Allergies / Allergien

My eyes are on fire. I think if I had tiny rakes made out of toothpicks and raked my eyes to shreds, it wouldn't feel any worse. It is deep allergy season for me. Neither Peter nor I had allergies until we moved to New Jersey. I had some hope that our allergies were specific to New Jersey and we would be spared here. Leider! (Some German words are so much better than English words, like leider. It means alas, unfortunately, regrettably, sorry - though more a condolence than an apology - and is useful for some many things.)

For years I told Peter that the miserable colds he would get during Pennington baseball season each year were allergies, but he was slow to admit it. His flare-ups tend to come in the late afternoon or evening, and for a long while he was convinced that it was dust under the bed that caused his problems. We made an interesting discovery a few weeks back about Peter's allergies. We were at the playground at Hellbrunn which is built within a grove of willow trees. Peter had been fine all day, but shortly after standing around under the willows he went into a full blown allergy breakdown. If he left the grove of trees, the symptoms would begin to subside. When he returned, they would start to flare up again. Suddenly, it all made sense. Back in New Jersey, outside our bedroom window, stands a very old and scraggly willow tree.

Somewhere along the way I also developed lingering late spring/early summer colds, which during a particularly bad and lingering cold my doctor said was actually allergies. I know grass is partly to blame because a fresh cut lawn can throw me into a tail spin, although from what I read allergies from grass cutting is more about the mold and mildew churned up in the process than the grass itself. What else I am allergic to, I'm not quite sure, but there is here something in Salzburg that is far worse than anything New Jersey offers (The hay fields along Hellbrunner Allee perhaps?). I have been sneezing and sniffling for the last week or so. My precious Alavert which I brought an enormous stockpile of (just in case) works for a couple hours instead of an entire day and does nothing for my burning, itchy eyes. Leider.