Hello from Pat & Jeanne

Hello from Pat & Jeanne

We're writing to you from St. Johann im Pongau, Austria—it's beautiful here. It's Monday evening, August 25.

We decided that you need to hear a few of the lighter moments of this wonderful trip. We're all having a great time. These are random thoughts and in no particular order—we just want you to see what fun we really are having!

One of the first lighter moments of the trip occurred when we were in Ghent, Belgium. We went outside with a map and Jim & Bill were trying to figure out which way we should go. They studied the map and at the same time, they each pointed in the direction they thought we should go—they were pointing in opposite directions. Of course, Jeanne & I got the giggles! (A picture will follow.)

We have to say that a lot of our giggles have come from bathroom incidents—most of them are pay, as Jim already mentioned.

Also in Ghent, we were in a restaurant and Bill needed to use the bathroom. He came back giggling, because as he was standing at the urinal, women were walking by behind him (and we mean actually brushing against his butt as they walked by)—we think they were also travelers, because they, too, were giggling. (That was a free toilet—no door!) So, of course, Jeanne & I had to go up and check it out—unfortunately, there weren't any men in there then!

Now for Paris stories: Jim was approaching a urinal and thought he was putting his glasses in his shirt; unfortunately, he missed: they fell right into the urinal and a French guy who was standing beside him said: oh, oh! (and a few things Jim couldn't understand) Bill watched the whole thing and didn't say a word. We've chuckled many times over that one.

The next Paris incident was when we were getting ready to get on the subway. Bill led the way and said something like, let's get on, we can make this train. Well, guess what! Bill made that subway, but the rest of us didn't. Bill was inside the subway, trying to open the doors and they just wouldn't open. We all waved and shouted the name of the stop where we'd meet him.

We had such a good time in Paris—Jim, too. One of our favorite things was our dinner in the Eiffel Tower. It was so much fun and just as we were ready to descend, the Tower did a “twinkle”, where tiny lights all over the Tower flashed off and on for about 15 minutes.

One of our biggest laughs was on the train between Karlsruhe and Ratingen where we would visit Irina's family. I, of course, had to use the bathroom on the train. I closed the door but couldn't get it to latch. I tried several times and Jeanne finally came and said she'd hold the door closed for me. So, I sat down on the toilet and the next thing I knew, Jeanne was on the inside of the bathroom door going back and forth as the very heavy door was slamming her. (There were several men waiting to get off the train, right outside the door.) Jeanne was gigging hysterically and the guys (our husbands, who were sitting at the other end of the train car) could hear us from their seats. By then, I was sitting on the toilet giggling. Finally, I was able to get up and get my clothes back on. Jeanne was giggling so hard that she then needed to use the bathroom. I, in my wisdom, said I'd hold the door for her. Well, you can probably imagine that soon I was being thrown back and forth by the door. At one point, I asked one of the men if they could help us—he ran away! After our incident, the train people put up an “Out of Order” sign. We thought it should have been there a little sooner. (It might be one of those stories where you just had to be there, but thank goodness you weren't standing outside that door!!)

At one restaurant, Matthias asked the waitress for ice for my water. She agreed and soon brought me one tiny ice cube. We all got a chuckle out of that.

We all really miss ice for our water—it just isn't used here. When we were at Irina & Matthias', they had a tray of ice cubes for us. Bill and I discussed, each evening, who got the most ice!

As we write this, we're all sitting around a table, in the hotel lobby, chuckling some more.

We left Irina & Matthias yesterday and there were many tears shed. Before we left, they fixed us a wonderful German Sunday breakfast—we ate in the dining room with Sunday dishes. We had so much fun with them and we so enjoyed living in their home. It was such fun to go to Ratingen and see all of the family.

Jeanne and I will write again soon. We haven't given you all of our fun stories, but we're tired and it's time to go to bed. Tomorrow we're going to Neuschwanstein Castle.