/plane/tractor/truck/military museum last week  was overpowering. We spent a day there and could go back again, to see more and go to the sister museum in Speyer. Brenna had nearly as much fun as I did. And of course we got to experience the Autobahn with its blazing speed on the way. I still find being passed in a flash when traveling at 95 mph sort of weird. Wonder what it would take to convert our freeways to this plan?. The roads are not really much better than ours, just a whole new disciplined way of driving.

Brenna and I have had some time to talk about family ties and history, revisit some of her memories of growing up, and I have worked on a small booklet that records some of my life adventures for the time when I won't be around to share the information. We still have plans together to spend time on expanding the family tree record, which we will then share with the rest of the family.

I have relaxed, caught up on old issues of car magazines, helped with some chores, and taken some walks to improve health and see the town Brenna lives in. I still find a Dairy farm in the middle of Oberstafenbach to be surprising. Farmers live in town and drive to their land to work the crops. Animals  are housed under the living quarters of many homes; I understand it is in part to provide heat to the residence. Probably helps with ambience too. Wonder if Germans have a less developed sense of smell? The whole country is dog freiendly and I have never before seen dogs so disciplined that they refuse to leave the perimeter of their home lawn, even when we bring Pepper by them. It is not just the PEOPLE of Germany who adhere to order and structure.

When we visited in October we asked if a restaurant had beer available, we got an immediate yes and a look that said "why not", are you crazy?Germans love their beer and wine.  Yet, Sunday is a protected day with work of any kind, including yard work, being frowned upon. Businesses are not open except for restaurants, and many of the latter being  closed on Mondays and Tuesdays instead. Convenience stores are not to be found in any small village,  and gas stations sell fuel, not much else. Tradition seems important. I find the people to be friendly and surprisingly good at English communication. I do understand how McDonalds,  Burger King and other ethnic places thrive here. German food is predictable in restaurants, with schneitzel and sausage predominate. It does get boring.

As I reflect on the time here I am continually impressed with the changes in my life that technology has created. This blog is an example. When I was growing up we had hand cranked party line phones, connected by an operator in person plugging in wires to allow us to talk. Today without any assistance (well - Brenna had to coach me) I am able to send information world wide without any person helping. Brenna monitors Parker while sleeping with a device that sends his picture and sounds to her immediately. Today we will Skype with Sandy in AZ, we can skype all over the world at any moment. What a change. I thought as a kid that traveling to Red Wing from Maiden Rock WI, 25 miles was a nice treat. Now a new continent is easliy within reach in 8-10 hours.

All for now.

OOPS!

My editing on the last post was certainly lacking. Mrs Felt from my old country school would have offered detention and cleaning of the chalkboards after school for my spelling. Sending some more photos.
Please pay special attention to the picture of the perfume and after shave products of the monastery. I believe the display is trying to convey value for your money. Either the translation failed, they need a better marketing consultant, they were drinking too much beer and schnapps when they created the label, or they have an incredible sense of humor.

Sights of Germany.

I have now been in Germany for a day short of two weeks and can report having a great time. The weather is less severe than I expected, although Brenna tried her best to chill me by taking me to the top of the highest mountain in Germany.(-9 celsius and 40 km wind-brr) We traveled to Eidelweis Resort near Munich by car and stayed from Thursday thru Sunday. Great place with access only to people involved with the US military. Seemed like the cultures there suggest Nato allies must be allowed. I even toured Dachau with a US navy reservist from Florida and her friend. They came for spring break-since every one else was goung to the beach they decided to be different.

We took a cheese factory and Monsastary tour. The giude was pleasant and nice but had two shortcomings. 1) she was pressed in to duty with little background on the factory so she was unable to answer most questions of depth. He knowledge of the monastary was also not great. 2) she seems to have passed stick shift 101 without learning much. She could not figure out more than three of the 6 speeds and stalled three times because she did not want the engine to rev above 1000 rpms. As you might expect, going up the mountain that was a problem. She repeated and then proved her ineptness by doing it on the level in town. I think I may know more about cows from 50 years ago than she will ever know.

On the other hand, the guide for Dachau was wonderful, as was the skilled coach driver. The Guide(Keith) had many personal stories, conveyed the messages of the horrors of the camp in depth, and also offered information about the area as we traveled back and forth to the concentration camp. Dachau is not as powerful as the holocaust museum, but it is encouraging to see the German people acknowledging the atrocities that went on, after some years of denial. Keith also shared information about Hitler, his relationship to a step niece, and to his mistress that may not be common. He offered insights to some internal opposition to Hitler and shared that reflected itself in 42 attempts on his life before he took his own.

The mountain tour was wonderful in spite of the cold. We took the train most of the way up, then the gondola the last stretch to the peak. The gondola ride seemed ominous as we thought about it but was actually secure and not a scary as we imagined. The magnificence at the top left lasting memories.

Spending time with Brenna and Parker has been truly joyful. Brenna will report more on her blog as time goes along. Parker  is mimicing words, has smiles that light up any day, and is constantly in motion. He changes day by day, extending his awake time and growing by leaps and bounds. He traveled the long distance by car PRETTY WELL, not perfectly. The trip back created stress on Brenna and I, since forcing him to cry for 30 minutes in the car with out being held is heart breaking, albeit neccessary. No options for a loose child at 90 mph on the autobahn. And there were times when traffic flashed by that I wondered if our car was even moving. It is still hard to get used to going 90 and having cars close in the mirror less than 10 seconds.

Brenna is a great mom, clam and collected, organized but not obsessed. She seems to be able to balance all her demands with poise and grace. We have had some great sharing conversations and look forward to the rest of my time here.

Will try to add a couple of pictures and will update soon.