About one year ago, Jim called over from his home office to mine – “hey, the Drive-by Truckers are playing in Berlin on my birthday. I’ve never been to Berlin.”

So it was time to go to Berlin. I bought the tickets with 2 Euro insurance so if Covid flared up and we couldn’t go, we wouldn’t lose much. A year of planning later, we’re set to see DBT on June 1, in addition to visiting Munich, Barcelona and Girona.

Why this mix? Jim had never been to Barcelona, and given life’s uncertainty, I thought this would be a good opportunity for him to see two iconic cities. I’d been to Munich, Berlin and Barcelona while a college student, but they and I have changed a lot since then, so I’m eager to re-visit all three.

We threw in Girona because we have an ex-colleague from The Wall Street Journal who is living there now. Living as an expat in Spain? It’s appealing. I’m eager to meet her and get her perspective. The area was also home to Salvador Dali, so we’re spending a day visiting his haunts.

Traveling in the era of Covid and war certainly raises concerns, but if we wait until we’re back to ‘normal,’ we may never travel. So off we go!