December 26, 2010

Written December 28

Friends and Families ,

OK. Our fun time in the (not too much) sun is over. We left Lisbon on a rainy day, so it wasn't as big a shock as it could have been. Our Niki flight to Majorca (Mallorca in Spanish or German -- why can't we agree?) was less than half full and uneventful. Christmas dinner was a cheese sandwich. The Air Berlin flight from Majorca to Nuremberg was similar except it left a half-hour EARLY! The pilot simply said that everyone who had booked the flight was onboard so we should get going. Worked for us.

On arrival at NUE (Nuremberg airport) we looked out at snow everywhere. The short walk from the plane to the bus was over an inch or two of packed snow and ice. Welcome back. Inside, the luggage area was filled with suitcases lost in the great 2010 European Travel Chaos. Ours, on the other hand, showed up just like they were supposed to. We later learned that our traveling partners, flying back from Lisbon to London to Washington , had also escaped the Chaos unscathed. We had to admit we were amazingly lucky.

Early the next morning we started chores, mostly getting the car unburied and the driveway and walks cleared enough to be useful. (The temperature was 16.1C, below zero. -- about +4F) Where we did not need to shovel, the snow was a winter wonderland, where it needed removing, it was an opportunity to work off some of the overeating of the past few days. I was glad to be on vacation so I had no particular time pressure.

Sunday evening we managed a walk up to the palace and back, despite the avalanche warning on the doors to the palace restaurant. Just don't look up. Marianne did her creative best with angel-making. Maybe this snow stuff isn't so bad,

We still don't have New Year's Eve plans and it might depend on colds Marianne and I are both fighting, but it will be chilly and white in any event. And special.

Happy New Year and Guten Rutsch.

John and Marianne