Everything has an end, only...

... nothing 'only'! End, over, finished, we're home.

And suddenly it all went very fast. We enjoyed winter in Pustertal on cross-country skis for 3 days and then my 'steed' started to paw with his hooves. The call of the home stable seemed to be getting louder; I hadn't even noticed it so urgently. And so the end of our sabbatical raced towards us, just like we raced towards our hometown. Micha fueled the anticipation of home and farm so much that he drove straight for 10 hours. My butt was the most sore.

= Coming home =

Coming home, for me, means first and foremost dealing with all the problems and shortcomings of this world. We had successfully ignored them for half a year and (not surprisingly) we were doing well. It means sorting out the piled up mail, completing bureaucratic tasks, but also finding our way back to everyday life or for me, finding a routine at all. Micha has to get up early and expose himself to noise of up to 100 decibels... from 0 to 100... I think he's a little afraid of that. The weather... it's just gloomy and damp. Where is the sea, please?... and why doesn't the sun ever shine here? The great thing about coming home, though, is that we are looking forward to many dear people and vice versa - hugging, embracing, and saying 'Hello'!!!

Our little house is still standing. Everything went well - everyone is doing well. The car held up bravely and didn't make a sound during the driven 13,500 km. We were able to stick to our budget even with fuel price escapades. We got along very well in tight quarters and without responsibility. How many were betting that one of us would come back earlier ;-)... We haven't forgotten anything and we didn't really miss anything, except for a proper lamp for the dark season. But who thinks about long, dark winter evenings in August??? Yes, we would do it again! Maybe the Vitolino will one day have a successor with a toilet, but that is music of the future and still a long way off.

At this point, I would like to thank all loyal readers and virtual fellow travelers. It was fun for me to write for you and for myself. Goodbye, au revoir, adiós, tchau, ciao, bye bye...