After Ben and Jessica left I was feeling a little depressed. OK... a lot of depressed. I did all the right things to pull myself out of it, but nothing was working. Intellectually I knew I shouldn't be depressed. Everything is going really well here at home. Things are great with the kids and Josh. I just felt so incredibly alone. Jessica was around for my day-to-day and knew all my "secrets". Now there's an ocean and 6hrs time difference to account for, which limits our phone conversations to be sure. I miss her kids. I know them. I love them all. It was a huge adjustment that I never was able to prepare myself for so I went into shock. And it SUCKED. Having Ben here both aggravated and assuaged my feeling of loneliness because no matter how much time has passed we still connect on such a personal level, but I knew he eventually had to leave. I didn't realize how much I missed having him around until he was gone again. So, when the opportunity to go on a trip alone was presented to me to see a close family friend (Kevin), well it was a no-brainer.
I left on a Friday and my flight was delayed for a couple hours, which didn't stink as badly as it would had I been entertaining 3 rugrats so I just parked it and waited patiently. We were in the plane for 2 hours just sitting, waiting for takeoff... again something that wasn't too bad considering my lack of bebe's. Finally we left and I was off to Germany. Kevin was there to meet me at the airport and we were gabbing the whole way back to Garmisch. Neither one of us were tired so we went for a late night photo excursion, seeing as we both love photography but lack the time to practice. We had all kinds of boring discussions about shutter speeds, f-stops, and ISO... but it wasn't boring for us! We spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get the perfect shot with the perfect settings, to blur water, to capture light and color. It was nice to have a fellow photog to bounce ideas off of and the TIME to try out our burgeoning knowledge. Eventually we got tired. Kev had plans for the next day. The entire weekend was planned, but never rushed. We took our time and really enjoyed the sights and relaxed our butts off haha.
Saturday morning I popped awake after barely sleeping, still a little out of sorts and depressed. We had coffee and breakfast and drove around in the rain for a bit to discuss our options for the day. We decided Linderhoff Castle would be the best bet since the weather looked too gloomy for much else. We had to make a few stops to get even more coffee and some cold-weather gear for me. I was not truly prepared for the 20 degree temperature difference nor was I equipped to withstand the rain. Whoops! We eventually made our way out at around lunch time.
Linderhoff was awesome and we took even more pictures (unfortunately none from inside). The gardens were dazzling and the overcast sky provided a fantastic backdrop to contrast the buildings and greenery. I love my wide angle lens!!! It's my new fave :)
But, I digress... We had dinner and more talking, trying to sort out issues in our heads. We've known each other for over 10 years now so we're pretty good sounding boards for each other. Finally by Saturday night after some wine and the eventual realization that I wasn't at home and I had nothing to worry about but me, I was beginning to unwind and found myself feeling more "me". The surprise parade and beer tent opening helped too. I love being around when a huge cultural event is going on! We watched the parade, poked our heads into the beer tent, and decided tomorrow would be a better night. We hit up a local bar and talked to a few people, suffered through some 80's and 90's pop music, watched the Germans not dance. It was fun :) I was actually able to sleep that night. No weird dreams. No nightmares. No tossing and turning. Yay!
Sunday we got up semi-early for coffee and breakfast. The sun was out! Perfect day for Zugspitze, the highest peak of the German Alps!!! The 2 mile cable car ride to the top of the mountain had breathtaking views, but it was nothing compared to what we saw when we made it to the top. Imagine being in an airplane, above the clouds, but with no windows to hold you back from overexposure to pure awesomeness (Kung Fu Panda throwback hehe). We literally drank coffee in a cloud. Seriously. We could see the cloud rolling over us and feel the slight spray. It was crazy.
The scenery was always changing as clouds moved and gave way to the cities, lakes, mountains, forests, and sharp imposing boulders below. It was absolutely amazing and we wished Josh and Erin had been there to see it. I did not wish the kids were there though because I would have had an aneurysm or something. The air wasn't as thin as I thought it would have been. It was easy to breathe up there. There were piles of snow all around, but we were so close to the sun that we felt quite warm most of the time.
We stayed up top for hours. We finally left once it got really crowded and we were too hungry to wait on German waiters to show up (it neeeeever happens, especially at tourist traps). We went down the mountain a bit to the ski resort and beat the crowd there and were able to eat at a serve yourself cafeteria SCORE. We were exhausted though so we boarded the train for the bottom. Of course I had to check out the Eibsee (a glacial lake at the bottom) before we drove back for dinner.
After dinner we weren't tired and wandered around for awhile, checked out the casino (which was extremely boring), and then heard the oompa music. Oh yeah... the beer tent's open!! We were treated to some great folk dancing, live music, yummy fair food, and real German beer. One beerstein = 3 beers so I was DONE lol. Good times :) I didn't have my camera because I was all "snapped" out after the mountain. I don't regret it, but I do wish I had a few shots of people in lederhosen and dirndls to show you all. It was an experience! Very cool indeed.
The next day I said my goodbye's and thank you's to Kevin and boarded the train to get to the airport. I missed my first connection, but another one came around 15 minutes later. I got to my flight with more than enough time to spare. I loved hearing all the Spanish around me. I was ready for home. I missed my babies and Josh. I even missed Spain. Three days was plenty. I had a blast! We plotted and planned for Kevin and Erin to come to Madrid. I can't wait! Erin you're going to LOVE SPAIN! I am so excited to show it to you!!! Seriously... even if it's just you who can make it you have GOT to come here!!
