Back to reality

As I foretold last week, I walked out of Family Law a little bit ago and Brenda is currently in her PJs in Frankfurt. Our last few days in Santa Fe were uneventful (except for Brenda's outstanding performance, of course), and our return flights to our respective locations for the fall were equally uneventful. We flew to the Minneapolis airport together but had to say goodbye there. We're usually pretty good at goodbyes in airports, but this one was rough. The countdown to being together again is at 38 days.

Today is my first day of classes and things are going well so far. I have one more class today that starts at 6:00 tonight and lasts for two hours. I managed to squeeze all of my classes into Monday-Wednesday this semester, so I'm looking forward to my 5-day holiday weekend this weekend. The trick will be finding someplace cool to enjoy it. The heat in Iowa City has been rather excessive if you ask me, but I'm probably just saying that because I don't have air conditioning in my apartment. Is it fall yet?

Brenda begins rehearsals for Ariadne auf Naxos tomorrow. Since arriving in Frankfurt she's been meeting up with friends, running errands, and getting re-settled into our apartment. It seems like she's doing well with jet-lag. Or at least as well as I'm doing. The only difference being that my time zone change was one hour while hers was eight. She's clearly the more adaptable of the two of us.

I should probably start getting ready for class. By the way, sorry for the lack of photos. We'll try to have some good pics for you next week. Until then, have a great week!

five years

After a wonderful couple of months, our summer in Santa Fe is finally winding down. Brenda's last performance of La Traviata is on Thursday, and we will be hitting the road the following day. This time next week I will have just finished my first Family Law class in Iowa, while Brenda will likely be getting into her pajamas in Frankfurt. We've been able to enjoy over three uninterrupted months together this summer, for which we are very thankful. And as much as I'd love to follow Brenda back to Germany, I need to wrap up this law school business which means we're going to have to spend some more time apart. The longest time we'll have to be apart for the foreseeable future begins as soon as we leave Santa Fe. Brenda's first thing in Frankfurt is a new production of Ariadne auf Naxos. New productions rehearse for six weeks, so Brenda will be needed in Frankfurt until her show opens in October. I will be flying to Germany in October to see the opening performance.

Six weeks apart obviously isn't ideal, but after all of the time we've spent apart over the years, we've become pretty good at the long-distance thing. And once this six week period is over, we'll get to see a lot more of each other. Brenda will be back in the US for almost all of November and half of December, and then I'll be heading to Germany for Christmas. Also, I'm very happy to report that I was accepted into the University of Iowa's study abroad program in London for the spring semester. There are a bunch of direct flights from London to Frankfurt, so we expect to see each other a lot in the spring.

Let's switch gears from the future tense to the past tense and talk about our previous week in Santa Fe. As you know from Drew's wonderful post last week, we've been having a great time with our guests lately. Last week Drew, Brenda and I did quite a bit of hiking. One day we took Drew on an intense hike near our house, which allowed Drew to show us what being in really good shape looks like (why wasn't Drew gasping for breath like I was?). Another day we went up to Abiquiu Lake, which is an hour or so north of Santa Fe. Drew and Brenda planned on doing some swimming but an overcast sky made the water unbearably cold. The clouds eventually cleared in time for us to enjoy a sunny hike.

 We're all smiling because we survived the steep hike to the top of the trail. It was touch and go for a while there.

Abiquiu Lake

Bettina arrived late Thursday night after spending two days driving from Minneapolis. The following day she and Drew went to Brenda's performance, which I also attended (don't ask how many times I've seen her show). We were all especially excited to be at that performance because there was a famous guest in the audience. I was able to snap a picture as she walked in front of my seat before the performance. Can you guess who it is?

 Here's a big hint: she's on the supreme court.

On Saturday Drew and Bettina left for Taos, and Brenda and I have been alone since. We've been trying to get through as much of our summer to-do list as possible before we head out of town. We were able to cross off one of the more fun items on the list a few days ago when we drove up to Santa Fe National Forest for a hike. Santa Fe is at an elevation of around 7000 feet, but where we hiked was between 10,000-12,000 feet. We enjoyed seeing a forest filled with aspen trees and gorgeous views of Santa Fe.

Brenda enjoying the view. In case you're wondering, that tattoo on her shoulder is a fake tattoo that she wears for La Traviata. 

Before I say goodbye for the week, I wanted to point out something special about the date today. Exactly five years ago today Brenda and I boarded a plane in Chicago with two one-way tickets to Frankfurt, Germany. We arrived in Germany the following day and posted our very first blog entry. So much has happened to us since then, and you've all been kind enough to let us share it with you. We intend to keep writing posts until we run out of things to write about, and we hope that you continue to enjoy them.

Well, it's time to get back to our to-do list. I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!

Blog Hostage!

TWIN TIME!!!

Well howdy, folks! It's Drew, making another rare guest appearance in the Chenda blogisphere! The past week has been filled with lots of family fun, hence the tardy blog entry. The fun never stops at the Chenda Hostel, so without further ado, here is a recap of the week!

Friends!

