And Circle Gets the Square

My Achilles heel has always been geography. I am not certain, if handed a blank map of the US, that I could correctly label all the states. However, I've always been able to find my way around without getting too lost, eventually making my way toward my end destination. This is not the case here.

I don't go out too much by myself, because I'm not sure where everything is, but last week I decided to go for it, and walked into downtown by myself. Regensburg is shaped like a triangle, with the longest, flat side near the river in the north. We live on the northwestern side, and usually walk into the center of town from that western side. On this particular day, I opted to head toward the southern point of the triangle before making my way back to our apartment the usual way.

I walked to my destination easily enough, it was actually a lot closer when not walking through town, and only skirting the edges. I found the yarn store (my actual destination) and browsed around before trying to make my way home. I set out looking for the landmarks I had come to recognize on my journeys with Joe. I felt I was heading in the right direction, until I walked by the yarn store again.

Frustrated and determined, I walked defiantly past the store, and walked different paths than I had the first time I left the yarn store. I knew I walking further than in my first foray, and I felt like I was making progress and would see my street again soon. Then I walked by the yarn store again.

Now I was feeling hopeless. It was cold and misty out, and my legs felt like popsicles. I was also getting hungry, and as I was literally no closer to getting home, I started feeling like a small child who loses her mom in the department store. I headed toward a backerei I had also walked by 3 times, and on this occasion, I stopped to refuel.

After a nice spinach pastry, I ventured out again, only this time, I decided to just go back the way I had come. I was never able to reconcile the part of town where I walked in circles with the part of town Joe and I usually frequent. In my head they are still two sovereign places, with no discernible connection.

Last night, Joe and I were walking around town, and he was trying to help me figure out where we were, but to no avail. I would say, "Oh I know where we are, this store is over there", and then he would say, "No. That's somewhere else". I may never know where everything is in the town.