Reassuring Omens: Tripping the Rhine Fantastic

As we prepared earlier this week for our transatlantic flight and exodus from America, I kept telling myself that if we really pulled this off, it could be something truly spectacular. At the same time, I couldn’t shake the thought that maybe I was just about to jump off a cliff with my grinning family following close behind like a herd of hapless lemmings. But once we landed in Frankfurt, my anxieties seemed to melt away as a string of reassuring omens came to pass.

The first hurdle was to get over the ocean and onto the runway in one piece. Statistically speaking, we all know that a commercial airliner is safer than a toaster oven, but we don’t always think like statisticians when we’re listening to the wings of a jumbo jet rattling in the turbulence at 40,000 feet above the icy cold waters of the North Sea.

Entering the EU with a US passport and a one-way ticket, with no definite plans to return home, was another matter of concern. It helps to be traveling with three family members, all carrying German passports, but the letter of the law requires non-citizens to obtain some sort of visa for stays longer than three months. The fact that our plans are so open ended, with intentions of visiting several countries over the span of nearly 12 months and the possibility of settling down and residing somewhere permanently, put us in a rather complicated position. I could not even begin to clarify the precise requirements for us to travel through the Schengen Zone in this loosey goosey fashion.

To our great delight, the customs officers, likely distracted by our travel-weary children, asked few questions. When she asked, “Where do you live?” it was easy enough to answer California. When she asked if we were coming to visit family, we simply said yes. But unlike the group of dark skinned travelers in the line next to us, we were never asked to present our return ticket.

Upon entering Germany, I always make it a priority to find a bakery and a pretzel before leaving the airport. This is never difficult, as Frankfurt airport has as many bakeries as a muffin has poppy seeds. I had prepared my daughter to look forward to her first genuine German pretzel, and she was not disappointed. The only let down was that we did not also purchase one of every pastry that glistened behind the bakery’s spotless glass counters. But not to worry, we have more than enough time to sample all the tortes, turnovers and eclairs that Germany has to offer.

In the two years that I lived in Germany, before we were married, we never owned a car. I always relied on trains, and so my driving experience here was extremely limited. But now, traveling with children and our vast supply of suitcases, with plans to visit the rural hinterlands, we have no choice but to get some kind of vehicle for ourselves. So we started with a rental car straight out of the airport, and despite my reservations about jumping onto the narrow and unfamiliar European roadways after some 18 hours of uncomfortable and semi-sleepless travel, I managed to hit the highway with no difficulties at all.

The German roads and the Autobahn—perfectly maintained and filled with responsible and attentive drivers— are an absolute pleasure to drive on, even if our VW minivan can’t quite keep up with the low profile Audis that drive as fast as possible over the portions of the Autobahn that have no speed limit. Traffic has a tendency to move much more smoothly when the drivers can agree to pass on the left and keep slower vehicles to the right, a simple concept that Americans have never quite been able to grasp. The use of yield signs and traffic circles has the same effect, keeping the cars in motion and proceeding safely, great alternatives to the four-way stop, America’s attempt to cater to the least capable drivers by forcing everyone to stop regardless of cross traffic. (The efficiency of traffic circles and the reluctance of Americans to adopt them may be a subject that deserves an entire blog of its own.)

Another source of concern, relocating from California to Saxony, has to do with the climate. A few days before our departure, it was actually snowing here. Apparently they had already enjoyed a good two or three weeks of warm spring weather, when Father Winter returned to rear his ugly head. On the day of our arrival, the third of May, we were expecting a cold, cold rain. As it turned out, we were a bit colder than Pismo Beach, but with only patchy clouds, and otherwise beautiful skies. After an hour or so on the road, we hit a few sprinkles, just enough to produce a couple of rainbows as the low sun shone across the stunning fields of yellow rapeseed that blanket most of Germany throughout the month of May.

By our third day here, temperatures had risen significantly, and now we are enjoying sunshine and t-shirt weather. Last night we attended a street festival and lantern walk, strolling outdoors comfortably in lightweight sweatshirts until 11 pm.

Read on: For more enchanting stories about our adventures in Germany, check out the following articles:

• The best of Thuringia
• Turning leaves in the Fatherland
• Urban Germany: Well-oiled engine of the EU
• Philosophizing in Weimar