I´ll try to sum up the week without writing a painful novel. We´ll see how this goes. Last Saturday we somehow managed to cram all of our luggage, food, games, plus Oma Jutta and her belongings into the family car. The trek to Denmark was long, because nearly EVERY German was also spending their holiday in Denmark. The autobahn was crazy, so we took little side roads. I actually preferred this, because the scenery of the countryside was breathtaking. Beautiful little farms and soon the dunes started to cleft the landscape as we neared the North Sea. The house Jutta rented was perfect. Big and spacious, with lots of windows, and nestled right against a tall dune with our own private path to the top and down to the beach below. My first time climbing up the dune, I was pleasantly surprised that I could smell and hear the sea before I could see it. As we reached the top, our faces were blasted by crisp, salty wind. It was dusk, and there was something so powerful about the fierce, crashing waves below us. All the mystical blues and greys, with white crests. Indescribably invigorating too all the senses. The healthy sea air easily forced its way into my lungs, and made me feel so alive. I can´t quite explain it. The dune then became a sharp cliff of sorts down to the beach, but the sand was so soft that we could go ahead and run down nearly in a free fall without injury.
The house itself was enough to keep us content for the week. It was so spacious, with a full kitchen, living room, bedrooms, indoor pool, whirlpool, sauna, 2 bathrooms, and billiards room. There was a wooden porch that wrapped all around the house, and several doors with immediate access from the house to the deck. I slept in a loft above the kitchen and living room area, which was a charming space, but unfortunate in the mornings. The children rose around 6am every day, and I always woke when they did. They play so loudly! The first morning I got out of bed, and took a walk to the sea before sunrise - which was beautiful. No regrets. But the next day I fortunately found my earplugs, and was able to sleep in until at least 8:00 for the rest of the week!
I have never before been on a vacation in which I didn´t have at least tentative plans scheduled for every day. It was unusual for me to get used to the idea of waking every day with only meals on the schedule. Even the meals were flexible. Jutta was a goddess of the kitchen, and had a constant supply of apple cakes, soups, breads, cheeses, homemade marmalades, and fresh vegetables from her garden on the table at all times. It was awesome. I spent the mornings and afternoons often taking walks on the beach either by myself or with Claudia´s sister Maggi and her husband Sisko. Afternoons I sometimes played with the children at the beach, building sand labyrinths, tide pools, and flying kites. I learned to fly a big kite with two strings. I even learned how to make it go in loops and to dart across. Definitely had a "Kite Runner" moment with a phenomenal kid near me - he won...
I became an avid stone and shell collector this week. I´ve always quietly laughed to myself at people who collect stones. I´m not sure why - I just thought it was kind of ridiculous. But now I am obsessed with it. At first I was only searching for amber, which supposedly washes up with seaweed after storms. But soon I would spend hours wandering along the water, picking up only the smoothest and most colorful of stones. All shapes and sizes. There were some that I would hold in my hand for several minutes, not being quite sure if I should keep them or not. Some were gorgeous, but not polished enough. I felt like I was picking a flower too soon, before it could reach its potential beauty. They weren´t finished yet. I threw many back into the sea and would miss them, but was satisfied to know that someday, whether they ended up at the bottom of the sea, in someone else´s hand, or being dissolved into sand, they will have at some point reached their peak. It was shocking how attached I often became to these stones. Sometimes the wind would blow the sand away around the stones, so they looked like little jewels atop a pedestal. Almost as if the sand was stretching out an arm to present me with only the choicest of stones. I know, I know. You´re thinking, "Oh, Kate... bonding with rocks? Sand with arms? She went to Denmark and now she´s gone over the deep end..." Which might be true. But you try spending a week at the sea with nothing else to fill your day but looking at stones and listening to waves, and see if you don´t go a little crazy too... :)
We did find other ways to pass time, too. Sisko arranged a billiards tournament, and we played a few games. I read A LOT, which was very satisfying. Sometimes we lounged outside, if the weather was nice. I read "Life of Pi" for the 2nd time, almost finished "Cold Mountain," and started "Frankenstein (which I´ve never read, for some reason)." I need some new books now, but there aren´t many choices in English at the Bordesholm library. I might have to re-read another one. Claudia brought her guitar, and Maggi her wooden recorder, so we spent several evenings listening to them play music and sometimes singing along and adding percussion. Torsten started to teach Paul Luis, Emmi, and myself how to play drums. I´m not very good, but it is fun to learn something new!
All in all it was a fantastic week. Sometimes I felt uncomfortable with being "off duty." I couldn´t tell if I should do something by myself, or help with the children a bit. After all, it was a free vacation for me. I made a couple crafts with them, and swam sometimes. Mostly it was a relief, though, to not have to be the enforcer when the children were misbehaving. :) I really enjoyed getting to know Claudia´s sister Maggi, and hope we can see her again soon. Sadly they live in Southern Germany, and will be spending Christmas with Sisko´s family. Not sure how long it will be before we can see them. Maybe I´ll just go visit sometime on my own!
Well now, this is getting too long, isn´t it? I have to work again tomorrow!! Ah! This week will be strange, because Paul Luis doesn´t have school, and Emmi might skip some days of Kindergarten. Claudia and Torsten are still working all day at least until Wednesday, so I will have some full days with the children! No morning breaks! Ah! How will I do laundry, cook, and keep things tidy? The anxiety!! But I think it will be all right. We´ll arrange some playdates. And I think Jutta might take the children sometime later in the week, which would be very helpful. We´ll see! It was nice to have today to relax, though, and to finish unpacking. I took a long bike ride in the countryside and along the edge of the forest. Nice see some cows and fields again, and the autumn trees in Germany are so beautiful!!
