Every Town Has It's Castle

I'm in South Central Germany, Heilbronn to be exact. My cousins live about 5 minutes from here in a small town called Talheim. I've been here almost a week. I left Canada last Wednesday and arrived here Thursday morning. Once again a long flight.

Every town has it's castle. Perhaps not 100% true, but close enough. I've been to 3 already and that doesn't count the ones we drove past. The buildings in rural Germany are a mixture of old and new. When I say old, I mean dating back to 1388 and then some. Pretty cool.

My cousins are wonderful people that I get along with very well. Their 3 year old is reasonably cute but small humans and I don't mix. Limited time is all good, but 24/7 with no end in site is a bit much. There's a reason I'm not a parent. The temper tantrums are starting to get to me. They are good parents and deal with her moods like any parent, the best they can... but I'm unused to living with a child that age and am pretty much stuck with out a vehicle. (Looking into that as we speak.)

I don't mean to sound ungrateful for anything, just being honest. I came here to see them, but also to see a good chunk of Europe. I am ticked off that my train pass got all messed up, and I'm with out one. Not impressed about that. I just need to make alternate arrangements. I'm nothing if not resourceful.

I just don't do well with children. It's the same at my sister's place in Toronto. A couple of days with their kids and I'm done, and looking for an alternative. When a couple of my sisters kids come out to our area, I have a break. I go to work, I go home... ect, it's much easier to deal with.

Back to Germany. It's a beautiful country and full of history and heritage. I visited the town and house my grandfather was born in. The house was in our family for @ 500 years (give or take). My dad's cousin sold it not long ago. Not impressed, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Against the wishes of the entire family (both here in Germany and back home) she decided to sell it. (she was "handling the estate"). So we drove past the house, but I was unable to go in. I'm very disappointed about that, but that's life.

Anyway, I have to figure out my transport situation and internet cafes are not cheap.

Lisa Freitag
Silent River Kung Fu, Heilbronn, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany.