Almost Back to Normal

Wow, what a whirlwind ten days. For yesterday and today (holiday here), I promised myself I'd do nothing more than lock myself in the apartment and hide from all civilization until it's time to return to work on Wednesday morning. To say that I was pooped would be the understatement of the year. But it was a good exhaustion - one from seeing family and friends, sights and sounds, and traveling here and there.

I traveled to Cologne last Sunday and arrived in the evening, giving me plenty of time to scope things out a bit - and get my night pics, which turned out amazing. I met up with my parents and oldest brother the following day and things were underway. We toured the city as well as the massive cathedral, including climbing the 500 steps to the top. Being my first time in the unofficial gay capital of Germany, it was a little disappointing to spend the time there with my parents, but maybe next time I can experience the city a bit differently.

We left the following morning for Koblenz by train, then caught the boat there for the Rhine River cruise. Got off in St. Goar and overnighted it there, touring the castle. Continued further on the cruise on Tuesday, hopped off in Bacharach for a few hours, and then completed the final stretch to Ruedesheim. My parents were interested in seeing Trier, Germany's oldest city with Roman ruins, so we took a train there. I had been there once 8 years ago, but it seemed a bit more touristy this time. Still neat, though. So we toured Trier on Thursday, then headed back to my apartment that evening. Hiked up to nearby castle Lichtenstein on Friday and went to Tuebingen in the evening to ride the gondolas. On Saturday morning, we bummed around a bit downtown at the market and they left around 3pm.

By 6pm (hardly time for me to catch my breath), I was on a train to Freiburg to attend Mr. Jochen's 30th birthday party. The neat thing about the ride was that it was like a trip through my past in Germany - it started in Reutlingen where I currently live, along the way we stopped in Bruchsal, where I lived last time (I jumped out and touched the ground just to say I was there), and it ended in Freiburg, where I lived my first time here. Weird stuff! Let's see, we drank, we partied, we sang karaoke, we drank... On Sunday, the official party took place in a large cabin-type setting which was quite nice. Lots of family and friends there. I thought it was cute when little six year old Sophia asked me, "Why do you talk so funny?" Then it was nonstop questions of how do you say this word and that in English. Anyway, it was a very nice gathering in spite of the rainy weather. Just as I was settling into the right mood 5 hours later - with martini in hand, of course - it was time to head home. Back on the train and got in at 1:45am.

So here I am. Everything turned out great - and the weather last week was simply a blessing while my parents were here - but I'm definitely ready for things to calm down a bit for the moment. It'll be good to not be a tourist for awhile.

I'll plan on posting more pics on my website eventually, but for the moment, this damn site isn't letting me upload anymore. Good grief.