traveling...

Whoa. It's been a while. I'm sorry, friends. Let's see if I have any readers left...

In just one week, I will be taking a plane to Madrid. And then another to Berlin. I could not be more excited! I've never been to Berlin, or spent much time in Germany. My travels will take me to Berlin, Kassel, the home of the Brother's Grimm (and a couple of castles/mansions), Cologne, supposedly the oldest city in Germany and the site of the medieval Koln Cathedral, and Frankfurt, which doesn't seem terribly exciting to me, except there's an art museum - kinda like a crazy, industrial, business center city. And then of course there's London. London for three days! Three. Days. of. London.

The main reason for this adventure is to take pictures of Claes Oldenburg outdoor monuments. In each of these cities, there is one, which is the distinct reason I've chosen them. If I had more time I could go elsewhere in Germany for Oldenburg sculptures as apparently Germany is a hot spot for contemporary outdoor art.

I'm very excited to be traveling again. I'm not sure I remember how to use a Eurail, how to muddle one's way through ordering off a menu, sleeping in hostels, eating cheaply, trying to catch numerous trains, how to pack light. I feel as though this will be a strange feeling, traveling without the Nottingham 9, although essentially doing the same kind of city hopping and traveling that we did before. My friend Anne who is traveling with me, is a bit more cautious, a bit more reticent about moving around so frequently. She also hates to fly and has stocked up on pills which will sedate her.

But at last I'm getting my dream of traveling again. I'm kind of worried it won't live up to the Nottingham year of 2006-2007, but perhaps I shouldn't expect it to. I'm sure I shouldn't compare them. That seems silly. I've waited at long last to be able to go home (and when I say that I mean England) and here it is. I wonder if I'll be as insufferable as I was before, if I was, talking of England this, and England that. Will I crave traveling when I get back as much as I did upon my return to the States in 2007?

The feeling of traveling without Kevin, whose traveling philosophies meshed very well with mine, in that we saw what needed to be seen - only at 12:00 or 1:00 instead of 7:30 am. Drinking wine and eating Coco-bis. "Let's open that bottle of wine now." (Mary:) "Can we wait until noon?"

The loss of my history majors of Aaron and Kate, Aaron quoting anything Rick Steves ever said in his pod-casts and in his book - (at the British museum) "Can't you just smell the history in the air? (inhales deeply) Man, it's like an aphrodisiac!" ; Kate adding random tid-bits of anthropological knowledge and being incredibly congenial with strangers (who either turned out to be jerks, or long lost friends).

Basking in the sun with Mary in Italian plazas and fortresses, while drinking Coronas or eating ice cream... people watching and writing our observations.

That's what I'll miss, and I'm not sure I know how to travel without it.

BUT! In one week I'll leave, the promise of adventure calling my name from Germany... and we'll see what waits out there for me.