Team Smith

From Germany to Austria, the Danube runs green, brown, and gray, never blue. Quaint towns and farms dot the country side. Churches with cold stone exteriors are hiding guilded and ostentatious decorations within, a wealthy display in the 'name of God' or man's own ego? People everywhere, eager to rave about their town's special brew. They take beer very serious here. And wine. A happy solo drinker I am. Small, historic squares with frescoes from 1100BC cover the ceilings and doorways of shops selling local wares boasting of local talent. A fairytale-like quality is on display, leading you to imagine what it was like long ago. And the food. Food. The Food. Intricate names tickle my tongue, though not as much as spices once foreign, now coveted again and again. And again. One sampling leads to an afternoon of tasting sauces, pastries, salty and sweet. Hearty meals to honor the farmhands who worked and toiled the land, fresh delicacies from explorers who sailed round a

Delayed gratification. A term most find annoying at best, improbable at worst. Never have those two words meant more to me than this morning. Three planes, 2 countries, and 1 bus ride later we walked a plank and stepped into an alternate reality. Is this really happening? Did the planets really align?  I mean, they took four years to do so, which in the grand scheme of things is nothing more than a tiny blip in a lifetime of adventures.