To quote some old dude who once wrote a thing (or two)...once more, unto the breach.
Loraine and I are heading back to Europe for the first time in two years, and we're hoping—hoping--it all works out well. So many things have changed since we last visited one of our favorite places in the world, and there are many issues that could cloud our visit. This is just a partial list--
--What does the ongoing DHS/TSA shutdown mean for us trying to leave or get into the country?
--We're renting a car over there, so what will sky-high fuel prices do to our budget?
--Will tighter border security across Europe's Schengen Zone mean extra hassles in trying to cross from one country to another?
--And how will we be treated over there? Europeans once thought of America (and Americans) as a shining beacon on a hill. Now, they think of us—or at least our government—as bullies.
See? It's not like any of our past trips. But you know what? We'll take it as it comes. And, as always, you're invited to join with us.
Where are we all going, in fact? Well, we're going to Germany for what will be (for us) a rather short trip. We're flying into Frankfurt, picking up the aforementioned rental car, and then spending a night in Kaiserlautern (where we stayed last time) before heading to the city where we'll be headquartered the rest of the time--
Saarbrucken.
Saarbrucken is a typical old city of about 70,000 people on Germany's extreme western side. In fact, it's one of those places that during its long history has been part of France, Prussia, France (again), Germany, France (yet again), and Germany (yet again). It has hills, water (in the form of a river), and a history of mining, so we should feel right at home. And we've chosen this place for two very important reasons, reasons that anyone who knows us (and we count you as among that group) will fully understand.
The first reason—Loraine likes their football team, 1FC Saarbrucken, and because it's a team in Germany's third tier league (3 Liga), their practices are open to the public, and we can check out her favorite player on the team, Tim Civeja (pictured on the left)--
The other reason we chose Saarbrucken? It's only 15 or so kilometers to the French border, and only 60 (or so) to the Luxembourg border. So do you know what that means?
In one car ride, we can buy chocolate from Germany, France, and Belgium (which they sell in Luxembourg). Is Saarbrucken's a great place, or what?
The whole adventure begins on Wednesday, May 6th. Assuming none of the issues we discussed come to fruition, we should be ready to roll (and blog) the day after, having a blast before we (hopefully) head back to Marquette on Friday, May 15th. And you know what?
As always, we hope you'll join us!
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