Friday, 4:35 pm: We made it, we’re home from Europe. Our Swiss Air flight departed and arrived on time. Going through US Customs and Immigration went smoothly at Logan Airport in Boston. After retrieving our car, trying to leave Boston was a test of patience. Once we got on to Interstate 95 [north of Boston] the traffic thinned out enough that we could almost drive the speed limit. Now we’ve had a few days to decompress and recover from jetlag.

Ruth enjoying German Spargel (asparagus)

Back to Europe; our three weeks went by relatively fast. The first two weeks were unseasonably warm and sunny. Air-conditioning is almost unknown in Germany. The last week was spent in the German Alps, which alternated from sun to rain, and back again, throughout the week. It was a pleasant change from the heat; besides the Alps are always nice. When it is drizzly and foggy in the mountains it has an almost mythical quality. I expected some oversized character from a Wagnerian opera to come down with a large broadsword and a helmet with wings on it and start singing. Sadly I settled for a Russian show on satellite television, which was equally unintelligible to me.

Alexander Platz Train Station - Serious scenes of intrigue during the Cold War, now full of tourists

My wife had the chance to catch up on everything with her extended family in Berlin and other parts of Germany. We went to one of the many weekend flea markets [Trödelmarkt] in Berlin. The one we went to on this trip was in the Ostbahnhof district of Berlin. It had lots of great stuff from the former German Democratic Republic and the former USSR. Unfortunately I had to pare down my purchases due to limited room in my luggage.

To help people sort out their litter before dropping it in a can

I will keep this blog short, and will continue with our Deutschland escapades in my next effort.

Current values from our wireless Davis Vantage-Pro weather station:

Temperature: 41° (F.)

Barometer: 30.177 & falling slowly

Humidity: 86%

Wind: Calm

Visibility: < 3 miles

Skies: 100% low overcast

Since midnight:

Low temperature: 26.2° (F.) at 5:26 am

High wind: 13 mph at 11:44 am