Oh my, this morning came on fast. Everyone was awake by 5:00 a.m., as Katharina had to be at school by 5:30 for a 6:00 departure for the 12 to 14-hour drive across Germany and France before getting on a ferry for the trip between Calais and Dover across the North Sea. Later today, she’ll be settling in with her host family in Eastbourne in the south of England.

Spent the better part of the day with family, the first half with Jutta. Stephanie was able to join us today, as Mondays are her day to work for family needs. First up, though, we had to go to Jutta’s apartment to collect some clean clothes and pick up her laundry that needed washing. The reason for the fresh change is that Jutta is moving to a rehabilitation facility tomorrow morning. But before Caroline and I joined Stephanie for chores, we went over to Bergerstrasse to a small meat market (Metzgerei Zeiss) where, a couple of days prior, I had discovered the tasty joy of the Schweinebauch Brot (pork belly sandwich) and I needed another. Back at the apartment, we sorted some things we were considering bringing back to the States with us and then helped Stephanie fill Jutta’s bags. When the three of us finally arrived at the hospital, one could see that Jutta’s smile was reaching new heights of happiness. It has been more than 18 years since Jutta has seen her two girls together, and this is the first photo of the three of them together since her daughters were little girls.

After spending some hours with my mother-in-law, it was time to go visit Stephanie’s mother-in-law. Christa is Stephanie’s husband, Klaus’s mother; she is in hospice. Christa has heard much about Caroline and me from Jutta due to all of her adventures with us in the United States and wanted to meet us. In celebration of being in hospice, Christa has thrown away caution and embraced some old bad habits that are making this life transition a little easier, so we brought cigarettes. A small bottle of wine was sitting by the door to her balcony. I loved this woman’s smile and her attitude that lets her have a bit of smoke and drink, followed by a shot of oxygen. We didn’t get to spend much time with Christa, but I’m happy to have had to opportunity to meet my brother-in-law’s mother.

After this visit, it was back to Bürger Hospital to see Jutta once more. By dinner time, we asked for a restaurant recommendation, and Jutta suggested Zum Gemalten Haus – The Painted House. We drove over to Sachsenhausen to find the place closed on Mondays; bummer. Just a few doors down was another restaurant, and it was offering Apfelwein (Apple Wine). This is usually a good sign that the place will be serving traditional German fare. We checked out the menu that, like all German restaurants, is posted outside and thought the menu looked appealing enough that we decided on eating at Adolf Wagner’s seemed like it would be a good choice. Sure enough, it was. Time to get back to Stephanie’s place to let Caroline try and get some work done before going to sleep far too late.