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.