Christmas at home and the start of a new semester

I wrote my last post in Munich- not feeling so great but BEYOND excite to get home for Christmas.  Greg got home from the lab late that evening (10 or 11 PM) and we sat down to look at flight loads and figure out if he might be able to make it all the way home for Christmas.  The flight from Munich to Atlanta looked great on the 23rd so I was pretty sure he could get that far, but it didn't look good for him to get to Portland until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  He was hesitant to spend money on a buddy pass and then not make it home (understandable!) but after skyping with his parents and my dad, he decided around 1:30AM that he was just going to go for it.  We had to be up at 6AM the next morning to leave for the airport around 6:30AM and Greg hadn't packed or anything.  While he packed, I repacked the few things that I'd pulled out for that day and re-zipped my duffle bag... which promptly split at the seams.

Greg told me not to worry- he had a spare duffle so he grabbed that and I repacked my stuff into his bag.  I went to zip it and the zipper broke.  At this point, we are trying to both just get packed so we can get a few hours of sleep so Greg gave me his BIG suitcase that he brought with him when he moved to Europe which is way bigger than my normal carry-on sized suitcase.  We finally got to bed around 3:30ish and got up at 6AM, got dressed and headed out.  Greg dropped his apartment key in his mailbox (a few days earlier he had handed the mailbox key off to his former roommate who was heading out of Munich but would be using the apartment for a few nights later over break while Greg and all his roommates were out of town) and we headed to the airport.

We made it to the airport and I was still feeling super queasy from the day before.  I was not excited to get on a plane feeling that way, but I took some medicine and set my mind on getting home.  I was glad when we made it through passport control and to our gate so I could request seats together and sit down for a bit.  I went up to the counter and explained that I was non-revving with my boyfriend and that we were flying different priorities but that we would love to sit together if we both got on in the same section and there were seats available together.  The gate agent asked for ours names and then said, "I'm really sorry but your boyfriend isn't getting on this flight... it's weight restricted and we have too much cargo... do you still want to go?"  I asked her to give me a minute and went to talk to greg.  At this point, we dont have an easy way to reach either of our parents, Greg doesn't have a way back into his apartment, and I'm worried that Greg is now going to spend Christmas alone.

I was in tears and insisting I NOT go and Greg was insisting I did... he finally convinced me and I went to tell the gate agent.  She told me once I decided she was calling down to put my luggage on so I couldnt change my mind... I said that way fine but that I would wait to board at the last minute in case anything changed.  As I was going to board, they called Greg and said he could go.... the gate agent said it was Christmas and "miracles happen" and winked at us so I dont know what changed, but we were both on and in business class.  Our seats weren't together but when we boarded... people were in our seats.  The flight attendants were frazzled and told us to just sit since we were the last people on, so we ended up getting to sit together anyway :)

We settled in, watched Brave (gorgeously drawn scenes and epic soundtrack but not all that excited by the storyline), and both slept a lot.  When we landed we were going to head to Greg's gate together and wait on his flights, but we didn't expect him to get on so the plan was for him to come hang out in Madison for a day or two until flights looked better.  However, we got separated because Atlanta now separates people coming in from international destinations into people with connecting flights and peoples whose final destination is Atlanta.  Greg ended up coming out through security to find me and then going back through to wait on his flight which he got on at the last minute (it was oversold by 9 seats and he was pretty far down the non-rev list so it was completely unexpected!)  I'm really glad he made it home though I was a bit sad he didnt get to come hang out in Madison.

Being home for Christmas was so, so good.  It was good to hang out with family, see a few friends (Merideth, Margaret, Ryan, the Lathams, etc, etc) and just have time to sleep and relax.  There was lots of wrapping presents, goodies on Christmas morning, home cooked meals (eggs benedict, grilled duck, and grilled salmon to name a few of my favorites!), a few good meals out, a pedicure with Mom and Andie, too many presents and just a great time.

I honestly didn't feel ready to return to Prague but I got to spend a few days in Munich to ease the transition back to Europe.  Saying goodbye to Mom and Dad at the airport was hard but I got first class and Greg met me in Munich and we got to spend a bit more time together.  I left Atlanta for Munich on a Thursday and left Munich for Prague midday Saturday... I had entirely too much luggage and had to drag it through Munich to the bus station in the freezing rain and then through Prague in the dark (and uphill to my apartment).  Needless to say, all I wanted was to walk into my apartment, make dinner and take a steaming hot shower... instead, I walked into 1/2 an inch of water on my kitchen floor.

I called mom and dad in a panic, got the water turned off and what I could of it mopped up (using almost every towel in our apartment.  I then called my friend Will who came over and helped me determine where the leak was and continue to dry things out.  My downstairs neighbor (who complains about noise) came up to say that she was getting water spots on her ceiling and to see what was going on.  I assured her that the water to the kitchen was off and that we were drying things up and explained that Tamela and I had been out of town.  After everyone left, I crashed... I woke up the next morning to my doorbell being rung repeatedly.  Surprise, surprise, it was the downstairs neighbor.  She said the water spots were getting worse (duh, water that already seeped through the floor couldnt be mopped up so even though the floor was dry, her ceiling was bound to get a bit worse before it got better) she also insisted on calling a handyman that I would need to pay despite being unable to give me a price estimate.  However, she did stay to translate and help in that regard and the handman DID fix the problem for the equivalent of $50 including parts.

Anyway, that was Saturday and then it was back to the grind on Monday.  After what seemed like a week that lasted forever, Greg came for the weekend.  He'd just turned in his thesis so he was crazy exhausted.  I made fajitas for us on Friday night and then Saturday we lounged around and went for lunch at our favorite Italian place in Prague (maybe just our favorite Italian place ever...).  We started with a glass of wine each, lots of fresh bread with olive oil, bruschetta, an amazing salad with fresh apple and gorgonzola cheese, and greg also had a prosciutto plate with smoked mozzarella.  For our main courses we each had a pasta- mine with fresh seared tuna and greg's with a beef and pork ragu. After lunch we had planned to walk around but ended up just heading to the grocery store because it was freezing cold outside.  The rest of the day was dedicated to watching movies and being lazy.

The next day was SUPER exciting because I got to go spend time with horses and ride.  Merideth (my trainer back home in GA) has been looking at horses in the Czech Republic and I got to be her eyes on the ground that Sunday.  I left home around 6AM and took a train several hours west of Prague to the border of the Czech Republic and Germany.  I got to see (and ride) a few really nice horses and it was so good to be back around horses and horse people.  I also got served a traditional Czech lunch made by the barn owner's mom.  It was a little awkward b/c there was SO MUCH MEAT and I don't eat pork or beef (it's been over 5 years since I've had either so I think at this point it would make me sick).  At one point they left me alone in the room and I am not proud to say that I emptied most of the stew into my thermos so it looked like i'd eaten more...

When I got home Greg had dinner on the table... sauteed chicken and mushrooms in a honey beer sauce and roasted potatoes and salad.  It was really delicious and definitely will be added to the list of things we make when we cook in the future.  I was pretty exhausted and had to work the next day so we called it an early night.  The first 1/2 of the work week went MUCH more quickly than normal with Greg there so that was nice.  He left Tuesday (Jan 15) and the rest of the work week seemed to last FOREVER.  That Friday I went out with a bunch of friends and then was lazy the rest of the weekend in preparation for my trip stateside- since this is long enough, my trip to Philly will be the next update :)