Hey readers, first off my apologies for the delay in posting.I’m in Germany right now, doing field research for a couple of mind-blowing political thrillers. Given the wide and varied (mis)adventures that seem to follow my wife and I in our travels, I thought I’d share the love and take you along for the ride.
Ready? Buckle up.
DAY 1:
After a direct flight to Frankfurt — in which I gallantly tried to share the few songs I had thankfully downloaded onto my phone before we hit 40,000 feet high with Lois—we encountered our first obstacle: where to find our baggage.
Heavily armed guards patrolled the airport, looking at us with grim faces and fingers just above the triggers of their firearms, so I decided it would be best to try to “blend in” (right.)
Our baggage was late but, with no harm done, we picked up our rental car … and realized the dashboard information was all in German. Some of you know I’m fine with French, English, Spanish and some Hebrew, but German just didn’t quite make it on my list of languages learned. But my wife is not only beautiful—she’s also a genius! Within a few minutes the GPS was speaking to us in English. THANK GOD!!
We were fighting jet lag but nonetheless decided to take the car onto the Autobahn RIGHT AWAY. I mean, what could possibly be more important than driving where there’s no speed limit? As you can see, I topped 190 kilometers per hour (about 115 mph?).
Unfortunately, we learned first hand that the A3 can be deadly as well as beautiful. Shortly after, we were stuck for 2 hours in deadlocked traffic as ambulances, construction crews and policemen extracted an unfortunate victim of a car accident from the wreckage of his/her vehicle.
By this time, jet lag was really hitting us hard.But we decided to press on to Cologne, after making it through the traffic. About an hour later, we struck out on the gorgeous old-world cobblestone streets, listening to the echo of our footsteps as we visited the GORGEOUS Cathedral of Cologne (said to be the resting place of the 3 Magi), some small stores and, of course, stopped for a kissing spell by the Main River. (That’s the name. The Main.)
Of course, the evening wouldn’t be complete without at least ONE MORE adventure. Lois was sure we’d gone down the right road but… well… all I’ll say is that we couldn’t quite locate the place where we’d parked our car. So… the search began.
We found ourselves wandering around the dark and murky backstreets of Cologne with some rather questionable-looking characters—who were drinking lots of beer of course—around us.
But, no worries! God is good and, after a few minutes of adrenaline-laced searching, we were able to find someone who DID speak English and was able to help us out.
Then, jet-lagged, we began the two hour drive in unfamiliar territory, at night, back to the hotel. Did I mention that I fell asleep while driving on the Autobahn?
Don’t worry. The next day’s adventure includes a set of garbage cans, three locked doors, and a misty forest in which I almost drove off a cliff.
Stay tuned.
JPR
