There and back again, a parents' tale

Hello my dear friends! I'm sorry for the long delay since my last post. Brenda's parents came and experienced Frankfurt the Rae/Graham way. They were here 6 nights and 7 days and they left us in better shape than they found us. Actually, I was left in a rounder shape than I was found but that's to be expected.

The day after they arrived we welcomed another guest. Karin (pictured below) has been friends with the Klinkerts for almost a decade now and she was kind enough to make the trip up from Bavaria to visit us all.  She is a wonderful person and I really enjoyed meeting her.  She did have to put up with quite a lot staying with us.  First, she had to deal with a never-ending barrage of incoherent German phrases from me (her English is fantastic). Second, she had to sleep on the couch in our kitchen.  I'm not sure how she did it but she said it wasn't a problem at all.  Lastly, she acted as translator for all those things Brenda and I have been confused about for the last 2 1/2 months. Grocery shopping has never been so easy.

The same day that Karin arrived we all went to Brenda's second performance of the Turn of the Screw. As you might have guessed, Brenda was outstanding.

A group photo taken moments after the performance.

A poster about Brenda hanging in the lobby introducing her to the Frankfurtians.

The three of us in our kitchen which, thanks to Joanne's unparalleled organizational skills, is much improved.

Brenda and I showed Karin and Brenda's parents around Frankfurt the next couple of days.  We went to the PalmenGarten which is like a zoo for plants.  We ate at several good Frankfurt restaurants which contributed to my increasing roundness.  And we laughed, a lot.

On Monday Karin had to head back to Bavaria to return to work.  We continued our tour of Frankfurt with Jim and Joanne and even made a trip to IKEA.  I'll have you know that they pronounce IKEA here as ee-kay-uh.  They claim that's the right way to say it but I think they're just trying to trick the American with the big head.

A stroll across a windy bridge.

Yesterday we woke up at 6:00 am (a time of day I haven't seen in quite some time) and we escorted Jim and Joanne to the airport.  We had a nice breakfast of croissants and coffee and we sent them on their way.  They caught their flight just fine and made it all the way home safe and sound.  Before leaving the airport Brenda and I decided our breakfasts weren't quite complete.  We grabbed some McDonald's french fries and Starbuck's coffee for the train ride home.  The fries taste exactly the same as they do in the US.

I think we have a pretty relaxing weekend ahead of us.  We need to get some cleaning done.  We found an inexpensive gym close to our apartment that we're going to join.  And I need more coffee.  By the way, I don't know if I mentioned this or not but Brenda and I will be returning to the US in January.  We can't wait.  Have a great weekend!