When a foreign city starts to feel like home

Photo from the Schirn Museum exhibit

I had a chance to walk around Frankfurt by myself for half a day yesterday.

I took the S train to the U train into Römer Plaza. On a pretty day, Römer Plaza is one of the best places in the world to sit alone.

It was a pretty day.

I visited the Schirn museum. Their exhibit at the moment is vulgar, offensive, distasteful, and disgusting. It was an exhibit from two Swedish artists who create stop motion films. They use multiple mediums such as clay, felt, metals, and probably anything else that fits their needs. They had running themes of masks and animals, sometimes animals wearing masks. If I could take a guess, I would say that the artists were making an overall statement that we are not who we need to be. We are not true to ourselves. We are not true to each other.

Many of the films were gruesome. The pieces of art physically on display (in addition to the films) were exquisite. The first thing you see when you walk in is a room full of exotic birds in all different positions. You might be caught off guard with the detail and even the size of them. Then you'll notice the film. I watched the first film with curiosity. Stuffed women made of nylons having to do with breaking eggs. The next film I saw, I watched with interest. That was the gruesome one, but I was interested to learn the artists' agenda. The next, with loathing. Picture a baby and a momma who are switching in between a lizard and a lizard skeleton. Really, words don't describe it. The last one I watched, which was the maximum I could tolerate, I watched with horror. Something about a mother's children forcibly re-entering her womb to undo their own birth. Honestly, I couldn't do it, so I didn't watch very much of that one.

I love, love, love the Schirn museum. No other thing I've seen or done has taken me outside of my culture and made me think more than this museum has. I am fascinated by the artists whose works they display. What drives them? Why are they so different from me? In what (or whom) do they place their hope? That is what I always wonder about people. I really enjoy new cultures and different lifestyles. The Schirn museum is amazing at showing me that.

Because of that, more so than the artists, I would love to meet the curator. Who is that person?! How did they get so good at their job? What drives them, and how do they find people?

I'm just a simple Pennsylvania girl, and I'm happy to be that. But I'm also happy that I've had the opportunity to visit this world-renowned museum, more than once, and to let it open my eyes just a little more than they were before. I think I will get to see two more exhibitions before we leave. I missed several while I was here. But what I've seen thus far has been very, very interesting.

When I walked out of the museum, I realized that I knew where I was going, and I didn't need to use Google maps to get there. That was a nice feeling, but then I started to get a little bit sad. I was starting to feel at home in Frankfurt. I enjoy Römer Plaza and visiting the nearby churches. I walked across the footbridge and simply enjoyed the skyline. It was a really nice afternoon. It felt a little bit like home: comfortable, familiar, welcoming, and even unimposing. I was saddened by the thought that after this year, I may never see Frankfurt again. I may, but I may not.

I think that's the way these moments are going to be for me for the next two months. I'm looking forward to them so much.

At the same time, I don't think I will regret leaving at all. I am ready to go home to the always-familiar way of life. I am so very ready to see my family and friends. My life has been such an adventure these past two years. I am looking forward to seeing what the next stage will bring.

A gorgeous day at Romer plaza, which is a great place to visit

From the Schirn Museum. Look at this incredible detail.

I just the other day told my dad that I miss the PA wildlife. I sent this picture to him and called it, "Frankfurt wildlife". He said, "I think that's a turkey, but it looks like it belongs in a cartoon." Exactly.

A two photo panorama of Romer plaza. There is so much going on in this photo.

Mom is leaving.

My time with Mom is winding down. She leaves Thursday. Even as I write that, I get tears in my eyes. I'm going to miss her very much. It's been so nice having her here. So nice for me and the kids. She's a big helper and a pleasant person. I love her so much.

We didn't do quite as much as I had hoped we would, namely because I got intimidated by the crowds that first day she was here. But today (Tuesday), Dave watched the kids all day so that we could go to Frankfurt together. The plan had been to go with the whole family, but the twins got woken up by Alex and his nightmare at 4:00 a.m., and didn't go back to sleep. That would have made for an awful day. Not to mention, it was cold and rainy and dreary and the twins both have colds. So I'm glad we were able to go alone in spite of the plan. (Thank you, honey.)

A new museum opened up in the church in Römerburg. It was really nice. Small but inexpensive, and their artifacts were so impressive. Church artifacts from the 1300s. Amazing! I enjoy the religious history much more than any other history. It was a nice day for Mom and me.

