In Which I Learn Things and Tell You About Them

Today I learned how adept cow's tongues are. One calf kept trying to swoop my hand into its mouth and it very nearly succeeded.

I learned to stand in a field and attempt to feel what happens when I concentrated on my left hand and then have my right hand come to join the left, and then tried to experience the difference between standing in a newly plowed furrow vs. standing on a field with sprouts of various sorts coming up around me.

I learned the drive along the Rhein has so many CASTLES. Why so many? Why don't I have one?

I learned a valuable lesson in navigating foreign traffic - I attempted to work my way around what seemed to be a totally stopped and unmoving line of traffic in an impossibly picturesque town somewhere along the majestic Rhein waterway and only succeeded in driving right into the middle of a very pedestrian cobblestone street right at the top of an incredibly steep and narrow road. I then was able to experience, for the very first time, the lovely feeling of having 50 incredulous Germans stare as I more-or-less successfully backed all the way down the way I came, only forcing ONE van to back up and let me by as I very stubbornly kept backing my way down and wound my way BACK to the terrible back up, which by that point was moving again (yay!) only to stop again very suddenly (boo). Turns out all those cars were waiting for trains to pass so they could get across the tracks to the main motorway. The gates would come up, three cars would get through, the gates would go down, ten minutes would pass, a train would finally come shooting by, the gates would come up, three cars would get through... and so on and so forth.

I learned that land mines are everywhere - I was exploring the biodynamic research center we visited today and, in attempts to get into every nook and cranny, I went to explore this great looking outdoor fountain setup. Before I stepped into that area, I was quick enough to notice there were several dug out holes where buckets filled with water were stored, a veritable booby trap. I smugly patted myself on the back for being so aware of my surroundings as I picked my way through the recessed small pools. My pants are still drying in the car.

I learned that traveling means never enough sleep, and I learned that I am quite okay with this. Well, as long as there's coffee.