That was not a problem, since Meredith is in her sophomore year at the
University of Minnesota - Morris and that was on the way to the Twin Cities.
We picked her up on campus and headed east.Our much-anticipated reunion with Reed finally came about in mid-October. The air fare was reasonable [$520] but required we fly from Minneapolis rather than Bismarck.
That was not a problem, since Meredith is in her sophomore year at the
University of Minnesota - Morris and that was on the way to the Twin Cities.
We picked her up on campus and headed east.
Niece, Anna, lives in Fridley and offered to house our car while we were gone.
After a tour of her new condo [very nice], she gave us a lift to the airport. It
was a short hop to Chicago, then an eight-hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany
where Reed met us as we emerged from customs.
Doesn't this look like a photo of some political candidate? Except, of course,
for my disheveled appearance and the fact that the flannel shirt has been worn
for years. Anyway, we were driving southeast of Frankfurt, toward Reed's
barracks in Bamburg, Germany along some fields. We noted several piles of
vegetables, at least that's what I thought they were, so I asked Reed to stop so
I could take a photo of them. He obliged and turned off the highway onto a
very narrow road. I got out, took a few shots, then advised Reed he could
turn around in the field, back up, and we'd be on our way.
It
didn't look slippery but the soil on either side of the car in this photo was
like an oily gumbo. We pushed and slid around every which way.
Finally, Reed used his North Dakota snow-exiting abilities and rocked the car
from forward into reverse. I sat on top of the trunk to put a little more
weight over the rear wheels. After 15 minutes, we sneaked back onto the
rocky-topped road. "Whenever Dad and I are together, there is an
adventure," Reed diplomatically said.
In
Bamburg, Reed gave us a tour of the base [but I was discouraged from taking
photos]. This photo shows Reed and his mother in his room at the barracks.
On the couch behind them is a quilt given Reed by his aunt Linda.
Bamburg is a town of about 75,000 and has preserved much of its medieval
character. In the center of this photo, in the distance, is a wonderful
restaurant Reed suggested we visit.
The
Regnitz River flows around the restaurant and provides a beautiful setting.
We had delicious lamb and rabbit for dinner. I spoke with a local at the
restaurant enquiring about the piles of vegetables we saw earlier in the day.
He replied they were sugar beets. Uff da! A North Dakota native who
has lived in the Red River Valley for 8 years, and I couldn't identify a sugar
beet!
When we finished eating, we rushed through the rain to Reed's car, a 1989 BMW, and headed southwest towards France. We got as far as Stuttgart. It was after 11:00 p.m.; we were still feeling the effects of jet lag and hit the sack--hard.