Neil Diamond said it the best...
Far
We've been travelling far
Without a home
But not without a star
Free
Only want to be free
We huddle close
Hang on to a dream
On the boats and on the planes
They're coming to America
Never looking back again
They're coming to America
Home, don't it seem so far away
Oh, we're travelling light today
In the eye of the storm
In the eye of the storm
Home, to a new and a shiny place
Make our bed, and we'll say our grace
Freedom's light burning warm
Freedom's light burning warm
Everywhere around the world
They're coming to America
Every time that flag's unfurled
They're coming to America
Got a dream to take them there
They're coming to America
Got a dream they've come to share
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
Today, today, today, today, today
My country 'tis of thee
(Today)
Sweet land of liberty
(today)
Of thee I sing
(today)
Of thee I sing
(today)
Like my great grandparents before me, I too am coming (back) to America! And soon! America, brace yourself for my German men! They have famous lederhose, and they will wear them.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Huffing at the Plus Markt
Maybe I'm getting old, but I really wish that security guard would come back to the Plus Markt and at least stop the wild homeless Australian from huffing the gasses from various aerosol cans in and in front of the supermarket. You see, for a short time, there was constantly a security guard in my local Plus supermarket keeping loiterers (often various forms of drunks blocking the entry) from annoying shoppers and begging for money. These were the golden days of my Plus market, about 2-3 months ago. Well, he hasn't been around lately, and a perennial fixture of the Plus market, the Huffing Australian, has been totally out of control. The security guard was keeping him outside on the sidewalk, but now the huffing Australian has set up his blanket right inside the entry by the shopping carts, and today was the second time I've seen him IN THE BUILDING huffing gasses from aerosol cans. Why is this tolerated? I can put up with a lot, I can put up with the Huffing Australian talking to my kid, I can put up with the Huffing Australian making crazy noises, I can put up with the Huffing Australian barking at dogs in front of the store (as he did today, and the dog shut up). But I cannot put up with the Huffing Australian actually huffing.
Apparently the story on this guy is that he had a German girlfriend, and this is why he's in Dresden in the first place. Well, the love affair ended, and life soured, so now he more or less lives in the Plus Markt. He turned to drugs, and maybe because he's poor, he gets high by inhaling the gasses from spray cans. I actually kind of feel bad for him, because he's obviously in a very bad situation and a bit crazy, and people abuse him. What he needs is help, not some change from the shoppers, certainly not a donated can of hairspray, but rehabilitation. But he should not be huffing in a supermarket! Why is this allowed? Why are there police parading in riot gear when there's a little festival in the neighborhood, when there's a big soccer game, or when some rocket scientists build a tree house in a tree that's about to be cut down to make way for a bridge (protecting the guys in the tree house who are trespassing, I might add), but when somebody actually smashes some windows on a Turkish restaurant (or 3), or actually throws somebody out of a tram, or actually busts the mirror off of your car, or actually does drugs in front of your kid in the supermarket, there are no police to be found? Come on Dresden, get on the stick.
Maybe I'm getting old, but I really wish that security guard would come back to the Plus Markt and at least stop the wild homeless Australian from huffing the gasses from various aerosol cans in and in front of the supermarket. You see, for a short time, there was constantly a security guard in my local Plus supermarket keeping loiterers (often various forms of drunks blocking the entry) from annoying shoppers and begging for money. These were the golden days of my Plus market, about 2-3 months ago. Well, he hasn't been around lately, and a perennial fixture of the Plus market, the Huffing Australian, has been totally out of control. The security guard was keeping him outside on the sidewalk, but now the huffing Australian has set up his blanket right inside the entry by the shopping carts, and today was the second time I've seen him IN THE BUILDING huffing gasses from aerosol cans. Why is this tolerated? I can put up with a lot, I can put up with the Huffing Australian talking to my kid, I can put up with the Huffing Australian making crazy noises, I can put up with the Huffing Australian barking at dogs in front of the store (as he did today, and the dog shut up). But I cannot put up with the Huffing Australian actually huffing.
