Beth and I share February birthdays. Because Chris has never bought her a gift for her birthday, for Christmas, for their anniversary, for Valentines Day, or for Mother's Day, I came up with the idea of giving her a trip to Poland for her birthday to go pottery shopping. He was on board as soon as I texted him. So I found one of my Polish pottery bowls, wrapped it up beautifully, found a card that said "Bon Voyage" and brought it to dinner. I passed it under the table to him so he could give it completely as HIS gift. Beth was overcome when she opened it, not believing that he even wrapped it, and in tears when the reality of it all hit her. I was happy to stand back and let Chris take all the credit, which he did.
I planned the whole trip. I asked Beth if there was anything specific she wanted to do, but she told me no. She was happy to let me plan it. With long COVID, it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do, but come our April travel dates, everything was in place.
I bought a new and different travel pillow which, combined with Ambien, gave me a solid seven hours sleep on the plane. I was so thankful. Beth didn't sleep. Sarah Moran picked us up in Frankfurt in her car, took us to a Holiday Inn Express where we slept for another three hours, and then we were off, all refreshed and showered.
No joke, the whole plan worked perfectly, even paying for Sarah's room the night before with IHG loyalty points. I was super happy how smoothly everything happened. My only concern was that Beth had brought two suitcases, both of them full of clothes. I had told her to bring a large empty suitcase for souvenirs, so I'm not sure what happened there. I ended up putting my carry-on in my large suitcase so it took up less room in the car. This will play into events later.
We drove to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, John's favorite city in Germany. It looks like a Disney village, it's so perfect. We followed the GPS to our hotel, but we ended up going through an alley that was barely wider than Sarah's car. In fact, I got out of the car to help her navigate the final exit. It was fun, and funny, and boy, did we feel victorious! And as if that wasn't enough, Sarah then had to park the Santa Fe for the night. It felt like swaddling a baby, putting that vehicle in our parking space ;-)
I thought I had reserved John's favorite hotel, but it turns out I reserved it's slummy second cousin. Not a great hotel--kinda dingy and old inside--but a great location. It was just steps from the main square. However, there was no shower--only a bathtub with a shower hose, so neither Sarah nor Beth ended up bathing while there. I, however, had no problem showering after our very long morning walk along the wall.
We had good food (schnitzel for me, and yes, I have a picture of it, but no, I'm not going to post it), and it was good company. We found a fabulous Birkenstock store which I thought was just a precursor to the one in Speicher (which we were going to visit later in the week), but Sarah told me the Speicher store had closed so I did all of my purchasing of Birks in Rothenburg. I'm sure the prices were jacked up for tourists, but even then, they were so much less expensive than in the States and there was a terrific variety. The only problem was that it was so dang HOT in the store that I didn't really think very clearly--always a problem when I don't feel well, or I'm sweating. I just grabbed whatever...and didn't get a pair for Glo. And I bought one pair for myself that I love the look of but that aren't very comfortable. *sigh* The other pair I got myself are two buckle, silver, and I LOVE them. And John loves his. And thankfully, both of the pairs I bought Hannah arrived back in the States (more on that later), and she's thrilled. We also went to the Käthe Wohlfahrt store twice--it's a bit overwhelming, and honestly I wanted to save some purchases for Iris at Et Lädchen in Speicher, but I ended up spending at least 200 euros there.
We had been looking for a tour of Rothenberg (I seriously always want a tour, or scavenger hunt of a new city because it helps me look at things with a bit of knowledge), but we were told we had missed the only English speaking one. However, walking back from dinner, we stumbled upon The Nightwatchman, and he was speaking English! We ponied up our 10 Euros each, and followed him around for an hour. Turns out, many of the things we had already noticed, he mentioned so gold stars for us! ;-)
We spent the next morning walking the wall. It completely encloses the city, and it has spectacular views. All I could think about is the last time we were in Rothenburg and how fun it was to be there with John.
We left around noon, but not before getting a Döner kebab. Man, it's been too long. Notice the Apfelschorle?
that neck of the woods. A4 ended up being closed for an accident, so we were diverted for almost two hours, but it ended up being a good problem. We drove through the town of Bautzen which appeared to have buildings older than WWII (kind of a rarity in Deutschland). Sarah ended up looking up the history of the city and discovered that an ethnic minority group, the Sorbians, live in Bautzen. It was fascinating to have her read about them and realize how much the city had to offer. I was jealous when Sarah added it to the places she wants to visit before they move.
