Our day off

Yesterday we didn't do anything manly for Männertag, the other use of Ascension Day here in Germany. Instead, we did something very unmanly, and visited the kids' great grandmother in Leipzig. In addition to having some very delicious coffee and cake, before the visit we stopped off at the Völkerschlacht Denkmal, a giant monument to the Battle of Nations in 1813 when the Germans beat Napoleon.
Above you can see a picture of it being built back at the beginning of the last century.

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One of the many details on the facade near the entrance.

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Inside there is a circular crypt with these giant figures.
























There is now also a museum, where you can view Napoleon's death mask.
My first fateful trip to Saxony back in 2001 also included a day trip to Leipzig and a visit to the Völkerschlacht Denkmal. A lot has changed there since then. They started charging admission, but the monument is also being renovated, there is now an elevator to go to the first outdoor platform, chain link fence to keep you from jumping, as well as new informational exhibits and a museum.

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Later on, we also visited the Wildpark in Leipzig-Connewitz with Great Grandmother. This is a very nice, large park with free admission! It was originally opened in 1906 with some deer, later expanded, and now is a huge place with many animals which live in Europe, as well as some playgrounds and restaurants. There we saw this lovely lynx.



































Of course there were some obligatory deer, as well as tons of wild garlic! Grandmother asked us if we liked wild garlic, and said we could collect some even though it is forbidden. When we got to a place on the trail where there were no other visitors, she said "Now you can collect some!"
This may sound far-fetched, but whole areas of the park smelled like garlic from this wild herb!

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We have a hedgehog in our garden!!!

We have a little spiky friend living in our garden! I spotted him (or probably her) at about 6:00 this morning, rushing between the plants and the corner where our lawn furniture is stacked. It seems the little guy is building a nest using leaves from our plants. We also contributed some bunny hay to the effort, and the hedgehog seemed to be in seventh heaven. I suspect (and hope!) our little friend may be building a nest in this sheltered corner of our garden to have babies.

Upon further reading about hedgehogs, it seems that this little guy will be quite a useful friend in our garden. Apparently, hedgehogs love to chow down on insects, meaning that they can be an effective form of pest control. According to Wikipedia, the British even try to lure hedgehogs into their gardens for this purpose. And we didn't even have to try! We must have a superiorly hedgehog-friendly garden.

The only problem that comes with the little guy are the cats. The cats have returned to watch the hedgehog. They had finally learned, after many a bucket of water over the head, that they are not welcome at our house and not welcome to use our sandbox as a toilet. But now they are mesmerized by the new guy toddling back and forth between nest and plants. Perhaps Wilhelm will chase them away, yesterday he kicked a cat on the street (without any encouragement) for no apparent reason.



















In other animal news, we spotted a precious squirrel in the Großer Garten behind the zoo last week. I adore the sleek red European squirrels.

A little trip to Polenztal

Yesterday we visited Polenztal in the Saxon Switzerland, a place we seem to go every year in the spring. I visited this place one time with English Club, later on we discovered that there is tons of wild garlic and watercress there, so we started to come each year. We've never eaten the wild garlic, since its leaves look just like those of lilies of the valley, which are poisonous, so we are always a bit scared. And though some people are scared of getting tapeworms from watercress, we eat it and have never gotten any tapeworms (that we know of). One year we even took some watercress and planted it on our balcony. Yesterday we had hoped to take some watercress and some wild garlic, but were scared for two reasons: too many hikers, since taking plants is forbidden, and dying from accidentally eating lilies of the valley.
































































Instead of stealing plants, I entertained myself by taking pictures with my fun new camera. I have so much zoom that I can just stand anywhere and zoom into what I want to take a picture of! What a great contribution to my increasing laziness!
























I also had fun testing out the panorama function on the camera. I particularly like this picture. The treetops are a bit overexposed, but I am quite happy with the results anyway.



























































Instead of eating wild garlic and watercress, we stopped for a snack at the Waltersdorf Mill. This is a funny old place that serves snacks in an open-air picnic atmosphere. The snacks are very reasonably priced, even if there isn't much of a selection. The boys had wieners, I had some cake and coffee, but it didn't look so photogenic.

New Camera!

