This Brand New Paris Air a Thousand Years Old

We have finally arrived in Paris, and how sweet it is. We had woken up at the forbidden hours of morning to catch a train from Frankfurt to Paris. Oddly, I find something appealing in the early morning flight from place to place- and I always have. Early morning airports and train stations always seem to be filled with a very sweet, yet hurried air. We drank coffee and sped away from Frankfurt am Main. Später Deutschland, ich komme zurück!

On the train ride I got into a two hour discussion with a woman who worked in a tri-national firm. She was actually on her way to an English seminar in Paris and had some heavily dated guide books. We discussed life in our respective countries (in German, of course) and the train ride passed along. After being in Germany, I know that I want to perfect my speaking and reading in the language and experience it again and again. Something about Germany just feels.... comfortable.

So the train raced the fun, and it seemed that dawn finally broke somewhere in the French countryside near a town which was quite clearly German at one point (the -burg suffix was replaced by -bourg). And the rolling hills were bathed in mist (the woman next to me asked for the English word, I asked her for the German).

Rolling hills gave way to graffiti and train yards. Trees became buildings, and the distinctly urban nature of Paris was apparent. We forced our way to our temporary home on the southern border of France and unloaded our suitcases. Home has been found for now.

Paris is truly amazing. The ancient and new seem to blend into one another in an incredible energy. Where parents walk their children through scenic parks in one spot, basilicas of the pre-revolution stand guard in another, and old factories have become universities in others. It truly is an amazing place, like New York City with a thousand years more history. Of course, I'm a stranger here with no mark of familiarity. But that's pretty exciting. I've become the observer here, untethered by words or common ideas. I'm watching this city, catching it in this winter moment and allowing it to become cleaer to me now. As the months go on, I know much will become apparent to me- and much more will require a second, third, and fourth look.

If you want to know exactly what we did today, again go visit Kate's blog.

Until I write Again,
Nick