It had been raining most of the seven hours, but as we approached the Polish border, the clouds broke and a beautiful double rainbow was in front of us as crossed into Poland--I seriously barked at Sarah "Get your camera out!" But not before I had to pee, and we stopped at a rest area--thankfully Sarah came with me in case I found any questionable characters (I didn't, and it was actually very clean...and free of charge to use!) I had some feelings as we crossed into Poland, knowing that it was bordering Ukraine and a very active war between Ukraine and Russia, but I trust Europe. I trust that Poland is safe, and I didn't let lack of knowledge deter me from visiting a place I love.
We drove easily to our hotel, the Blue Beetroot (Niebieski Burak), but not before stopping at McDonald's on the corner. It's unbelievable how much Europeans love McDonald's, and how much Americans love the prices of the food there (the three of us ate for $8 total). Back to the Beetroot. I had already had some communication with the English-speaking manager there, Martyna. She had been so helpful in assuaging any fears about the borders closing or any danger. She wasn't there that evening, but I was assured she would be there the next day.
We had the funniest little room. Three single beds with hardly room to move or put anything anywhere. My carryon ended up on top of the mini-fridge, and my big suitcase was stored in the bathroom. But it was darling. And we were on the top floor, so we had a skylight which we opened at night to cool the room. There isn't much light pollution there, so the stars were beautiful. It was one of those "what a wonderful world" kind of moments for me where borders and language differences just fall away, and I see us all united as a human race.
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| Sarah, making plans ;-) |
The next morning, we headed down to breakfast, met Martyna officially (she's more wonderful in person), and Sarah gave us our plan for the day. Honestly, I was so thankful that Sarah took over the planning of the individual pottery stores. But before that, we had some postal business to attend to.
John and I had visited a ward in our stake in our capacity as YSA advisors, and I had seen my German friend from the temple. When I mentioned I was going to Germany, she asked if I would be willing to take a package to Poland for the Ukrainian refugees and send it to some friends she had there. I wasn't sure how it would happen, but she dropped off a backpack filled with candy at my house before we left. I then found backpacks I wasn't using, and shoes that weren't worn, and Beth found some shoes as well. Those came in my large suitcase. So that morning, I explained to Martyna that we needed to send all of this to a Polish address, and we needed a box to send it in. Wouldn't you know that the only box the Beetroot had at the moment was the exact size we needed? #miracle Then, she called a courier to find out if that would be a cheaper method of delivery, or if the postal service would be. She then helped us fill out all forms for the post office along with sending a handwritten note explaining what we needed that we could give to the Polish postal worker. We set off for the "post office".
Turns out, it was more of a travel agency, and when we tried to open the door, a very angry Polish woman came out speaking a whole lot of angry Polish to us. Well, I pulled out the phrase that Ethan had taught me (spelled phonetically here, because that's how I learned it): "Pshi prasam, neeah moveah po polskoo, chi mogemeh rose-maviatch po angielskoo?" which basically says, "I'm sorry, I don't speak Polish. Could we please speak English?" She looked right at me, shook her head no, and shut the door on us. I then checked the hours, and turns out we were there 20 minutes before it opened. I vowed to come back.
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| I practiced this on the hour, every hour, for over a week. I'm so thankful for (and impressed with) my children's language speaking abilities. They feel like miracles to me! |
We headed out shopping. I had seen hard rain in the forecast for the entire week we were there, but it was only a light drizzle that morning. My little phrase came in handy so many times over the course of the next 48 hours. I used it EVERYWHERE because, as I learned when living in Germany, if I at least try to speak a language, people are so much more open to helping me. In fact, I started asking the workers how to say other things, like "have a nice day", or "have a nice weekend" (I already knew "hello" and "thank you" from previous times in Poland). They loved to take my little cheat sheet and write the phrases down for me...while laughing when I would write the phonetic pronunciation underneath. It was so much fun for me, and I wish I had had another week there in Poland to learn more. Of course, it also brought to mind the fact that Ethan ever learned that language completely. I know that it's ranked THE most difficult language to learn, but until I get back in the thick of it, I never appreciate what a nightmare it is. I mean, even the Polish people tell me that they don't learn their language perfectly. And several of the women, after I had said my phrase, asked me how I had learned it because it's perfect. And one woman asked me if I could understand Polish because I said it so well. It was really fun and kinda filled my heart with a bit of confidence.
