Day 1 - Germany or bust!

Seems like you can never sleep the night before a big trip, and waking up at 4:45am after getting home late from a concert in Seattle didn't provide much time for sleep anyway. The kids were also tired and anxious as we piled our bags into the car, and the dog just stood in the entry wondering what was going on. We made it to the airport with plenty of time to wait in the long lines and eventually made it onto the plane, headed for Detroit, our first stop. The second flight from Detroit to Frankfurt was long, but thankfully we had unlimited entertainment, lots of food and drinks, and Anna and I got some sleep (poor Garret didn't!).

When the plane touched down in Frankfurt I couldn't believe I was back in Germany after 20 years! Memories from previous trips as a kid and young adult were swirling through my mind and the excitement about being here again was high. But when we finally disembarked and were past customs, the stress of being somewhere foreign started sinking in. We needed to find the train station, purchase tickets to Heilbronn, then get onto the right train with all our luggage. Suddenly I wished I had taken my cousin up on her offer to pick us up from the airport. Why had I thought it would be a better experience to drag my two tired kids and all our stuff through three train stations? I don't know.

Four hours, one bus, two trains and two smashed toes later we arrived in Heilbronn an hour late. My cousin Alexandra and her son

Jan were waiting for us on the platform when the train pulled in and it was so wonderful to see them again! The stress is now gone, we are in good hands. After fueling up on Subway sandwiches and the first gelato of many, we made the beautiful drive to the village of Braunsbach, where my dad and Alexandra's mom grew up.

Upon arriving in Braunsbach I could see the tremendous damage caused by the storm in May 2016. While they have clearly been working non-stop since then, the town was completely devastated and everywhere you look you can see signs of storm damage. Roads once made from ancient cobblestones are now closed while being restored and we have to circle around through the town to find an open road. On our way we see Fritz Deininger, the husband of my dad's cousin, whose house we will be dining at tonight.

Wolfgang and Sabina Thaidigsmann have invited us all to stay at their wonderful home for our three days in Braunsbach. It is as lovely as I remember and they have made plenty of space for us all. The frozen crab and smoked salmon I brought from Seattle is still frozen and Wolfgang is thrilled to receive it. He loves seafood! Wolfgang's daughter Ina arrives shortly after us and I am so happy to see her again. After a short nap for me and the kids, we get cleaned up and start the ten minute walk up stairs through the forest to the Deininger's house for dinner.

My dad's cousin Marliese made a beautiful dinner with three delicious courses. We started with a Schnittlauchkuchen (a chive-quiche baked very flat in a large baking sheet), followed by a main dish of schweinebraten, schweineroladen, spatzel with sauce, zucchini baked with cream and cheese, and a cucumber salad. Marliese said she only made the schweinebraten because she wanted sauce to go with the spatzel. For dessert she made a beautiful 12" round sour cherry cake (sauerkirschekuchen), which she served with vanilla ice cream, fresh whipped cream and a homemade egg/cream schnapps (eischnapps) that you pour over the cake. Wow! It was so delicious! I was impressed that their son Robert joined us and did most of the serving and cleaning up. Marliese and Fritz were starting a vacation to Bodensee the following day, so he was helping out.

We had such a wonderful welcome to Braunsbach by the Thaidigsmann and Deininger families. It was such a nice way to start our European adventure, with friends, family and good food in this beautiful little village.