Blaubeuren. A sleepy little down in the schwäbischer Alb, Swabian hills. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it: “Blaubeuren lies in the Swabian Jura, in a valley surrounded by wooded limestone hills, giving it … Read more

I got up the next day, threw down some breakfast, then headed off to the Hauptbahnhof, the main train station in Ulm. Destination? Blaubeuren, where I would begin a ten-week intensive language course at the … Read more

I recall being very excited. The real kind of excitement. A mixture of expectation and anxiety. Of imagination and wonder and possibilities. Of Germany. The landscapes. The cities. Food. People. History. Language. What would it … Read more

Washington, DC. End of May 1981. Graduation weekend at Georgetown University. I was twenty-two years old. I can’t remember who was in the conversation. Someone must have asked me what my plans were. I’m sure … Read more