Apparently the story on this guy is that he had a German girlfriend, and this is why he's in Dresden in the first place. Well, the love affair ended, and life soured, so now he more or less lives in the Plus Markt. He turned to drugs, and maybe because he's poor, he gets high by inhaling the gasses from spray cans. I actually kind of feel bad for him, because he's obviously in a very bad situation and a bit crazy, and people abuse him. What he needs is help, not some change from the shoppers, certainly not a donated can of hairspray, but rehabilitation. But he should not be huffing in a supermarket! Why is this allowed? Why are there police parading in riot gear when there's a little festival in the neighborhood, when there's a big soccer game, or when some rocket scientists build a tree house in a tree that's about to be cut down to make way for a bridge (protecting the guys in the tree house who are trespassing, I might add), but when somebody actually smashes some windows on a Turkish restaurant (or 3), or actually throws somebody out of a tram, or actually busts the mirror off of your car, or actually does drugs in front of your kid in the supermarket, there are no police to be found? Come on Dresden, get on the stick.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
I'm turning Japanese I think I'm turning Japanese I really think so Turning Japanese I think I'm turning Japanese I really think so
Well, not exactly Japanese, but just a bit German. It's been 5.5 years, and, well, the influence is astonishing sometimes. Especially when I'm riding my bike. I've noticed that I've become very impatient with, say, pedestrians on the bike path. Normal rules of the road (or sidwalk for that matter) dictate that one is to keep right, at least in most western countries. Well, I boil over when I ride up behind a group of rocket scientists occupying the whole path, who don't even notice that they are walking on the bike path, then curse me for riding a bike at all. Then there are those brain surgeons who ride in the wrong direction on the wrong side. One of these jokers caused me to get verbally assaulted by a couple of senior citizens last Wednesday. I stayed over to let this guy pass the senior citizens rather than crowd him off the path and into a tree, but they got all worried that I was going to ride right into them and started yelling "The bike path is the red part!" Though most often cool-headed, I nearly yelled back "I know, I'm not stupid, but that guy is".
Another thing has to do with speed. I like to ride fast. And everyone else who doesn't ride fast gets on my last nerve because they are slowing me down. Somehow, I have absorbed this without even noticing. I always laughed when someone explained to me how slow drivers are dangerous because they are holding up the flow of traffic (which is something I've often heard here), but now I really understand what they mean. Get a couple of slow cyclists on a busy street, the fast guys can't pass them, then somebody brakes and the whole crowd goes down!
I also get all competitive when I pull up to a stop light and another cyclist crowds up really close to me just dying to take off faster than me. You see, my bike looks sort of like a bike a grandma would ride, but actually it's pretty fast. I've witnessed this phenomenon in cars at stop lights as well, you've got some little guy in a tiny hatchback who thinks he's all big and tough with his customized exhaust pipes, and the driver of the car I'm in starts commenting about how the other driver "thinks he's going to pass, but he's not!!!" and floors it when the light turns green, leaving the other guy in the dust. Unintentionally, I do the same thing on my bike.
This whole thing doesn't just apply to unwritten traffic rules, either. I've been told in the past by certain friends and family members that I even sound German when I speak English now. Well, a couple weeks ago, someone who I consider a language expert was cracking up for the first five minutes of our conversation (in English) and told me that I sound like a German who speaks really good English. And even non-German Europeans have difficulty hearing where I come from when speaking English or German. I've often been asked whether I'm Scandinavian!
One final note: the normal greeting for friends, family, business partners and colleagues is always a handshake here. I like this, and find it's a very civil way of saying hello, though some of my fellow Americans avoid it like the plague because it's not the American way. My policy is when in Rome, do as the Romans do. So, yesterday one of my closest friends, a fellow North American, came by, and though we've always avoided the handshake with one another, we did it! Somehow automatically, it just overcame us. We shook hands yesterday. Then had a good laugh at ourselves. Because...
We're turning Japanese we think we're turning Japanese we really think so!
Well, not exactly Japanese, but just a bit German. It's been 5.5 years, and, well, the influence is astonishing sometimes. Especially when I'm riding my bike. I've noticed that I've become very impatient with, say, pedestrians on the bike path. Normal rules of the road (or sidwalk for that matter) dictate that one is to keep right, at least in most western countries. Well, I boil over when I ride up behind a group of rocket scientists occupying the whole path, who don't even notice that they are walking on the bike path, then curse me for riding a bike at all. Then there are those brain surgeons who ride in the wrong direction on the wrong side. One of these jokers caused me to get verbally assaulted by a couple of senior citizens last Wednesday. I stayed over to let this guy pass the senior citizens rather than crowd him off the path and into a tree, but they got all worried that I was going to ride right into them and started yelling "The bike path is the red part!" Though most often cool-headed, I nearly yelled back "I know, I'm not stupid, but that guy is".
