I heard they had chocolate cake here....

Guten tag and all of that.

I'm in Germany, which my brain is still registering as "crazy." Germany is a far-away, fairy-tale land. Far away. Not here. It may as well be Narnia.

But later today I may go see a castle, and that may help me better feel the reality of the place. Orrrr it may just confuse my brain still further. My previous castle experiences are limited to Disneyland and Nathan Fillion. (Unfortunately, not at the same time.)

The important thing to tell you is that I survived the 10-hour, nonstop flight from Portland to Frankfurt. I had been dreading that piece of the journey. And yes, I was cramped in a small seat next to a man with chicken-winged elbows, and behind a guy who seemed to feel his seat was a rocking chair, but on the plus side, I slept very little, and I think that will help soothe the jet lag transition. I was able to sleep pretty normal, local hours during my first night here in Kaiserslautern.

The plane (Condor) had video screens at each seat which could show you the progress of the journey. We flew over Canada, Greenland, and Iceland! If only I'd had a window seat... I could have enjoyed those countries' clouds....