Anxiety vs. Anticipation

Happy Saturday! It has been a lazy morning here in the Daxon household. Coffee and eggs, smoked salmon, and chives. A fat, funny baby. Later, some Out and About Time. Tomorrow we'll worship, cheer the Netherlands on to victory, and say a final goodbye to Arthur. The weekend should be restfully busy.

Each day brings us closer to our departure and, honestly, I'm anxious. In an effort to quell the Knot in my stomach, I've decided to write a series of posts on the top five things I'm looking forward to in Germany (in no particular order).

"Beer turns thurst into a beautiful thing..."

-old German saying

1. Bier
When we first visited Germany in 2012, I was not a beer-lover. Six weeks later and I was ashamed of my previous self. Guys, there's beer and then there's beer. Don't hate, but a Bud shall never again touch my lips. As I'm sure you know, beer is everywhere in Germany. There are approximately 1,250 breweries in Germany producing about 5,000 brands of beer. The German brewery Weihenstephaner is the oldest in the world, dating back to 1040. That's 26 years before the Norman conquest, 452 years before Columbus sailed the ocean blue, and 736 years before the United States declared its independence. So, old. The atmosphere of beer culture is fantastic. A tall, cold one is best consumed in a biergarten. Imagine cobblestones, picnic tables, the best wurst you've ever had, polka music, and, you guessed it, beer. (For those of you who live in the DC area, there's a great biergarten on H street). It's communal, al fresco, and so relaxing. You know the classic stereotype of Germans? Beer-drinking, sausage-eating, pretzel-indulging? They're actually true. Personally, my favorite type of beer is the ubiquitous weissbier. There's nothing quite like sitting down to a tall, chilled glass of thick, golden goodness. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to the hoppy adventures ahead.

Up next...

On winding countryside drives, surviving the autobahn, and this thing called rapeseed.

Kickoff

The teams are singing their respective anthems. Fans wildly waving, yelling, gesticulating. Black, red, and gold against the good ole red, white, and blue. It's happening, folks. And I'm on the edge of my seat.

It is somehow very appropriate that I'm writing my first post while watching the USA-Germany match. It has been an interesting couple of weeks for us. We're in a holding pattern until we fly out on July 12th. Strange, this. To be in someone else's home, living out of suitcases, preparing for an international move. I'm realizing how important it is to take a step back from all the change. Last night, a favorite wine. Today, a cup of coffee, Julia Child's autobiography (did you know she lived in Germany?! I didn't!), some mental quietude, dinner with friends. Although the mental quietude is being disrupted with heart palpitations as I watch this game. Gah.

Growing up, Going on a Journey was part and parcel of my childhood imaginations. My brothers and sisters and I would pretend we were Lost Kids (it's just what it sounds like). We'd pack our 1960s-era suitcases, wear our best adventuring garments (imagine a hodge podge of makeshift prairie garb, Civil War musketry, and cowboy duds), and set off into the wilds of our backyard to face Harsh Winters and Imminent Peril.

Now that I'm embarking on a more permanent journey, I find the process a bit more anxiety-laden. I've gone on many adventures since a child...Europe, Africa, all over the US. I was always giddy during preparation and ready to leave again shortly after returning home. I've missed those sensations during this season. Granted, having a six-month-old probably has something to do with it. Moving far away from friends and family is scary. I'm older and value stability more than I did when I was twenty. Or twenty-five for that matter. But then Tuesday happened and I gave myself hope again. I was driving to Virginia on the George Washington Parkway. It's a beautiful drive. Tree-lined, winding, skirting the Potomac. As you reach Virginia, you drive right under the final approach pattern for Reagan National Airport. All of a sudden, I heard this roar and looked up to see the belly of a plane directly above me. It was so close. And all of a sudden, I was grinning. Full-faced, ear-to-ear and all that. And I thought, I've still got it - this is going to be great.

It's still nil-nil at minute fifty. The US team is looking good. And for my part, all I have to say is, Germany here we come.