Yes, Parting Can be Such Sweet Sorrow

 

            So…it is one thing to celebrate our last U-Bahn ride, or last trip to our favorite Italian restaurant, or even our last croissant from the bakery across the street.  But seeing a friend for the last time is hard!  Today, we said “Til We Meet Again” to Miss Claudia.  She has taught Bryce and Emily’s German for eight weeks here in Berlin but she has been SO MUCH MORE than a teacher! 

            I liked Claudia from the very beginning.  And it wasn’t only because she let me cheat and speak English in the classroom!!  Teaching Bryce and Emily was obviously more than just a job to her.  She wanted to know them and about our family.  She was eager to hear about homeschooling, wishing she was allowed to experience such a thing with her daughters (it is still illegal here in Germany).  She commented on how Bryce and Emily worked together, helped each other, and complemented one another.  She made learning German fun for the children…understanding that creating a positive experience would lend itself both to short-term and long-term learning.  And early on, she brought her daughter to one of the classes.  What fun they all had!  Bryce and Emily teaching Morea (10) some English and Morea teaching Bryce and Emily some German!!

            We also had some special weekend experiences.  Team Thomas met Claudia and Morea at a big farm one beautiful Sunday afternoon.  We talked, the children climbed trees and ate fresh carrots (we still aren’t sure if we were allowed to pick them!) and simply enjoyed building a friendship.  And just last weekend, we all met Claudia, both her daughters (Cial is 3) and some other friends of Moreas.  In all there were 3 adults and 6 children.  We spent half of our time together at a playground running the children ragged and the other half at a wonderful museum.  It was much more about being there together than where we were!

Claudia and I related to one another as wives, as mothers, and as women.  We shared thoughts on marriage, on parenting, on travel and a lot about life in general.  She was so patient with my German and, thankfully, she spoke great English (although she would be the last to admit it!) 

Once upon a time I wouldn’t have believed it possible for me to form such a friendship in such a short time–we are talking about eight weeks here!  Sometimes that probably saved me some heartache, but now I know it also probably cost me a tremendous amount of joy.  I thank God for blessing me with such a tremendous base of family and friends from which I have learned much about love and friendship.  God is love, indeed.

Claudia and her family depart for a family vacation in France tomorrow.  The Thomas Family returns to the States this Friday.  Claudia and I exchanged street addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers.  We also exchanged small tokens that would remind us of our time together.  It shouldn’t have been that hard to say goodbye and yet it was.  We shed some tears and after we had separated once ran back to each other for just one more hug.  Yes, I, Karen, ran back for a hug!!

The Thomas Family doesn’t know if will be returning to Berlin.  Claudia and her family would like to travel to the United States next year, but as yet there are no concrete plans.  So we left with the knowledge that our lives connected in a special way in this place at this time, knowing that we are both the better for having the experience and hopes that we would continue to foster this connection.  Good-byes were simply out of the question. 

Granny Speaks on London

     The first morning we were there, we went to the London Eye.  I was not going to go because I thought it was an open chair, like a ferris wheel.  But when I found out it was all closed in and went slowly, on I went!  And I am very glad I did.  It was very high (something like 450 feet) and we could for miles!!  We were lucky enough to be in the right spot when they made a picture of our pod.  I have that for a special souvenir! 

 Later that day we went to Windsor Castle by train.  The chapel, the dollhouse, and the rooms with all the extravagant furniture were wonderful. We got there just in time because after we went through they were closing doors behind us!  After trekking around Windsor Castle, we met up with the Ben-Hurs.  That was a very nice visit with that family.  I feel like I’ve known them forever, even though I really haven’t.  His kids were very nice and they made a great time for Bryce and Emily.

The next day we went to Buckingham Palace, which to me was very exciting.  The changing of the guard was something.  We had to fight and push to save our place at the fence, but we won!  There was one woman behind me who had a huge backpack and every time she moved she hit me in the head!

The last we were in London we went to The Lion King.  That kept us on the edge of our seats the whole time, not knowing what was coming next.  That evened up my trip because when I was here eight years ago, we saw River Dance. 

My only blunder in London was at the hotel.  I tried to make my way out of the revolving door and ended up bumping my head on the glass.  Everyone teased me saying it was like a bird flying into a window!

A New Adventure Begins

So, we have wrapped up Rome and moved on. By all accounts, it was a success. We managed through a couple of less structured days which gave us a chance to go to Piazza Novano and watch some very interesting entertainment as well as find some very nice artwork from a street artist. Karen figured out that there was actually a use for Prosciutto…you wrap a piece of melon in it and EAT it! Otherwise, it’s just raw ham. We also had a chance to meet some great people. Besides the Leonardo and Massimo of “tour guide” fame, Emily found a buddy in one of the servers at the Majestic hotel. Since Emily’s stuffed dog “Kit Kat” (surprised? I think not) has been going everywhere with her, it can become quite a discussion starter. Enzo, from the restaurant, started comparing Kit Kat to his dog, Russell. This was a lot of fun and Emily had a great time with him. We exchanged email addresses and hopefully, Enzo, you are reading our blog as well. Thank you for contributing to a great trip.

We did not so much leave Rome as we were catapulted from it. Our driver picked us up on the last morning and then left Rome as if he was being chased by a hoard of Roman chariots. Kinda like a roller coaster ride in the early afternoon, we at least lived to make it to the airport. This turned out to be one of the only negative experiences in our trip. While the drive was a bit annoying, our driver wouldn’t really pay attention to the flight information and therefore left us at the wrong terminal. It didn’t take much for us to figure this out and fix the problem, but it was a stress we would have been glad to avoid. In the end, however, we of course made our flight and all was well.

A day to do laundry in Berlin and then we were off again. We are now starting our shorter visit of Paris. Last night we did a boat and bus night tour which was a great way to kick it off, with the lights from the monuments giving a great show. There will be more photos soon and the kids will jump in shortly to bring you up to speed.

We miss you all!  Karen and Todd