Visiting Philine, Again, in Münster, Germany

 

Now that we're all getting older (!), we've decided twice in one year is NOT too often!  When we last visited our photoblog friend, Philine, after Easter in April, it was because she had just moved into a senior-living community, following her last apartment renovation and knee replacement.  We wanted to see how she was doing.

And besides, yesterday was America's Thanksgiving holiday and, because I miss that American holiday more than any other, Astrid and I decided to take a 2-night mini-vacation just for ourselves, with the chance to see Philine AND a Xmas market all in one "swell foop."

So, we left mid-morning this past Monday, arriving at our favorite Fletcher hotel, in Lochem, in time for lunch:

It's only 1.5 hours from home and is in the woods.

On a rainy kind of day, we decided NOT to go traipsing about but to stay cozy inside.

It's one of those hotels that has all kinds of nooks and crannies,

and almost no one was there that afternoon.  We had it all to ourselves.

After settling into our room at 3, we later came back down for some 5 Crowns,

accompanied by nachos and beer.  Just what the doctor ordered.

The next morning we had plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast, not needing to leave until 11:30 for our meetup with Philine in Münster, Germany, at 2 pm:

Whenever Astrid finds a hotel for us, we make sure it has a good breakfast.

It's one of our guilty pleasures when we vacation!

Münster, Germany, is 1.5 hours from the Lochem, NL, hotel, but we gave ourselves plenty of time by leaving at 11:30, knowing we could wait for Philine in their lovely lobby.  She arrived promptly at 2 pm, all bundled up with her rollator, ready to tackle the nearby Xmas markets.

And, yes, she treated us to glühwein with waffles and we treated her to roasted chestnuts.

To be honest, it didn't even matter to us that it wasn't yet dark, especially because

the crowds were still small enough to navigate easily over the cobblestones.

We even got to see plenty of Xmas eye-candy!

We had only TWO hours with Philine at the Xmas markets (we visited 3 or 4 of the 6),

but it was more than enough to get our fill.

We said good-bye to Philine in her lobby at 4 pm, and arrived back at our hotel just before 6 pm, ready for a quiet evening, sorting through our photos and playing another game of 5 Crowns:

Don't worry if you don't know the game.

But Astrid won all 3 of the games we played this trip,

with NO POINTS on that last game after Münster!

That's unheard of (tho' Ruth's husband did it once)!

Anyway, it was another leisurely breakfast on Wednesday morning before driving back home by noon and was just what the doctor ordered!  If I can't have Thanksgiving, I can at least have a Xmas market!  And because it really did uplift my spirit, we may decide to do it every year with Philine, if possible.

And now it's time to trim the Xmas tree and decorate the house for the season.....

The First Class Experience

 

I wasn't planning to post this but...because it's important enough to both Astrid and me "for the record," here it is!

It starts with the fact that because it's my 80th-birthday year, The Universe conspired to gift both Astrid and me a celebratory upgrade to First Class/Delta One on our just-completed Atlanta trip.  

You know me.  I HAVE to show The Experience in photos!

The Experience began in Amsterdam at the KLM Crown Lounge (with Delta partner access) before the flight:

Our flight to Atlanta was at 10:10 a.m. that Thursday, October 16.

After a very speedy check-in and security, we had at least 2 hours to relax and eat breakfast...

and wander around to take photos, even in the upper, smaller bar lounge.

But it was the luxury and attention and food and HORIZONTAL rest of the flight that was...to die for!

Our wheels were turning.  We could get used to this once a year, every trip to Atlanta!

**  Intermission now for Our Atlanta Trip 2025, from October 16-November 4.  **

Then it was the trip back home, with the same excitement and anticipation for The Experience again, this time starting in the Delta Sky Club in Atlanta's international airport:

This time our flight left at 5:10 p.m., so our arrival at the lounge was in plenty of time for a good lunch.

In fact, I ate way too much and gave myself a note to pay attention next time!

See what I mean by eating too much for lunch?  I couldn't eat half of the delicious dinner!

This time, because of the overnight flight, we we SO THANKFUL for the horizontal rest.

And because of all that food, we both opted for only a banana at breakfast, before

landing in Amsterdam at 7 a.m.  And, yes, we had Wi-Fi!

You know what I'm going to say now (besides THANK YOU to The Universe for that Delta One gift for my 80th birthday):  We have decided we're "too old" to NOT make every Atlanta trip, from this year on, a Delta One experience.  We'll figure it out!

And as Astrid says, it's time for us to give this as a gift to ourselves!

Our Atlanta Trip 2025

 

Just like clockwork almost every year, 3 weeks starting in mid-October, it happens--this time from October 16-November 4, and in these following 3 phases:

1.  At Amy's in Roswell, October 16-23: 

First of all, Nacho is now a year older and totally in charge...and just as adorable.

As you'll see later, with Nicholas now gone (as I write this), he (the cat) will be The Companion.

Speaking of g'son Nicholas, age 25, he's off to work here in his last Atlanta days...

off to Phoenix, AZ, by the end of our visit (while we're in stage 3 with Mark).

Not that any of this is confusing, of course.

