Drying out in Hannover

It rains differently here than in the U.S. It rains in a steady, soaking, sometimes horizontal way that makes you think the sun won't come out for a month. I feel like the rain drops are smaller here, and sneakier. There are very few claps of thunder, no flashy lightning or big dark clouds, just a mean, gray, siege of wetness. It started raining Wednesday night, and by today (which is Sunday), I think it has stopped.

Yesterday I took the cross country kids to the Berlin British School for their big meet. I had my big yellow rain boots on and my raincoat and a Minnesota-worthy system for layering my clothes. There were multiple zip-loc bags in my backpack and an umbrella in case my raincoat somehow failed me. We only had 8 kids at the meet... not as many as I'd hoped but way more than International School of the Rhine, which had 3. Frankfurt and Leipzig dominated with at least 20 skinny running kids each. Our only chance to shine was in the JV girls race - we took first and third places and finished second as a team. We practice so little that I can't really take credit for any of those performances, but it was nice to bring home a little trophy. More importantly, it only drizzled in the woods outside of Berlin, whereas Hannover was under a stinging, wet attack of rain drops all day long.

The Hannover kids' favorite part of going to Berlin has nothing to do with the train ride, the athletic competition, or kids from other schools.  It's Dunkin Donuts. There are several Dunkin Donut stores, which you can't find in Hannover (or even in the Twin Cities). I like donuts pretty well, but I think that any bakery in town has gooey treats that taste as good or better. The novelty is in the fact that you can't get Dunkin Donuts just anywhere, so they are therefore a much desired, way overpriced, and very exciting commodity for 7th and 8th graders. During our 90 minute delay at the train station before heading home, our soggy runners spent most of their time choosing, buying, and eating donuts.

Even though I've done a few of these trips already, I still get nervous sending other peoples' kids out into the world. One mom told us that her son would just take the tram home after we got back to Hannover in the evening. So we sent him off on public transportation with his backpack and belly full of donuts, mostly sure that he would not be abducted. Hannover is the safest place I've ever lived, and these kids go all around town on their own all the time. They know the transit system better than a lot of adults I've met (including the woman with four teeth who asked me how to get to a tram stop that was in the opposite direction of where we were headed... she also said she liked my yellow rain boots). Parents can send text messages to their iPhones at any moment. But still, it makes me a little uneasy.

Today I plan to relax and enjoy a day away from pre-teens. The rain defeated us for a while but since today it's in retreat, Brian and I might go out on a bike ride. He has already eaten the Dunkin Donuts I brought him.