"What childishness is it that while there's a breath of life in our bodies, we are determined to rush to see the sun the other way around? The tiniest green hummingbird in the world? To stare at some inexplicable old stonework, inexplicable and impenetrable, at any view, instantly seen and always, always delightful?"
-Elizabeth Bishop, https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/questions-of-travel/
Last night, Anna and I stupidly watched the Handmaid's Tale (E1 S2) right before going to sleep, so we both tossed and turned, dreaming about hangings and torture. After a slow morning on my part, Anna's father James drove us to a hiking path in the countryside. The sky looked clear when we arrived, so we decided to leave our raincoats in the car. Within 15 minutes, it was pouring, but we bravely made our way through sheets of rain to an old castle. Unfortunately, we could not go in because some rich, German industrialist was living there.
We then drove to another castle which was demolished in a way that made for an exciting jungle gym. We climbed around the castle, and I taught Anna and her father how to take a boomerang in Instagram. As we were walking around, we discovered wild strawberries, which tasted as beautiful as they look in the picture. After pressuring Anna into posing for many more pictures than she would normally be comfortable with, I went home and packed for the next leg of my trip. Anna's parents made us a great dinner pictured above (along with Anna's parents and a quarter of her sister Juliette's wisdom-teeth-swollen face!).
About two hours ago, I boarded a big, yellow bus which will take me from Luxembourg to Prague in about 9 hours. Then, I will get on another bus, which will take me from Prague to Vienna in 4 hours. I was really excited for this bus ride which will take me through Germany, France, and the Czech Republic on its way to Vienna, but I sadly forgot the fact that I'm traveling at nighttime and can't actually see any of the countries.
Because we are traveling through the countryside, it is pitch black outside except for the occasional bus or car, When I look out the window I cannot even tell if I'm looking at trees, a wall, or the sky.
Some things I learned today that relate to Europe:
1. They have actual brown cows!!!! I always thought the doctor Seuss rhyme was a joke, but it's based in reality! The brown ones are adorable, but my heart will always be with the normally-cow-colored cuties.
2. The word "yelling" in American English can sometimes refer to talking loudly and firmly, but in British English, in order to yell, you have to be truly screaming your head off. Passionate arguing doesn't cut it.
My favorite things about Luxembourg:
1. The sincere adoration citizens have for their country
2. The widespread communal efforts to solve socio-economic and environmental issues
3. The cute town with only orange houses
4. The jungle gym-castles
5. The enormous variety of languages
6. This may be specific to Anna's house, but every window and door in her three-story house is kept open during the day when the family is at home.