Jason Bourne-ish drive to the train station

Family has landed!

The Akron Sternasty clan landed in Frankfurt at 9:55 am on Saturday.  David drove to the airport to pick them up and they arrived at our apartment around lunchtime.  After a quickly thrown together meal they headed to their respective beds.  Well, except for Michael (my brother-in-law).  He can't sleep without a TV running, so he sacked out on our sofa.

David and I hit the streets to gather more provisions and to check out what was happening in the city.
Saturday was the first day of summer and here in Strasbourg they celebrate by holding a music festival.

Every public space had huge stages set up and we passed many street performers as we walked to the grocery.

We roused the troops at about 4:00 and headed out to show off our city.  We were on a time crunch because the World Cup game with Germany would start at 9:00 and we just couldn't miss that (sarcasm).  We enjoyed a nice dinner at a local Alsatian restaurant called Aux Armes de Strasbourg.

Everyone tried a new "dish" and enjoyed "sharing".  Katie had the "Jambonneau braise biere" (pig knuckle braised in beer), John had the "Coq au Riesling" (chicken in a Riesling wine sauce), Cheryl tried the "Baeckeoffe Maison" (the Alsatian version of a stew) and Michael had the "Schnitzel" (thin breaded veal).  After dinner we went for a gelatto and took in more of the city sights.

As we made our way back to our apartment there was music blaring everywhere.  Some good, some not so good.  The National Theater sits across the street from our apartment and they were blaring Salsa music and their patio was filled with couples dancing.

Once inside, we turned on the game and settled in.  The fun part for me was that every time there was a close play or a goal scored you could hear all of the people at Nouvelle Poste (restaurant behind our apartment) erupt in a common reaction.  After the game, as we were headed to bed we noticed that each window in our apartment was offering a different music genre.  We voted the bathroom as having the best music for the night.

Sunday was a visit to Monkey Mountain (Montagne des Singes) 

and a castle (Haut-Koenigsbourg).  

Did I mention that we have a BMW SEDAN?  Yes, it is made to carry 5 people.  There were 4 of us smashed into the back seat.  I had two separate bouts of "sleeping leg" in transit, but we survived.

We tried to stop by a vineyard on the way home, but couldn't find one that was open…..again, time was a factor for our sight seeing, so back to the apartment for the World Cup match.  Because of the time difference, the USA match was going to start at midnight here.  Normally, that wouldn't be so terrible.  However, the train for Paris was leaving at 5:41am the next morning.

I wandered out to the living room at 1:53am to see how the match was going.  I walked into the room and watched as Varela headed home a Cristiano Ronaldo cross to tie the match with time expiring.  Michael's reaction?  "You did NOT just come in here and see that happen".  (I think that he secretly blamed me!) Back to bed I went, leaving two stunned soccer fans on my couch.

My alarm went off at 5:10 am.  I threw on my clothes and brushed my teeth and was ready for our 5:15 am departure for the train station.  Turns out, I was the only one ready.  Despite Cheryl's best effort to "hurry her gang along" they were moving like molasses.  She and I went down to move the car closer to the apartment and wait for Katie, John and Michael.

My GPS said that our arrival time would be 5:28….I'm not going to lie, I was nervous that they would miss their train.  Katie and John came out first.  Michael, shoes in hand, was last to leave my apartment building.  Now my GPS said that our arrival time would be 5:31.  Did I mention that their train was leaving at 5:41???

After catching most of the red lights, (insert Michael asking if there was a contingency plan in place and Cheryl biting her tongue so as not to take his head off) taking a "sharp right" that was the "shortest distance according to the GPS" but was impossibly narrow (so narrow that my passenger side mirror connected with another car's driver side mirror….causing everyone in my car to gasp),  I skidded into a parking spot across the street from the train station.

As they were pulling their luggage out of the trunk, I sprinted across to the station to see what line they would leave from.  I'm yelling "line 2", Cheryl is saying "line 3" and we are dashing toward the trains.  (There were two trains headed to Paris, so Cheryl wasn't crazy, it just wasn't the right train for their tickets)  We dashed up to the #2 platform, I directed them to letter "U" for the correct train car and watched them scamper down the train line.

