One week away from our trip to Germany! I know we're going to have a great time. I'm still a little worried about the details and I'm very anxious about leaving the kids behind. I know this is the best time for us to go though.

We'll spend 2 days in Munich, take a day trip to Neuschwanstein castle (if the area isn't devistated by flood) on day 3, fly from Munich to Cologne and spend 2 days there. Then, our friend Jens will pick us up and drive us to Frankfurt, where we'll stay 3 days until we rent a car and drive back to Munich.

Last night, in preparation, (Nerd Alert!) I got out my German flash cards from high school and college. I saw just how much I've forgotten and am astounded at how much German I actually learned in college! A good number of my flash cards are German on both sides! I knew a word so well, that I was able to describe it another way in German. I can't say I'd be able to do that now. We'll be relying a lot on the German's excellent educational practices, which require that all students take English from the 4th grade through college. I'll stick to simple questions, ordering my meals and greetings while we're there, I think.