Thursday, March 14, 2024
I think I’ve learned my lesson about early morning trains. Today’s didn’t leave until 11:04am, and because we are now back in the EU, we didn’t have to go through a bunch of security. So the morning was pretty chill, and the kids are getting great at packing up their stuff.
We’ve been on the train for about an hour now, and I’ve been doing some reading. I’m working my way through Bashō’s great essay The Narrow Road to the Far North. I feel really connected to him. So much of it reads like: We went to this shrine, we saw this old sword or piece of armor. We prayed with these people. This is the place where some battle took place. I was too busy to write poetry today, or too tired, or too distracted. But occasionally, there are moments of brilliance.
That’s what this trip is like for us. We get on a train, we visit a place. We might feel tired or annoyed about something. I might not have time to read or write or edit photos like I wish. But as I look back, the highlights stand out so brightly.
One of those highlights was seeing Dasha and her kids today. To find family here, in the middle of Europe. It’s amazing. Dasha is so kind and warm. It’s exactly what we needed at this stage of the trip.
We are now in Kaiserslautern on military base with them, and we will be here for a few days. I’m looking forward to it.