Everybody at home seemed very happy to see me; Digory, in particular, hit some notes in his welcome-home baying that I wouldn't have guessed that he was capable of making.

Some lingering questions about Germany that my short trip was unable to resolve:

• So what is it with the whole no-public-drinking-fountains thing?
• Why is it called Germanistik, and not, say, Deutschistik?
• At current rates, how long will it be before every single retail space in Hamburg has been converted to an H&M? (There are four outlets in downtown Hamburg that are within very easy walking distance of one another; on my next trip, I'll be expecting to see two H&Ms built across the street from each other, or occupying different floors of the same building ...)