Happy Feet

Okay, we're somewhere on the outskirts of Bonn, our first day in Europe. Europe! No wonder I got so crabby; I was constantly pinching myself to see if it was real.

We walked across the bridge, said goodbye to our escort, and continued on our way. It was hot, and we hadn't learned yet that it was a good idea to always carry water with us. (Everything that we'd read had led us to believe that northern Europe was usually cooler than Virginia is in July, but what luck we had, it was unusually hot the entire time we were there.) I didn't think we'd ever reach the Birkenstock outlet. There weren't many businesses in that area, mostly warehouses, but after walking for several hours (20 minutes, but time is different in Germany) we saw a sign for "Birko Orthopadie". Since there was nothing else in sight that looked remotely connected with Birkenstocks, I suggested that we go inside and ask for directions. The building was nothing like I'd expect for a world-famous corporation.


Inside we found an office that was a little more promising; there were Birkenstock catologs and footbeds on the counter. A couple of people wandered by, I asked for directions, and they pointed out the outlet: Right. Across. The. Street. Ohhhhhhhhh. But they were very nice about it and even seemed a tiny bit amused impressed that we'd come so far to find it.

To be honest, we had to go through a clothing outlet store to get to the Birkenstock store. For all I know there could have been a whole outlet mall there and we just came upon it from the wrong direction, but once I got Birk in my sights, there was no diversion. We walked in and saw this














and this












and this.














(A little background: I discovered Birkenstocks about 12 years ago in Key West. I bought my first pair and was hooked. Never before had shoes felt so right, so comfortable, or so expensive. They are worth every penny they cost. Imagine walking on cushions of memory foam. Yeah, they're that comfortable.)

So anyway, I was practically hyperventilating at the sight of this huge room full of racks of Birkenstocks. Every size, shape, and color of Birks, arranged by size. When one pair was removed, a clerk appeared to replace it, so the racks were always full. It was totally overwhelming amazing.

Tom was thrilled, as you can imagine. He found a chair and got comfortable.

After longing to visit the outlet for so long, I wasn't going to rush through the experience. First I took a few photos (I tend to spend too much time looking through the lens rather than actually soaking up my surroundings), then I just walked through the room, taking in the styles and colors and trying to realize that I was actually there. Then I grabbed 8 or 10 pairs of assorted styles to try on. They had a pair of Footprints (a line of Birkenstock shoes--as opposed to sandals) that I've been dying to have, but since they're about $200 in the US I hadn't bought any, and Birk stores are few and far between in my area. They were around $80 at the outlet, so I was really excited. Tried them on, and they just didn't feel right. Huh. I tried another size and they still weren't right, so that dream died right then and there.

I didn't care; there were hundreds of other shoes to try on.

I systematically (more or less) (okay, less) went through the ones that I liked and tried them on. I'll take these, nope, let's try another style, gotta have these, etc. After some agonizing decision-making, I ended up with 10 pairs for the two of us to haul around Europe.

The prices were great. Leather sandals run about $95 here in the US; they were maybe $60 at the outlet. (Okay, I can get brand-new ones on ebay for about the same price, but I can't try them on first.) (But, for future reference, we wouldn't have to cart them around, either.) I spent a total of $325 for 10 pairs of Birks. Only two pairs were leather, but that's still an excellent price for that many pairs. Four of them were two pairs for about $30, unheard of even for fake leather, even on ebay.

Three of the ten pairs were for 3 of my grandchildren. Kids' Birks are so cute but so expensive to put on rapidly-growing feet. My youngest grandson has very wide feet and is hard to fit, so I bought him a pair of leather lace-up shoes that were too big for now, but they looked wide enough that they'll eventually fit. My two granddaughters got cute red sandals. I didn't get any for my oldest grandson; I didn't think he'd particularly like any of them.

Far too quickly (for me, anyway; Tom had fallen asleep), my quest shopping was done. I handed over my debit card, paid for the shoes, took the huge bag and we started the long trek back to the train station.

It felt like the trip back to the train station was a whole lot longer when carrying a big bag of shoes. Bless Tom, he carried them.