TOO MANY FEELINGS!

My friend Hannah coined the above expression to describe her feelings about a romantic prospect, but it works pretty much all the time.

So, um, it's 1am on Monday, and I'm flying home tomorrow.  I have packed everything except my CD wallet and my datebook.  They do not fit.  I'm unsure what I'm going to do.  I already have a one-liter beer mug stuffed with clothing in one [of two] carry-on[s].  I also stuffed an Ultimate jersey into my nalgene and a blouse into my Ikea thermos.

I'm simultaneously very sad to be leaving but very happy to be going home - I don't think that needs to be mutually exclusive.  The past few days have been full of "lasts" and goodbyes, which have taken their toll emotionally.  I was in Dresden with Jess on Thursday and Friday, and was in higher spirits then - and thus was worrying less about flying.   Now my anxiety is in full swing, but I'm going through the motions because that's how these things work.  Assuming all goes well, I should be in Boston in about 24 hours.

I've been mostly nostalgic/frustrated of late.  Nostalgic for obvious reasons, and frustrated because the impending "missing" of Regensburg is palpable, but there's nothing I can do.  Even if I could somehow sooth that spot, I don't even know yet what weird-ass things I might miss.  I have learned how to make pretzels and obatzda, have a plan for making apfelschorle, and am 21.  It is out of my control now.

I am counting on a combination of sleep, booze, Gretchen and Harry Potter to get me through this flight.  A post about Dresden, a few posts about my family's visit, and many, many posts about my feelings are on the horizon.

Here are some photos from Dresden:

The Fürstenzug (important dude train)

Amusing street sign

The Blue Wonder

(The blaues Wunder or Blue Wonder is the oldest suspension bridge in Saxony, built in 1893.  A fair amount more interesting is that it has no support pylons in the Elbe River itself)

The Kunsthofpassage

Pickle truck. Duh.

Former cigarette factory Yenidze

Plentiful wild blackberry harvest on Magdeburgerstrasse

Part of the slaughterhouse complex where Kurt Vonnegut was a POW

1 comment

(Y'know, like in Slaughterhouse 5?)

Erich Kästner Monument

(Erich Kästner was a children's book author and political satirist in the 1930s.  He wrote the book upon which "The Parent Trap" was based, and attending a book burning in Berlin where his own books were being burnt.)

Germany by rail. Generally speaking.

bis dann!