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I’ve been here in Germany for one week now, and it’s gone by pretty quickly.  My jetlag didn’t last too long, which was good—the late hour at which I’ve been going to bed might have had something to do with that by making the required adjustment smaller.  I celebrated four birthdays at home before flying over, and I’ve had two already here.  Isabel’s birthday was on the 5th and her mother’s on the 7th.  That means a lot of cake and a lot of games, and I’m not complaining about either.  On Wednesday, between birthdays, Isabel and I went to the Sneak at the Cinemaxx in Darmstadt—the Sneak takes place every Wednesday night and an unannounced, surprise movie is shown.  This week we saw Boy-A, a British film about child criminals, their rehabilitation, and reentry into society.  It was pretty good … but more like a made-for-TV movie.  This Sunday I will be going rock climbing in Darmstadt with Philipp, a couple of his friends, and maybe Isa at the recently opened climbing hall here.  I’m looking forward to that.

I’m about to head to Germany.  I’ve got my backs packed up and weighed.  They’re stuffed to the gills, but each suitcase weighs in at just slightly under 50 pounds, hopefully avoiding overweight baggage fees.  Of course, my carry-on bags are at maximum capacity as well.  Hey, you need a lot of stuff for three months.  Plus, it’s not all mine; there’re some birthday gifts as well.  Anyway, I should arrive in Frankfurt safe and sound about 1:40 a.m. Easter Standard Time, or 7:40 a.m. in Germany.  No matter how you look at it, I’ll need a little sleep when I get there.

My nephew Colton turned the big one a few days ago. Yesterday was the birthday party. After some initial hesitancy, he really got into his personal little birthday cake. I’m not sure how much was eaten, but the cake was certainly smashed to pieces by the time he was done with it.

Last weekend, I booked my plane tickets to Germany for the Summer.  This year, though, it’s probably more appropriate to say the Spring and early Summer.  I’m departing on April 30th, and I’ll arrive in Frankfurt the morning of May 1st.  Even though I just returned from my last trip about one month ago, I’m definitely excited to be heading back.  I don’t really have too much planned at the moment other than going pretty regularly to the climbing hall in Ludwigshafen and just enjoying myself.  It’s possible that I could make a return trip to Rock im Park, but that’s up in the air at the moment.  Oh, and for the second year in a row, I will make it in time to celebrate Isabel’s birthday.

I missed the birthday post this year. Last Wednesday I turned 29. Indeed, it is my last year in the twenties. I had an enjoyable birthday, I have to say. It was a pretty low-key event, as always. I received some nice birthday gifts—among them a couple books, some workout clothes, and a couple of gift certificates. And, we had some dessert, cake, and ice cream. The usual.