Here’s a few shots, mixed iPhone/Nikon D80 photos of my trip to Germany last fall. I went to see O. You are going to meet O now. I’m getting personal. Enough with the initials and such. I’m even going to show you what we look like. Yeah, that gravatar of me is about four years old.
I arrived in Frankfurt and whilst getting my bearings after a ten hour flight, I picked up my bag and raced downstairs to the trains. Searching the depths of my mind for my German vocabulary, I panicked, and jumped on an earlier train than planned. So no pics in Frankfurt. Here is the train station in Köln (Cologne).
I love the kind of place where while you are waiting for your next train you are staring at an amazing Cathedral. 
Fast forward through loads of hugs and kisses to day 2. It had been another five week separation. Honestly, we are not cut out, either of us, for a long distance relationship. I mean of course we’d make it work if there was NO OTHER choice. But we are best buds and we laugh a lot. It’s hard to capture it all on daily skypes.
We went to visit O’s momma- about 35 minutes outside of Detmold (where his school is). We walked the country streets he grew up on… where there is no shortage of cows. I don’t know what it is with me and cows. But I just love them. And I’m a total carnivore too. Go figure.
I could just sit and hang with them for hours.
O worked in these fields as a kid from about six years old to sixteen when he left for University.
I have fallen in love with this scenery. 
The harvested corn gone with only the stalks waiting to be plowed under.
Fast forward a couple more days and here we are enjoying one of my favorite simple meals. A flammkuchen. Which thanks to wikipedia, I now also know as tart flambée. I will make this at home to share with you in the future.
Just a little shot to remind me this would be a fun little DIY advent next year. Note to self: Pin this. Note to self: Pin more in general. Note to you: Pin this and check out my Pinterest page🙂 
If the day job doesn’t work out, I’m either going to get a double crepe maker and sell them at the farmer’s market. Or I’m going to get one of these awesome portable vats, on wheels, and make gallons upon gallons of Eintopf (it’s a German all in one stew). I’ve actually linked you to a youtube video for the soup- Can’t guarantee the recipe but the accent is totally authentic.
This is just a shot walking through town. Detmold is a small city of about 75K. The music school plays a central role and the commerce is a hub for local communities. Detmold was only first mentioned around… 783. No, I didn’t forget the 1.
The church in the town pedestrian area at night.
The Hochschule für Musik, where O has been a jazz trumpet professor for the past seventeen years. That big metal pipe is temporary if you can imagine.
Out behind and sort of to the side of the school is a huge living museum, Freilichtmuseum. We walked around it again this year and it was much shorter than the recollection of my solo walk last year when I had no idea where the path was leading!
Oh, and this ole thing is just another ancient church people walk by everyday on their way to and from work. No biggie.
The center of town church in the day, where the market appears 3x a week rain or shine.
This is the Schloss (castle) in Detmold. One of the many activities to do here. Check out “Live-Like-A- German” website for more info. I say this tongue in cheek. This town is really beautiful but let’s face it, a bit off the beaten path of say, Bavaria. Not exactly a destination city, but charming none-the-less.
Drumroll please…And this is Oliver aka O. Doing his thing. He’s the one with the trumpet. And his friend and colleague their on the sax.
And this little, not much to look at corner is where we ate breakfast quite often. A little bio (organic) bakery. Meffert.
Inside they had beautiful bread and pastries.
And around the corner. A little more quaint with the beginning of the holiday decor.
And these croissants and brötchen…I consumed daily. Along with my fair share of sliced meats, cheeses and jam. Oh and I always use butter first.
I don’t know when I’ll be back again. O, who will now be referred to by his real name Ollie (well that’s short for Oliver of course), heads back to Germany for the last of the semester today and returns to Orcas for permanent residency mid February. Hope 2014 is off to a good start for you.
Wendy's Place 
Thanks for the picture tour! I enjoyed those, especially the bread and pastries:)
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Your most welcome. I miss that bread and have to learn to bake a good sourdough rye and nussecke. It’s a darling hazelnut triangle dipped in chocolate.
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Pristine indeed AND mouthwatering!
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Yes. very. Thanks… wendy
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Lovely look into your life.
Happy New Year Wendy,
Conor
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Thank you Conor – I like to slip a little life in between the cooking. Not to mention I’m taking a wee sweets break. Only for a few weeks mind you:).
A very happy new year to you. cheers… wendy
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So you’ll be reunited for good in February, that’s nice to hear! And by the way, Wendy – I finished THE BOOK yesterday 😉
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You did not. I haven’t even pulled mine out yet. I have a whole day of sorting my office tomorrow. The book will be my little breaks.
