Exploring Germany

“Ich habe Zeit”
“Time is more than money. Time is life.”

A quarter of a year we’ve been living in Jena and still I’m wrangling with a troubled sense of home. For all that I yearned for a more rooted life, it’s been quite the adjustment to settle back into “normal life” after so long on the road. Questions of identity, purpose, direction, and connection demand to be answered as I relearn how to structure my days beyond route planning, riding, and camping under the stars. Now I spend my time trying to wrap my tongue around the German language, hoping for a doorway into the workforce, and feeling like a school kid on the playground trying to make new friends.

I had a brief conversation today that reminded me of the light at the end of this tunnel. I was standing in line at the bakery where Richard works, hoping for a (vegan) chocolate croissant and maybe a sneaky kiss, when an older woman walked in. I motioned for her to go ahead and order first when she said, “Ich habe Zeit. / I have time.“ Only after the words, “Ich auch / Me too” passed my lips did I realize the significance of this small, otherwise unremarkable exchange. Firstly, I’d not only understood but had the words to respond to a conversation with a stranger! This felt like a huge win after feeling like a big ol’ dollop of oil with German words running like water, repellent, over my confused head. Secondly, I realized that I *do* have time. Time that, of late, I’d been spending bemoaning how long it was taking for life to “fall into order.” How long it was taking to get a job, build a community, acquire that elusive, bone-deep feeling of being “home.” So instead of staring at the walls and dizzying myself with cyclical thoughts, why not do what I do best: spin my legs!

So off I went to “The Old Castle of Dornburg,” about a 45km round trip journey. Being in Europe, it was almost entirely on cycle paths snaking alongside the river. Heavy-headed sunflowers and flashing poppies courted the paved path and interrupted the green stretches of early corn. The final climb was rewarded with sweeping views of the Thuringian Valley. I poured myself a cup of home brewed coffee and tucked into the croissant that started it all, feeling grateful for today’s invitation to rebirth.

Hopefully I’ll be back soon for many more wee adventures in my new German home.Read more