Hello all - sorry I haven't been super-active on the blog. It turns out that Maya's sickness (mono) is pretty extreme, we've had the displeasure of spending LOTS of time in 4 different German ERs. The poor girl has averaged about 2-4 hours of fleeting consciousness per day for several days. Poor thing!
But most of our time has sadly been spent on Skype with an unholy combination of insurance agents, doctors, travel agents, and German taxi dispatch companies.
This morning, we pulled the plug. We cut bait. We ran for it. At about 9.00a, we found a flight from Munich to MSP that left at 2.00p. Spent the rest of the time informing insurance companies, canceling itineraries where possible, and packing for the Exodus 2016. Arrived in MN at 6.00p later that "day".
I'd like to say we enjoyed our trip, and there were certainly high points and the like (the meetups in Frankfurt and Nuremberg). But unfortunately, this trip was lost. We just feel awful for Maya - it's great to be back and it appears things are headed in the right direction, which is the most important thing!
We'll be back - we've been so fortunate on our previous trips, a complication was bound to happen. I'll try to fill in the details for whatever witty observations I can conjure up from our period from Frankfurt to Munich over the next couple of days.
Thanks for reading - wish this post was more fun :)
Monday, August 8, 2016
Friday, August 5, 2016
Day 3 - Frankfurt: 2016-08-03
Today started how I hope most of the days of my life start - with my sweet Amy, and with a bitter espresso! We walked about 4 blocks from the apartment towards our favorite grocery store Rewe, and stopped at this awesome espresso/gelato place across the street.
While we shopped, I couldn’t help but notice that they didn’t treat their vegetarians very well - seems cruel, but that must just be how Germany rolls :)
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| This about sums up how Maya is feeling today - poor girl! |
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| Cool little pirate boat - there's a kid in the crow's nest! |
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| OH BUUUURRRRNNNN!!! |
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Contradiction of terms? Pretty sure at least one of those symbols doesn’t mean what you think it means, you angsty-teenager-type, you. But that’s cool, feel free to vandalize public property if it helps you express yourself. Really. Especially your desire for an anarchistic communism? WTF - please research this more next time, and make it either artistic or meaningful.
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Alright, truth be told: I at first thought this was a two-headed Jesus (which would be awesome). But then I realized that it was just Jesus (or the ghost of Jesus? Notice the holes) executing what will probably be an excellent Fireman’s Carry takedown for 3 points. Anyway, it looks like it was for sale, but the girls wouldn’t let me buy it.
You know, for a guy that almost minored in Art History, I have to say that I’m having a difficult time decoding this one. So going into hyper-literal mode, it’s a guy calmly perched and watching a giant sleep while his head rests on a golden plate. Maybe an [poorly-constructed] allegory to David and Goliath? Maybe it’s a reference to the silly TSA body scanners? I.e., I know I’m innocent (the halo), but I have to prostrate myself (arms above head) and feel naked (and am imaged “mostly naked”), while some faceless authority lords judgment over me?
I don’t know - all I can say for sure is that the giant never skips Leg Day.
St. Bartholomeus - now we’re getting to the good stuff! Of course, no cathedral worth its salt would omit several torturous and grotesque scenes like this.
Caught ‘em whispering in church!
I call this room “Correlation does not imply causation” - a.k.a. “Mysterious Ways!” I sure hope that those prayer candles are for sending harmless good vibes and not for any actual wants or needs.
Holy crap! What kind of monster would make a cute little cherub carry something this heavy?!?
Looking *fabulous*, sir. Hipster Jesus carried lambs before it was cool.
Yes, I know it’s depicting the “Manna from Heaven”, but I can’t help but remember the Communion wafers (that actually change into the body of Christ when eaten!) that I had as a kid. They were awful. These ones must be awesome though, because these dudes are pretty stoked to grab as many as possible (and it doesn’t appear any of them are particularly starving, IYKWIM) The baby looks like it wants to backstroke through the glorious Manna. Also, the dude in the red was probably the guy who sponsored this artwork.
So there was this period in Christian religious iconography called the “Orientalized” period or somesuch. Besides not particularly caring for the style, I never thought it looked Oriental, more like their eyes are swollen and puffy like they all got stung by bees.
You’d have writer’s block too if you had a lion-dog-pig chimera pawing at your feet. Oh, also - if you lived during this time, you were also very likely to be illiterate. Maybe he’s just playing pretend and has no idea how a quill works?
Not so different from the Egyptians, huh?
Check out this guy - I can’t figure out if he just has horrible longsword technique or is trying to reach an itch on his backside. Either way, it’s pretty hilarious. But upon closer inspection, check out the knight’s face - guy looks super-drunk. I can almost hear him slurring “I’ll just smite this thing over here… who wants some?!?” Combining this with the bishop immediately to the right who appears to be trying to ignore him like “oh GOD, not this guy again”. Sometimes it’s just how I need to keep myself entertained!
Oh, and here’s what everyone comes to see - hard for me to overlook just how much of this religion is founded on some cosmic guilt trip.
Pictures like this are helpful to remind myself that no matter how badly I mess up in life, I’m pretty sure I’ll never get to “Nikita Kruschev french kissed me on the world stage”. How are you supposed to recover from that?
Two of my sweeties in the old square of Frankfurt - I love them so much.
The whole posse in front of some bitchin’ doors. Aren’t they great?
Ella in her natural, excited state :)
Check out the rockin’ hair on the guy on the left! He’d be right at home in some early-1980’s hair band!
The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch - it’s REAL!