Another thing has to do with speed. I like to ride fast. And everyone else who doesn't ride fast gets on my last nerve because they are slowing me down. Somehow, I have absorbed this without even noticing. I always laughed when someone explained to me how slow drivers are dangerous because they are holding up the flow of traffic (which is something I've often heard here), but now I really understand what they mean. Get a couple of slow cyclists on a busy street, the fast guys can't pass them, then somebody brakes and the whole crowd goes down!
I also get all competitive when I pull up to a stop light and another cyclist crowds up really close to me just dying to take off faster than me. You see, my bike looks sort of like a bike a grandma would ride, but actually it's pretty fast. I've witnessed this phenomenon in cars at stop lights as well, you've got some little guy in a tiny hatchback who thinks he's all big and tough with his customized exhaust pipes, and the driver of the car I'm in starts commenting about how the other driver "thinks he's going to pass, but he's not!!!" and floors it when the light turns green, leaving the other guy in the dust. Unintentionally, I do the same thing on my bike.
This whole thing doesn't just apply to unwritten traffic rules, either. I've been told in the past by certain friends and family members that I even sound German when I speak English now. Well, a couple weeks ago, someone who I consider a language expert was cracking up for the first five minutes of our conversation (in English) and told me that I sound like a German who speaks really good English. And even non-German Europeans have difficulty hearing where I come from when speaking English or German. I've often been asked whether I'm Scandinavian!
One final note: the normal greeting for friends, family, business partners and colleagues is always a handshake here. I like this, and find it's a very civil way of saying hello, though some of my fellow Americans avoid it like the plague because it's not the American way. My policy is when in Rome, do as the Romans do. So, yesterday one of my closest friends, a fellow North American, came by, and though we've always avoided the handshake with one another, we did it! Somehow automatically, it just overcame us. We shook hands yesterday. Then had a good laugh at ourselves. Because...
We're turning Japanese we think we're turning Japanese we really think so!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wow, what a dangerous place in which I live!
But somehow I'm still convinced that I'm safer here than in the United States...
I can hear my neighbors partying outside as I write this.
Anyway, we talked about this word "public viewing" in class today, and it's interesting to see that this guy used it, too. But maybe his English is just German-ized! I still say "public showing" or "public screening" is better, because "public viewing" smacks of going to see a dead body...
U.S. Embassy Warden Message: 6/25 UEFA Championship Semi-Final Match
June 24, 2008 Warden Message:
On Wednesday evening, June 25, Germany and Turkey will meet in the semifinal round of the 2008 European Football Championship in Basel, Switzerland. Various cities in Germany have set up viewing areas for the public to watch the live broadcast of this game. The “Fan Mile” in front of the Brandenberg Gate in Berlin is expected to draw up to 500,000 German and Turkish fans, Frankfurt am Main will host a public viewing area at the Rossmarkt, and Munich is setting up a large public viewing area at the Olympic Stadium where 30,000 fans are anticipated. Similar events are planned in other cities and spontaneous celebrations or demonstrations related to the match may occur throughout Germany.
Because of the high fan interest in this prestigious semi-final elimination game between Germany and Turkey, there exists the possibility that disturbances, including violent disturbances may occur before, during or after the match, which begins at 20:45. At a minimum, post-game celebrations will likely result in traffic congestion in larger cities. Crowds celebrating previous German and/or Turkish victories have blocked streets and rocked vehicles attempting to pass through them.
We remind American citizens in Germany that even mass gatherings and demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. American citizens are therefore urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations if possible, and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations. American citizens should stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times.
The above Warden Message was borrowed from: http://www.eurotrippen.com/Thursday, June 05, 2008
I love larvae!
We've had a terrible problem with plant lice for the last couple of years on our balcony and even in the house on our plants, until someone showed us the solution last week at Willy's birthday party: larvae! Ladybug larvae to be exact. Those little guys chowed down on the lice, freeing our tomatoes, sunflowers and beans of lice overnight!
Behold!
The little guys with wings are the lice, the black and red guy is the larva. Look at how he eats!
I realize these larvae aren't the most charming creatures, but they have solved a problem that has been giving us a headache for over a year. Therefore I adore them and search the bushes in my yard for more each day, carefully placing them on my plants which are just covered in delicious bugs. Yesterday I saw one at a restaurant and had to contain myself, I nearly started praising the little bug on our table.
If you don't believe me that those creepy little guys are going to turn into ladybugs, here's your proof.
We've had a terrible problem with plant lice for the last couple of years on our balcony and even in the house on our plants, until someone showed us the solution last week at Willy's birthday party: larvae! Ladybug larvae to be exact. Those little guys chowed down on the lice, freeing our tomatoes, sunflowers and beans of lice overnight!
