It's a grand ol' flag...

one day we were antique shopping in budapest; the next, we were driving across the golden gate bridge.

easyJet should be called sleazyJet. seriously. they come by with steaming cups of teas and tasty treats...that cost money! then they come by again with duty-free items that they are CONVINCED you want! THEN they come by and try to sell you lottery tickets!!! ON A PLANE RIDE!

but we survived. we made it to london, took a bus and two tube rides, then realized we still needed another tube ride. however, it was now 12:30am and the trains had all stopped running! we trudged off into the darkness in pursuit of our hostel, as a cold drizzle began to fall.

cut to 3 hours later: we are now in a hotel lobby, watching a show about slaughtering sheep, charging the laptop so we can look up the hostel again, before we head back into the rain. we got to bed at about 3:30am, then arose once again at 6:30am, to have some toast and head back to the airport.

at the airport, the British Airways folks were extra cheery, as usual, but all the large screens TVs were tuned to the morning's breaking news: a horrific plane crash in indonesia. luckily we are not bothered by that sort of thing, but i don't know how the other passengers handled it.

"Now boarding rows ONE through TWENTY-FIVE."
"It appears that the front wheel of the plane caught fire as the plane landed, causing it to burst into flames..."
"Now boarding rows TWENTY-FIVE through FIFTY."
"...killing 22 people."

we were so exhausted that we fell asleep before the plane took off. we woke up only for meals, and to watch an embarrassingly-high number of Family Guys. we felt so rested that, once in SF, we opted out of the direct-bus-to-marin option, and decided to take regular public transit. two trains, two buses, and one car ride later we arrived at g-ma t-tine's doorstep to surprise her! we hoped our unexpected arrival wouldn't bring on a heart attack, but luckily g-ma t-tine is a strong woman. her reaction was no stronger than mild surprise, followed by a hurried search for my favorite type of wine, then a flurry of dinner preparations.

we still are shocked that we were REALLY gone for 3 months. how is that possible? our return to SF has made the passage of time seem more real--it was the dead of winter when we left, but now every shrub and tree is in full bloom. the air is warm and fragrant, the sun is shining, and everything is that light, bright green color of new growth.

we did it. we returned to the country of our birth. i wouldn't call it our homeland; germany is the land of my fathers, and the land that feels like most like home. but, technicalities aside, we are here. in the States. "...where there's never a boast or brag."