Hooray! My new camera was in stock at the store yesterday, so I hopped on my bike, rode up to the store and bought it! I have not moved on to the hallowed ranks of SLR photography yet, so purchased myself yet another bridge camera. It has 12.1 megapixels and a whopping 26x zoom! It is a major move up from my 6-year-old Kodak with 4 megapixels and 10x zoom. Plus it has all the manual functions, so I can pretend to be a real, skilled photographer.
Anyway, I was playing with my new toy yesterday and reading the user's manual to figure out how everything works, and it seriously blew me away with all of its neat functions. I can zoom into the cobblestones of my street from my window and see the lip marks on the cigarette butts in the cracks between the stones!
This is a fun distraction after the stress of the last weeks. Did I mention how mean and evil the Kindergarten was? Wilhelm doesn't go there any more, and neither of my kids will ever go to a state-run Kindergarten ever again. Oh, yeah, and there's other stuff. But in the end, all of this stuff is not so bad. We are learning from it, and the way I see it, life is just a big game of Monopoly. I just landed on the wrong square and have to pay some money, but I'll pass Go and collect my 200 EUR soon enough. Later I will buy Park Place!

The Xenophobic Foreigner Office

Today I had to pay a visit to my local Foreigner Office or Immigration Office or whatever you want to call the Ausländerbehörde in English to clarify some things regarding my residency permit. When my number was called, a small Chinese woman rushed in before me, and the official called me in as well. The Chinese lady had a quick question, and when she walked out, the friendly official sighed and asked me to please close the door, because "The Chinese never close doors! They leave all the doors open! I have drafts in here all day! You'd think they don't have any doors in China!" Then when I explained my problem, the official was surprised, because German children living outside Germany do not receive Kindergeld, the money paid by the government to each child living in Germany. She looked at my kids and said, "Those are German children! Why don't they receive Kindergeld when they live outside Germany? We pay it to Turkish children! That is outrageous!" That was my most amusing visit to the Immigration Office ever! I was a little sad because I didn't get to see the Frau I usually see, but this one was ten times better.

Hidden Places

All right, these places aren't hidden, they are right out there where you can see them, but they are tucked into places where you don't always notice them.

The first one is the sad one:


















The stumbling block at Bautzner Str. 20. The first time I saw this I was on my way somewhere and just thought, "huh, why is there a golden block in the sidewalk?" Then I saw an article in the paper about these Stolpersteine planted throughout Dresden. So I went back for another look. This is a project by an artist and has been done in a number of cities throughout Germany. These small, shiny stones are engraved with the name or names of people who were deported and died in concentration camps during the Second World War. They are installed in the sidewalk in front of the address where these people lived. This little stone makes me sadder and sadder every time I walk over it. Each time the history of what went on where I live now as a foreigner in a cosmopolitan city comes more to life.
























This is one of those neat tucked away surprises that I always forget about. It's the back side of the house on the corner of Böhmische Str. and Rothenburger Str. where Hebeda's is located. You can go through a passage here to the Nordbad pool or to the Neustädter Diechl to get some delicious German food. I don't know how long it has been painted like this, but I think it has been for a while. It's just one of those things that can brighten your day when you see it, because it's like a little secret that's just waiting for a pedestrian to come appreciate it.

Lola

There is a little girl at Wilhelm's kindergarten and her name is Lola. She is a very nice little girl, also has a little brother, and likes to help Wilhelm with his jacket and things like that. She was one of the first ones right at the beginning to always come and help him get his jacket off when he was new. Anyway, I only found out her name last week when Wilhelm was telling me something about her. And now, somehow or other, the song Lola has found its way into our constant playlist. Her mom even looks like someone who might know this song, but I can't imagine she knows what it says. Anyway, let's see what the Kinks have to say about Lola...

I met her in a club down in old Soho
where you drink champagne and it tastes just like Cherry Cola
C-O-L-A Cola.
She walked up to me and she asked me to dance.
I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said, "Lola"
L-O-L-A Lola, lo lo lo Lola
Well, I'm not the world's most physical guy,
but when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine
Oh my Lola, lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo Lola
Well, I'm not dumb but I can't understand
why she walks like a woman and talks like a man
Oh my Lola, lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo Lola
Well, we drank champagne and danced all night,
under electric candlelight,
she picked me up and sat me on her knee,
She said, "Little boy won't you come home with me?"
Well, I'm not the world's most passionate guy,
but when I looked in her eyes,
I almost fell for my Lola,
Lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo Lola
I pushed her away. I walked to the door.
I fell to the floor. I got down on my knees.
I looked at her, and she at me.
Well that's the way that I want it to stay.
I always want it to be that way for my Lola.
Lo lo lo Lola.
Girls will be boys, and boys will be girls.
It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world,
except for Lola. Lo lo lo Lola. Lo lo lo Lola.
Well I left home just a week ago,
and I never ever kissed a woman before,
Lola smiled and took me by the hand,
she said, "Little boy, gonna make you a man."
Well I'm not the world's most masculine man,
but I know what I am and that I'm a man,
so is Lola.
Lo lo lo Lola. Lo lo lo Lola.

