Posted in German Diary, Summer 2005
Last summer 2005 I had the opportunity of a lifetime. My sister, who has lived in Germany for over twenty years, invited me to come spend some time with her and her family in Stuttgart and provided the means for me to get there. I jumped at the chance! My sister is a singer, trained in opera but at that time was plying her trade with a successful vocal ensemble that performs contemporary music. Her work involved and she had two performances, one in Berlin and one in Cologne, scheduled while I was there and I was privileged to travel with her. She is happily married to a German and they have a delightful son, now seven, who was just finishing up kindergarten when I was there and perparing to start first grade in the fall.
In order to share some of my experience, I have edited the journal entries I wrote while in Germany and also the e-mails that I sent home to my family, sort of "smooshed" them together and posted/will be posting them here. When I learn how to post photographs I hope to add a few of those!
Tuesday, July 5, 2005
Now we are in Koln [Cologne]. I am sitting in the room of a rather quaint hotel--dark wood, marble floors--the Hotel Windsor. My sister is at a rehearsal for her concert. She should be back soon. After we got here, we walked back to the Romisch Germanisch [sp?] Museum, where my sister left me to do that tourist thing while she went on to her rehearsal. That was after a yummy Chinese (!!) meal in a nearby Chinese restaurant ("Big China"--funny name!).
After wandering through Koelnish Rome for a couple of hours or so, I had tired feet and my fill of Roman artifacts. (Though I did find it very interesting! Made me want to read some Lindsey Davis!) So... as we had arranged, I made my way back to the train station which is next to the Dom (the Cathedral--now that is an impressive structure!) which is next to the Roman museum, where I caught a taxi back to the hotel.
It is quite exciting and fun to be here, to see this incredible stuff! to be here... and yet I can't seem to help myself now from thinking "one week from now I will be going home". I think it's because I'm a visitor. I'm not here with my family, trying to set up a home, to set up routines. Because that is what I miss--my family, my routines. And ice! :)
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
It's raining this morning in Cologne. We can hear pigeons cooing. They live in this little courtyard behind the buildings. I see a row of little spikes along the windowsill. It must be to keep the pigeons off!
