Goodbye Italy, hello Germany

Up early this morning to get to the airport – fly to Dusseldorf, pick up the car, get Luke and Carolin in Munster then drive to her Mums place in Neese.  The Metro and train was going to cost about 35 euro and the taxi company have ads on the side of their cars saying taxi costs 40 euro to the airport.  After climbing up and down hundreds of stairs in the Metro the other day we decided to get the taxi.  Arrived at about 7 o’clock, waited half an hour to check our baggage in then through security then waited for the flight.

Flight was a little delayed but eventually watched Italy disappear under us, over the snow covered Swiss Alps then into cloud.  Landed in Dusseldorf after flying around it in a holding pattern for 20 minutes.  It was windy, rainy and foggy.  At 13 degrees it wasn’t anything like what we had left in Italy.  Picked up the car – a Peugeot207, a bit bigger than our Italian car because we will have Luke and Carolin in the back with their luggage.  Left the airport, straight onto the Autobahn with no driving issues at all, very unlike our exit from Milan on our first day.  Arrived  at Munster about 3.30, had a quick coffee, left for Neese to stay with Carolins family for a couple of nights.

Carolins Mum, Carola, made a beautiful dinner for us, her step Father, Matthias, is very nice (of course he is…..he is in the Police Force with our equivalent of the Child Protection Investigation Unit) and made us drink too many beers.  Her half brother Bennet is 10 years old and studying English, he is very proficient at it and is pleased to have us here so he can practice. Luke pretends to speak German and they all pretend to understand him.  They even laugh at his jokes?  We can’t understand a word so we don’t know whether they’re laughing with him or at him…..or maybe they are all laughing at us?  It really is weird listening to your child speak another language?? 

Goodbye Italy.

Over the Swiss Alps.