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This will probably be the second-to-last entry before I head home. In 25 days I touch down in the O'hare airport. I can't believe it. Before I started this trip eight and a half months seemed like forever. But it hasn't been nearly long enough. But l keep reminding myself that I have plenty of time ahead of me to see all the places I want too.
The last few weeks have been relaxed and enjoyable. I visited Rabea in her hometown of Braunsweig and went to another juggling convention. We spent a day in Berlin, which was really cool. It was kind of eerie to think about everything that's happened in that city within the past 100 years. We went to the Holocaust memorial there. It's simple, yet powerful. A grid of square stone columns of different heights - I guess in some ways it could remind one of a graveyard. You can also wander around between them and get lost in the immensity of it all. It was disturbing to see that quite a few young people were playing chase and hide and seek in the memorial, but I wasn't angry. Just depressed by another example of humanity's inability to respect one another at some stages. It was especially confusing in the light of what I learned about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict when I was there. It's more than I want to write about here, but if anyone is curious I'm quite willing to talk about it when I get home.
Anyway, after saying goodbye to Rabea for what will probably be the last time in a few years, I headed down to the Münster area to visit Miriam, who I met on my third Italian farm. I got to tag along as she delivered food for a Turkish restaurant. Just one example of the many cool and quirky things I get to experience on this trip... After that I went down to Ostfildern to visit my friend Enja. She was an exchange student at my high school is the US two and a half years ago, and we we didn't actually
know each other that well then. This time we really hit it off, and it was really enjoyable to be there with enja and her family for a week. I got to experience the German school system first-hand, go to a chocolate
museum, and eat ice cream in the rain in Stuttgart. It was a great time and I was sad to go.
The border crossing from Germany to Austria was less acknowledged than the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. I start to wonder if a few years down the road Europe will just be one big country. But not yet. Tirolerisch (the Austrian dialect spoken in this area) is definitely harder for me to understand than Hochdeutsch (high German). But thankfully my German improved by leaps and bounds in Germany, so Im not totally lost. I'm currently staying with Mara and her family, who moved here a little under two years ago. Not many of Mara's Minnesotan friends get to see her now, so I'm lucky 😊 So far it's been great: runs and bikerides in the Austrian Alps, experiencing the European nightlife Autrian style, eating lots of Nutella, basically living the good life.
On Wednesday I hitch a mitfahrgelegenheit (yup, the German ride share network even works im Ausland - in other European countries) to Venice. Apparently this time of year it tends to flood, so that could be interesting. Saturday I head back to Il Granello (my first farm), work there for 2 weeks, and the circle in complete.
Guess that's all for now!
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Heni krammer
non-member comment
great blog
Maddy; We can hardly wait to see you, hug you and love you. Have a safe trip back to the good old U.S.A. We all want you back safe and sound. Enjoy the rest of your trip. Love Grandma Heni and Grandpa Dick