Reflecting on the first half

If I'd only known then what I know now....That is our feeling about most everything as we look forward to the last half of our adventure.  There was a steep learning curve and that adjustment took time.  So much has become easier now and we are really ready to go and do some things.  Unfortunately this weekend begins the off season and we are short-timers so our options are limited.  However, I really don't know if there is any way to do it differently.  So much of what we have learned is just a part of the experience.  Crying in the grocery store because I couldn't read the labels is funny to me now as I can shop without too much trouble, but it was really hard those first few trips to the store.  We've learned what the stores are and where to get things so today when a special flood light bulb went out we didn't look at each other and wonder where in the world we could get a replacement.  We know how to take trains and when to take them.  We can read a bus schedule and figure out how to get from point A to B even though every city is different (usually!!). I still get anxious, can't get used to eating a ham sandwich for breakfast, REALLY wish I knew more German, and routinely have folks thinking I am a crazy American.  Yet, I am comfortable in my position and I doubt I could feel as I do without having gone through those first few weeks.  A cruise down the Rhine river, explore the largest ice cave in the world, and take a ferry to Norway.  These are all things we've learned we COULD have done had known more and hit the ground running when we arrived in September, but we simply weren't ready or able to do that then.  We did get around a lot despite our need to learn.  So far we've been to Playmobil in Nurnburg, Rostock/Warnemunde, Munich, Berlin, Garmish, Hohenschwangau, and are feeling at home in the amazing city of Regensburg.  We'll capitalize on what is available to us during November and try to make more fun memories.  We have some more trips planned over the next two weeks, part of which is our fall break.  We plan to throughly enjoy the Christmas Markets and come home feeling like we learned a lot.  If we could come back I'd do better.  I would know how to prepare and pack and what to do when I got here, but I doubt I'd appreciate those skills as much as I do having earned them the hard way.  Its been a lot of fun so far and we still believe it is a wonderful way to spend 89 days. Sprechen sie Deutsch?  Ein bisschen.  But we understand more than we used to and if its written we can figure it out!!