Before leaving for six weeks in the Bering Sea this spring, I blogged kind of a lot about my preparations. I mean, I had to take steel-toed boots and a survival suit and stuff.

Preparing for 10 weeks in Germany is a lot easier. For example, the chances of falling into subzero water are somewhat lower. And if I forget something, I can buy it or have it mailed to me. This was difficult when I was on a boat in the middle of nowhere.

So I’ll take the good dictionary and my knitting needles and work clothes and a lot of shoes and…I dunno, we’ll see what else ends up in the pile. Any ideas?