More Random Tidbits

Hi there. I'm kind of having a hard time thinking of interesting things to post here, so I hope you don't mind if I share a few more random bits that don't at all relate to one another, but that I find a bit interesting.

For one thing, Germany seems all but obsessed with Michelle Obama. She has generated such a buzz here - almost more than the president, himself. The day after the inauguration, the front page headline of one of the newspapers here mentioned nothing of Barack, but did ask "Wie sexy ist die neue First Lady?", and had a full page photo of her in her white dress dancing with Barack. I have seen at least four articles solely about her, including one in Der Spiegel, and it seems as though the Germans are mesmerized by her. She does seem extremely likable, and I, for one, think she looked damn sexy on inauguration day. How refreshing to have a president and first lady who actually seem like real people.

Moving on....if you happen to have been born after, say, 1960, you might want to see if you can track down a copy of "Herr Lehmann." It's a movie, based on a book by the same name, and is a good snapshot of German culture during the late 1980s. The themes are universal - love, loss, finding one's self - and are presented in a simultaneously comedic and melancholic way. I've seen it twice now, with English subtitles, and really enjoy it.

Germany is not known for producing a ton of great music (Kraftwerk, anyone?), but also worth checking out is a band called Seeed (yes, with three e's). They are, I think, a 17 member band from 9 countries, and incorporate Reggae, Latin beats, hip-hop, and some African rhythms. It's fun. Also really good is the solo project from one of the lead singers, Peter Fox.

So, I hope it's not too evident, but my English is taking a nose dive here. Concentrating on German has really handicapped my English skills. I actually said "drived" here the other day, in the context of "Mark drived us here." Really.

Oh, and speaking of language, if you happen to be near a native German speaker, ask him or her to try saying the word "months." I think it is possibly the most difficult word for Germans to pronounce, and I must admit, I get a little bit of pleasure out of knowing there is at least one word I can say better than the people who master "maulwurf", "nachrichten", and "umstrukturierungsprozess" (no idea what that last one means, but it is a word taken straight out of the newspaper).

Perhaps the best example of the difficulty of German words, though, is the following one, which also happens to be their longest:

Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft.

I dare you to try saying that. Also notice the three f's in a row there. Nothing says German efficiency like an 80 letter word with three f's in a row. The word translates to: association for subordinate officials of the head office management of the Danube steamboat electrical services. Why say that with multiple words when one will do?

Okay, I think that's enough for me for today. I will try to come up with something good for next time. Until then, be well.

Deutschland

Greetings from Deutschland. There's not a whole lot new here these days. I think it's safe to say, and a bit sad, that I am getting used to being in this strange land. There are still a few things that seem odd, though, like for example, while napkins are offered most of the time during meals, they are often not used, and almost never put in the laps of Germans. Also, they tend not to put leftovers in the fridge, but rather leave them out overnight. People seem to keep living, though, so I guess it's not the end of the world.

I registered for a German language course here. It starts next week at the Volkshochschule, which is basically like a community college. Three and a half hours a day, Monday through Friday, for four weeks. My German is coming along nicely as it is, relatively speaking - I can go about my daily business in German without too much trouble - but it will be excellent to have the formal education. I have almost no knowledge of how grammar works here, so that alone will be a benefit of the class. In addition, there are some verbs that get split, and the second half goes at the first part of the sentence, and the first part goes at the end of the sentence, sometimes with several clauses in between. For example, the word for "to call" someone is "anrufen", but to say "Call me tomorrow at three o'clock when I am in Paris", you would say "Ruf mich Morgen um drei Uhr wenn ich in Paris bin an." Not really an easy language, and I have a lot to learn. And, unfortunately, I won't be in Paris at three o'clock tomorrow.

I will have to start real life again before too long, and actually have some employment prospects, but for at least this week I am still able to live the vacation lifestyle, including taking my sweet dog on long walks through the countryside. Here are a few pics from the last few days:





And, just when I think it doesn't really look any different from Wisconsin, I see this:


Yes, that's a nun walking down the street. In the States it was kind of easy to forget they exist - really, when was the last time you saw a nun? - but they are all over the place here.

I'm gearing up to prepare spaghetti and homemade sauce for dinner tonight. John has been here almost all day, which has been a treat.

Hope you all have a lovely evening.

Simply...

Wooooo Hoooooooo! It's about time.

Tidbits

Here's a new German word for you: lecker. It means tasty, and man was it an appropriate word for last night's dinner. I was invited, along with Martin, by Berthold and Tatiana for dinner at their home last evening. I have eaten there a couple times before, and an invitation for Tatiana's cooking is something one does not turn down. She is fantastic. Last night she served an appetizer of little zwiebak crackers, I think they're called, with a pate of salmon and tuna, a slice of green olive, and a parsley leaf on top. Awesome. After that she served homemade carrot ginger soup - again, awesome - and then for the main course, lamb with the most amazing French sauce, a salsa of tomatoes and cilantro, and rice, and green beans. So dang tasty. And for dessert I bravely tried a bit of Rumtopf, which translates to "rum pot". It's a traditional dessert here and, as you might have guessed, has a lot of rum in it. It's basically fruit soaked for a year in rum, with a bit of sugar, served with vanilla pudding. Tatiana's pudding was fantastic, but I'm not so much a fan of rum, so the fruit wasn't really my thing. Perhaps the most amazing part of the evening, though, purely because it was so unexpected, was the cheddar cheese she had on the cheese plate she served last. Cheddar cheese is nearly impossible to find here, and it was such a nice treat!

