The story continues

Charlotte and I continue to grow closer.

She likes just hanging out with me now. And, in fact, as I write this blog, she's gnawing on a chew toy on a little doggy bed at my feet.

Our first night alone together went very well. She's not entirely happy about going into her crate at night. But, once the lights were out and she realized I wasn't far away, she settled down.

She got up a 6 and I took her out for a pee break in the park. When we got home, I conked out for another couple of hours while she stretched out on the cool marble bathroom floor.

She's getting a bit peppy now. Looking like she wants to get in some quality play time. So I may see if I can get her to walk a bit beyond our usual park and do a bit of exploring of the town with me.

Last night we had a great evening meeting fellow dogs in the park. Unfortunately, there was so much running around I couldn't get pictures of it all.

Here you can see her with a dog that's clearly of a similar bloodline. Her owner isn't sure what she is, but there's clearly some poodle in there.

And then, a few minutes later, a golden retriever came zipping through like some canine Halley's Comet. He only paused long enough to sniff butts and touch noses, then he was off again.

But for a moment, it was like a distant family reunion of sorts: Communing with the poodle side of her bloodline, then saying a quick hello to the golden retriever side. Great fun. Although boy do those golden retrievers move fast!

Meantime, the sun is back out, so it could be another hot one here in Wiesbaden. Hopefully Charlotte and I can get away from this asphalt and concrete and find some nice shady spot to enjoy some balmy breezes.

Later that same day

Charlotte and I seem to be getting along just fine. In fact, we're having a pretty good time together.

My overall feeling though is that she's not a terribly high-maintenance dog. I'm not going to constantly give her things to do or run her to exhaustion as we had to with Patch when he was younger.

In fact, she doesn't even chase birds or little boys kicking soccer balls around the park.

She's much more of a pensive animal. Content to just strike majestic poses and just watch things happen. Only other dogs grab her attention.

Though I'm very happy that Christin took her out with the other dogs and let her run off-leash in the woods too. Sometimes dogs still need to be dogs.

Meantime, Glen and Betina have told me to make myself at home and eat whatever I find around the house. I'm a little hesitant though to eat anything I can't positively identify. I remember Jeanne telling me about her great-grandfather who didn't speak any English when he first moved to America and he'd buy things at the grocery store based on the pictures on the cans. One day he brought home a can of Crisco that had a picture of fried chicken on the front, assuming he'd find a chicken inside.

So I'm a little worried about accidentally eating some dog treat. Or even a bar of soap or something from Lush.

Oh, and by the way, the pedestrian zone isn't nearly as big as I presumed. It's just about three blocks by five blocks. But it is big enough to have more than one Starbucks. Though what mall doesn't!?

[EDIT: Uh oh. Just  learned the chicken-in-a-can story actually happened to a friend of the family's ancestors -- not Jeanne's great grandfather. Sorry about that. But, hey, when have I ever let the facts get in the way of a good story, right?]

O solo mio

This is my first day flying solo.

Glen and Betina left at the crack of dawn this morning and, for the next couple of weeks, Charlotte and I are pretty much on own.

This is me, sitting in the park, studying my German phrasebook. I'm trying to learn how to say, Can I have half a loaf of your best bread, sliced, please? I must be doing okay. I went into a bakery where they don't speak much English and got exactly what I wanted. True, there was some pointing and using phrases like "Dieses da" (Basically, "That thing there") and I did have her count out her own money from my pocketful of Euros. But overall not bad for my first time out.

Charlotte and I are getting along just great! She ran and greeted me when I first got out of bed. And, when I sat down at Glen's computer, she curled up on the pad on the floor next to me and napped.

This morning she is out with the dog trainer, Christin -- who also speaks little English. (Again, I'm proud to say that we were able to communicate.)

Christin already has two big, crazy dogs of her own, so I'm not sure how she was able to keep the three of them in order. But she's got Charlotte for a couple of hours this morning. That gave me time enough to wander the pedestrian zone/piazza and do a little basic food shopping.

Here is a picture of the pedestrian zone -- although, as you can see, early in the morning it's full of delivery trucks. But mostly it's, as you'd expect from the name, a pedestrian only area that is a couple of blocks wide and stretches all the way from here to downtown, about 2 or 3 miles.

And, yes, they've got a Subway and a McDonald's, neither of which I'll be eating at.