Sarah and I were browsing for a while, but then we started to buy. I kind of love that every shop has different things, so if I really love something, I'd better buy it there. One of my first purchases was a MUST BUY for John. It was the most hideous ceramic jack-o-lantern on the planet. I kept debating whether or not to buy it, but I'm so glad I did because it because the joke in my family for at least a week. I might not have decided to buy it except it was 50% reduziert which meant I HAD to buy it for John. I mean, John might appreciate a Polish pottery jack-o-lantern, but he's gonna LOVE it when he finds out I got it 50% off ;-)
I also found these darling serving dishes covered in lily pads and pond plants. Yeah, didn't see those again. We went to some pretty seedy shops, and some very posh shops. Everything was just wonderful. I was thankful when I suggested lunch, and the ladies were down for it. Downtown Bołeslawiac is quite a happening place, and I was amazed when Sarah made a parking space when we couldn't find one anywhere else. And as we quickly discovered, our pizza place is VERY local--it's always a sign when the menu has no English on it. All the better, right?
At one point, Sarah came up to me and told me that we were going to need to help Beth. Not only was she shopping for herself but for gifts for other people and orders from friends. She was in the mindset that she needed to compare prices and pick really special pieces, but we convinced her to just buy what she wanted. We took the order from the friend and had the pieces picked out in ten minutes. It wasn't difficult after that.
Back to the post office. When I walked in, that mean lady turned to another lady, and I knew just enough Polish to hear that she was telling her we only spoke English. The second lady was very helpful, telling us that we could sit down while she calculated the price. When she told us that we needed a Polish return address in case the package couldn't be delivered, we gave her Martyna's at the Blue Beetroot ;-) I was waiting for the price hammer to fall, because that box was dang big and dang heavy. After a couple of minutes, she tells us the price, and asks if we are okay with it.
$5.00
FIVE DOLLARS
That package would've cost $30-$40 in the States. But $5.00? Gosh, we didn't need to stick around for a receipt for THAT!
I felt immense relief that we got that sent off (especially when my debit card wouldn't work there and Sarah had to cover me), plus I felt grateful that we had done something for the Ukrainian refugees.
That night, we had dinner at the hotel, finally ordering pierogis. And just like I remember, they aren't my favorite, but they are fine. We prepared for one last shopping run in the morning. John called late, so I slunk out of the dark room and talked to him on the staircase.
The next morning, Sarah was playing Tetris with our suitcases and boxes (Beth having TWO took up quite a bit of space), but she ended up getting everything in her trusty Santa Fe. We said goodbye to Martyna (I sure wish we had brought her flowers, or a gift, or something). We bought a few more things, going to Andy's, the one place that I didn't want to give my money...but that has the best selection. And then we were back on the road to Frankfurt so that Beth and I could rent a car at the airport and not depend so heavily on Sarah's generosity.
I'm not gonna lie--there is something so peaceful about returning to our German home. As we neared Trier, there was a familiarity that just filled with heart with happiness. And staying at the wonderful Kockelsberg hotel that overlooks Trier? It doesn't get any better!
I wanted to go to a favorite restaurant of John's and mine for dinner. I couldn't remember the name, but I remembered the location, so I just searched Maps. The Eurener Hof! I wasn't sure if we needed a reservation, but thankfully we showed up late enough that the very friendly host took us right back. After sitting at our table for about three minutes, we were asked to move; the table was "reserved". Sure enough, ten minutes later, the mafia couple of Trier walked in wearing leather and Louboutins, and everybody was bowing down to them. Not sure why they needed THAT table, but they proved fun to watch.
I was delighted to see that it's "Spargelzeit" in Deutschland--asparagus season! I ordered Spargel soup, and it was heaven in my mouth ;-) We also were served the most delicious German bread in a little ramekin. And full disclosure: I have been thinking about a steak served with peppercorn sauce for years that I remembered I ate at this restaurant. I was so delighted to see it still offered, and it was as delicious as I remembered. It's funny--I remember peppercorn steak being on menus for years, but I don't think it's en vogue anymore because I can never find it as an option. Then, for dessert, I asked for a "Variation on Chocolate" which was amazing as well. I mean, this kind of dining is FINE dining, and I savored every bite.
I ask you: why can't we eat breakfasts like this in America? It's perfect.
The next morning, we headed to church in Bitburg. It was sad to see the ward so thin in numbers, and of course my heart expects all the people from 20 years ago to be sitting in the pews, but it was still sweet. We had a beautiful Relief Society lesson first, followed by sacrament meeting. There had been a mix-up with the high councilman so the bishop asked 15 people before the meeting to share a 3 minute thought about a conference talk. It was an inspired idea which turned out beautifully. Sarah hit the ball out of the park for me, talking about how we need to fill our reservoirs daily with just a little bit of spiritual enlightenment rather than trying to dump a bunch in all at once (she likened it to Lake Powell which could use a little bit of rain each day rather than an occasional deluge).
