Karlsruhe, Germany
April 24, 9

"Good bye!" "Good bye, and happy trails!" These were the last words the dudettes and I exchanged before going on different paths two days ago in Lanciano, Italy; two hours east of Rome, near the Adriatic Coast.

What had happened? Three weeks prior to our separation we had arrived in Finale, Italy, about 90 km west of Genova. It was our last stop on the way to Castiglione del Lago - between Florence and Rome - where friends of mine own apartments and we wanted to spend a week to ten days there, alternating between intense studies on Misha's English curriculum and overnight trips to Florence and Rome by train.

Finale is situated at the Italian Riviera and is a lovely town with a long sand beach and a beautiful youth hostel overlooking the bay. The girls wanted to stay for a few more days on the beach, while I wanted to take opportunity of the apartments and having my own space. So we compromised in me dropping the dudettes in Portoverene, near La Spezia, on my way down there. They'd have to travel by train with a two night stop in Florence, since it was right on the way to Castiglione. This meant another step in learning to travel independently and after an introduction on how to use trains, they were off on their own for six days, with no booking for hostels/hotels done yet.

Actually, they called twice from Florence to extend for another day, so they stayed on their own for eight days. Plenty of time for me to prepare big parts of the English curriculum, to do (half) day trips to several cities and read a lot for my own pleasure and education. Besides that I started to run on an almost daily basis to slowly and soundly get in shape for the fall's bicycle trip.

My city visits led me to San Gimignano and Siena on one afternoon, but the first was rather disappointing with its small space and tons of stores and tourists. Siena's cathedral was quite impressive on the other hand and I also liked the old city center on the hilltop. But it couldn't match with Assisi, for example. There are no new houses in Assisi at all and it gives a strong impression of an medieval town. Being one of the main attractions of Italy, one cannot but find many "co-tourists", but it is big enough to find many beautiful alleys and corners with hardly anybody around.

Assisi has become well know because it is "San Francesco's" birthplace. Born as the only son of an rich fabric merchant he became the leading playboy of the town. Suddenly, he changed his life discovering his compassion for the poor and his father broke off with him after Francis had given a nice sum of money, from the selling of fabrics in a neighboring town, to have an old church in a very poor neighborhood renovated. He left for the mountains for a while and drew especially young people to follow him, starting the Franciscan order with its three vows of poverty, celibacy and obeying to the abbey. The, at that time, rather decadent church wasn't always pleased with him, but he had a very good and strong impact on it nevertheless. Today, many compare Taize in a way with Assisi and Sant Francis has been another of my idols for some years by now.

Florence turned out to be surprising. Coming in by train, since traffic is crazy and parking difficult, I expected being overwhelmed and wasn't. Walking the streets to get an orientation and first impression, Florence grew on me quickly though and soon started to reveal its special beauty of harmonious architecture and atmosphere. I had the luck to find Irving Stone's biography of Michelangelo and began to read a lot to become "ripe" and a little more understanding of his work. The David really touched me.

When the girls finally arrived in Castiglione, they didn't want to stay there for more than a night and I was ready to leave it as well. They had already booked at a small hotel in Rome to meet with friends from Florence again. So they left the next morning and I followed in the evening.

My friend Hans had come from a visit with his mother in Milan to see me. We had first met two years ago in Mannheim when I was asked to do some special tutoring with him. The core of that turned out to be running before school every morning for two months - I had keys for the apartment to wake him up. Then last spring he came to stay with Eli, Vince and me in Fair Oaks, California, for three months. He had just dropped out of school and we had an intense time together. Back in Germany he moved soon and went on his own path, so I hadn't seen him for nine months.

He arrived at 7 am and we had a great day together. Being half Italian and having lived in Castiglione some years ago, he introduced me to some of his friends and Italian culture. Eating is of great importance in Italy and we were served really well. Later, in Milan, his grandmother complained that I wasn't eating enough! Stefano, who lives in the same house also invited me for dinner a couple times - I wasn't even aloud to bring my dirty plate into the kitchen.

Meeting in Rome we had another of our weekly meetings and agreed on spending one evening and the visit of the Sistine Chapel together. Neither worked out and I found myself spending time on my own again. Apart from the reality of the trip, that wasn't bad at all. I had a great day walking and taking the tram with Julia from Sidney, Australia. She is an amazing woman who travels Europe for two months on her own, being 33 and having a husband and two teenage kids at home who support her in following that dream.

We had another meeting in Castiglione after four days in Rome. I felt a bit wrongly placed at the trip, since there wasn't much to teach and for the rest we just spent most time separated. I also didn't like the piling up of shopping stuff in the car and became pretty decisive about selling the car in Germany and keep on travelling by train. That would also, very important, make the dudettes very familiar with trains and other means of public transportation; and they had a successful start already. Well, they didn't like the idea at all.

Hans was still in Castiglione - he and the girls had a good understanding - and I traded Venice's beauty and danger for the car and stuff left in it with more time with Hans in Milan, being able to meet his mother again and meet his grandparents first time; so a further introduction into Italian culture. Misha and Keni wanted to travel and stay in Venice separately, so they went on different trains; coincidentally they met in Venice right away and dropped the original idea.