As I left the train station I looked at the time…5:36 am.  They made it!!  I felt bad.  They didn't get to buy a water or a coffee, but at least they didn't have to rebook their tickets!! Michael said it best when he posted his first Paris pictures on Facebook, "After a Jason Bourne-ish ride to the train station..."

I sent Cheryl a text, welcoming them to Paris and suggesting she tell her family that their train departure time was actually 25 minutes BEFORE the ticketed time for their three remaining train reservations.  I also asked her to text me should they miss their train back to Strasbourg….I don't relish the idea of being at the station at 12:15 am waiting for someone who didn't make the train :)

Blessings to you all wherever you travel this week.  Hoping that you will allow yourselves some extra time so that you can enjoy a stress-free trip.

D-Day in Paris

Obama, the Queen and Putin are in Paris…..

Doesn't that sound like the start to some awful joke?  I thought so, but it turned out to be true and it altered our plans for an afternoon of sightseeing.  David had a business meeting in Paris and so I joined him.  We had planned to wander around the city after his meeting and then catch a late train back to Strasbourg.

When Obama, the Queen and Putin (among other world leaders) are in Paris, traffic is a nightmare.  All roads leading to/from the Arc de Triomphe were to be closed off and so we opted for an earlier train and poor David missed out.

All was not lost, as we did manage a late night run to the Trocadero before we turned in for the night.

                        

We've had two houseguests for the past 4 days.  Two great young men from Harvard, Justin and Kevin.  Their acapella group "The Din and Tonics" are on an 8 week performance tour throughout Europe, Asia and Australia.  You can check out their Facebook page to see their schedule if you are interested.

We've enjoyed getting to know all the Harvard men who are here.  We went to dinner with them on Sunday night….allowing them to try the region's "pizza" or tarte flambé, took them to a pool party on Monday, enjoyed their performance on Tuesday night and then I will drive them to the train station today (Wednesday) as they set out for Paris.

They are traveling solo, no chaperone, making all of their own travel arrangements, coordinating arrivals/departures, rooming options, etc.  We are very impressed with their travel savvy.  I don't think that at 19 & 20 I could have managed traveling (planes/trains/trams) to another continent, let alone several.

Talk about a small world, one of the Dins, Will, is from Cincinnati….he and his family live about 3 miles from where David grew up.  We have loved having them in our apartment and will be sad to see them go.

I managed to lose my wallet after the pool party on Monday.   I noticed it wasn't where it was supposed to be and just assumed that I had forgotten it inside the car.  When I checked last night, it wasn't in the car.  I looked around again this morning inside the apartment and it was nowhere to be found.  I got online and checked the account activity for our Visa….yep, someone found it and had a merry little shopping spree at the shop next door to our apartment.  Fortunately, they were unable to withdraw any cash (although they certainly tried) and we aren't liable for any of the purchases.

So, I've spent quite a lot of time online this morning canceling my credit cards, ATM card and getting a replacement driver's license and insurance card.  I only confess this snafu to you all because I'm wondering if my 1 hour driving evaluation on Friday is going to happen.  The driving school has a copy of my American license, but I'm not sure if I will need to have an actual license with me on Friday.  I guess we will see!!

David is convinced that my driving is SO HORRIBLE that I will need more than one lesson…I am so hoping to prove him WRONG.  The driving "test" is the last hurdle to pass before I obtain my French driver's license.  The instructor will evaluate my "driving ability" and determine how many lessons I will need before I am scheduled to take the test. Cross your fingers for me!!

David's brother, Michael and his family arrive on Saturday.  I'm sure that we will have some fun times and that they will give me some blog material to share with you….maybe a post on how they manage to get to Paris and Normandy with the trains on strike.  Let's hope that an agreement is reached with the union before Monday!!

That's all for now.  Hoping that each of you have a blessed day.  Enjoy the sunshine.