We went to the Morans after for lunch, but more importantly to begin packing our pottery. I felt badly that we took the Sabbath away from the Morans, but I was grateful for their generosity. Sarah shipped everything with Pirate Ship, and when she asked me about insurance, I told her to buy the maximum--$8 for $1,000 in insurance. Boy, was I ever glad I did that.
We then played Stäedte und Ritter and had dinner. Natalie snuck away for a while after I had told her how much I liked her earrings, and she came back up with a pair for Hannah. Turns out, she had made them herself, and no joke, Hannah has gotten so many compliments on them at work!
I won't lie. I really wanted to walk the Kyll along my old marathon training route on Sunday. It's just so beautiful, and again it carries so many memories, but there wasn't ever time. I probably should've pushed harder to do it, but I was trying to be accommodating to Beth. Next time, right?
We spent the next day in Trier. I bought games and puzzles at the toy store on Nagelstraße. We went to "Die Schlafexperten" for bedding for Nance (which they ended up sending directly to her in Spain), and for me (we'll see if John is a German bedding convert). We went to the green department store, and I bought basically every colored pencil I could for Glo. We also ate at the Karttofel Kiste for lunch, basking in the noon day sun. I loved being back with the German people and speaking German and eating German and shopping German. It just doesn''t get any better.
Jeremy Carlson opened a business based on baked cones found in the Czech Republic. I'm thinking that I need to open a restaurant based on potatoes, if for no other reason than I can eat it all myself. And yes, I'm posting the menu--it was seriously amazing.
That evening, we met the Morans back at the Eurener Hof. We had put on the reservation that we were celebrating a birthday, not thinking much of it because in the States, it means nothing. But the Germans didn't disappoint--they brought our man, Jared, a dessert fit for a birthday king!
Man, it was good to talk and laugh and reminisce...and miss John. We all missed him. He's just part of the foursome, and it didn't feel quite right without him there.
At this point, my trip to Europe got flipped upside down.
During dinner, Jared asked about us ever having a Kennedy reunion with ALL the Kennedys. I answered quickly that it would never happen, and listed off some reasons for it. Beth began correcting me about instances I had had personally with her family members. I called her out on it, because she had no right to correct me about my own experiences and judgements. I asked her to stop correcting me. She then became super quiet, and I knew I had overstepped my bounds.
We said goodbye to the Morans, and I made a decision: I needed to apologize and clear this issue up as quickly as possible. So, walking to the car, I apologized to which she tossed away my apology, telling me that she had been upset at the table, but she had gotten over it. In her words, it was "whatever". I could tell it was so NOT over. So as we drove back to the hotel, I tried to explain to her some of the hurtful moments I had had with her family at which point she started telling me things the family didn't like about me.
Wow. What a mess.
When we got back to the hotel, John called, and I walked out on our balcony to talk to him. All of the windows were open, so I wasn't saying anything about Beth or trying to hide anything from her. I just wanted to look at our city, Trier, one last time, all lit up. I got super emotional, thinking of so many memories there, and I shared them all with John. It was just this perfect moment in time. When I got back in, Beth didn't say good night, or anything (not that she did the entire trip). I was worried to say the least.
The next day, we went for our COVID tests and shopped at Et Lädchen. I also took Beth to Rewe to buy any and all Haribo she wanted. When we walked up to the cash register with about $60 in Haribo, I told the cashier that we were leaving for America. She asked it it was "for good", and I told her yes. She laughed and said it was going to be a party ;-) I also found these delicious wafer cookies that our family downed in about five minutes the night I got home...and I promptly asked Sarah to send me more.
We also stopped for our third and final Spaghetti Eis. Turns out, Spaghetti His has come a long way in the 16 years we've been gone. I sent a picture to the kids--here's hoping it's motivation enough to eventually return for a family reunion ;-)
At this point, I had a huge pyramid that I had bought from Iris, and I needed to ship it back safely. How thankful I am that I took the Morans' offer of a gorilla box to pack it. Sarah was invaluable in helping me cut the foam down to fit in the gorilla box.
We then took our packages to the post office at Spangdahlem. We needed base passes first though. What a laugh I got when they looked me up by my social security number and my photo from my military i.d. popped up! We hoped for the best as we passed our packages across the counter. Little did we know that our prayers wouldn't be enough.