I heard that when I received a phone call from Misha's parents who were very concerned about what Misha had told them and wanted to hear my part of the picture. They also mentioned that there were alternatives for the way the trip was going on, so I spent a night and a day getting familiar with that idea. After another - very lovely talk with Sandy - Misha's mother - the next day, I knew that the trip might be over for me. Especially since I had simply reached my limits of flexibility and creativity to make it work and couldn't see it to run really well without a major turn around of the girls.

Meanwhile I enjoyed Antonia's hospitality, talked with her and her son, Hans, about his next moves towards returning to school and was welcomed to celebrate the grandmother's 75th birthday! Hans showed me around in the city, where he had lived five years ago and couldn't understand why I found the bronze doors of the cathedral interesting enough to look at them for a while. So he ended up with his longest visit of the cathedral ever while I accompanied him to Milan's mains shopping street.

I didn't find the fashion stores that interesting - and didn't want to buy anything, though I have to say something about the Italian fashion. Its men fashion is more elegant than anything I have ever seen before. Surprisingly, I sometimes found myself looking at Italian men more than at the women - who weren't dressed as nice or looking more beautiful than the Spanish. Clothes are relatively inexpensive, compared to prices in Central and Northern Europe.

On Saturday, I thanked Antonia for her hospitality in Castiglione and Milan and left the city. The Waldorf school there is looking for a foreign language teacher for German and English - the "official" areas of my training, but I wasn't tempted to teach in a classroom. Also, meeting Hans again and with this fondness of each other, I was also reassured that I have some capacities in the things I am doing /teaching.

Getting to Padova to pick up Keni and Misha at the station I knew that the days of our companionship might be counted. And the girls stated in our instant meeting that it was the case; because it simply didn't work, because my personality was too strong, it was too hard to get approval from me. I told them where I was and that I see some reasons in the difference of the outlined trip - by the parents and me mainly - and the girls ideas about it, clashing personalities, my beginnership as a travel teacher.

The clarity of the statements was accompanied by tears, expressing gratitude and honoring each other, talking about our feelings of failure and guilt as well as the importance of getting up one more time than falling down. We had tried all we could and that is something that really counts for me. Though it is hard, of course.

We spend the night in Padova whose university goes back to the 13th century and shared its supreme importance with the universities of the Sourbonne (Paris), Salamanca and Bologna, Italy. Our delicious pizza had a 15'' (almost 40 cm) diameter. And walking the city in the night brought me some happiness because of its beauty. Its uniqueness lies in the archways, often on both sides of the narrow streets. On rainy days, one only gets wet when crossing a street or intersection.

Misha's parents had just found out great things about a Canadian School in Italy that Misha might want to go to next year. It is in Lanciano, between Ancona and Bari. So we made it down south again and were hosted and fed in an Inn that the school is running. The school itself is very academically oriented and students who work hard - and the teachers take care of that - can attend good universities (in North America it is very important at which university one has studied). After talking with many students, checking out the residences and visiting classes, Misha decided that she wants to go there and is applying - through her parents - immediately.

My biggest (possible) problem of the trip being over early is a possible negative influence on the planned bicycle trips. Keni didn't want to return to California soon and Misha had to find a way to get her credits for this semester. She cannot return to her school since the fourth quarter has already begun. So she'll do some correspondence work.

Disliking long car rights, they didn't look forward to drive some 1,150 mi (1850 km) to get to their next destination which is Utrecht in Holland; to visit friends they made in Taize. So, we ended up with them taking the train. After Utrecht they plan to make a home base in Hamburg, Germany, for a couple of weeks, before they'll travel England and Scotland for another three to four weeks. And they are ready to do it on their own!

I am thinking /dreaming of doing a bicycle tour through Israel. Most important, of course, is the preparation of the fall's trip and having so much time now, that should work out nicely. Also, Hans might have the chance to try an examen that would allow him to continue with the next level of school and in that case he wants me to prepare him. Last but not least, I am also looking for a job that brings me some money to support myself until September 2nd: Frankfurt - Boston!

Throughout the trip, several question about these kinda trips came up:
- Number: As I stated before, three wasn't a very happy number. Up to 7 students seems a healthier number without bringing the disadvantages of a big group.
- Transportation: It was my ideas to travel by car. And though I thoroughly enjoyed advantages as bringing my laptop and being more independent, I now regard bicycles and public transportation as better vehicles for educational tours like this.
- Academics: How are academics integrated more suitable? How much of it can be actually done?
- Teacher: I don't think it is good to be the only adult, without the possibility of really exchanging observations and thoughts with somebody else - who is there as well - on a regular basis.

Sooo, we've come to an end, may it be as different from the somewhat expected and hoped outcome as it is. All that is left for me to say is to thank Keni and Misha for giving me the trust and coming with me on this adventure, to thank Brooke, Sandy and Cathy - the parents -for their trust and ongoing support and to thank you, dear friends, for being with us!

Sharing a smile and a hug,

Andreas