visit from a friend

a couple years ago, g and i went on a transatlantic cruise with a couple friends of ours.  we had a great time.  after the cruise, we added on a trip to munich.  we had passes to fly on lufthansa from barcelona to munich.  though we thought that we would have no problem getting on the flight, we learned that day that the flight was full.  when we went to the gate, we were given boarding passes that did not have seat assignments.  printed on the ticket was "JS".  we figured it meant jumpseat (the fold down seats that flight attendants use).  we use that term commonly, referring to crew members of another airline coming along on the flight, but occupying a regular passenger seat.  imagine our surprise when we learned that we would be sitting on their actual jumpseat.  three of us went to the back galley, one rode up front.  we introduced ourself to the flight attendant working in the back of the cabin.  her name was siw (pronounced seev), a gorgeous, friendly blond girl.  though she wasn't extremely talkative, she was very nice and offered us anything we wanted.  we were just grateful to be on the flight.

we enjoyed our time in munich (you must visit bavaria...it's absolutely breathtaking), but had to eventually end our vacation.  g and i were flying back to chicago on lufthansa, nonstop.  we were able to get on the flight with ease and were given the bulkhead row with a little extra leg room.  we made our way onboard and were surprised to see siw, once again, working our flight!  she immediately recognized us and came over to talk to us.  before the flight even departed munich, she got my facebook information so that we could keep in touch.

from that day on, we've remained in contact.  she has visited chicago on previous trips and g was fortunate to meet up with her for dinner.  earlier this year he even went over to germany to visit her.  so this month, siw had two trips to chicago for work.  we were unable to meet up with her on the first visit, but scheduled a day together on her second trip.  so this past saturday we picked siw up, showed her our place, took her to brunch, and then walked around our neighborhood.  this was the first time i was able to see siw since our  original meeting.  i must say that it was very nice to see her again!

we ate brunch at our favorite breakfast spot and then walked up to lincoln square (which is ironically the largest german-american neighborhood in chicago).  we popped into various stores and made a special visit into 'gene's sausage shop', a european grocery in the heart of lincoln square.  while we were there, g and siw tried to find the type of sausage that they ate in the tiergarten in freising (siw's hometown, north of munich).  though they weren't successful in finding the sausage, siw did find some elderflower syrup that she uses to make her favorite beverage.  so we got some fresh mint and bubbly water to complete the ingredients for her refreshing concoction.

we walked back to our place where siw made us her delicious beverage - think non-alcoholic refreshing mojito...but better!  unfortunately siw's visit was coming to an end, so we said our good-bye's as we took her back downtown to her crew hotel so she could rest up before her flight back to munich.

we're hoping that things work out and that she'll be able to come back and visit in september.  i do hope so, because i enjoyed our visit!  i promised that i would go visit her in germany soon, too!  it's great to have international friends!  and with technology these days, miles don't keep friends apart!

pictures from siw's facebook page.