December 20

I left on the train this morning to meet my family in Frankfurt, Germany. This is the first time I’ve left Switzerland since coming here. It’s always very different crossing the language borders, even within Switzerland. I’m pretty confident when I stay around the francophone area, but I feel very ignorant once everyone around me is speaking German or Swiss-German. The train ride was beautiful. The fields were frosty and sparkled under the rising sun. There were also some very impressive icicles hanging from the cliff faces.

I met my mother, sister, and grandparents (maternal) at the Frankfurt Airport. I waited in anticipation with all of the arriving travelers. When they finally came through the doors, it was a very happy reunion indeed. This was my grandfather’s first plane trip and my grandmother’s first time being outside the US. I presented the weary and jetlagged travelers with Swiss chocolate, and then we made our way into the city. We stayed the night in a hostel in Frankfurt. We were not a very exciting bunch, as we turned in around 7:00 pm.