No Connection

Update: The bathtub is in!  It is great! It is wonderful! It is magnificent! It is......hopefully the last.  Now it is drywall and paint time. 


Two summers ago, my family of 6 ventured to Europe.  As i was looking through one of my journals that I was in need of using, I found a quick blurb about a day in Strasbourg.  I thought I would fill up some space with this past perspective.

June 8 2010

A bit of historical perspective
Polka music plays in the distance.  The murmur of conversation and clopping of feet from inhabitants on the stone road counter the upbeat song.

Sitting on three small steps in a very small section of the large edifice known as the "Cathedral of Strasbourg:"  We will soon walk inside and take an audio tour of this enormous visual marker of time continuum.  Soon my head will be filled with too much detail to remember.

This morning, after breakfast, we were out upon the streets of Strasbourg - imagining the once familial inhabitants surrounding the public square.  I think of those terrifying hours leading up to WWII. I think of the celebrations of life, the dancing, the music, the food and the essence of life that took hold of the city dwellers.

Strasbourg is a medieval town. This is a great place to share with family and children - but i find myself a bit resentful.  This is not the escape of 'My" Europe trip.  every time I pass something that should be treasured or remembered or every time i have to explain something in Cliff Note version, my tolerance meter fills.

Sitting on these three steps, I glance over to my oldest son, who has been asked to partake in this short writing exercise.  His back is up against a wall of this place that leaves me without word.  He sips on his Orange Crush like drink and when I ask him, "Why aren't you writing about this place?" He responds with, "My mind is a blank."

So, there ya go. Time is up.

And They Lived Happily Ever After.....The.....End

I have taken it all in and therefore, my mind has grown from the experience; Europe ignited my senses.

I sit, weary with heavy eyes, wondering if i am capable of completing the next sentence, but drawn to finish off this last chapter.

Yesterday, I sat in a coffee shop in Iceland. Today, I sit at the head of the dining table in my existence of home.

PARIS: She takes the role of the oldest sibling; confident, serious, respected, scholarly and reliable. We arrived in Paris with a desire to learn from her and she did not disappoint.
Random Mind Spree: gelato, Seine, walking, narrow streets, crepes, smile on children, espresso, chocolate croissants, writing, naive, clarity, parks, untouchable, cuisine, architecture, family - cousins reunite.

STRASBOURG: The grandfather who quietly sits in the corner, listening to the conversation filling the room, but lost in memory of times past. Strasbourg has seen it all, and without pretense, unobtrusively immerses you within the experience. Telling a remarkable story, if willing to listen. Strasbourg is wise, unassuming, and solid.
Random Mind Spree: Napoleon, Emperor with no shoes, writing on steps of the cathedral, building with green windows, finding hat for Simon, Martin Luther, Reconstruction, reminds me of The Giving Tree, two hotel rooms, john and I have an evening alone with kids next door (sid with us), high school students 'hanging out' after class on Cathedral steps.

GUNZBURG: This is the crazy relative that no one really mentions, but kids have connection. Nobody visits Gunzberg unless they are out of gas, lost, on the verge of a mental breakdown, or have an inkling to visit Legoland! Unfortunately, Gunzburg is also the birth place of Dr. Joseph Mengele : chief medical officer in Auschwitz.
Random Mind Spree: Legoland, Legoland, Legoland. First beer in Germany at food stand in the "Pirate" themed section of park. 10am to 6pm. Kids saw it all. tacky hotel. Bad breakfast. 80's music playing on speakers all night long.

FUSSEN: The emulated relative no one really knows, but craves conversation, appreciating and identifying a gain within relationship.
Random Mind Spree: Alps, Neuschwanstein, Mary's Gorge, Hike up to Castle holding Sidney, drinking beer, talking to john, feet up on deck, sweatshirt, view, swimming pool, lake, Seespitz hat for john, "He's the boss!", Bavarian dress, trying to find Kul Kaffe, buying Sidney's backpack for Iceland trip, would have come in handy during hike (sans stroller) up mountain the day earlier.

FRANKFURT: We really did not see much of Frankfurt, as we were just outside in city called Kronberg - my sister lives in Kronberg. An etch in time with family. Visiting with cousins and sister. We went to the zoo in Kronberg one day and then rode the train the next day into downtown Frankurt for ice cream, shopping and World Cup viewing.
Randon Mind Spree: swimming, chandeliers, marble stairs, baby Sidney, birthday cake, trampoline, lots of laundry, hotel down the street for John, Sidney and I, Frankfurt Airport, Europcar and gas.

ICELAND: The uber cool teenager, content, grateful, talented, unique. Iceland impacted my senses and complicated my views.
Random Mind Spree: GPS Unit, roundabouts, rock, moss, waterfall, vikings, laws, hiking, cool, sun not setting, expensive, trying to reason.

We are now home, we are all in bed, the chapter to this book is now coming to a close and as we turn to the very last page, the author pauses with intended significance and slowly puts forth the sentence all desire to hear, "And they all lived happily ever after."

Thanks for listening.

Oh Ya, We Went to Austria, Too!

Driving and navigating roads within the marked unknown brings a sense of heightened awareness to mind. It's not that we have been lost, necessarily, we have simply missed our mark on several occasions. It has been fun, laughable, stressful and arguable as to what street (that is not clearly marked) we should turn. So, today, on our way into Fussen, we went a bit too far, went through a mountain and ended up in Austria. We didn't stay long; we were off 'the map' and turned around, back into Germany.

Present Occupation:


A wooden deck, comfy chair, cold beer,lake view, cool breeze and Alps straight ahead. It is shameful we are leaving this picturesque postcard early tomorrow morning. We are in an apartment with two bedrooms, living room, kitchen and DECK with an uncompromising view of tree lined hills, pristine lake and Alps in the surround. Lovely, peaceful, simple.

Finishing off this compliment; discussion, historical perspective, food, writing, and connection to something that surpasses the smallness of my world.

Tomorrow we will make all attempt to visit Dachau - a Nazi Concentration Camp. This will be our lasting attraction before reaching Erin's home. I somber closing to a magnificent journey.

The chirp of the birds in conjunction with the gale of warm wind divert my eyes from screen to lake. Etching the sole perfectness within my cognitive layout. When I am old and gray and my days are unremarkable, I shall visit this place. Familial conversation will transpire around me, but my gaze will be fixed and my mind will bring me back to here....this place. A cow moos to make it's presence known - to make certain it does not exist without my notice. Perhaps 40 years from now, the sound of a cow will elicit a responsive gesture...a remembrance of Fussen.

Thanks for listening.