Flight over was good... light load and sat next to a very interesting businessman from St. Louis whose parents immigrated from Austria. We talked favorite restaurants and sights of interest for a good two hours, before I headed back to get cozy in my own row of seats. Watched three great films, Moulin Rouge, Locke, and Million Dollar Arm, and enjoyed the reflection and inspiration from them... Touched down, got bags, and headed off to the S-Bahn like I never left... Its rather surreal. Switched trains at the main train station and headed off to Berchtesgaden. Yeah, I had the butterflies... What the hell am I doing here? Is THIS what makes me happy? What is wrong with me?! Nothing, apparently... it only took a few hours to re-adjust this time. One lady remarked at my shorts, Do you think it is still summer? (in German). I laughed and fired right back that I came from a very warm place. No, Im not at all intimidated by Germans. I love how blunt they are. Just like my family - and likely why some thin-skinned people think Im a jerk. They think the same about Germans, but I like the direct approach. It explains why these people have their shit together... I switched trains and was reading a word on a newspaper heading I had never seen before: zwielicht. I politely asked the man holding the paper, in German, what it meant in English... and thus began a 30 minute conversation with the most polite older German about travel, local cultural oddities, history, etc. I was right back at home. I ended by giving him my card and telling him that whenever he was ready to travel back to the USA, that Id make sure his destination choices were solid. I still laugh at my transition jitters, but it always works itself out just fine. Just polished off a bowl of the best damned cream of pumpkin soup, and Ive got a small schnitzel on the way... Tomorrow the sedentary American with the associated belly gets his butt back on the mountain trails and gets back in the zone on tour planning and such. The funk is over... The bad one, that is. The arm is healed, and I have much to do and even more to be thankful for. Mom, Dad, doggie dearest, and a slew of great people back home - you are missed. But its great to be home again.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 11:26:00 +0000
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