There's No Place Like Home

I’m back! After three flights, three countries, five hours of layovers, three hours of delayed flights, cancelled flights, lost luggage, and twenty-six and a half hours, I finally made it back to Kansas City late Saturday night.  Many friends and family are calling this a “Once in a Lifetime” experience, but I disagree, because I definitely will be going again!

 I had a twelve day whirlwind adventure to Europe, and I still can’t believe it went by as fast as it did.  As the cliché goes, time flies when you’re having fun, and this proved to be true during my trip.  As I was packing my suitcase and two extra bags full to the brim (my suitcase weighed EXACTLY 50 pounds!) with presents and fun memories, I was struck with a sense of sadness to be leaving, but at the same time, a sense of excitement to be going home.

I visited many places in two countries during my trip, Germany and France.  I stayed with my family in Odenheim, Germany, visited surrounding cities, and took a short trip to Paris, France.  Through the whole trip, I was consistently reminded of home.  While I did miss some material things like my daily Diet Dr. Pepper and peanut butter, I was more struck with similarities while visiting the different areas. 

In Odenheim, there is a beautiful church just up the hill from where I stayed. While looking out over the beautiful town of Odenheim from the vantage point right outside the church, I thought of Abilene’s own Grace United Church of Christ, where my grandparents were married almost 56 years ago.  Right next to the church in Odenheim is the oldest building in the town, a house.  I was strongly reminded of Abilene’s historic homes, lining the streets and the over 30 year tradition of the Home for the Holidays Tour.  We traveled to Mannheim, Germany, to join over 5,000 fans to watch the Germany-Portugal game in the 2014 World Cup!  Germany won 4-0, and while I was celebrating, I was struck of the memories of the Chamber-wide March Madness competition we did this past year.

Germany wasn’t the only place I was reminded of home.  Strolling along the Paris streets, I was reminded of Abilene as well.  While last week’s column told you about some of our big similarities with major tourist attractions, these are smaller similarities.  Bakeries are prevalent on the streets of Paris, and while enjoying the French bread and macaron cookies (my favorite), I was reminded of the chocolate chip scones I love at Amanda’s Bakery & Bistro.  Moulin Rouge is the main cabaret theatre in Paris, marked by its signature red windmill.  You can bet your bottom dollar (Annie reference anyone?), that I was reminded of Great Plains Theatre, who are right in the midst of their 20^th Anniversary season.  After visiting Notre Dame Cathedral, we took some back streets to find my family’s favorite couscous restaurant, and on the way to that restaurant, we found a diamond-in-the-rough bookstore called Shakespeare and Company Bookstore.  For a book lover like me, this was such a cute little find that I was thrilled about.  While perusing the stacks, I remembered another great bookstore that I love, Rivendell Bookstore, right here in Abilene.

This trip was truly an amazing experience for me.  Not only did I get to see places I’d been dreaming of since I was young, I was able to grow closer to my family and experience local cultures.  However, while experiencing those different cultures, I was continually reminded of our local culture here in Abilene.  As Dorothy says, there really is no place like home, and I’m glad Abilene is mine.

As always, you can contact the Chamber at 785-263-1770 or chamber@abileneks.net!