It's been a while since I was in Germany. Originally, we had planned to fly to Ireland in 2020 (and spend a few days in Germany as well), but the pandemic canceled those plans. So, given that I am currently taking a leave of absence and thus didn't have to prep for the Fall semester, I figured this is a great time to spend a week with my Mom and Wiebke. Jan and I decided that I fly alone, so that he can stay with the dogs. Since they're both getting older we just don't want to leave them all alone with a sitter anymore. I think that's a fair compromise at this point.
On my way to the plane. I packed lightly (just a backpack and a bag) to avoid the check-in. Worked quite well (especially since it was just for a week).
And guess what - the seat next to me stayed empty! Not only did I have a bit more legroom since I had booked economy plus, no! I had EXTRA legroom with that empty seat next to me. Overall, this was probably the best flight experience I've had so far.
The plane was a bit delayed (well, about 2 hours delayed) due to a confluence of circumstances. To add to this, the train from Frankfurt to Bebra was also delayed, which means I missed my connection. I ended up in FRA Main Station where I eventually secured another train an hour later. It was hot and humid. I was tired and miserable. And there were so many people there! Not a good start...
Things got better, though, and after a good night's sleep and a cup of coffee I was ready to face the day!
Mom and I went for a walk, went shopping, had some coffee/ice cream at the local cafe, and to top things off, she made one of my favorite meals (spaghetti/ground beef casserole):
I had brought one of my old laptops with me (it's not that old -- just not the most recent I'm using), and we got her set up and comfortable using it. The only downside - it has the American keyboard, naturally, which is slightly different from the German layout. Mom got used to it quickly, though. By now she's a pro and loves the flexibility and speed of that laptop :).
Wiebke joined us on Friday for lunch and Jesus Christ Superstar (one of this year's shows in the Bad Hersfeld Stiftsruine). Great show! We ended the evening with dinner and a murder mystery game (which we solved like the pros we are, lol).
Saturday morning Wiebke and I drove up to Hamburg. Lots of chatting on the road, which was great (and long overdue!). And I got to see her kids again (the last time was in 2019 - boy, have they grown!!!).
They had also just adopted a cute little puppy -- Karlsson.
The next day I took the train back to Bebra (after we spend some time in the Harry Potter store at the Hamburg Main Station).
Mom and I took the train to Frankfurt together (on Monday afternoon), spend the evening in a fantastic hotel (b'mine -- I highly recommend it!), and ended the week with a breakfast (and view!) before I headed back home. (Side note - I AGAIN had an empty seat next to me. The universe is spoiling me :). )
While it was a short and busy trip, and while I'm not a big fan of flying, I'm very glad I did it. Great memories were made :).
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