Travels from Munich

A delightful little incident on the train trip back from Munich led to a flood of memories and some realizations. In Stuttgart, a group of a half-dozen women of a certain age, as they say, came on board and sat across from me at a table and a row behind. They were laughing and carrying on as they found their seats. As soon as the train started, they uncorked some champagne and had to uncork more 10 minutes later. Following each cork popping there was surprised laughter and giggles. They were obviously telling stories and making jokes, laughing at and with each other, and laughing at their laughing.

I remembered my mom and her friends just like this. When I was growing up, never do any two of my mom's friends meet without a belly laugh for some reason. They still meet up but the laughter is little diminished. Such wonderful memories.

Well, I was reading a book but got this little grin on my face at every exclamation and they noticed it and thought that I was in on all the jokes. Eventually, I had to explain that "Ich bin ein touriste und ich nich sprecken sie Deutche" ("I am a tourist and I do not speak Germain" I think). At which point, they realized that I was just enjoying that they were enjoying themselves. They offered me a glass. I refused at first, but allowed myself to be persuaded. That followed some broken English and even more broken German as we did our best to communicate. It was a housewives party whatever that means. It was a short visit , about ten minutes, because my stop was next.

The incident crystallized an issue I have been groping with while I am over here. This has been a wonderful opportunity for me to travel and I have tried to make the most of it. But traveling alone sucks. The point of new discoveries is sharing them with loved ones. I want to discuss these things with Cindy and the boys, gain insights and maybe share some. Meet up at dinner and compare thoughts. That is what the blog is all about to some degree, I suppose, but the discussion is a little one-sided. I guess I have to admit I am getting lonely. I am a pretty independent guy and can be contented by myself for quite some time. My major consolation, I suspect, is that, if I did not travel on weekends, and just stayed in Mannheim and moped around, I would be even more lonely.