We arrived in Lübeck yesterday, leaving Quedlinburg behind; we all felt like it was leaving home behind. We miss our life there already and we miss the friends that we made. It is interesting to notice how quickly we can take root in a place; become like a piece of furniture that just belongs in a certain room. We all feel like we have been uprooted and we are now not quite sure if we want to like it where we are now. Nevertheless, we will go out and meet Lübeck and see what it has to show us!
The last two weeks have flown by, filled with further exploration of the northern Harz region and learning a little more about life in ´the East`. We visited Gernrode where the worlds largest cuckoo clock is ensconced. I might have played it up a bit too much because when Sabrina saw it she said it wasn`t THAT big. Phoebe bluntly told her, "Sabrina! It`s as big as a double-story house!" It actually was a double story house. Something has to be pretty fantastic to inspire Sabrina (who, it seems, now has only eyes for anything Parisian).
Many other things have we seen and done, all wonderful and fun. We have decided that there is something seriously wrong with the water in Germany, as all of our clothes are getting smaller - even the ones we haven`t washed yet. Every day there is more of us to see!! Most important though is that Phoebe found a pair of shoes that she loved sooooo much. She finally stated that she wanted them more than anything in the world - even more than she wanted to go home. SOLD!! So, we traded her last little bit of homesickness for a pair of shoes, and she is as happy as can be now. She announced a few days ago that she could easily stay for 11 weeks because she was having so much fun. So, that could easily become the new spirtual teaching to spread through the world - trading in all sorrows, fears and pain for new shoes. I LIKE it!
Sorry to all the people who were leaving messages on the answering machine in Quedlinburg, but I didn`t know how to access the message bank.
TONY AND BEN - I can´t believe that you even blame bananas for your lack of fishing ability:-)
FERDE - We made a trip to Bad Harzburg on Thursday and met your aunty. Cafe Winuwuk is gorgeous. In the afternoon we were sitting on the balcony in hot, steamy sunshine, within 5 seconds we were in a torrential downpour that lasted the rest of the day. It was like being in the tropics. The train line between Wernigerode and BH is under reconstruction at the moment, so it was a bit of a hike to get there, but it was well worth the effort. Thanks for the tip.
ALEX - Have you been getting ANY of my emails or SMS??
GITESHA - You will be happy to know that most German people comment that I speak sehr gut Deutsch. But, then they ask me if I´m from the Netherlands!!
Anyway, we are safe and well here in Krummesse, just south of Lübeck. Gabi met us at the train station with a big bunch of sunflowers, so we would recognise here. She and her daughter, Clara, left this morning for their cruising holiday in the fjords in Norway. We only have two cats to care for here. The girls miss the rabbit, but I must say, I don`t miss feeding the geckos:-)
Bis später,
Lisa, Sabrina and Phoebe.
