With Mom’s unexpected passing on July 2nd, it was a difficult decision but we have had to reboot our travel plans. We arrived in Frankfurt yesterday, to have Mom’s dear friends from Karlsruhe pick us up, cook lunch for us, then take us to their weekend apartment in Baden-Baden, with provisions & instructions to stay as long as we want. We wouldn’t have thought of this, but one of the world’s best-known resort towns with thermal baths and forest hikes is helping us start to restore our souls. Early to sleep last night meant waking at 3am. By 5:30 am we had hiked to a castle at the top of a mountain. Now, it’s nap time after almost 2 hours at the Caracalla thermal pools. Perhaps there is wisdom in treading on ancestral grounds in the mourning process, and hearing stories of Mom’s visits here-and my grandparents vacations in the Schwarzwald…