Whew. I literally just got home from one of the longest- but most worthwhile- trips ever. My trip into Germany sounded very much like this : cab, bus, shuttle, plane, second plane, cab, train and cab. God bless the Swiss and their toblerone or I may not have survived my first flight. I arrived in Nuremburg with little frustration or freakouts. And just like in "Love Actually", Mark was waiting for me at the arrivals gate which was such a nice treat. We spent a night in Nuremberg because one of us was way too tired to get on another train (me) and we had a lovely dinner of McDonalds because we spent so much money on the hotel room (me again).
The next morning we made our way to Vilseck, a small town about 40 mins away from Nuremburg where the US Army has a station. It's an odd feeling of deja vu. You drive through this tiny little hamlet of a town only to come up to this large American base with schools, libraries, grocery stores, and yes a car dealership. It looks a lot like "Pleasantville" except everyone dresses in Army fatigues or is a wife of a soldier carrying multiple children. It's an odd world, where one of Mark's friends has been dating a girl from his hometown for 2 months and the girlfriend (who gave up everything she has in Wisconsin to move to Germany) is expecting him to propose. They're both 18. These men are already giving up so much and even the women they love drop everything to be with them. Everyone makes their own sacrifice I suppose. I also told Mark if he ever got married at 18 or 19 we'd have him committed.
I loved seeing Marky, it's been so long and I didn't realize how much I miss him. I left today feeling like I hardly saw him but I know the trip meant a lot to the both of us and I'm so proud of the man he's grown into.
Leaving base was slightly more dramatic. It was pouring rain and NO CABS WERE AVAILABLE. Have you ever heard of such a thing? So me, no cab and no way to get to the train station in shitty weather created a less than desirable situation. So I started walking, half crying because I was afraid of missing my flight when I heard a car pull up and an accent I hardly hear. A 60 year old woman saw me on the side of the road and turned around to come get me. I sobbed with thanks and we had a lovely chat. She and her husband are civilians but he is a dentist and was contracted to work on the base. They've traveled so much and experienced 75% of Europe at an age when most people are slowing down. I tried to offer her some money in exchange for driving me but she waved me off and said, "I have a 17 year old granddaughter. If she were somewhere scared and needed help I would hope someone would help her. We'll just all pay it forward." I believe she gave me good karma for the rest of the trip and a nice mom hug which, I have to admit, I've been needing.
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