...and these are NOT a few of my favorite things!

CATS! They are making me aggressive. Last week one tried to break into my house, it was hanging by its claws on my window when I ran out the door and chased it away with a bucket of water. Now our sandbox smells like a litter box and has similar contents too. They leer around my bunny habitat and stare in with hungry eyes when they are not slinking along in front of my windows trying to devise a way to get into the bunny house. I used to like cats, but have now just had enough.

These are a few of my favorite things...

We have some new little guys blooming in our garden. I wanted to put up a picture of our crocus, but they tipped over pretty fast. It seems like more are coming up, but they aren't in bloom yet.






















































































































While the sun was shining in the last couple weeks, I started work on my latest fun free time project: photographing Art Nouveau buildings that I happen by in town. We got started on Art Nouveau a few years ago when we bought a beautiful antique buffet for our living room that just happened to be from that period, this fall we started buying more of this style furniture. I'm writing at my Art Nouveau table as we speak. It's kind of a hit and miss thing, sometimes you find what seems to be a good deal on something online, buy it, then it's not quite as great as you thought...this way we've bought and sold a wardrobe and five chairs. The buffet was a serious stroke of luck...and kind of expensive. We have another chair waiting for us to fix it in the attic, and now we're taking a break on the antique furniture. But to satisfy my little thing for this style, I'm going to start taking pictures of it. It's a fun enough way to see some different parts of Dresden and not cost myself lots of money and nerves on stuff that's not quite what I thought it would be. The pictures are really full of surprises, because the closer and longer you look, the more neat details you find that you might not notice standing on the street staring at somebody else's house.

The photos above are from three houses on Katharinenstrasse in the Neustadt. These houses are pretty wild examples of Art Nouveau architecture from around 1905 by the architect Friedrich Wilhelm Hertzsch. They have the typical symmetry, line and decorative elements of Art Nouveau, but with some neat touches like the different faces, animals and flowers worked in. Have fun finding all the little extras in those facades!

Spring is here! And so are the Mormons!

When the sun starts to shine a bit and it's warm enough to peel off that winter coat and slip into a spring jacket, the people around here overdo it and whip out the sunglasses and leave their jackets at home, making a pilgrimage to Alaunplatz to lie around, juggle, see and be seen. The slackliners and alcoholics on the parkbenches are out, soon Alaunplatz will be full of people with crazy African drums and disposable grills.
























The roofing ceremony or topping out ceremony, whatever a Richtfest is called in English (can anyone help me out here? Does this exist where I come from?) for the new Kindergarten was last Friday, and there was lots of off-key singing by little kids and speeches by politicians before they swung this funny wreath up over the partially erected Kindergarten with a big crane.



















Our favorite Christian Democratic Union representative was there too! We were so close we could have touched him. It's that skinny young guy in the middle: Patrick! He is a much loathed figure in the Äussere Neustadt because he wants to clean the place up. He's gay, is often publicly mocked, people have even gone into his underground parking garage damaged his car. I even heard a rumor that someone kicked the mirror off of his car right in front of him, and he took matters into his own hands and delivered justice. With his fist. I also saw a public appearance of his where people threw cups of yogurt and other milk products at him. This is why I like Patrick, he's sort of like a Timex: he takes a licking and keeps on ticking!*



















Yup, and there they are, the Mormons, the 2 guys in suits. This is the second day in a row that they have been right by my house. The day before yesterday I made a quick trip to the store and the one on the left with the dark hair jumped right in front of my moving bicycle because, and I quote "he likes to speak with people about Jesus". I said no thanks and kept on pedaling.

*This is in no way a political endorsement of Patrick or the CDU. I can't vote here and am not informed well enough to anyway. I just like how Patrick operates.

