I have a great travel story to share with you, but it would probably sound like every other travel nightmare. A last-minute realization that my passport had expired three days before my flight, and a series of delayed flights and trains, left me with a very stressful and unusual route to Tübingen. After I squared away the passport fiasco, I first flew to Dublin, then to Paris Charles-de-Gaulle. A not-quick-enough transfer from the airport to the Paris-Est train station left me with an hour and a half wait in Paris (despite the help of an incredibly nice traveling companion and a French stranger who walked me a block in the right direction and spoke to me in French even though it was obvious I was a foreigner – yay!). As I was running through Paris I had two thoughts: “I’m late, I’m late!” and “I’m in PARIS and it looks like PARIS!! It’s so beautiful!”
The train trip was just as eventful: a forced transfer due to “technical difficulties” left me on the German/French border in Saarbrücken for another forty-five minutes. This is where I decided the theme of my trip was that at almost every transfer I was essentially told “You can’t get there from here.” But I could move forward darnit. And so it was off to Mannheim, then Stuttgart, and finally Tübingen and a late-night cab ride home.
Okay so I cheated and actually took this photo this evening, not last night, but that’s pretty much what it looked like. And I have to say: I’m so happy to be here! After a good night’s sleep, I ran around town this afternoon and Christmas shopped, and window shopped. The streets are so familiar, and yet they still take my breath away. This evening my sister Sarah and I made a batch of cookies and drank homemade Glühwein. Even though it’s far too warm for Glühwein, it tasted mighty fine.
Glühwein
1 bottle cheap red wine (quality is not important)
1 Tbsp whole cloves
1 slice lemon (or orange)
1 stick cinnamon
ca. 1 cup sugar
Put all the ingredients in a pot and stir to combine the sugar. Taste to make sure there is enough sugar – it should taste quite sweet, but not cloyingly so. The amount will depend on how dry your wine is. Set heat to medium low and steep for ten minutes. Serve hot.
