Like, literally. It was stormy almost all day today; fortunately, the rain showers were brief and infrequent, and the air was mostly warm, but we fought against strong winds nearly everywhere we walked! After Frühstück (breakfast) at our Pension (Hotel/B&B) this morning, we headed out to see Berlin, without exactly a clear plan for the day. The proprietor of the Pension was most helpful last night in suggesting the most efficient modes of travel to the sights in Berlin, all of which involve at least one bus and usually at least two trains. We did a bit of shopping near the Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten (train station near the zoo; used to be the main station for West Berlin) and, when rain showers came, ducked inside the ruins of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche (Kaiser William Memorial Church). The original ... read more

I'm way, way behind on prior blog entries, but here's one quick tale worth sharing out of sequence: This evening we went to a magnifique restaurant in the Alsace for a regional specialty, flammkuchen. It was a pretty special treat, so I told LG she could have Sprite instead of the normally required milch (milk). Immediately, audibly, and totally unprompted, she replied: "Thank you! Danke! Merci!" It's not every day an 8-year-old thanks you in three languages.... read more

This morning after Frühstück (breakfast), I joined our host family for a trip to the Lebensmittel (grocery store), in search of ingredients for an American recipe dinner we planned to cook for the family. I did a Happy Dance in the aisles when I found real "amerikanisch" chili powder, and had general fun shopping in a similar-but-different environment. One of the most interesting developments was earlier, when I announced I was heading to the store, and LG shrugged and said she'd rather stay back in the apartment with just herself and Anne. First morning! Until now, she hasn't been willing to leave my side for an instant. Wow! Ettlingenweier is working magic already! Later, we all toured around the super-charming town of Ettlingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg (I think we're in the "Baden" half of ... read more

I think pretty much everyone, including our tour guide, thought I was insane for bringing an 8-year-old to the KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau (Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial). Sure, all German schoolkids are required to visit a concentration camp, but that's 12- and 14-year-olds. Not 8. By the end of our tour, our guide had no doubt why I figured LG could handle it. Throughout the tour, I was happy to let LG wander off, or zone out; I certainly didn't force her to listen attentively to the catalogue of atrocities committed at Dachau. Inside the museum, we breezed quickly past the most graphic photos. We got to take a welcome one-hour break while the rest of our tour viewed a film recommended for ages 12 and up only. I've seen it, and LG certainly didn't need to. We ... read more

Waiting to sort out my RoboGeo software license before posting more goodies to Flickr. Stay tuned, all.... read more