When in Germany...

After conferencing it up since Tuesday evening with representatives from 25 nations, we were able to take a little break yesterday afternoon/evening. The GO Conference is taking place in Mosbach, Germany, and it is cold! The snow started before we ever left the airport, and is still thick on the ground in places. While I prefer a snowless winter in any other situation, I can appreciate it in Germany this time of year. And it is "nice" snow. Really crunchy, and it doesn't turn to slush 45 minutes after it falls. We've walked (by choice!) from our hostel to the conference center every morning since arriving, and I don't even mind. Me. The one who hates the cold.

Anyway, back to the break we got yesterday, Todd and I and three other Americans attending the conference decided to take a little day trip into the nearby city of Heidelberg. The city has an old section with a really old castle, and a newer, modern-looking section (we didn't visit that part). We set out right after our final session, making a brief stop at a bakery a block away where I got schnitzel :) 

After buying our lunches we attempted to buy our train tickets at the station near the conference center. It was harder than we expected. Fortunately, a German-speaking conference worker happened by and was able to help us get our tickets. Everything was looking up! We were ready to board our first European train! We had a couple of false starts (i.e., taking the wrong train...twice) before finally making it to Heidelberg, but the drive was so pretty! The little German towns all covered in snow, the hills, the river, all the ornate little churches...this place is just adorable! 

It was SO cold as we walked around Heidelberg and the castle courtyards, but I'm still glad we were able to do some sightseeing. After we'd had our fill of the cold and the walking (it was over 300 stair steps to reach the castle), we made our way back down to the town and ate at a little cafe, the highlight of which was the dessert we took with us back to the hostel. Mine was a delicious apple strudel, Todd's a surprisingly light (despite it's appearance) black forest cake. 

The conference has been good; lot's of learning, socializing and eating. We haven't experienced completely horrible jetlag, which is a blessing, and all of our luggage made it safely here (an even bigger blessing!). 

Here are some pictures from the train drive to Heidelberg, Heidelberg and the castle, and our desserts :) Just to be honest...Todd took most of them. Enjoy!

View from the train ride.

Part of Heidelberg! Isn't it so pretty?

We took this road on our way to find the castle. 

Todd just really liked this door... :) 

Me, just outside the castle courtyard.

Panoramic view of the courtyard.

View of Heidelberg from the castle.

The apple strudel...so good, so good. 

On Our Way

I'll spare you the details of the morning...for me, they are mostly sad and wet :(

Our flight from Knoxville to Dallas left pretty close to on-time, and we spent the next 2.5 hours in the very back row of a miniature plane. We emerged stiff and starving, and set about finding our for real "last meal." Last American meal, that is.

The Dallas Fort Worth airport is huge and we landed in the same terminal from which we would be departing. For this reason, we opted to eat here, too. I have no idea what the pizza situation will be in Africa, but I thought it (per my mom's suggestion) better to be safe than sorry. I had my tastebuds all geared up for a nice greasy, cheese-less slice, only to find that the only pizza joint in our terminal was a sit-down restaurant. Airport restaurants are expensive enough without sitting down. We considered other options.

In the end, we both got chicken sandwiches and potato wedges from Fudruckers. It hit the spot :)

For the last 3 hours we've been sitting here at gate D22, listening to the attendants relay information on each new delay. At one point, they told us that the maintenance department hadn't determined whether the craft would be usable, but they would let us know as soon as a decision was reached.

I fail to see the necessity for debate.

Thankfully (obviously?!), they decided against the orignal plane, and we are awaiting our replacement from Los Angeles. It should be here any minute (that's airport time, mind you), and we are set to take off at 6:35pm. That puts us in Frankfurt, Germany at about 11:00am, a good deal later than we had thought.

The good news is no one around us in this massive gate area is causing a scene, that I can see. The weather here is beautiful, and now it will be dark for more of our flight, creating a more sleep-conducive environment. Todd and I have seats together (aisle and window! Yay!), and I have a bag full of Jelly Bellies, compliments of my mother-in-law. I think we're gonna make it.

While I did mention that the morning was sad, here are a few happy moments :)

Todd and his sisters.

Me and my youngest sister. 

Me and mom.

Me, mom, and dad. 

Todd and his mom. Happy Birthday! (or Melancholy Birthday, as I told her this morning)

The terribly handsome Todd, enjoying his last chicken sandwich. 

And we're off! Don't be fooled by our carefree expressions...our bags may be the death of our backs. 

