Parting Shots

The time has come to say farewell to Greenisland, Northern Ireland. It's a bittersweet affair: we're leaving behind many good friends, quiet green hills and clean air, and returning to many good friends (some who have had kids since we last saw them!), brown (and hopefully not burning) hills and hot, brown air. Then again, we're leaving Northern Ireland just before parade season begins. We'll also be missing some remarkable bonfires (here's an artsy one).

Six months seems like a long time until it's almost over. When K and I first arrived, we didn't know anyone, or where to buy groceries, or even how to operate the shower... (and our hair was shorter, too -- see pic). But the folks at Greenisland Presbyterian Church welcomed us in, showed us around, and tried their best not to laugh at silly questions like, "How can you hold your fork like that?" and "Where do we get coal for the fireplace?" (answer: the local grocery sells 25kg (55lb) bags for about GBP£7 (US$13) -- lots 'o fun to bring home on the bicycle).

But now our hair has grown long, and those same folks who first welcomed us are now good friends. Our last week here has been one long goodbye session, starting with an announcement in church on June 10th. We were at a church dinner last night, and several folks were genuinely surprised to find that we were still here. It's been great to have a full week to visit with folks one last time and say our goodbyes in an unhurried manner... but we're ready to stop saying goodbye, now, please! I mean, closure is good, but c'mon... talk about long goodbyes!

So what has six months of holiday away from the office done for Mr. Tumnus? Well, it's given me some good perspective on time, for one thing. The time's going to go, whether it goes over hill and stream, or over desk and screen... there's no slowing it down, not like when we were kids. Also, it seems to me that I experienced about as many "moments" here as I might have experienced in six months of working life. What are these "moments", you ask? They're those little experiences that manage to touch deep, making one pause... for me, these "moments" are associated with a non-intellectual knowledge that there is a deep order and goodness in the world, that there's hope for good, even in the midst of tragedy. Maybe you experience such "moments" differently, or maybe you haven't any idea what I'm blathering about. If I haven't experienced many more "moments", I have found more time to reflect on them...

So what's next for Mr. Tumnus? Good question! Work, certainly... and K has another year or so of school to finish, so we'll be focusing on that effort. After that, we'll start saving in earnest for a house, and... who knows? One of my own goals will be to keep time in my schedule open for reflection. Riding a bicycle or walking around town; getting up in the mountains (and out of the heat and smog)... easier said than done?

Thanks to everyone who's kept up with my ramblings. I may continue to update this blog, but if so, updates will likely be even less frequent than they have been these past six months! If you're planning a holiday, I wholeheartedly recommend Northern Ireland; if you're planning on going, feel free to contact us* and we'll be glad to pass along a few tips!

Cheers and So Long,
Mr. and Mrs. Tumnus

* If you don't know how to contact us, then you probably shouldn't. We're not altogether safe. Try this resource instead.

Deutchland in May

K and I have returned from 10 days in Germany, visiting with some of K's relatives in Dresden. We had a rocky start, as K misplaced her boarding pass and was nearly not allowed on the plane; the plane was delayed an hour (for reasons unrelated to K's boarding pass)... but things went from bad to worse. We landed in Berlin, and had intended to spend a day doing sightseeing there, before driving south to Dresden. Instead, we spent the day navigating Berlin's public transportation system (which is quite good, by the way). Here's what happened:
We had booked a hotel online that we thought was close to the airport in Berlin. However, when we told our taxi driver the hotel adddress, his nav-computer told him hotel was across town to the north, when actually it was in a neighboring town to the south. Recent events suggest that taxi drivers aren't altogether keeping up with the latest technology, and after a 40min, 50euro ride, we arrived at a small dark building which did indeed have a "Hotel" sign on it... but ringing the bell failed to produce any reaction from within the doors. Now almost midnight, we asked a passerby if the hotel was the one named in our itinerary -- she had no idea. Our taxi driver volunteered to take us to another, much larger hotel nearby, where we might find lodging for the remainder of the night. We agreed, and another 10euro ride later, we checked into a (smoking) room in a ritzy health-club-slash-hotel. Dinner was a hurried search through cold, dark, wet streets until we found an open liquor store, where we bought their last loaf of bread, some peanuts, and a bottle of chocolate milk.

The next morning we ate a much better breakfast at the hotel (it came with the price of the room), we walked back to the "Hotel" and confirmed what we'd expected - and set out to go back to the airport, where we needed to pick up our rental car. Rather than spend another 50euro, we decided to take public transportation, which ended up costing only 10euro, but took 2hrs. We got the car, found the real hotel, and konked out in our room. So, the only thing we saw in Berlin (besides train stations and backyards) was the Gedachtniskirche (Gesundheit!), all lit up at night, from the taxi.

After that, our visit to Germany went much more smoothly. The drive to Dresden was uneventful and fast on the Autobahn. Dresden is a beautifully-restored city that still bears many scars from World War II. We spent two full days exploring the old city center, and our relatives also took us to some places where we could appreciate the surrounding countryside.

Many thanks to Traute & Deiter, Danni, Katja, Brigita & Deiter, Dirk and Frau Pellmann for making our stay in Germany a wonderful one!

Sorry... no pics this post. My next post will be my last one from Northern Ireland - we'll be back in the States in just under a fortnight. ...