Behold!
The little guys with wings are the lice, the black and red guy is the larva. Look at how he eats!
I realize these larvae aren't the most charming creatures, but they have solved a problem that has been giving us a headache for over a year. Therefore I adore them and search the bushes in my yard for more each day, carefully placing them on my plants which are just covered in delicious bugs. Yesterday I saw one at a restaurant and had to contain myself, I nearly started praising the little bug on our table.
If you don't believe me that those creepy little guys are going to turn into ladybugs, here's your proof.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Since we didn't do anything fun last weekend...
Last weekend our beautiful summery weather took a turn for the worse, namely a rainy, cool turn. So we just sat around home and tried to decide what to do, and ended up doing nothing except a little cleaning. But so that nobody thinks that we're suddenly incredibly boring, here's something we did a couple weeks ago--a little trip to the Dresden Botanical Garden. It's tucked in a little corner between the Volkswagen factory and the Großer Garten, with its entrance on Stübelallee. And it's free of charge to go in! I never knew this, and that's why I never went there before-- I preferred to save my admission money for other things like the zoo or museums rather than just some plants...
These are some of the more colorful things that struck my fancy, but are not by far all of the most interesting things. They have a whole tropical house, where the turtles also live, just full of neat-o plants and fish, as well as a cactus house, which pretty much knocked my socks off. We saw many of the same kinds of cacti with which we stuffed an entire suitcase on our return trip from Barcelona, as well as a lot of the same plants that we also stole...or borrowed, or maybe liberated is better...from the Canary Islands. It seems I've become a bit of a plant enthusiast in the last years, so I wonder why I didn't go to the botanical garden before. Probably just because nobody said "We're going, do you want to come?"
And to answer what is probably your most burning question right now: no, I didn't steal anything from the Dresden Botanical Garden. But I know somebody who knows somebody who dressed up in a white lab jacket, went in there, opened a terrarium and got away with a special kind of cactus...but this was years ago, when Dresden was a little bit like the Wild West.
Last weekend our beautiful summery weather took a turn for the worse, namely a rainy, cool turn. So we just sat around home and tried to decide what to do, and ended up doing nothing except a little cleaning. But so that nobody thinks that we're suddenly incredibly boring, here's something we did a couple weeks ago--a little trip to the Dresden Botanical Garden. It's tucked in a little corner between the Volkswagen factory and the Großer Garten, with its entrance on Stübelallee. And it's free of charge to go in! I never knew this, and that's why I never went there before-- I preferred to save my admission money for other things like the zoo or museums rather than just some plants...
These are some of the more colorful things that struck my fancy, but are not by far all of the most interesting things. They have a whole tropical house, where the turtles also live, just full of neat-o plants and fish, as well as a cactus house, which pretty much knocked my socks off. We saw many of the same kinds of cacti with which we stuffed an entire suitcase on our return trip from Barcelona, as well as a lot of the same plants that we also stole...or borrowed, or maybe liberated is better...from the Canary Islands. It seems I've become a bit of a plant enthusiast in the last years, so I wonder why I didn't go to the botanical garden before. Probably just because nobody said "We're going, do you want to come?"
And to answer what is probably your most burning question right now: no, I didn't steal anything from the Dresden Botanical Garden. But I know somebody who knows somebody who dressed up in a white lab jacket, went in there, opened a terrarium and got away with a special kind of cactus...but this was years ago, when Dresden was a little bit like the Wild West.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Another Marathon Tour
Last weekend, in honor of yet another holiday weekend in Germany, aka "Workers' Paradise", we biked/skated to Meißen. This constituted a round trip of approx. 50 kilometers once again. It was a lovely day and because of my allergy to sunscreen (I get red itchy welts, it's fantastic) I am actually getting a decent tan for the first time in my life. Enjoy the view even if you didn't work your muscles or get a sunburn on the way.
No, I didn't edit this picture to make it look more interesting, that patch of bright yellow is a rapeseed field, of which you can see many these days due to organic fuel production.
We don't need that silly World Cultural Heritage Site in Dresden, you have nearly the same view on the way to Meißen too! Build the bridge!
This sign was spotted along the way at a (not so famous) bridge construction site. Just in case you don't happen to notice the painfully obvious fact that the bridge is not even near completion, they put up this sign.
We arrived in Meißen, took a couple pictures, and turned around for the ride back...
It's balloon season again! On a different majestic spring day, we spotted a whole bunch of balloons getting ready for takeoff by the Elbe. This particular one tipped over a couple of times while the passengers were already in the basket. I think I would've disembarked at that point...
