March Highs and Lows 2015

Thank goodness January, February, and March are over. Seriously, I think the sole purpose of those months is to remind us what is to love about every other month of the year.

HIGHS

• meeting my exchange sister in Esslingen for lunch at her mom's house. This is worth explaining: We were exchange partners in 1985-1986. She is from Esslingen, Germany, and I am from Sheboygan, Wisconsin (USA), which are sister cities. In 1994 she married an American and moved to the U.S.. They now live in Madison, Wisconsin. In 2006 I married a German and now live in Germany. Who would have thought?!

• seeing through our living room window the meteorite that flew over Baden-Württemberg on March 16th, though we didn't know what it was until the next day when it was mentioned on the news.


• two meals at our favorite restaurant in three days, one of which was venison. The deliciousness was indescribable.


• another meeting with our exchange students and their parents for the summer Sheboygan-Esslingen exchange. We have another great group and are so looking forward to our adventures!


• spending several hours with my Schwiegermutter in Stuttgart at the "Romans in Baden-Württemberg" exhibit at the Altes Schloss (old castle).


• signing up for our third Kochkurs at the above-mentioned restaurant in May. 


• being invited to a Kaffeekränzchen, (afternoon coffee party) by one of the women who participated in last month's Kochkurs. There were eight of us - the others all knew each other - and it was such a lovely afternoon! We talked about everything - politics, religion, dialects, education, the GermanWings crash, Flugangst (fear of flying), family stories, the Kochkurs, told jokes... They were truly delightful, and the afternoon flew by.

LOWS

• It was March.


• learning of the crash of the Germanwings plane, on which was - among others - a group of 10th grade German exchange students returning from Spain. Breaks my heart.

That's about it, and good riddance, March! I think any other lows of the month were over-shadowed by the Germanwings crash and the aftermath as details and information were released. The weather has been, is, and will remain crappy through Easter, but isn't it April that "comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb"? I'm sure things will pick up.

Upcoming - Easter  Weekend

For a peak at what Easter weekend is like in Germany, have a look at this former post about stille Feiertage (quiet holidays) or this one from last year about the Osterhasi and the Tanzverbot. I'm off to place our order at the local butcher for the meat we need through Monday night.