Germany: The Final Week of Our European Adventure

I actually wrote some of this post in the moment. . . . .

Now that we're finally in the last week, I feel anxious and excited to tour again, to get out and make the most of these precious few days. Funny that I couldn't get myself to feel that way for the last three weeks. . . Months ago, I thought that living in four places for four months was the most moving I could do on this trip, but now I can't imagine having stayed in any one place that long. Somehow moving to a new place makes me feel like I'm progressing instead of standing still. It also means more newness and less excuse for the kids to veg out.

The drive over from Prague to a far south suburb of Frankfurt was beautiful, heading westward into a beautiful sunset and twilight: the air itself seemed tinged with orange and pink. We arrived at our new airbnb apartment and it had a neon sign--I swore to Ed just a few weeks ago that I'd never stay at a hotel with a neon sign. Oh well. The inside is nicer, although there is no living room. I'm glad we'll only be here a few days.

Our first full day Ed was scheduled to work tablets in Giessen, about an hour away. Rather than be stuck in our tiny apartment and tiny town with no car, we rode up with him (quite early--it was the first time in months I have woken the kids up for anything besides church) and spent all day in the Mathematikum, a hands-on science/tech/math museum. And it really was all day--9:30 to 3:30, and I had to drag them away to go pick up Ed from the University. There were so many interesting exhibits and mathematical toys to play with. The drive home, however, was miserable: two hours through traffic, searching for a restaurant for dinner and listening to kids yelling in the back of the car. After a 12 hour day, it was good when we finally got home.

A table full of square, triangular, hexagonal and pentagonal building disks kept them busy for hours.

I hadn't realized until this museum visit how good Abby's spatial skills are. She has quite the mechanical mind--perhaps one day she'll be an engineer.

Linda's giant soccer ball.

Joe still likes airplanes and guns, especially toys that can operate as both simultaneously.

A human-sized bubble machine. My kids had to scramble for a turn in between the visiting school tour groups because it was probably the most popular exhibit in the museum.

Instead of staying in the cafe with the rest of us, Linda and Joe enjoyed eating their ice cream outside in the courtyard, sitting in the windowsill.

This was my favorite exhibit, the "Leonardo Bridge." By placing these simple wooden planks in the right tension with each other, you can create a long bridge. I wasn't steady enough to make it much longer than this, but that didn't stop me from trying for two hours.

Tuesday we hung out at home to work, do homework, and relax, but decided to try KFC for lunch. Apparently my German is not as good as I thought it was, because we ended up with extra-spicy chicken that none of the kids would eat, so we picked up some pizza to take home. On the way home we made a brief stop to see a famous apartment building designed by the Slovak architect Hundertwasser. Apparently his art wages war against the straight line, and if I lived in one of his creations, I would feel like a hobbit.

Each of the thousand doors and windows in the building are at least slightly different from all the others.

Wednesday we packed, did homework, and headed into Frankfurt to stay with the Williams, who offered to host all seven of us for four days. And it was so nice to be there. It felt like a real home and had everything a real home has--good smells, a full complement of kitchen utensils, books, games, and a loving family with a routine--almost all of which we have been missing out on. Jolynn took great care of us, feeding us well-rounded meals and giving my kids a lot of love and attention.

Joe loves this picture. He got to make chocolate chip cookies with Jolynn, so she promised him the very first cookie.

Ivan, the 14-year old, is brilliantly creative. Here is Abby wearing one of his masks.

Thursday we set off to see the Gutenberg museum in Mainz, which has an astonishing collection of old manuscripts, some illuminated, early printed books, more than one copy of the Gutenberg Bible, and original press machines. Jolynn and I loved it. The kids hated it and complained the entire time. At one point, four of them were actually lying on the floor among the displays as I tried to give them a brief history of Martin Luther and the 95 theses. The docents followed us everywhere because they were afraid of what the kids would do. And Joe, thanks to his older siblings, recited his new mantra "Bo-o-o-ring, bo-o-o-ring" over and over. My mom says that when they are older they'll realize what an amazing experience they had, and I sure hope so. I hope they try to tell me about it and how grateful they are to have had it so I can interrupt them by rolling my eyes, lying down on the floor and saying "bo-o-o-ring."

Jolynn and I outside The Gutenberg Museum.

     

Friday was spent cleaning, dividing and packing, but Saturday--our last full day in Europe--I tried to finish out with some sightseeing. Ed had to drive to Mulhouse, France to drop off our van to the Peugeot dealer (goodbye van, you were good to us). I took the boys to get haircuts in the morning, then spent a few hours in downtown Frankfurt with our wonderful Austrian friend from Jerusalem, Miriam. (She was living a couple hours north in Bonn and came down to spend the night with us. She has such a wandering spirit, it didn't even phase her to roll out on the living room floor with the seven of us and join our slumber party.) Jolynn really wanted me to see the old city and the historical museum, which we did, but we were too late for the walking tour. Miriam and enjoyed just walking and talking, especially because they were putting up the Christmas market in the town square (thank heaven Jolynn kept the kids at home), but we headed back in the early afternoon so I could finish up some clothes shopping for the Stratford family picture I knew was coming the following week in Connecticut.

I was amazed and how new and bright and vertically linear (meaning, not sagging) the buildings of Old Frankfurt looked--until I realized they were built in the 1980s as part of an urban renewal project and attempt to increase tourism. Most of the old city was destroyed in bombings during World War II. 

But despite being 30 instead of 300 years old, they were quite lovely.

I love shopping with kids--Joe kept disappearing among the clothes rack. I was glad to have Jolynn and Miriam as reinforcements. We each took a child or two and helped them find the right outfit for the photo.

My kids with dear Miriam. She is a good friend and a generous soul. I wish we lived nearer, but I'm so grateful for my amazing global life and communication that allows me to keep in touch with people on every continent.

Sunday, November 22nd--the day I sometimes thought would never come. I wanted to go to sacrament meeting before we headed to the airport, and we made it happen. But I think it stressed Jolynn out unnecessarily, for which I felt bad. But even though we left right after the sacrament was passed, we had the chance to see Miriam one last time, and--surprise of surprises--I was coming out of the bathroom and nearly ran into one of Ed's old roommates from the time we were dating at BYU, Tim Hart. He works for the foreign service, has a wife and three kids, and looks just the same. He was always one of the happiest and most positive people I've ever had the pleasure of being around, and he hasn't changed at all in that regard. It was a really great moment. There is so much joy in reuniting with beloved friends at church and at the temple.

What a great way to end our trip.

And then it was time for the airport. Everything there went smoothly (sometimes I'm so proud of and grateful for my good kids) and, except for the fact that Jolynn had to make a second trip after dropping us off to drop off Ed's laptop bag that we left in her car, we had no trouble getting everything checked and getting ourselves loaded. We left at 1:30, the flight was uneventful, and Ed's brother Ben picked us up nine hours later at JFK. It was only 5:30 in New York, but more than one kid fell asleep on the ride to Grandma's. 

Our very last European meal was at a Burger King. I feel the need to apologize.