Here's another one the same day floating by the Frauenkirche.
Last weekend, in honor of yet another holiday weekend in Germany, aka "Workers' Paradise", we biked/skated to Meißen. This constituted a round trip of approx. 50 kilometers once again. It was a lovely day and because of my allergy to sunscreen (I get red itchy welts, it's fantastic) I am actually getting a decent tan for the first time in my life. Enjoy the view even if you didn't work your muscles or get a sunburn on the way.
No, I didn't edit this picture to make it look more interesting, that patch of bright yellow is a rapeseed field, of which you can see many these days due to organic fuel production.
We don't need that silly World Cultural Heritage Site in Dresden, you have nearly the same view on the way to Meißen too! Build the bridge!
This sign was spotted along the way at a (not so famous) bridge construction site. Just in case you don't happen to notice the painfully obvious fact that the bridge is not even near completion, they put up this sign.
We arrived in Meißen, took a couple pictures, and turned around for the ride back...
It's balloon season again! On a different majestic spring day, we spotted a whole bunch of balloons getting ready for takeoff by the Elbe. This particular one tipped over a couple of times while the passengers were already in the basket. I think I would've disembarked at that point...
Here's another one the same day floating by the Frauenkirche.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
On the wrong side of the tracks in Senftenberg
Yesterday we planned a sporty day at the Lusatian lakes (Lausitzer Seenland), which are actually flooded strip mines. It's a string of many lakes with bike and skate paths more or less around all of them. We mistakenly planned to start at Senftenberg, leaving Dresden-Neustadt at 10:52 on the train and arriving in Senftenberg at a little after 12:00. Just running to catch the train was enough exercise for me. First I felt optimistic about seeing a new town, but slowly my optimism faded as we wandered through the town looking for the Senftenberg lake, seemingly going in circles. When we finally found the lake, the bike path, which is supposedly also a skate path, was actually not so good. It was no problem for me and Willy on the bike, but for the two skaters among us, the bumpy brick path was not ideal. Then it started to thunder and get dark. We consulted a restaurant on the path about where the good skate paths are (this area is advertised as a great skating area) and they had no idea. Luckily after nearly losing all hope, some other people on the path stopped us and said we were going the wrong way, because soon the path would turn to gravel. Fantastic. Thanks for the tip. So we got out of Senftenberg as quickly as we could, locating another bike path which would take us to the next village, Kleinkoschen or Grosskoschen or something like that. Here we could supposedly start on the great path around Geierswalder lake. Well, after someone on the street sent us in the wrong direction, we finally found the path, the start of which was a lovely slippery mud. After getting through that, all hope was nearly lost because there was no place to sit and have lunch, and then we saw a police boat on the lake seemingly searching for a corpse. So we pretty much just sat in the mud and threw back our sandwiches, and after consulting on whether to just turn around and go home or continue on and try our luck, we tried our luck. We were able to ride/skate for about 15 minutes on a really good path and started to feel better about our trip when we reached the street and what seemed like the end of our nerves and the path. We checked the map, and it looked like we could continue on (but the paths in Senftenberg were also marked as good skate paths on this map, so who knew?), so we continued on. And as luck would have it, we finally found the good paths! From here on we were able to bike/skate around 2 lakes, we also finally had sunny weather and better moods. Finally we were able to really just ride and ride for about three or four hours.
It's actually a very picturesque area when you finally get there. It's also good for amateurs because the landscape is very flat, thus making the ride easy.
This rock is in memory of the villages Sorno and Rosendorf, which were where that water is now. Apparently the people in those villages weren't too well informed about the plans for their towns, they just weren't allowed to make any major repairs on their houses starting in the 1960s and were told to move out in 1970 to make way for the coal mines. I guess that's just the way it is when you live in a communist dictatorship where everybody owns everything and nobody owns anything.
Here's a closeup of an informational sign on the path, you can see how they mined the area. These machines are like the ones we saw on display in Ferropolis.
We found this little gem in Sedlitz, a monument to the founders of the German Reich. These actually aren't as rare as you might think considering their historically loaded symbols, there are lots of them still existing in villages. It was erected in 1911 and says "In memory of the fallen, in recognition of the living and to the emulation of following generations." And Sedlitz was the end of our journey around 7 pm. We'd hoped to find a watering hole where the boys could drink a beer and I could get some ice cream, but we only found a closed restaurant and another shady little dive with a private party. After getting stared at by the townies, we called it a day and just waited around at the train station until our train came.
