I Wander.....

 We arrived safely to Trauchgau and feel the warm welcome of Gabi and Roland.  I feel so at home with them.  We take a casual stroll in the neighborhood of farm houses, cows, horses, winding roads and the sound of church and cow bells.  Naturally we have the tradition shot of schnapps before a fantastic dinner cooked by Gabi.  Not up to my usual drinking habits, but did my part not to insult Roland.   Cow shit and shadows

 Well we made it this far and have a nice long layover with cappuccinos and toast - British style.  Next onward to Munich.

How could it already have been 18 months since my last travels? I refuse to see the last year and a half as wasted time although it certainly wasn't the plan, nor my desire to stay put and hunker down participating in endless zoom calls, Netflix binge watching, cooking, and shopping for the perfect face mask that wouldn't steam up my glasses. March 2020 I returned from travels through Asia for a long overdue pause only to find the simplest of life's pleasures coming to a screeching halt. The only travel possible was through the virtual lens of TV, Youtube, social media, or video calls. In the mean time life continued but not as imagined. My body needing fixing and my mother passed away. As it turns out COVID allowed me the time and reflection to properly absorb and address these significant life events. So here we are, not over COVID and at the cusp of another abyss (the Delta Variant). An abyss I'm ready to maneuver around with eyes wide open and two vaccinatio

 So we are all checked in but what a day!!!  This am the EU announced that the US is now on the COVID red list with the possibility of  limiting entry for essential personnel only.  It seems they will allow vaccinated people for now, so we made it to the gate.  The TSA lady said we may get stuck in Germany after telling the rest of her staff to give Janice and me the full workup prior to entering the security scans.  lol.  she was joking.  so what to do during our three hour wait to board??  Naturally we toasted Steve on his birthday.