'Tis the Night Before Departure

‘Tis the night before departure, and all ‘round the room,

The things taking place are all hitting too soon. 

The fridge is near empty, the bedroom so bare;

The floors are too tidy (like we really do care). 

Copies of passports, Photo ID,

All tucked away as things we could need.

My old purple backpack (which has served me so long)

Well, suffice it to say, may the stitches be strong! 

It’s full near to bursting, but that’s nothing new;

Our giant black duffels, yikes...I don’t envy you. 

And speaking of bursting, while we’re on such a spiel, 

Our bellies have stretched to fit in our “last meals.” 

The laundry, I wish I could call it all clean,

But when packing like we are, not in my best dream.

My shirt will smell strongly of what I ate today,

And Todd’s dirty socks...we just threw those away. 

But all this will fade in a few hours time, 

As other thoughts start to fill up my mind. 

Like what life will be like in our new foreign town,

And how fast babies grow up when you aren’t around. 

Does driving on the left really mess with your head?

And will Christmas in summer be a joy or a dread?

Will money conversions come quickly or slow, 

And will saying “Goodbye” hurt more than I know?

I will say it, I will, though I’m still not sure how. 

I’m just trusting the Lord for that later, not now. 

He knows all our days, though I don’t have a clue,

He’s ordained them from old, they’re none of them new. 

And it is a comfort to have understood, 

That for those who love him, he does all for their good.

-Meredith Overbeek

Odds and Ends

Today is cleaning day and all the dust, ash, and grime we've been kicking up has me sneezing and sniffing. But the place is coming together. Back together, I should say. When we moved into my in-laws' basement on December 31st, 2011, none of us were planning on this being a year-long arrangement. It's worked out just about perfectly, on our end anyway. I've no idea what they would tell you..."she leaves their laundry in the dryer too long, she uses the oven at all hours, what used to be the utility sink is often full of dirty dishes..." Their list might be longer, but they're far too gracious to ever say anything :)

Earlier this week we made a rather uncomfortable discovery; our suitcases, originally diagnosed as suffering from luggage obesity, were, in reality, just really really heavy! Our lightest (and smallest) suitcase weighed in at 8 lbs, the heaviest at 18! It forced us to make the difficult, but oh-so-worth-it decision to go with duffel bags instead. My friend Abby, who left on for the field on Thursday, told me a few weeks ago about some very lightweight duffel bags we could procure at Wal-Mart. Todd and I picked up four of them and immediately set about to repacking, and he was really able to shine :) He is an extremely efficient packer, but the suitcases were really limiting his creative genius. He couldn't pack them as efficiently without going w-a-a-a-y over the limit. While switching to duffels did require us to leave out some items (mostly clothes...mostly mine), it was otherwise a great move! None of our four duffels are now exceeding the weight limit! We were planning to have to pay a fee on all of them before. What a blessing!

Ok, so that was Monday. Productive day, we felt accomplished. The next day was, unfortunately, Tuesday.

I woke up at 2:45am; it seemed my dinner didn't appreciate being eaten. While I am thankful the bug didn't keep me in the bathroom all day, it did pretty much keep me in bed. About 15 hours and 7 saltine crackers later, I was able to migrate to the couch, a move that usually feels like a big deal on sick days. It has been years and years since I've had a stomach bug, and this one could have been so much worse, that I really can't complain. I only regret that it claimed not only Tuesday but Wednesday as well. I wasn't much use to poor Todd that day either. I mostly just wanted to sit on the couch.

In addition to packing and being sick and cleaning, I've also spent this week getting in all of my "last meals," of which there have been many. Hitting up some of our favorite places like Chick-fil-A (ok, that one was last week), Barberitos, Chiles, Fisherman's Dock (mine, not Todd's fave), in addition to eating my mom's chili and french dip has been a calorie counter's nightmare, but a food lover's dream! This week, I've been the food lover. The calorie counter in me can put a sock in it for now. I have no idea what kind of food to expect in Germany or South Africa, but somehow I just don't think it will taste like my grilled chicken nuggets or mini burrito. I'll let you know.

Tomorrow is our last Sunday at our home church, and then the families (mine and Todd's) will meet over here for lunch. I expect we'll all hang out most of the day, maybe play Balderdash if I get my way ;) And in a perfect world, everyone will smile and laugh and not think about the next day.

Again, I'll let you know.

In the mean time, take a look at our four checked bags! In addition, we each have a backpack (Todd's has my camera equipment), I have a purse, and Todd has a big carryon bag. Not bad for two years!