Snowdrops II

Hooray! Our snowdrops are blooming! And as you will also notice, the snow is gone and the sun is shining! Hooray!
We also have crocus and tulips coming up in the garden. Mid-March means it's time for us to get some garden work done and welcome the grilling season. Although I noticed that Candys Massagestudio (and brothel) beat us to it yesterday.



















Our lemon tree was also in bloom, but the blossoms fell off! I found them littering my windowsill. Huh.

The Snowdrops

That was the end of our nice weather last week, just as we were getting over our bronchitis and colds and coughs, the beautiful spring-like weather made a quick exit and this business started.






































Our poor little snowdrops are all surrounded with snow. They aren't open yet, and I hope they survive. Much more than anything, though, I hope that this stupid sub-zero weather would just quit already. I am sick of coughing and sick of being exhausted because I am sick, I am sick of snowboots and snowpants and thick winter coats and gloves and hats! I want some warm sunny days so I can eat breakfast and dinner in my garden and go for long walks without having to search for my long lost gloves and packing up a thermos of tea so I don't freeze to death by the time I reach the Elbe.
Enough of my sad-sack complaining. But really, I hope this year isn't like that year when I was 4 years old when it snowed on Mothers' Day...Wilhelm will be 4 this year...in May...

Haha

Out of mass boredom (well, I have stuff I could do, but just am in no shape to do it) and because my brain doesn't function when I am sick, I stumbled across this blog of funny signs: http://www.funnysign.com/

If your brain has turned to mush because it snowed again yesterday, at least you can still get a mindless laugh out of this blog.

Wrong!

Duh, our flowers are snowdrops. The leaves are much smaller than those of lilies of the valley. They aren't quite open yet, but they sure are cute little guys. And really, honestly, I could do without the snow accompanying the snowdrops the last couple of days.

Our little flowers...

...seem to be lilies of the valley, or May bells, aka Maiglöckchen in German. I really like these flowers and remember a hike in Polenztal a looooong time ago way back when my sister-in-law visited me here in Dresden where we went to view these pretty little flowers just as they were blooming. Then on a later trip to Polenztal to collect wild garlic (Bärlauch) I collected a bunch of poisonous May bell leaves, because they look just like wild garlic, but grow in a different formation. So we had to pitch our whole harvest! I am thrilled to have these flowers in our garden! And I will not eat them or their leaves. They are not quite blooming yet, but their little white buds are hanging down just like a May bell will!

I looked up lilies of the valley to be sure of the translation (we accidentally dug up the bulbs of these flowers in the fall and took them to Flower Steve to see if he knew what they were, he said "Maiglöckchen!") In that fantastic source of internet wisdom Wikipedia, it says lots of interesting things about the lily of the valley. It has lots of Christian connotations, springing up from Eve's tears after she was driven from the Garden of Eden, that naughty girl, or that Mary's tears at the Crucifixion turned into lilies of the valley. But my favorite, and the most fitting for my garden, is that supposedly in the language of flowers, these little guys mean "the return of happiness". What could be a more appropriate flower for us right now? Things are going great. Work is good, home is good, the kids are good, the bunnies are good. Even the garden is good! Now we just have to get the damn kitchen finished!

Oh, wie schön ist Panama -or- Our Trip to Panama



















Here are some pictures from our trip to Panama today, an adventure playground right around the corner from our house. It's a fantastic place, and must be visited often on orders from the boss, Wilhelm. Amazingly, after 10 months living in the United States, we returned to Dresden and asked him if we should visit the animals, meaning Panama. We were already on the street where Panama is located, and he showed us the way to the animals! We are talking about a child who was 2 when we left Dresden and 3 when we returned.























The chicken with the feather pants is one of our favorite animals here.












































































A baby goat! A while ago when I first saw the babies, they were only as big as cats!



















And the horses. Sometimes we see these guys being ridden around the Neustadt. That always makes you do a double take!

There's also other neat stuff here: equipment for climbing, great sandboxes, even a big wooden ship to climb and play on. We wanted to go on the ship, but then some big kids from the school next door got to it first and were being rowdy, so we hung out with the chickens instead. They even have a place for bonfires and offer lots of activities and classes for older kids. It is a nice place where city kids can have a bit of country!

On another note, I was just thrilled today to find out that the German children's book by Janosch that inspired my title is also available in English--the Trip to Panama! I'm ordering it right now! And probably the German version, too.