Sarah then let Beth do last-minute shopping at the Bx, and we saw Jared and his office. What I wouldn't have given to just go back in time and relive our time in the military with the Morans. And I sure wish John was there with me.
We said goodbye to Jared (but not before I grabbed a pic with him...and he snuck in a #1 to remind us all that he is the current reigning champion of Städte *that sucker*) What a good friend. Sure hope we can make it back before the end of the year.
Sarah waved us off the base. I needed some dinner, so we stopped at a kebab place. Beth said she didn't want one, so I went in alone. But as I was eating mine in the car, she decided to get one for later. I needed one final picture of our trusty steed, a Citroën Aircross. It was fun to drive a stick shift again, and it was great on gas. I let it take me up to 100mph as well--couldn't be outdone by the Santa Fe ;-)
We had a nice talk on the way to the airport, but finding the hotel IN the airport proved daunting. I tried to listen to Beth, but in the end, I found it. We were exhausted. She started eating, and she turned on the Bloomberg report. I made a joke asking if she was so desperate for American TV that she would watch that? She turned it off, offended.
I didn't talk to her the rest of the trip. I didn't know what I had done.
The following day, we got ready to go, but a health issue that I had been struggling with the entire trip reared its ugly face. Post COVID, I am always HOT. Like, I get sweat running down my face and back regularly, and I feel nauseous and like I'm going to pass out. I had it in the first pottery shop we entered, forcing me to sit on the floor (like I was looking at pottery there), but really just trying to recover. I felt it in the Eurener Hof as well. And by the time I got through airport security in Frankfurt, I had soaked my shirt, garments and bra through. So I pulled into an airport stall with my carry-on and changed everything. I then went to a shop and bought a cold bottle of water which I then put on my neck. Friends keep asking if I'm having hot flashes, but I've had blood work done and I'm not menopausal. Plus, I had hot flashes for years when I was on BCP, and this is nothing like it. It's just like my temperature is running hotter than normal. I even sleep with almost no covers on at night which is VERY different from what I normally do.
Anyway, I wasn't feeling well. We boarded the plane, and we were sitting together in a two-person row. When I saw all the empty seats, and figuring we might want to sleep, I moved directly across the aisle. Beth offered me chocolate at one point (which was very strange because she'd rejected all chocolate during the trip because she doesn't like it), and I turned her down because I just felt rotten.
I kind of love Lufthansa. If I get the chance to fly them again, I'll happily take it.
Chris came and picked her up, and I walked by her, telling her that I hoped she would have some good memories from the trip.
I HAD NO IDEA WHAT HAD HAPPENED. For real. I don't know where things went wrong. It had felt like the trip of a lifetime to me, and I had wanted to do a girls' trip for a while, but it just ended really, really badly. I told John, and he ended up calling Beth where I guess she had LOTS to say about me. So, again trying not to withdraw when I am hurt or have an issue, I called her up.
She had a laundry list of complaints about me from the entire trip.
I couldn't even believe it. I was stunned. And to be honest, when she listed everything, I sounded like a complete and total jerk. But the thing was, I wasn't feeling that way, I wasn't annoyed with Beth, and to this day, I have no complaints except that she stopped talking to me. But I suspect she will have a very different set of memories from the trip, based on her list of things I did wrong. I blanket apologized for everything, basically going back to even being born, and I meant every word of it. I didn't mean to ruin her trip. She accuses me of being cold, but I've heard her use that criticism of others as well, so I take it with a grain of salt. I did everything to plan the trip of a lifetime, and I personally had the best time, especially with Sarah, so I can't be responsible, I guess.
And within a week, our packages arrived, damaged, crushed, and with cardboard sides ripped off....with the exception of the Gorilla box. Although, even then, little figurines had broken off which John says is indicative of the force they must have used to be throwing and dropping our packages. I lost about 20% of my pottery, but Beth lost most of it. Seems kinda appropriate for the ending of our trip, eh?
While in Rothenburg, we stopped in a little artistic gift shop, and I found a bunch of felted items. I don't know what it is, but I love felted things. Even Sarah said that they remind her of me. Not sure why--it's not like I have a bunch of them--but I love them. I walked out with a felted flower pin (looking back on it now, the only regret of my trip is that I didn't buy more) which I attached to my too-small replacement jacket (I lost it's one-size-up cousin somewhere in an airport) when I got home. No joke, every time I see it, it reminds me of the trip, and of good friends, and of my love for Deutschland.
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