So... there you go, everyone. If you ever have a chance to escape, take it. Forget the mommy/daddy/relationship guilt and just do it for yourself because it's refreshing and renewing and replenishing and other re- words I can't think of right now ;) Thank you Joshua for being a man I can trust to take care of everything at home and for trusting me to go. I feel remarkably blessed.
I left on a Friday and my flight was delayed for a couple hours, which didn't stink as badly as it would had I been entertaining 3 rugrats so I just parked it and waited patiently. We were in the plane for 2 hours just sitting, waiting for takeoff... again something that wasn't too bad considering my lack of bebe's. Finally we left and I was off to Germany. Kevin was there to meet me at the airport and we were gabbing the whole way back to Garmisch. Neither one of us were tired so we went for a late night photo excursion, seeing as we both love photography but lack the time to practice. We had all kinds of boring discussions about shutter speeds, f-stops, and ISO... but it wasn't boring for us! We spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get the perfect shot with the perfect settings, to blur water, to capture light and color. It was nice to have a fellow photog to bounce ideas off of and the TIME to try out our burgeoning knowledge. Eventually we got tired. Kev had plans for the next day. The entire weekend was planned, but never rushed. We took our time and really enjoyed the sights and relaxed our butts off haha.
Saturday morning I popped awake after barely sleeping, still a little out of sorts and depressed. We had coffee and breakfast and drove around in the rain for a bit to discuss our options for the day. We decided Linderhoff Castle would be the best bet since the weather looked too gloomy for much else. We had to make a few stops to get even more coffee and some cold-weather gear for me. I was not truly prepared for the 20 degree temperature difference nor was I equipped to withstand the rain. Whoops! We eventually made our way out at around lunch time.
Linderhoff was awesome and we took even more pictures (unfortunately none from inside). The gardens were dazzling and the overcast sky provided a fantastic backdrop to contrast the buildings and greenery. I love my wide angle lens!!! It's my new fave :)
But, I digress... We had dinner and more talking, trying to sort out issues in our heads. We've known each other for over 10 years now so we're pretty good sounding boards for each other. Finally by Saturday night after some wine and the eventual realization that I wasn't at home and I had nothing to worry about but me, I was beginning to unwind and found myself feeling more "me". The surprise parade and beer tent opening helped too. I love being around when a huge cultural event is going on! We watched the parade, poked our heads into the beer tent, and decided tomorrow would be a better night. We hit up a local bar and talked to a few people, suffered through some 80's and 90's pop music, watched the Germans not dance. It was fun :) I was actually able to sleep that night. No weird dreams. No nightmares. No tossing and turning. Yay!
Sunday we got up semi-early for coffee and breakfast. The sun was out! Perfect day for Zugspitze, the highest peak of the German Alps!!! The 2 mile cable car ride to the top of the mountain had breathtaking views, but it was nothing compared to what we saw when we made it to the top. Imagine being in an airplane, above the clouds, but with no windows to hold you back from overexposure to pure awesomeness (Kung Fu Panda throwback hehe). We literally drank coffee in a cloud. Seriously. We could see the cloud rolling over us and feel the slight spray. It was crazy.
The scenery was always changing as clouds moved and gave way to the cities, lakes, mountains, forests, and sharp imposing boulders below. It was absolutely amazing and we wished Josh and Erin had been there to see it. I did not wish the kids were there though because I would have had an aneurysm or something. The air wasn't as thin as I thought it would have been. It was easy to breathe up there. There were piles of snow all around, but we were so close to the sun that we felt quite warm most of the time.
We stayed up top for hours. We finally left once it got really crowded and we were too hungry to wait on German waiters to show up (it neeeeever happens, especially at tourist traps). We went down the mountain a bit to the ski resort and beat the crowd there and were able to eat at a serve yourself cafeteria SCORE. We were exhausted though so we boarded the train for the bottom. Of course I had to check out the Eibsee (a glacial lake at the bottom) before we drove back for dinner.
After dinner we weren't tired and wandered around for awhile, checked out the casino (which was extremely boring), and then heard the oompa music. Oh yeah... the beer tent's open!! We were treated to some great folk dancing, live music, yummy fair food, and real German beer. One beerstein = 3 beers so I was DONE lol. Good times :) I didn't have my camera because I was all "snapped" out after the mountain. I don't regret it, but I do wish I had a few shots of people in lederhosen and dirndls to show you all. It was an experience! Very cool indeed.
The next day I said my goodbye's and thank you's to Kevin and boarded the train to get to the airport. I missed my first connection, but another one came around 15 minutes later. I got to my flight with more than enough time to spare. I loved hearing all the Spanish around me. I was ready for home. I missed my babies and Josh. I even missed Spain. Three days was plenty. I had a blast! We plotted and planned for Kevin and Erin to come to Madrid. I can't wait! Erin you're going to LOVE SPAIN! I am so excited to show it to you!!! Seriously... even if it's just you who can make it you have GOT to come here!!
So... there you go, everyone. If you ever have a chance to escape, take it. Forget the mommy/daddy/relationship guilt and just do it for yourself because it's refreshing and renewing and replenishing and other re- words I can't think of right now ;) Thank you Joshua for being a man I can trust to take care of everything at home and for trusting me to go. I feel remarkably blessed.
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