We also visited the archaeological museum of Frankfurt. Their exhibits were impressive, but the permanent exhibit had no English explanations. It was still very interesting as it revealed artifacts excavated near Frankfurt. I found it interesting because when I think of Europe, I think of the Medieval and Renaissance periods, but they had found artifacts from much further back than that. Of course. If I think of the caves in France, I would remember that humans on this continent go much further back than the Medieval period.

The temporary exhibit had English translations and was very interesting. It depicted Etruscan culture and the gods of Old Italy, where there were many different gods similar to Greek mythology, but it seemed they had a greater fascination with death and the afterlife. I would even go so far as to say it was a little bit creepy. The museum overall was very interesting, and much bigger than it looked. I didn't take pictures today but will attempt to next time I go.

I always get a little bit sad after Christmas. Factor in Mom leaving on Thursday and the gloomy weather. It's not a good outlook. I know I have such a great opportunity here, and I'm grateful for it, but can I just be human for a bit? I'm sad because Christmas is over, Mom's leaving, and January and February are going to be tough months for us. I have to travel about 2.5 weeks total in January. I'm looking forward to the sunshine that I'll get when I go to Israel again, but right before that, I have to travel to Grafenwohr, and right after that, I might be going to Romania (neat, right?!). All this travel is hard on all of us. Hard for Dave for obvious reasons, hard for the kids since I'm not around to be with them, and hard for me because I'm not around Dave and the kids. That's January. February is going to be tough because Alex is scheduled to have his adenoids removed. In the meantime, the poor kid can hardly hear at all. But have you ever taken your kids willingly into surgery? That's a hard thing to do! Thank God it isn't worse. I know that. It's still hard, though. I'm taking him in knowing that he will suffer. I hope he's old enough to understand. I hope it's the right decision.

Pray for us, okay?

St. Bartholomew

This is nearly 600 years old

Mom and I in Romerburg 

Frankfurt with a friend and family

I was so blessed by my friend Heather's visit! She and her mom stopped in Frankfurt to see me before heading over to Krakow for a longer stay.

Why don't YOU do that?!

Seriously, my visit with Heather was absolutely therapeutic. I needed to spend some time with a loved one in addition to my immediate family!

Heather found an app (was it, "Visit a City"?) that put together a walking tour with her input, and we saw so much in Frankfurt! We saw multiple churches and a couple museums. I especially enjoyed the Schirn Museum, which has an exhibit based on dioramas. I've never seen anything like it before!

I learned how to use public transportation to and from my house this weekend. Finally! And how easy it is! It is so easy, in fact, that I think we're all going to go up to Frankfurt this weekend for a little trip. The kids will love the train, and I think everyone will love getting out for a bit. The train station is only a 7 minute walk from my house! Fortunately I had guessed correctly that an all day ticket was literally good all day and would count for a round-trip ticket. On my first day, nobody checked, but on my second day, the polizei came around, and my ticket was good. Somebody else's wasn't, and the polizei asked for his passport, which he didn't have. So then he took him to the back. Uh oh. (He came back to his seat after a little while. It really wasn't too dramatic, thankfully.)

I am getting into this business of living in Europe! I still have to decide where we'll go over the Christmas holiday. My mom is coming to visit (woo hoo!!), and I'm going to show her as much of Germany as I can, but I think we'll still have time to go somewhere as a family. I'm thinking of going north to Berlin, but I might be intimidated by the weather. I still have time to decide!

And I can't wait to visit Bavaria (today)! I think I am one or two weeks late with the leaves, but that's okay. I'm excited to see the mountains again. This time with a digital camera! It could be great!

After my visit with Heather, I actually did as I planned and took the family to Frankfurt. I'll tell you, I can't get us out the door at a decent hour. Today my goal is noon, but with Frankfurt, it was 10:00. Guess what time we left? 2:00. I know how we are, though, and planned only to go to the Schirn Museum and have a nice dinner. We did both, stopping at a Chinese buffet on the way back to the train station. I also put on the baby backpack for the first time since I discovered my herniated disc in 2015. It went well. I had to give it to Dave quite a bit but less because of my neck and more because my core is weak and it felt like my lungs were being squished. But I'm happy I handled it as much as I did.

Oh, and on another note, I submitted my claim for my household goods. Please pray that it gets resolved smoothly and to our satisfaction. We are just too busy to have to spend too much time fighting this.

And now I share the pictures:

From Frankfurt, a visit to Alaska

And Africa, maybe?

Interesting diorama at the Schirn Museum

Schirn Museum. For me, this exhibit was quite weird

Pretty German building

At the Goethe House

Linen press. Looks like a lot of work to me

At the Museum for Modern Art (MMK). What is the purpose of this exhibit? It is beyond me

Near Romer Plaza

In Romer Plaza