Christmas in Germany!

Matt and I left Rome on an early morning flight on the 22nd with much satisfaction of our time and great anticipation for reuniting with our friends. After several hours of RyanAir lines and time on the plane, we arrived in the small city of Hahn, an hour outside of Frankfurt. We then bought tickets for the bus that travels between the small airport Hahn and the large airport Frankfurt and settled back for a more comfortable trip; I even took a nap, warmed by the sunshine streaming through the large window. When we got off the bus at the big airport, we began to feel nervous about meeting Samy, hoping our flight details and arrival times were conveyed without confusion. Sure enough, within a few minutes Samy turned the corner and we spent a few moments in hugs and the happiness of seeing each other again. Samy loaded our luggage into his small car and we drove on the autobahn to their apartment in Bensheim, a thirty minute drive. The entire time Matt and I were chatting of Vigo and Rome and Samy encouraged us with his laughs and questions. We responded by peppering him with our own questions of his work and Fatima’s progress on her chemistry thesis. It was such a jumble of entertaining conversation! That evening, we relaxed as Samy prepared lasagna and we all waited for Fatima to arrive from her university. Nothing escaped our attention: the new furniture, Samy’s fish aquarium, the view of the city castle, recent photos framed and added to the wall. Matt was delighted to find the board game Settlers of Catan on the shelf; the game is one of his favorites and he undoubtedly remains the Catan champion in Vermillion. That evening we sat down with the game and bottomless cups of tea and played to our heart’s content. The rest of our days were equal in their fun and relaxed atmosphere. We went in search for a famous Christmas market in several cities but each day found the market closed, having finished the evening before. Nonetheless, the trips were fun in that we enjoyed the drives and the walks in the area. One bitter cold afternoon, we went for a walk with Samy up the large mountainous hill where there is a white cottage restaurant. Once we arrived at the top, finally warmed up by the strenuous exercise, we were rewarded with a stunning view of the city and beyond. We ordered coffees and warm desserts and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Our next stop was the city castle on a bigger yet hill, only we arrived after dark. That indeed did not stop Matt and Samy. We climbed inside the ruins and explored around and finally the boys decided to climb the stairs of the lookout tower. I was terrified because of the dark; the stairs were angled and steep and the only light was the glow of Samy’s cell phone. After a few heart-stopping minutes, we reached the top and had yet another beautiful view, this time of the city with the lights sparkling. That very evening we drove to Darmstadt and enjoyed a meal at Pizza Hut to celebrate the success of our visit. Fatima’s home-cooked meals are certainly worth mentioning: we ate salmon, chocolate cake, crepes, and typical German Christmas foods, including a chicken dumpling meal. Matt and I were amazed by their generosity. The morning of the 27th we drove back to Frankfurt and toured the city for a few hours before warming up with coffees. That evening we had to say our difficult goodbyes. Our visit was characterized by laughter, jokes, games, rest, good eating, and conversation, and we loved every minute of our time with Samy and Fatima. Perhaps we both felt a bit guilty for not sharing kindness and generosity as well as they do; certainly we both wish we could have made their time in Vermillion as pleasant as they have made our time in Europe. Above all, though we dearly missed our families over Christmas, we were indeed happy and blessed by our time with our friends in Germany.

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