Yesterday we planned a sporty day at the Lusatian lakes (Lausitzer Seenland), which are actually flooded strip mines. It's a string of many lakes with bike and skate paths more or less around all of them. We mistakenly planned to start at Senftenberg, leaving Dresden-Neustadt at 10:52 on the train and arriving in Senftenberg at a little after 12:00. Just running to catch the train was enough exercise for me. First I felt optimistic about seeing a new town, but slowly my optimism faded as we wandered through the town looking for the Senftenberg lake, seemingly going in circles. When we finally found the lake, the bike path, which is supposedly also a skate path, was actually not so good. It was no problem for me and Willy on the bike, but for the two skaters among us, the bumpy brick path was not ideal. Then it started to thunder and get dark. We consulted a restaurant on the path about where the good skate paths are (this area is advertised as a great skating area) and they had no idea. Luckily after nearly losing all hope, some other people on the path stopped us and said we were going the wrong way, because soon the path would turn to gravel. Fantastic. Thanks for the tip. So we got out of Senftenberg as quickly as we could, locating another bike path which would take us to the next village, Kleinkoschen or Grosskoschen or something like that. Here we could supposedly start on the great path around Geierswalder lake. Well, after someone on the street sent us in the wrong direction, we finally found the path, the start of which was a lovely slippery mud. After getting through that, all hope was nearly lost because there was no place to sit and have lunch, and then we saw a police boat on the lake seemingly searching for a corpse. So we pretty much just sat in the mud and threw back our sandwiches, and after consulting on whether to just turn around and go home or continue on and try our luck, we tried our luck. We were able to ride/skate for about 15 minutes on a really good path and started to feel better about our trip when we reached the street and what seemed like the end of our nerves and the path. We checked the map, and it looked like we could continue on (but the paths in Senftenberg were also marked as good skate paths on this map, so who knew?), so we continued on. And as luck would have it, we finally found the good paths! From here on we were able to bike/skate around 2 lakes, we also finally had sunny weather and better moods. Finally we were able to really just ride and ride for about three or four hours.
It's actually a very picturesque area when you finally get there. It's also good for amateurs because the landscape is very flat, thus making the ride easy.
This rock is in memory of the villages Sorno and Rosendorf, which were where that water is now. Apparently the people in those villages weren't too well informed about the plans for their towns, they just weren't allowed to make any major repairs on their houses starting in the 1960s and were told to move out in 1970 to make way for the coal mines. I guess that's just the way it is when you live in a communist dictatorship where everybody owns everything and nobody owns anything.
Here's a closeup of an informational sign on the path, you can see how they mined the area. These machines are like the ones we saw on display in Ferropolis.
We found this little gem in Sedlitz, a monument to the founders of the German Reich. These actually aren't as rare as you might think considering their historically loaded symbols, there are lots of them still existing in villages. It was erected in 1911 and says "In memory of the fallen, in recognition of the living and to the emulation of following generations." And Sedlitz was the end of our journey around 7 pm. We'd hoped to find a watering hole where the boys could drink a beer and I could get some ice cream, but we only found a closed restaurant and another shady little dive with a private party. After getting stared at by the townies, we called it a day and just waited around at the train station until our train came.
Reme
mber White Rabbit!
This white rabbit was spotted in the Bahnbogengalerie by Bahnhof Mitte in Dresden. Not only is this outdoor gallery worth seeing because of the white rabbit, it's all around pretty interesting because it shows lots of Saxony's and Dresden's sights in a nice artistic presentation. This one is one of the less colorful pictures, others are more colorful and in different styles. It's a good use of otherwise boring old walls.
mber White Rabbit!This white rabbit was spotted in the Bahnbogengalerie by Bahnhof Mitte in Dresden. Not only is this outdoor gallery worth seeing because of the white rabbit, it's all around pretty interesting because it shows lots of Saxony's and Dresden's sights in a nice artistic presentation. This one is one of the less colorful pictures, others are more colorful and in different styles. It's a good use of otherwise boring old walls.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Nice legs?!?
Today it happened again...I was riding my bike and some construction worker whistled at me. I looked around to see if maybe some attractive young blonde in a tank top and pants was riding around flashing her muffin tops, but no, I was the only person for miles around. Maybe there was some interesting news on the radio in his truck? No, I didn't hear any radio playing. So he must've meant me, because I saw him look out his window at me...maybe he's legally blind. Come on, what's there to whistle at about me? I'm wearing my fat pants today, the ones I bought this weekend because all of my other pants are either worn out or don't fit me any more after having a kid, breaking my knee cap and being sick for a week and lying on the sofa and eating ice cream the whole time. Perhaps he had his beer goggles on?