And yes.. it will be nice to not be going back and forth all the time. We’ll still love to visit but the double life is tiring and I really don’t know how people manage it.
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Hehe, yes I definitely did! I’m still on Xmas vacation this week, and after stating my goals about this book and taking the pic, I left it out on the coffee table as a reminder. And two days ago, I settled on the couch and read the whole thing. I couldn’t actually believe it myself, I was amazed how quickly I got that done. Now I hope nothing will stop me taking pictures according to what I’ve read…
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I so love Germany and these are great shots!
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Thanks Cindy. When was your last visit? Do you still have in-laws in Germany?
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great pics 🙂
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Thanks Shelley. Happy New Year!
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Happy New Year to you too 🙂
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Fantastic post! Great to “meet” Ollie. And this gets me very excited about our trip this summer to Germany!! I can’t wait to experience it (and some other great places) for the first time.
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Can’t wait to hear more about your trip. Where are you flying into?
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Frankfurt. We will be staying in that area for a week and then we will be off to explore parts of France, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. Dream trip!!
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Thank you for letting me be a tourist at 6am in my jammies!
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Don’t you love that. The joy of blogging! Happy to provide some morning fodder:) x wendy
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Great Post, Wendy! I enjoyed all of your shots. Detmold looks a sweet, charming and dramatic place to visit!
Funny, but I love cows, too! Cows rock! “lol”
Oliver rocks, too! I’m sure you miss him greatly when apart._Resa xo
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Thanks Resa. I think they are just so peaceful. The emanate calm. Hope you are doing well xx
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What a handsome man …. Ollie! A pleasure meeting you, Ollie.
I have seen him once before in a photo … where he was on a beach.
Cologne is one of my favorite Germany cities – beautiful any time of the year.
So you were out in the country again, I think you have done a post earlier about this place, just before you left for US, right or wrong?!
You and I have the same flavor for breakfast – and the Germans do the best bread in the world.
Thanks for taking me to the German country side and to meet Ollie.
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I did do a post last year on the same walk and I felt so lost but wasn’t. I could eat bread meat and cheese all day everyday!
He’s a real dear that Ollie. The beach photo was his first taste of the Atlantic ocean a couple summers ago in South Carolina. He also got his first taste of real grits and friend chicken…just catching up on comments from last week!
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Wendy, I’m so happy that Ollie will return to US and to you. But I hope that you will go back to Germany to visit. Grit nothing for me, tried it once in Chicago – something I can live without.
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I can tell you’re in love.. with Ollie and this town of Detmold, it shows “between the lines”. I’m so happy to read that you are finally together after such a long absence. Is it true, he is moving to stay with you soon and forever? What a beautiful town, I can imagine it would be such a lovely place to live! xx
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Yes… he’s in Germany just a few weeks again now, then returns to the USA for good. We’ll see my daughter through high school these next few years and then who knows? But whatever we do it will be together:) I’ll always love visiting Germany. xo
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I love the picture of the croissants and brötchen. To me, that says “Germany” more than anything. Food makes the country!
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I’ll second that. I could eat my way across the globe! Does Anthony Bourdain need an assistant?
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Hope the time flies for you both Wendy and he’s home before you know it……..XXx all the best this year.
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Hey you! Great to hear from you. Happy New Year!! Where are you these days? Drop me a line:) xox
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Wow, what gorgeous scenery!!! Hope you get to go back soon or he visits you…long distance relationships are no fun! 😦
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You can say that again. We are on the very last week of a long 18 months of back and forth. I really don’t know how people do this for really really long times.
I do love this landscape.
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It looks like a beautiful country. Who will you cook for when O is gone? Thanks for sharing pictures.
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I think I missed the updated photo of you Wendy… 😛 Lovely to meet your dear Ollie finally, looks like a really lovely bloke 🙂 Does he speak anything like the guy in the Eintopf video? The accent’s not the strongest haha. Detmold looks like a really lovely town. I had an urge to go to Hamburg creep up on me recently.. I’m dreaming of doing that as my first trip when I can fly again 🙂
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I think I have not put an updated photo of me on yet… Just a little older and rounder and hair is longer:)
Ollie has the best deep but not too, voice with a hint of accent that i love.
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You guys are so sweet! Looking forward to when he gets to stay with you permanently ❤
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I love all of the notifications in my box have your little icon with glasses:)
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8)
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Thank you for sharing your vacation! What a treat. Germany is a place I’d like to see one day in person, but your pictures will have to do. Great shots! Happy New Year!
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Thanks for stopping by. I feel fortunate, thanks to my husband, to have learned what a beautiful country it is indeed.
Happy New Year to you too. Can you believe it’s already Feb 1!
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I know! Time flies…feels like it goes faster every year. Have a wonderful week!
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