Sum Total

Germany is done with. I returned home bleary-eyed last night in a real crabby mood. Showered. Kissed the people sleeping in my bed without waking them up & felt a bit better. Crashed clutching my hurting head and before I knew it it was 10 am and a new day had dawned in my life and in Chennai.

It was an awesome few days. I had good company when I wanted. Lots of alone time when I needed it. High speed internet. I exercised a number of times. I explored trails and tracks and the whole town on foot. The weather was crisp and cold but not altogether unpleasant. The conference went well and I talked research for many hours with many intelligent people.

I did some minimal sight-seeing. It was not my first time in Germany (third or fourth time I have been there). I feel comfortable in that beautiful country now. I feel like I want to go back. I like their history. I especially like their old people, and I met one wonderful old lady who had tears in her eyes when we left her. I loved your enthusiasm Eve Maria Star, maybe we will meet again some day. 

I loved the trains. I loved traipsing around in the wonderful Inter-City Express, but also the tiny trams that took me to the little town we stayed in. Bad Herrenalb (pop. <10000!). This is right in the Black Forest, and had tons of beautiful trails going into the forest. It was like living in a fairy-tale. With a happy ending. And beer.

The images above are a collage of my experiences there. Except for the fact that I did not drink all that beer - that picture is from the internet (sorry!). The rest are my own. I drank some wonderful beers, I especially liked a thin but dark beer called Kostritzer. The last time I drank a Pils I really hated it, but the Pils I drank this time I liked, also.

My running was not quality running. It was exploring a new place alone running. It was pushing beyond the envelope running. It was being Indian and living in Chennai but getting out there at 6 am before anyone wakes up to crunch on the snow running (it was not all that much snow, but the temperatures were a little below 0 C). It was 'lets figure out how much you love running' running. The little green google map up there doesn't do justice to the wonder I felt.

I'll be back someday. To walk amidst tall Germans. To see apple-cheeked children carrying toboggans that I would like to try someday. Auf Wiedersehen!