Why do you go away? For an adventure? For a change? To escape?

So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors.

It’s hard to believe we have already been “back” for six months!  Time’s winged chariot fools us once again. Honestly, the days and months have been whittled away easily, consumed by “modern American conveniences.” Even after six months, being back in the world of instant gratification feels new: the mesmerizing, devil-colored glow of a Target sign after 6:00pm, the empowerment of walking into a place of commerce on a Sunday, the joy of not having to wait 8 weeks for something to arrive from Amazon. If you don’t appreciate the aforementioned, or believe they are truly “American”, then find the courage to go away for a while.

Despite the reverse culture shock, it has been back to life as usual. Catching up with old friends, now six years the wiser. Spending evenings watching stupidifying TV instead of researching foreign lands. Filling the silence of deployment with a honeyed symphony of Jimmy Fallon and the cocktail shaker.

Over the last six months, I have waited to be hit with prolific lessons from our years abroad, clear evidence that I have changed and that everyone can see it…or at least some titillating content with which to fill my final blog post. Instead, the rearview mirror of my mind has made everything traumhaft. Faded are the outbursts of anger that were truly rooted in stress and fear. Funny are the moments that were once embarrassing and frustrating. Magnified are the special memories with our favorite people. I find this skill to be Father Time’s most endearing quality.

We have learned important lessons, but they are subtle ones. They show themselves in surprising ways at unexpected times. We are unbelievably happy to be here, but are also immensely grateful that we left.

Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.

So…here I say adieu, auf wiedersehen. Thank you to everyone who has kept up with our journeys. The Walls in Germany are closing this chapter, looking forward to the next. Macht’s gut!

Freiburg’s Blaue Brücke

Click here to revisit where it all started.

Inspirational credit: Terry Pratchett

We got kicked out of our apartment in Freiburg on Aug 28^th and the USAF said we weren’t allowed to leave Germany until Sept 1^st. So…with a few days on our hands, we returned to Joe’s favorite German town for the 4^th time: Oberammergau! (I love Oberammergau too, but as you know, I am a commitment-phobe when it comes to such things. Click here for a refresher.)

Despite all of our visits here, we have never been able to climb the Kofel, Oberammergau’s signature peak. We made it the mission of our last hurrah in Germany.

The Kofel

The three of us set out with fresh legs and optimistic attitudes…until we reached our first obstacle: cows. It’s Bavaria. I guess one has to be prepared for some self-righteous bovine. It comes with the territory. This one wasn’t super happy about Joe and Liv being in her pasture and gave them a short run for their money.

The arrow is the goal!

Climbing the Kofel isn’t particularly challenging, but what everyone failed to mention to us was the nearly-sheer rock cliff close to the top. Oh yeah…one tiny detail!

Here was the last “easy” view. We are about to climb the vertical on the left.

Just a few more steps to the summit!

After climbing hand over hand along the metal pitons and ropes, passing the poor dog back and forth, we finally made it to the top! You can see this cross from the ground, but the life-sized Jesus isn’t visible. There is something quite eerie about him.

We were actually not the only idiots who brought our dog up here. One guy had his large Hund over his shoulders. Crazy Germans!

The views over Oberammergau and the Ammer Valley were well worth the climb!

What a great way to end our Olmsted Adventure! Now…just to get down.

The way down!

What was slated as a 4-day pack-up/move-out processes turned into a fairly successful 1.75 day whirlwind of cardboard and packing paper. So, what does one do with 2+ free days, nowhere to sleep, and only the possessions that fit into a suitcase?! Travel!!

We headed for the Mosel River Valley, which is similar to the Rhine Valley, except with less tourists and more wine!!

The Mosel River Valley

First we toured Burg Eltz, which might be my favorite castle in Germany. I loved it because it was in the middle of the forest. No hordes of crazy tourists, no knick-knack shops in sight, not even a parking lot. Just a cool old castle, surrounded by trees and a river.

Burg Eltz

Then we got to the wine!! We stayed in Cochem, which has a Weinstube (wine tavern) around every corner!

We sampled Mosel wines from nearly every Weinstube, including an Erdbeerboule, which was basically a bowl of strawberries swimming in wine. Eat or drink? Both!

Unbeknownst to us, there was a Weinfest taking place just 4km upriver, in the town of Ernst. The Walls never pass up a Weinfest!! Here was the best part: the easiest way to get there was by boat…which was also a Weinstube! Sign. Us. Up.

Ernst macht Spaβ…especially with a full glass of wine!

Waiting for the boat back to Cochem.

If only moving went like this every time!!