Today I'm going to play it pretty conservatively. Charlotte and I will stay in the neighborhood and hit the usual spots. But maybe in the next few days we'll take a walk and see what we can find.

The biggest challenge is the heat and sun -- and the asphalt streets and sidewalks that radiate it. Charlotte spends a lot of time running from shady spot to shady spot, and I don't blame her. So it's a lot easier to walk her early in the morning and later in the afternoon.

Meantime, she's great for meeting lots of friendly people. They all just love her and want to pet her.

Me? I just nod and say "Ja ja" and "Sie ist eine baby."

The park

Here's the view from Glen's apartment, looking down the street to the park.

As you can see, it's mostly hot, crowded pavement between the house and the park.

It seems like a shorter walk now that it did yesterday. But, when it's hot, Charlotte really does just run from shadow to shadow, trying to stay out of the hot sun as much as possible.

And here's the park itself. As you can see, it's just a dry, dusty place with just one tree. Well, it's got trees around it, but there's only one tree actually in the park.

There's a cafe in the park, and we've eaten there a couple of times. It's very dog friendly, as most restaurants and business are here. They even bring out a little pan of water for your dog while you're eating.

To the south of the park is a pedestrian zone, sort of an outdoor mall that stretches for several blocks. And a pretty heavily trafficked street to the north.

As I've said, it's not the best park, but it's only one within a few blocks. I'm sure we'll venture out further as I become more comfortable with the neighborhood.

I'm here

Well, I arrived yesterday morning at Frankfurt airport. Grabbed the train to Wiesbaden and a short cab ride to Glen's house. And I've been spending most of my time since then getting acclimated and learning where everything is.

The two wonderful folks on the left are my hosts. Actually, not so much my hosts, since they're leaving for the USA tomorrow -- but the people whose house and dog I'll be watching for the next couple of weeks. That's Glen and Betina with Charlotte.

I'll soon post some pictures of the apartment building I'm in. We're on the third floor walk-up of an old apartment building surrounding very narrow streets and even narrower sidewalks. There's no grass around here for a couple of blocks. Just asphalt. Very hot asphalt. So Charlotte spends a lot of time running from shade to shade.

I think the two of us are going to get along pretty well. She's a pretty easy-going dog and is virtually housebroken. (Though I'm sure I'll learn for sure in the next couple of days.) She loves going to and being in the park (a small block of very dry grass surrounded by more concrete and asphalt). She also loves playing with other dogs, which is good.

But mostly, during the hot, sticky afternoons (no one has air conditioning around here, despite the fact that all of this concrete and asphalt reflects the heat something fierce!), she loves napping on the cool marble kitchen floor. Which I might also consider doing at some point. The afternoons do get pretty stuffy!

But the evenings are very nice. There are a couple very nice parks about a mile away and Glen and Betina have taken us there for evening walks -- but I'm not sure if they're too far for walking. We'll see.

Meantime, I'm learning that a mastery of the German language is about the least necessary skill you can have in modern Germany. The locals can spot an American a mile away and, when they do, they speak to you in the most perfect, unaccented English you can imagine. I keep forgetting I'm in Germany! Well, except that I'm also learning that a 5% tip is considered very generous in most cafes.

Tomorrow morn, Glen and Betina leave and I fly solo. That's when the adventure truly begins.

Ich verlasse auf einem Düsenflugzeug

Well, this is it then. Rehearsal is over. It's time to head to O'Hare for my flight to Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.

I've got my usual pre-trip jitters -- this time complicated by the fact that I'm going to flying solo (both literally and metaphorically, once Glen and Betina leave). But it does have the earmarks of all great adventures: Destination unknown; a canine companion. Is there a more classic adventure than a boy and his dog? Even if the dog is still a puppy and the boy has an awful lot of gray in his hair.

The photo to the upper right is, at least according to Google, the view from Kapellenstrasse (where Glen lives) toward the city of Wiesbaden. Which, at least to my eyes, looks an awful lot like the view west from Brady Street toward Schlitz Park in Milwaukee. So maybe I will feel at home very fast.

But, for now, I've got long ride ahead of me.

Here's looking forward to a wonderful trip -- and a great adventure! And a new, furry friend.

Here's an adorable picture of Char-Lot-Teh getting her hair styled.

I get my hair cut on Wednesday.