We made it. To our beautiful AirBnb in Cologne.

I’m sitting atop the private rooftop balcony writing this with blue skies, puffy white clouds and sun that doesn’t make me run inside. But it’s a miracle we’re here.

• We arrived at the Kuwait airport 2.5 hours before our flight, said our (temporary) goodbyes to Saud and sailed through security.
• We hung out in the airport lounge (only booze would make it better).
• We slept almost the entire flight on a new plane with gorgeous personal entertainment screens BUT we had to walk through first and business classes to see the luxury we were missing. That cuts deep.
• We said our see-you-laters to many more friends.
• Our luggage was waiting for us on the belt BUT one of our wheels was missing.
• We weren’t able to find a place to buy a SIM card nor an ATM with euros.
• We arrived at our train platform for Cologne early BUT we missed the train because our car was at the other end of the platform and the conductor waved us on (as we were sprinting…yes my toe is fractured) instead of waving us onto the train.
• We were able to secure seats on the next train (an hour later) BUT had to pay more than the original price of our 1st class tickets for 2nd class tickets.
• We made it to Cologne BUT arrived at the train station that was across the river from our AirBnB instead of across the street.
• Maps did us wrong and we ended up walking 3km (with luggage in toe) to this beautiful apartment.
• I realized I forgot both my running shoes (I was deciding which pair to bring home and ended up not bringing either).
• Jeff & Abby had to carry 4 huge suitcases up lots and lots of stairs.

It’s so interesting to think about all the little what-ifs that could make life quite different. We can’t be mad at anyone that we missed the train. It sucked a whole lot. But there is no point in being angry. However – what if I had just let us continue down to the end of platform that our car ended up being at (instead of making us turn around because I was too cold)? What if we Jeff had heard me when I told him to just get on the train when the conductors held up their orange signs? What if I had grabbed a pair of running shoes when I said I was going to or Jeff had seen my shoes and thought to ask when he put the box in the extra room? Sometimes life intrigues me. And I’m not sure how to deal with all the what-ifs and could-have-beens. Except this.

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Enjoying this (Kolsch & pork) feast together in the sun on a street in Cologne in June may have made the entire ordeal worth it. When we’re all sore and exhausted tomorrow…we’ll have to think of this meal and the many more to come. Oh…and the US Men’s National Soccer game against Germany tomorrow. We’ll cheer loud but I think we deserve a win!