This happened to me about a month ago, too. I was riding to one of my classes in Striesen, and I'm sure you know by the end of that ride I was huffing and puffing and sweating in the shape that I'm in. Well, some construction worker was standing by his truck and yelled "Nice legs!!" I had a skirt on, but a long one that covered my knees even on the bike. Maybe he was joking? I looked back, and as he was staring I just laughed as loudly as I could. It must've been a joke. And good lord, both of these times I had on my very sexy and attractive bike helmet too. What is wrong with the world?
Either way, after putting on my fat pants and sweating my a** off on the way to work, it does feel kind of nice to be objectified a little...
Today it happened again...I was riding my bike and some construction worker whistled at me. I looked around to see if maybe some attractive young blonde in a tank top and pants was riding around flashing her muffin tops, but no, I was the only person for miles around. Maybe there was some interesting news on the radio in his truck? No, I didn't hear any radio playing. So he must've meant me, because I saw him look out his window at me...maybe he's legally blind. Come on, what's there to whistle at about me? I'm wearing my fat pants today, the ones I bought this weekend because all of my other pants are either worn out or don't fit me any more after having a kid, breaking my knee cap and being sick for a week and lying on the sofa and eating ice cream the whole time. Perhaps he had his beer goggles on?
This happened to me about a month ago, too. I was riding to one of my classes in Striesen, and I'm sure you know by the end of that ride I was huffing and puffing and sweating in the shape that I'm in. Well, some construction worker was standing by his truck and yelled "Nice legs!!" I had a skirt on, but a long one that covered my knees even on the bike. Maybe he was joking? I looked back, and as he was staring I just laughed as loudly as I could. It must've been a joke. And good lord, both of these times I had on my very sexy and attractive bike helmet too. What is wrong with the world?
Either way, after putting on my fat pants and sweating my a** off on the way to work, it does feel kind of nice to be objectified a little...
Friday, April 18, 2008
This is Colonel Sanders. I'm pretty sure he didn't come to Dresden and give somebody a crash course in frying chicken.
Friday's lesson
Since today too is a day off for my students due to my illness, I thought I would keep up with what I started on Wednesday, that is an online lesson so you can learn something even in my absence. This is hopefully the last one of these, as I will be returning to work on Monday, as long as I don't get sick again on the weekend.
Today's lesson is:
DFC - WTF??
A while ago, maybe a couple weeks ago, while strolling along Königsbrücker Strasse I noticed that a new place would be opening up. The windows were all covered, and one could only read the sign "Coming soon: DFC" I thought, "Oh great, Dresden fan club or Dynamo fan club or some such idiocy. A bar for football rowdies just around the corner from my house. Fantastic." Well, it turns out my suspicions were unfounded. This place is something completely different: Dresden Fried Chicken. And this leads me to the core of today's lesson. Upon hearing the words "Dresden Fried Chicken", I immediately asked myself "WTF??" I believe I even said it aloud, out of earshot of my child of course. The words to this abbreviation are "What the f*+/k?" You see this abbreviation often in rather lower class English "literature", websites and email. But I mean really, you have to admit, you'd have asked yourself the same. Come on, we're not in the South here, we're in Dresden, about the most white bread place I've ever been to. So who knows how to make fried chicken here? I'm pretty sure it's not Colonel Sanders. I know they have a long tradition of broiled chicken here, stemming from DDR days. You can even still see the broiler vendors at the street markets, selling hot broilers to the hardcore Dresdner even on icy cold days. And don't ask me what got East Germany hooked on broilers, so hooked as to even use the English word for them (and this is a phenomenon that really only is in the East). But that's off the point. There's a big difference between broiler chickens and fried chicken. I'm a vegetarian and even I know that. So what's up with this place? I think I'll have to go into the field and do a photo expose. Who wants to bet me that what they're actually selling is broilers under false pretenses? Any takers?
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Thursday's lesson
Since I had so much fun writing yesterday's lesson, I thought I'd do one for my Thursday students who are missing out on my presence today. Today's lesson is
Feed a cold, starve a flu.
This is a common saying you hear (or at least that I heard) in the United States when cold and flu season rolled around. I realize that it is actually the end of cold and flu season right now, but a lot of people are sick again, if not with a cold or a flu, then with German weather disease, due to the constant changing of temperature, precipitation and sunniness.
