Tagged!

Goofball tagged me for a photo meme of sorts. Her instruction to me were: "Go to the 4th folder with pictures on your computer and then upload the 4th picture in that folder. Discuss."

I had just done one of those once yearly disk clean-ups, leaving just a few folders on my local drive. The fourth folder in that list is called "Just Carol," and it contains photos of me that I use primarily for profile photos for the various social media sites I frequent. The fourth photo in that folder isn't a photo I'd upload onto any of those sites because it's... well, waaaay outdated!

This photo of me was taken at my uncle's house in Zurich, Switzerland when I was 16. It was my first trip to Europe and I had gone with only my brother, Stephan. Although my Uncle Rainer had been a huge part of our lives (via phone calls, letters, etc.) in California, I met him in person for the first time on this trip. (My Aunt Inge, who was as cold to me as Rainer was warm, sits in the background, obviously annoyed, or bored, or maybe just tired.)

I have wonderful memories of that trip to Germany and Switzerland in the summer of 1973. It was my first extended time away from home, but also the first time I recognized Germany as a familial home, something that's beckoned me back there five times since then.

As I posted that photo of me, I was reminded of a photo of Kat, also sitting on steps in Europe (Nordlingen, Germany) when she was 15:

I dunno. Do you see a resemblance?

Thanks, Goofball, for the fun meme! I'll pass the ball on to HomeJewel, who posts such great photos of her family, Holly of Nothing But Bonfires because I know she'll find some goofy photo with some amazing story behind it, and two of my favorite German bloggers, Claire of Cheeseburgers and SauerKraut and my dear friend Jen of HeisseSheisse, just because I miss them!