in Weimar waiting for taxi to take us to the Jugendweihe (double click to expand)
on train to Weimar
at DFW waiting for flight
Our 3.5 hour layover in Frankfurt was made much more pleasant by plying the kids with German bakery goods and me downing espresso. On the train ride to Weimar, the comfy seats paired with pure exhaustion from not having slept in nearly 24 hours finally lulled both Austin and Maddie Sue to sleep.
at DFW waiting for flight
The secret to surviving transatlantic flights with young children surely has to be expecting the absolute worst and being fully convinced that every single person onboard will hate you at the conclusion of the 10 hour flight. Then, if that is not completely the case, one can deboard the plane pleasantly surprised.
Lucky for me, the honor of despised parent belonged to the mother of a young toddler who screamed for seven out of the ten hour-long trip we shared from Dallas to Frankfurt. And, although our own trip started with the pilot announcing: “Flight attendants, please be seated for take off” and Maddie Sue responding in an equally loud voice: “I’m pretty sure I’m about to have diarrea,” after fifteen frantic minutes of me singing “The Wheels on the Bus” until we reached cruising altitude and could get into the bathroom, one tossed pair of panties (thank God for gallon zip lock baggies) later we were set for a relatively calm, if not relaxing, flight.
Our 3.5 hour layover in Frankfurt was made much more pleasant by plying the kids with German bakery goods and me downing espresso. On the train ride to Weimar, the comfy seats paired with pure exhaustion from not having slept in nearly 24 hours finally lulled both Austin and Maddie Sue to sleep.
Once in Weimar we helped the students who had traveled with us find their way and then took a taxi to our apartment and after showering and dressing we caught another taxi to the "Jugendweihe" (traditional East German coming of age celebration) of the teenage son of our German babysitter. We left early since Maddie Sue fell asleep and Austin was fading fast. Unfortunately by the time we took a taxi home again and I got them both to bed and found someone to keep an eye on them, all the grocery stores were closed. Tomorrow is Pentecost and despite rarely attending church, Germans take off work both Sunday and Monday on such religious holidays. This means nothing will be open for two days except the bakery at the train station and the ice cream stores. I think the kids will be thrilled with my food offerings for the next two days . . .
Lastly, on my quick run this evening to look for a place to buy groceries I couldn't help but be amazed at the number of couples holding hands. I'm not sure if this is so noticable because there are just so many more people wandering the streets of the town and therefore the law of averages says more people would be holding hands, if this is a particularly romantic city, or what exactly. However, it was amazing and heartening to see so many people, many mid-thirties and above wandering the city holding hands and talking. They seemed to be enjoying each other's company and in no hurry to rush off to anyplace else. How refreshing.
