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Continued from “More Than I Really Cared to Share…”

There’s always a duality present when I consider how I’m feeling when I see Thilo. Always. Every time I meet him he seems both so familiar and so unfamiliar all at once. I don’t quite understand it. But, it was comforting to arrive and spend my first few nights back in Europe with a familiar face. After tallying all the things we wanted to do, we concluded that a week would be better than the three or four days I had originally planned. Fine by me! Thilo had just gotten back from a quick trip to Vienna, Austria literally the same day that I had arrived at his place. So this plan for more time at a more relaxed pace suited us both. We had time to catch our breath. I had time to sleep off my jet lag. And… we simply did what we said we’d do. We caught up with each other’s lives. We learned a little more about each other. We went to local restaurants, bars and clubs. We rented a car and took a day trip to both Luxembourg and Trier. Luxembourg was another, tiny, tucked-away country I could knock off my list of “countries-visited” and Trier had impressive, ancient Roman ruins… who knew! Thilo did!

During my week stay I also got to meet one of Thilo’s long-time, close friends Gregor. Gregor was goofy, fun and super-easy company. We just clicked as if we had been long-time friends from years past. He poked fun at me like a close sister and we could constantly harass each other all in good fun. Thilo, Gregor and I made a good threesome. From here on out the song: “You’re so vain… I bet you think this song is about you… Don’t you!” will always remind me of the boys. So will a specific habit of Matt Damon. And Ben Afleck for that matter. Sorry. Kind of an inside joke. At week’s end I was sad to go. I could easily see a strong, brotherly-like relationship quickly forming with Gregor. I wanted to let that unique relationship flourish more before I left. But, it was time for me to go. I missed Gregor the minute I said “goodbye.” I still miss him. I never had an older brother. But, I always wanted one.

My original plans were to head through the south of France to Barcelona. But, Thilo insisted I couldn’t miss out on Berlin a second longer. It was my second trip to Germany and I couldn’t leave this time without visiting the infamous and quite beloved city. So… Thilo set up a rideshare for me and I was off… jolting down the Autobahn with a friendly stranger at speeds of 230,240 kilometers an hour (140,150 mph folks) on misty, slick roads. Snow speckled the banks that rolled beside the highway. The weather was wet. The highway curved often. My driver felt it necessary to blast full speed ahead and brake at THE last second possible when approaching a car in front of us… the ENTIRE trip. It was kind of scary! But I arrived alive in the mysterious and intriguing city, most successfully progressing and evolving from a harrowing and historical past…

Click here to view the entire Flickr photo album of Luxembourg…
Click here to view the entire Flickr photo album of Trier…

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