Now that we're done with Chicago, maybe it's time to start thinking about the next adventure.
It’s been a while since Loraine and I went back to Europe. After traveling over there every single year for a decade and a half...2020 happened, and since then, we’ve been back twice–once in 2022 for a soccer match in Leipzig, and then in May of 24 on a “vacation”.
Now, we’re thinking that the third time this decade might be the charm.
Things are starting to happen, even though we live in a world with so many variables these days that we’re more than a little skittish about traveling to another continent, how we’ll be accepted as Americans in an era when the rest of the world really doesn’t like Americans (or at least the American government), and whether or not we’d even be allowed back in the country (showing just how weird these days really are). Add to that issues in the EU ranging from border checks and train systems totally shutting down, and you might understand why we’re a little skittish about the whole thing.
Yet…even with all that, we’re still pondering a quick little getaway that might be centered around the (very) western German city of Saarbrucken.--
We actually stopped there for a few hours on our last trip, and think it might be a neat place to explore. Not only that, but it’s an hour away from the French border, and an hour and a half away from the Luxembourg border, which means that we’d be able to buy chocolate and tea from all the countries.
And, if you know us at all, you know how important THAT is.
As it's looking right now this will only be an eight or nine day trip, flying over on a Wednesday and flying back on a Friday. Why, you ask? Well, I answer, these days, if you try to fly back to the US on a Sunday, which we’ve always done, it almost doubles your air fare. We’ve never run into this issue before, but these days, with the world so topsy-turvy and unsettled, nothing surprises us any more.
It’s sad, but it’s true.
Will it all come off successfully? I hope so. After all, in the past nine years we’ve spent aloof two hours in France, and haven’t even seen a Luxembourgish grocery store–where they sell Belgian chocolate–in almost as long. Besides, we’d like to think we deserve a little getaway.
So keep your fingers crossed that it might, that we won’t run into too many problems when we’re over there, and that, most importantly, they actually decide to let us back into the US when and if we return.
Because these days, you can never be 100% certain about anything.
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