R&R

It’s a rainy Sunday afternoon at school. I’m in my room sitting on the floor, since I can’t sit up without knocking my head on either level of my bunk bed. It’s pretty busy all around me with girls unpacking and doors banging and laughter and all the threads of spring break stories that are constantly being told and categorized into either adventure or misadventure.

My spring break doesn’t fit into either category, and I’ve honestly gotten a few odd looks as I’ve told people how my week went and what I did. As I think I've mentioned before, I decided not to do the typical “visit-as-many-places-as-you-can-cause-you-only-get-so-much-time-in-Europe-so-party-it-up-to-the-max spring break.”

Instead, I spent the whole week in Otterberg, a sleepy village nestled in the rolling German hills, and so cute, if you could get your arms around it, you wouldn’t be able to resist hugging it. Since I couldn’t do that, two little girls received the brunt of my hugging urges, and I’m pretty sure I spent hours in total cuddling Lily and Sam, when we weren’t playing.

Somehow, little children help life make sense.

And that is what I needed. All the dots in my brain and in my heart—it’s significant that the dots were actually there (and SBI is to thank for that)—needed to be connected, made sense of. So I spent a lot of time just thinking and writing. There were lots of good places to do that: the bakery down the hill, inhabited mostly by old men whose gentle conversations in German—that friendly, earthy language—made it easy for me to relax in “my” corner and sip my coffee and write my heart out; the walking paths around farmers’ fields; the big old church that I stopped in when it was raining; the streets between the quaint houses with their brightly colored shutters (streets that are slippery when you leave the church and make the mad, romantic dash up the hill and get soaked); or, back at the Aiduk home, in “my” room, sitting on the window ledge above the heater, watching the sky grow dim, the hills become even softer, and lights turn cheerily on; falling asleep slowly, well before midnight, and waking up in a puddle of sunshine (surprising, considering weather that’s been consistently cold and grey).

I’d take my time actually getting out of bed, then go downstairs to a bright kitchen with music playing from Jess’s ipod and squealing little girls and French press coffee. Not to mention sunny-side-up eggs, and peanut butter toast, foods I hadn’t seen since America. I love Italian food, but it was nice to have Jess’s cooking (when it reminds you of your mom’s, you know it’s good).

Not saying I stayed in Otterberg and "introverted it" the entire time. The second day I was there, after dropping Mikaela off at the airport so she could continue on to Ireland, Jessica and I went to Trier. Jesse rocked the husband world by watching both the girls so we could have the day to ourselves.

Trier was a beautiful, interesting city. I couldn’t tear my eyes off the architecture. Exploring the Porta Nigra was really cool too, and reminded me of something from Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings, blackened as it was by smoke. Of course the trip involved lattes, which we actually sat outside to drink, the weather was that pleasant. We also had a leisurely dinner out, with traditional German food (always a plus). Adding in the hour drive (on the Autobhan, I might add) back to Otterberg, Jess and I had plenty of time for a lot of lovely conversation.

A trip to Europe isn’t complete without a trip to a castle, and we accomplished that near the end of the week, this time with the girls and Jessica’s friend, Kirsten. Driving there was an adventure, since the only road we knew about for sure was the equivalent of a tractor path winding up a wooded hillside. Fun stuff. Actually, I think that drive COULD count as an adventure.

The castle itself was intact enough that you could get a good idea of what it would have been like, but had enough ruins to make it feel just like a castle should. Plus, there was a fantastic view of the surrounding area at the top.

Another main outing we took was to see the Ramstein Airbase, since Jesse is in the AF and is the reason my friends are in Germany in the first place. Before we could do that, though, I had to get a visitor pass since airbases are secure areas. It involved paperwork and signatures and passports and men in uniforms...and was so official it was pretty dang sweet. Actually being on base was a cool experience, even if we just got groceries and ate Taco Bell (muahaha) and stopped at the post office.

All in all, the week contained just the right ratio of sightseeing to staying put. And, my two goals were accomplished. First, I got a taste of German culture, a country that I’ve been interested in since 3rd grade. What surprised me the most is how familiar aspects of it were to me, at least in the quieter, more traditional town of Otterberg. The day-to-day living, the personalities, the styles. The Pennsylvania Dutch (that historical mispronunciation) really are the Pennsylvania Deutsch. Even stuff that I grew up with at home has Germany as its roots. It’s so cool how cultures carry over, and how America is such a mix and often enables you to retain your heritage.

Second...I came to terms with life. Figured myself out a little bit more in relation to God. Dared to realize dreams that I have, dreams that I had let slide out of despair. The actual nature of the dreams has changed a little, the timing has changed, but the essence is the same. I even maybe just maybe figured out the answer to that question that adults ask with ferocious rapidity: “what’s next?” But we’ll see. For now, I’m just happy to be alive.

And for me, that is (pathetically? stupidly?) quite the accomplishment.

A week in Otterberg with the Aiduks served me well.