I am on a work trip this week. Four of us. Visiting a satellite office in Klagenfurt so I can meet the team and join some planning sessions. We took a train here, which lasted five hours and went through the alps — but it was mostly dark and foggy. When the fog lifted, which happened a few times, I compared the countryside to places in America. The mountains look like the rockies — big peaks and spires.

We are ahead of ourselves. We want to be here in April 2020, not September. In April 2020 the kids will take the tram by themselves. They will have strong friendships. Alison and I will understand the healthcare system, and know enough German to order a sandwich without having to point. But it’s September, not April. We’ll have to wait for the sun and moon to come and go a hundred and fifty times.

Lots of rap lyrics talk about benzos. Mercedes benzos. Nice cars. Just rented my second one from the Hertz in downtown Linz. A triple upgrade from the Ford Fiesta, but no rate change. Just €32 a day. That’s how we roll. I rolled it all the way home. We rent cars to transport things we can’t carry, and to get out of town. Driving around is pretty easy. The signs are a little different of course — and there are no yellow lines — only white.