Also, we went to the dog park at the military base again yesterday. No machine gun casings this time, but here's a pic of one of the cars scattered around:


It's such a strange place. Fun for Aengus, though - there were a bunch of other dogs there yesterday.

It's Sunday today. Aengus and I went for our walk through the rain, but have a pretty low key rest of the day planned. All the shops here are closed on Sundays, including the grocery stores, and things kind of shut down. Not very often, really, but sometimes it hits me that I'm actually living in Europe.

I heard it was above zero there - break out the flip flops!

The Thaw

Amazingly, the snow is gone here now. The last two days have been above freezing, and everything is now mushy and muddy. I assume we'll have some colder weather again before spring truly arrives, but I think it's on its way. There are even small flowers - "snowbells" and narcissus - popping up through the earth.

I wish I would have had my camera on my walk today. Aengus played King of the Hill on a 10' tall mound of manure. Particularly nice after the thaw we've had. Bath time for him today.

I have extended my return ticket to the States until March 4th - my last legal day here unless I decide to seek employment. Whether here or there, I will have to find a new job. Kind of a crossroads for me, I suppose, and not particularly inspiring given the current economic situation (which is not much better here than there). I am feeling okay about it, though, and trust I will be able to find something. I've always been an optimist, though...

Hope this finds you well. Stay warm and be safe.

New Record

Ok, so, according to the newest reports, I guess this current stretch of cold weather is the longest and coldest in Germany in the last 100 years. Fabulous time to be here. I guess it is still better than Minnesota, barely, but it's far short of balmy!

Also, I heard today that the amount of sun we've had in the last two months - probably about twelve days total, including the ones in November where the sun merely made a brief appearance - is way above average. A lifelong local resident said today that in an average winter (about 5 months, he was saying) they have ten days of sun. In five months.

Mexico, anyone?

Blue Winter

I guess I brought winter back to Germany this year. It's the coldest winter the country has seen for 22 years, and some areas haven't seen cold like this since the mid-50s. I realize it's still better than Minnesota, although it was below zero - fahrenheit - here for several days/nights, the ponds, lake (they only have one here, and it's man-made), and rivers have all frozen solid , and we've had several snows. Here are a few pics from a few days ago:






Hope you're all staying cozy and warm. Spring is coming!

Signs

As you may know, Germany is a country of many rules and regulations. I think it is a federal offense to be late to a dinner party, for example. Well, it turns out, they are also a country of many signs, and for good reason. If, for example, you are driving along and hit a pothole that was not adequately marked with a sign, you can sue the state for the damage to your car. So, yes, it's also a litigious society. But back to the signs. Here are a few of my favorites:

This one warns bikers and pedestrians that they're about to go downhill:


The hill has a gradual slope that extends for about 12 feet. Nice to have the warning.

This one warns autos that they're about to go uphill:


Handy, in case drivers can't see the "mountains" approaching, 10 kilometers away.

Muenster is exceptionally bike-friendly, and has all kinds of signs for bikers, including their own stoplights:



And street signs giving the distances by bike to the nearest towns:


There are, of course, standard speed limit signs for cars all over the place, as well as many speed limit signs for tanks, like this one:


This sign warns people not to go past the gate, or their life may be in danger:


As you can see, it is treacherous:


This one evidently warns of giant frogs:


And this one, that Jane spied, is my absolute favorite sign so far:


Notice the complete lack of nearby water. Maybe Germany has a problem with quicksand.

It's snowing again today, and it is beautiful. Hope this finds you well.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, and best wishes to you all for a happy, healthy 2009!

2009 arrived with gray skies and a touch of snow here, but the last seven - seven - days of December were wonderfully sunny. Not that kind of sunny where the sun makes a brief appearance, which counted as sunny in November, but the not-a-cloud-in-the-sky kind of sunny. It was dreamy.

Of course, I didn't really take any pictures outside during those last seven days of December, but here are a few from yesterday...

This is the house I live in:


It is very unusual for Kasewinkel, a community otherwise populated by old farm houses and barns. This house was designed by Martin's father, and was built in the 1950s. It's hard to tell from this photo, but it has nearly 4000 square feet of living space.

Here's the street I live on:


And rocks in a nearby river:


It looks like the gray weather will persist through today - it is super foggy and lightly snowing - but hopefully there will be clear skies again before too long.

Hope you all had a fun, safe New Year's Eve. Until next time...