Happy 4th of July to all our American friends and family!  Today is also of special note for Chris and me,  beyond the fact that it’s an American holiday. Exactly 5 years ago today, on July 4, 2008, we arrived in Europe at the start of our continuing European adventure.

I’ve included in the gallery below photos taken on July 4th, each of the past 5 years, including this one.

I’ve also included a photo I took a couple of weeks ago. We were sitting outside at our favorite restaurant down the street, enjoying the unusual (for this year) break in the weather. I looked down at the reflection in my wine glass, and was momentarily puzzled:

Reflection, Tübingen, June 2013

That looks like a couple of crenelated tower walls there toward the bottom of the reflection, doesn’t it? But there are no walls like that anywhere near where we live, let along where we were sitting that day.

From my angle, though, that’s what I saw in the reflection. It was most puzzling. But when I mentioned it to Chris, he actually saw something different. From his angle vis-a-vis my glass, he could see what I could not: the “towers” were actually the space in between the slats of the wooden fence beyond the table. When I moved to a different angle with regard to the glass, it all became clear to me, too.

It’s also clear when you turn the reflection upside down that there are no towers:

Reflection, Tübingen, June 2013 – detail turned upside down

I like it – it’s a reflection that’s intriguing and surprising, offering something different from what you might first have thought, but distinctive and enjoyable no matter how you look at it.

Which is, perhaps, is a way to reflect back on our European adventure over the past 5 years: it’s been often intriguing, constantly surprising and always rewarding.

Here’s hoping the coming year brings more of the same!