Lyme Literate Mama: Facts and Funnies

Heidelberg Castle

We have been living in Germany for ten days now and we are beginning to get a steady "normal" in our new home for the next three months. It is Sunday and our first real week of treatment will begin tomorrow. We have seen some beautiful sights and some amazing places; Heidelburg Castle, Dachau concentration camp, countless little towns and vast fields of grass and produce. The area around us is rich in farmland and it warms my heart to often see a green tractor on the road, outfitted with plows and harvester fittings. Trees are heavy with apples and we buy many at the farmers market. The weather was still in the mid 80's when we got here and the fall finally came upon us three days ago. As we go through treatment, we will watch green trees turn vibrant colors, and welcome in the chill of winter.

For this post, I am just going to share a few funnies and facts about Germany and what we have learned so far!

-When you get on the autobahn you DRIVE. Nothing else. No phone. No distractions. There is no time, aside from it being illegal. I drive a comfortable 160 kmh (which translates to 99.41 mph), yet all manner of cars will pass me on the left with a wind that draws your car toward their lane. Sometimes you hear a loud rumble as a Porsche flies past, or sometimes it's a humble little VW or Audi that puts us to shame. People don't lane hog and road construction creates narrow strips of road that would be a one-way in America. Gripping the steering wheel is common. Tunnels are not uncommon in our area and every car slows down to go through them. In America, signs warning of lane merging due to construction gives ample and sometimes redundant warning - here, you see it once and you are moving over. They are serious. And I kind of like it. On the autobahn- we drive, baby.

-Road lights are different here. Like a road racer, there is a "get set" light (green and yellow light together) before there is a green light. Presumably it allows drivers time to shift into first (manuals are most popular), but also allows the car to start again. Most cars here are very efficient and shut down upon stopping, restarting as your foot releases the brake like an electric car.

-They do not refrigerate their eggs. If anyone knows Levi, you would know how much of a problem this is for him. While I find it delightfully "farm-ish" that they buy local eggs from local chickens and set them on shelves in cardboard boxes with some feathers still attached...Levi finds it appalling. He is thankful for refrigerators, does not love left-overs and for heavens sake, will not eat at potlucks. Food poisoning is on his top three list of most terrifying life events. I laugh, he tries not to think about it. I don't think he has knowingly eaten anything with eggs in it yet.

-Architecture is a stunning contrast of clean lines, sharp sillouettes against the sky and intricate detail. Cathedrals competed during the building years to stretch higher than the next. Houses built upon hills seem all the higher with their immense height soaring into the sky, window upon window tall. Timbers make straight lines between stucco and stone. Buildings from thousands of years ago are not only standing and inhabited, but still cause people to stare in admiration at the design. It is a sight for the soul, especially Schwabish Hall, set against the backdrop of hills, a small river, quaint bridges and trees. I stare often at the buildings and never tire of it. Doors with their gothic steel detail are my favorite. I wonder at the creators of it, most of whom must have been very inspired by artists past. And that's the heart of what I am trying to explain...the buildings here are art and you walk through a canvas of it every day.

-People have community here. Levi and I noticed far more conversations at coffee shops, in parks, on the street in groups and individually than what we would typically expect. It was a rare occasion to see someones head buried in a phone. I have been inspired to take more time to just "be" with others, aside from the busyness of life.

-People walk. For groceries, for their piano lessons, to the butcher, the dry cleaners. They carry bags or roll them behind filled with produce and such. People ride; trails up and down small country roads are dispersed with walkers and bikers as people exercise to get to their destination. These trails just beg to be run on. But I don't see runners. The few runs I went on I felt like people wondered why I was running...like maybe they all don't need to run? LOL. I do. I went off my gluten-free diet to indulge in chocolate stuffed croissants. They are as decadent as they sound and all the walking in the world is not enough to compensate. But so worth it. (Back on the gluten free diet as we speak...yay.)

-I am still so grateful for America. There is beauty here that is unmatched by anything I have seen before. It is not a wild beauty like many parts of the states but I love this place, aside from the reason why we are here. I never expected to be a mother needing to seek medical care outside the United States and I hope with all my heart that something changes in the states to make this kind of treatment possible. To date, the treatment we are seeking here is still not offered in it's entirety stateside, and beyond that, this doctor has the best success rates to eliminate Lyme Spirochetes (with longevity) that we have found. I will always be grateful for this place and this path God has provided, even though it's not what I would have chosen out of 100 other multiple choice options. I know God will use this and we are only at the beginning. We are done with our drives in the countryside, as treatment begins in it's entirety tomorrow and rest will be of necessity. The start of treatment typically brings hard days but we are prepared and have our eyes set on the goal.

-Cheers and as Germans would say with a smile, "Ciao!"