The Future and the Past

Three weeks from this moment I should be traipsing around the airport in Chicago looking for the international flights. With any amount of luck me and the rest of my family will meet up with my dad about this time as we prepare to leave for Deutchland (Germany). I'm excited and a bit scared. First, there’s' just SOOOO much to do in preparing for the trip. Then there's the stuff that we need to take along. And, not the least of it is the language. My German is about as good as most people's Klingon. Well, maybe a bit better - but not much. That's part of the reason why I asked my dad to come along. I don't know how many more years he has that he'll be able to travel and I especially wanted him to show us where he lived as a child growing up during the war. Then there's the family.

I have most of my family still in Germany but due to the language and their lack of internet use, I'm not really communicating with them except through my dad. I'm hoping that one thing that is accomplished is a new connectedness to my roots. My mother’s side of the family never emigrated so they are all still in the Old Country. And, after she died - almost 40 years ago - nobody has been in close contact from that side. Now that my dad's brother has passed away he's the last of his family alive that have any connection to Germany.

So, I'm hoping that this trip will give him some satisfaction in seeing his family there and some happiness in seeing his family from here seeing his family from there. I'm hoping that MY family will get a greater appreciation for the family that they have never had the opportunity to meet. And, I'm hoping that the weather will be nice and we'll be able to enjoy what we see. Maybe I'm setting myself up for disappointment -- but, I don't think so.

This is Mad Ludwig’s Castle in Bavaria – almost in Austria. It was the inspiration for Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle. We’re hoping that this we can see during the first week when we visit my cousin and her husband in Munich.