When Larissa Came to Erlangen

Larissa, my sister, came to visit us in Germany! She didn't stay long enough, but if she had stayed a year, it still wouldn't have been long enough for us.


While she was here, we hit the Christmas markets in Erlangen and Forchheim,


and Bamberg,


and Nürnberg,


and Prague.


(Larissa's feet on a Prague sidewalk)



Larissa joined us on the Nikolauszug (St. Nicholas Train), and had a long conversation in English with one of St. Nick's angels.


She also made it to Alex's Nikolasabend (the Eve of St. Nicholas Day, December 5) Parade and Concert, and Alex did get to use his Goose lantern this year.

We had a lot of fun, but of course, she had to go home, and this was very hard for all of us. The boys liked having her around, and mention everyday that they miss her, and I feel guilty for living even farther from Montana. In Chicago, we were 24 hours apart by car and now we are 24 hours apart by air, due to layovers in Denver.

When we both lived in the Midwest, we saw each other often, and when Larissa first moved to Montana, we saw each other at least once a year--either Bob and I would drive out west or she would take the train to Chicago. But then in 2001 we decided to move to Germany, and it was four and a half years before we got together again. Now this visit was two and a half years since our reunion in 2005. I'm not certain when the next time will be. It could be this coming August or next year or the year after that. It doesn't help that we moved to Germany, although our lives were so busy in Chicago that I couldn't guarantee seeing her more often. Nevertheless, this uncertainty makes me miss her all the more.