In anticipation of the trip, I could not fathom sleeping the night before I left, so I arrived in Santa Fe feeling loopy but excited. After the drive from Albuquerque, Brenda and Chad showed me around their beautiful temporary home and then we headed over to Whole Foods to grab some fixin's for the grill! Plans had been in the works to meet up with their friends Paul and Jacqueline for quite some time, so the grill out was epic. I was able to enjoy their company for a bit, but retired to my bed and let the partiers enjoy the massive amount of delicious grilled treats on their own. It was a great way to start my trip to Santa Fe!

The next day, Brenda, Chad, and I made the trek to the Albuquerque "Sunport" again to pick up the Klinkert parents! Mom and dad were airport champions, having survived some re-routing and a long flight from Atlanta. After everyone had ample rest, we awoke to a beautiful day in Santa Fe and scurried out to one of the many beautiful hiking trails in the area. I always heard that a family that hikes together, stays together, and while it doesn't rhyme, it's absolutely true! What fun!

The Von Klinkert Family Singers! 

Chad collapsed from "fun stroke" hahaha! 

Different hike, different day, more good times!

Brenda and Karen!

Of course, we can't forget the reason for the trip in the first place - Opera! Brenda moved her entire family to tears with an amazing performance. This twin couldn't be more proud of her. In addition to having us in the audience, the Opera Props group from Madison made a plentiful showing! While I don't have an exact number, I'm pretty sure Brenda had at least 25 raving fans waiting outside her dressing room after the show, including a few familiar faces! It was great to be there that night to see my sister sing so beautifully and also to see the support she gets from old friends, teachers, and adoring new acquaintances! 

Brenda and Carol! 

Happy Wordsmiths!

In addition to hiking and the opera, we cooked many a delicious meal, explored a bit of Santa Fe, and, of course, played multiple rousing rounds of the family favorite Bananagrams. Even in the new environment of the Southwest, having all of us together really made it feel like home. Alas, all good things must end - we got my parents to the airport successfully yesterday, so it's just the three of us for another couple days. My partner Bettina will be joining the household tomorrow for a couple nights and I predict more hiking and opera! We'll be seeing Brenda's Friday night performance of La Traviata with Chad as our chaperone and then it's off to Taos for us! I'm still trying to convince Brenda and Chad to visit us on one of their final days in New Mexico, but as you can guess, they have a pretty full schedule already! Tune in next week, when you'll get Chenda's side of the story about my visit. I'll do my best to inspire lots of amusing stories! 

Too busy having fun!

Hey all! I'm happy to report that Brenda and I have been having a blast with her family over the last several days. The downside is that we ran out of time to write the blog entry today. We'll write the entry you deserve tomorrow. Until then, have a great night!

The family resting after a successful hike.

getting gussied up

Another week filled with opera and visitors has flown by in Santa Fe. My parents and several of their college friends joined me at Brenda's performance on Friday night. The show was a hit even though there was some serious rain, lightning, and thunder happening during the second half of the opera. I heard some people say that they liked the storm because it added drama to the performance. I'm pretty sure none of those people were sitting in the seats that were getting rained on.

I've known my parents' college friends my whole life, and they are more like aunts and uncles to me than friends of my parents. A few of them were seeing Brenda perform for the first time and, we think, even meeting Brenda for the first time. We had a great time with them and, barring an interaction they had with a very drunk local, it seems like they had a good time too.

My parents and their friends with Brenda in her dressing room after the show.

On Saturday night Brenda and I went to Santa Fe Opera's annual fundraising gala. In fact, Brenda was an honorary host along with numerous other musicians, actors, and politicians. (We had our eyes peeled for famous people, but we didn't see any.) We did have a very nice evening, though. We had dinner with some very nice opera supporters, we danced, and we even went to the after party in the presidential suite.

Brenda and I at the gala posing with our friend Adam.

My parents took off early this afternoon and headed for Taos. We're excited to get a full report on Taos because Brenda and I are considering a trip up there ourselves before the summer comes to an end. After they left we decided we should get a little activity, so we went for a hike. Shortly after returning home, Brenda's Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Ron came over for dinner. In fact, they brought all of the ingredients and made us dinner (what great guests!). They went to Brenda's opera last night with several friends and even tailgated before the performance. We had a great time catching up with them over their delicious dinner.

All of us getting ready to chow down.

Before I say goodbye for the week, I wanted to share a couple pictures of local critters Brenda and I see regularly around town. I don't know why, but there are some prairie dog homes (at least I think they're prairie dogs - feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) near busy streets in at least two different places in Santa Fe. Every time we drive by one of these places, Brenda lets out one of the happiest noises I've ever heard a human being make. And I totally understand why. These are some cute prairie dogs.

Try to imagine Brenda making an incredibly high pitched squeak as you look at this prairie dog.

We see lizards regularly on our hikes and in our yard. This one posed nicely for my Dad.

Well, I should call it a night. Brenda and I are looking forward to more guests (her parents and Drew all arrive later this week - YAY!) and another performance on Saturday. I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you next Tuesday!