We arrived in Atlanta on Thursday and, on Saturday, during our stay with Amy, son Mark and Melissa stopped by to pick Astrid and me up for the Oct. 18th NO KINGS protest in nearby Marietta:

That's Melissa and Mark with Astrid and me, top-right!

These are Astrid's 2 collages:

Needless to say, it was HUGE, country-wide, with 7 million protesting!

We were thrilled to be part of the resistance to what's happening in America right now!

And then that evening, still Saturday, all 6 of us, including Amy and Nicholas, gathered at J. Alexander's (where Nicholas works as a manager) to celebrate my 80th birthday (June 13)--their treat to both Astrid and me:

No one, including me, once thought to take photos of Astrid and me enjoying it all!

On Sunday, the next day, Amy treated Astrid and me to her new favorite Japanese restaurant:

Man alive.  Talk about feeling wined and dined!

On Monday, October 20, Amy found a new "best-kept secret" to visit, this time in Calhoun, GA, an hour's drive north of Roswell at The Rock Garden:

Totally worth the experience (reminding me of Barcelona's Gaudí)...

including the therapeutic 1-mile walk through the woods nearby:

Tuesday the 21st was our repeat-visit to the Six Feet Under restaurant in Atlanta...

so we could enjoy our shrimp-boil (Astrid and me) and king crab legs (Amy)...

followed by another walk in the Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta's oldest public park across the street.

It's become an annual tradition.

ALL OF THAT in our first phase with Amy, with lots of Five Crowns (cards) interspersed throughout, as well as walks by Astrid and me throughout her neighborhood ('tis the season!):

2.  At the Cabin in the North Georgia Mountains near Blue Ridge, October 23-27:

YES.  THIS PLACE.  OUR HAPPY PLACE!

Within an hour of arriving that Thursday afternoon, Nicholas joined Astrid and me on a walk.

He was very aware this might be our last time to see each other for a while, following

his move to Phoenix the following week and perhaps no cabin for him next year?

Even though (or because!) it's the same-ol', same ol' every year, it truly is our Happy Place.

And we love THIS cabin (the same as last year) of all the ones we've rented since 2009.

Perfect for all our needs!

And yes, don't forget the annual tradition of  Waffle House for breakfast when we leave on Monday!

3.  At Mark's and Melissa's in Marietta, October 27-November 4:

That breakfast at Waffle House is the segue from phase 2 to phase 3 each year, but this time to the new house where Mark now lives with his girlfriend Melissa (whom we're freely calling our daughter-in-law!), less than a half-hour's drive from Amy's.

With their FIVE (5) cats!

Mark's aged-lady Piper (top-left) is still figuring out how to navigate the house, with/without the others.

Melissa's aged-ladies, Pixel and Lulu, do just fine with Piper, but the 2 young lads,

Nova and Tundra, are way too frisky for Piper.  Let's just say it's taking time!

(That's Pixel and Lulu in my lap, center right.)

While Mark worked on Tuesday, October 28, just that one day, Melissa took the day off for a girls' day out:

First up was lunch at a favorite hangout in her former neighborhood...

in Whittier Mill Village and Park, a place I didn't even know existed in Atlanta!

Then it was a brief drive to the Constitution Lakes Park to walk the Doll's Head Trail:

The park itself is quite large, with the Doll's Head Trail being a small loop in the middle,

approximately 1.5 miles total for our walk that day.

OMG.  Who thinks these things up??!!

Talk about another photographer's paradise!

The interesting part is that ALL the "displays" are from objects found in the park!

By Wednesday on, it was all Mark and Astrid and me, just BEING together and playing lots of games while Melissa worked most of the time, except for fixing lovely vegetarian meals for us, watching the Great British Bake Off in the evening, and stopping by to chat a few minutes whenever possible:

And, yes, Amy joined us on Saturday for football, wings and Swoop (bottom-right).

Oh, and don't forget the lunch out with Mark the Thursday before. 

We really did a lot of eating out, didn't we!

But the finale was Monday's "Last Hurrah," for Mexican, before we left the next day.

In between all of that, Mark and Astrid helped prep the basement for finishing,

which work has now begun since we left, not only for Mark's remote office

but for the master home theater he plans to set up, like he did in his last house.

When we visit next year, it'll be a sight to behold, I'm sure!

(And, yes, those are the NO KINGS shirts Melissa bought for Astrid and me, bottom-left.)

Now back to Nicholas!  That Saturday, November 1, he arrived at Mark and Melissa's, with his dad, to pick up some last things on his move to Phoenix, AZ:

By 9:30 a.m. they were on their way (arriving at his new apt. on Monday evening).

A tear and a smile, as the Big Boy helps manage a new J. Alexander's in Chandler, a Phoenix suburb.

We're all so proud of him!

The next day, Sunday, while Melissa mastered a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, the 3 of us took a therapeutic walk at the nearby Cochran Shoals Trail:

We all needed it!

And so, just like that, another year with My Kids came and went.

We left Atlanta late afternoon on Tuesday the 4th and arrived in Amsterdam at 7 a.m. Wednesday.

Amy is already booked to be with us the week after Xmas, as well as next Easter,

and Mark & Melissa (M&M) are planning their own trip by May...

all before we go back to America again in October of 2026!

This is apparently what happens after you turn 80???