A super-cool entrace to a restaurant near the old square with 3 upgrades.
So about this time, Maya was super-pooped out, so she and I grabbed a taxi back to the apartment so she could sleep (it took about 30 seconds before she was out). Ella and Amy stayed out and had some adventures.
Somewhere around 8.00p, we decided that Maya’s condition was deteriorating - just exhausted, can’t breathe well, swallowing, etc. So after some wise and insightful consul from Dr. Amy (sister-in-law), we went to the ER (actually TWO of them) to get things checked out. We are so glad that we did, and the good news is that although Maya’s still miserable, at least we’re doing the right things to help her get better. Mono is a helluva sickness, yo. We feel awful for her, and miss her usual Maya-ness terribly.
To finish off the night of mis-adventures, we ended up catching a taxi back to the apartment, and Amy and I both had alarm bells ringing after we were on our way… :( Thankfully, every single taxi driver has been fantastic so far, super-nice, very chatty (or at least silent when they found out that Maya and I speak about two words of German - and there’s not much of a conversation possible with “please”, “thank you”, and “excuse me” :)
But this guy was twitching, not friendly at all, not entirely together upstairs. Doors and windows locked, we were both keeping an eye on the route he was taking us back on. I was scooching closer to him (I was in the back seat) in case I needed to get at his neck. I’m glad to know that it wasn’t just me being a total psycho (yay self-awareness!), and that Amy was also on DEFCON 5 about this dude. At the end, to drop us off, he idled across 3 lanes of traffic to the other curb and at one point was basically parked sideways in the middle of the road wihle I was watching headlights approach from 30 feet away.
Nighty night - had a hard time getting to sleep, but we’re off to better days! In about 6 hours we’ll be headed to Nuremberg for a big meeting, then continuing on to one of our favorite places in the world, Munich!
Day 2 - Frankfurt: 2016-08-02
We landed!
I know it’s statistically far safer than driving, but there’s something of a relief that comes over me when we land. I don’t even [consciously] mind being in the air, I LOVE takeoffs, never thought I was a nervous-flyer. But it sure is good to be back on terra firma.
So it turns out that Frankfurt is pretty cool! First stop in the Hofbahnhof was to get some currywurst with fries. NOW we’re back :) Unfortunately it’s raining a bit, not super-heavy, but hard enough that Amy and the girls have the umbrellas out. I kind of prefer this to a super-hot day, but I hope it clears up a bit.
We grabbed a taxi to find the place, and it turns out that it was a little difficult to find, but in a beautiful neighborhood next to the river. Apartment is very nice, plenty of space and so great to be able to cook for ourselves so we don’t have to eat out for every meal.
Network isn’t super-reliable, and I’ve continued my habit of checking wireless router for default passwords, configuration, etc. I’d say 90% of the places we’ve stayed at over the years have never bothered to change the passwords which shouldn’t surprise me, but always does anyway.
After finding the place and getting some food from the grocery store, it was almost time to head to meet with the Adidas Runners Frankfurt! Maya’s not feeling well, so she stayed back at the apartment :( Amy was giving them gifts as part of a meetup, and she was going running with them as well (Ella and I just played the support/photographer role (Ella) and looked pretty (Rick)). What an awesome group! Ran the gamut from some totally hardcore ultras, solid marathoners, Ironmen (and women), and others at various points on their training for 10Ks, etc. Everyone was so open and welcoming! If I lived in Frankfurt, I don’t think I could ask for a cooler set of friends to chill with.
And on about 1 hour of sleep, Amy ran a 7K with them through the city! DAAAANNG. I hope she sleeps well tonight! :)
Quick Poll
Quick poll:
“In cargo class, when it comes to reclining my seat, I …”
- “...prefer not to recline - we’re all in this together and I do not wish to add to the suffering of another human being”
- “... recline away! I paid for the seat, including the right to inflict pain and misery through the inocuous-looking button on the chair handle. They should have been born with shorter femurs if they wanted to be more comfortable. Or rich, very very rich.”
The Cochrane Family's 2016 European Adventure Begins! 2016-08-01
...aaaand, THEY’RE OFF! Big travel days are difficult to write about - most of it’s airport security theater (I did get lightly groped above the knee though, so you’re welcome for not making a scene! Plus, I hope you can appreciate how much safer I felt because of it, and I sure hope everyone else around me did too). /snark
Although very excited and thankful for another European jaunt, I think it’s safe to say that at this point, we were all still in the “this isn’t really happening” surreality - happily moving along through the airport, finding our seats, etc. It wasn’t until I heard some German spoken on the plane that it became more real for me.
At this point, we were all super-excited to spend some quality time together, see some longtime friends, and just get away on an adventure. The schnitzel and dunkelweiss doesn’t hurt either.
“So, how was the flight?”
Trying hard not to do exactly what Louis C. K. does here (and whine about the least important part of a trip that we’re fantastically fortunate to be taking), I will say that everything about Condor was great. Food, service, etc., all good. But seriously, I’m not an especially huge or tall person, and it’s *barely* tolerable sitting in one of those seats for hours at a time. Would it be that fucking hard to add 2 inches of leg room? I’d pay, and I bet everyone else would too. There has to be a breaking point. Maybe this is something for a future post. There has to be some middle ground seating options that are less stark than something akin to long-term stress positions (illegal under the Geneva Conventions, dear airline manufacturers), and Mr. Moneybags from Monopoly where you evidently just lounge about your own private jewel-encrusted plane-riding-room.
Ahh, but it appears I’ve said too much already - here’s a nice pic as we were heading to “sleep” :)
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