Leaving Zurich in the morning via train, we headed for the German city of Stuttgart, three hours north. It was difficult to take photos from a fast-moving train, but I did manage to grab one at the Rhine River right before we crossed from Switzerland into Germany. One of the advantages of traveling in most of the European Union (or disadvantage, according to your perspective) is not having luggage checked or going through any form of customs. We did have our train tickets examined by a conductor at the first stop in Germany, but we didn’t have to rise from our comfy seats.

Even though the day started out sunny, it grew increasingly gray and rainy. We traveled past tangled forests, cultivated farms, rolling hills, and small towns. Most of the scenery could be described as pleasant but unremarkable. The oddest part of the train ride occurred in a rural area about an hour south of Stuttgart. A person seemingly stood at attention in the middle of a road parallel to the train tracks. Nothing was around him. He didn’t move and just stood, staring into space. He was attired completely in white head to toe. I looked at John and said, “Did you see the white dude? What was that?” John nodded in the affirmative and shrugged his shoulders. That was certainly unexplainable!

In Stuttgart, we changed trains to Nuremberg, where John rented a car for our final destination: Ebermannstadt. He navigated skillfully out of Nuremberg, but because of confusing construction work on the main highway, we missed our turn-off and took a less-traveled route through the hills.

In this quaint Bavarian town nestled among the mountains, the sun came out again right when we checked into a guest cottage just down the street from my brother and his family. Their oldest of four daughters, Damaris Campbell, will marry Daniel Dafam in a church wedding on Saturday. As is customary in Europe, a civil ceremony has already taken place. They went to Denmark a few weeks ago for that event, meaning they’re already “officially” married. Damaris holds a special place in our hearts. She lived with us and did a semester of study in Anamosa, Iowa, when I taught there. John also instructed her in first driving lessons! Daniel and Damaris will be returning to mission work in Africa.

Let the festivities begin!