This saying is, in fact, a myth. I often heard that one should really do the opposite, that is, starve a cold and feed a flu. That too is a myth. In reality, what one should do in either case is to eat enough to satisfy your appetite, and drink even more. But not alcohol! That dries you out. You need to be drinking water and tea, especially.
Unfortunately, I only just found out that this saying is a myth a little too late. I have been really feeding my cold with the hope of recovering faster in relation to how much I eat. I tried to improve my chances of recovering faster with calorie rich foods, such as chocolate, ice cream, popcorn, grilled cheese sandwiches, creamy soups, gummy bears... So maybe when I reappear to the outside world, you will find that I have recovered and gained a nice set of muffin tops, too. (See below)
Since I had so much fun writing yesterday's lesson, I thought I'd do one for my Thursday students who are missing out on my presence today. Today's lesson is
Feed a cold, starve a flu.
This is a common saying you hear (or at least that I heard) in the United States when cold and flu season rolled around. I realize that it is actually the end of cold and flu season right now, but a lot of people are sick again, if not with a cold or a flu, then with German weather disease, due to the constant changing of temperature, precipitation and sunniness.
This saying is, in fact, a myth. I often heard that one should really do the opposite, that is, starve a cold and feed a flu. That too is a myth. In reality, what one should do in either case is to eat enough to satisfy your appetite, and drink even more. But not alcohol! That dries you out. You need to be drinking water and tea, especially.
Unfortunately, I only just found out that this saying is a myth a little too late. I have been really feeding my cold with the hope of recovering faster in relation to how much I eat. I tried to improve my chances of recovering faster with calorie rich foods, such as chocolate, ice cream, popcorn, grilled cheese sandwiches, creamy soups, gummy bears... So maybe when I reappear to the outside world, you will find that I have recovered and gained a nice set of muffin tops, too. (See below)
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Today's Lesson
Sadly, since I lost my voice due to this nasty cold I've come down with this week, I had to cancel all of my classes today and tomorrow. But that will not stop us from learning! Though I can't tell you any funny stories this week, I can write you something from which you can learn. So, this week we have an online lesson, honoring my new favorite English term:
Muffin Tops
In its original, literal meaning, this term refers to, logically, the delicious, crispy tops of muffins. See below. They are better than the bottoms of muffins because they are crispy but not dry, and not so moist and possibly unbaked like the rest of the muffin, usually covered with the muffin paper.
In these pictures, you can see that muffin tops come in different shapes and sizes, some flat, others round, but all delicious. There are some places where you can buy just muffin tops with no actual muffin. I do not believe in this. They might it well call it what it really is, a cookie.
Now, we continue on to the figurative meaning of muffin tops. This is a relatively new slang term, originating in about 2003. Muffin tops refers to that fat that sometimes peeks out of one's clothing when wearing tight, low-cut jeans and a shirt that does not offer enough coverage. This term emerged at about the same time as the fashion trend for extremely low-cut jeans and pants. Older terms for this same anatomical phenomenon include "spare tire" and "love handles".
As with literal muffin tops, you can see that these come in various shapes, sizes and colors. This fashion problem can happen to men as well as women. The figurative muffin tops are usually not crispy, unless sunburned, and are certainly never delicious.
Sadly, since I lost my voice due to this nasty cold I've come down with this week, I had to cancel all of my classes today and tomorrow. But that will not stop us from learning! Though I can't tell you any funny stories this week, I can write you something from which you can learn. So, this week we have an online lesson, honoring my new favorite English term:
Muffin Tops
In its original, literal meaning, this term refers to, logically, the delicious, crispy tops of muffins. See below. They are better than the bottoms of muffins because they are crispy but not dry, and not so moist and possibly unbaked like the rest of the muffin, usually covered with the muffin paper.
In these pictures, you can see that muffin tops come in different shapes and sizes, some flat, others round, but all delicious. There are some places where you can buy just muffin tops with no actual muffin. I do not believe in this. They might it well call it what it really is, a cookie.
Now, we continue on to the figurative meaning of muffin tops. This is a relatively new slang term, originating in about 2003. Muffin tops refers to that fat that sometimes peeks out of one's clothing when wearing tight, low-cut jeans and a shirt that does not offer enough coverage. This term emerged at about the same time as the fashion trend for extremely low-cut jeans and pants. Older terms for this same anatomical phenomenon include "spare tire" and "love handles".
As with literal muffin tops, you can see that these come in various shapes, sizes and colors. This fashion problem can happen to men as well as women. The figurative muffin tops are usually not crispy, unless sunburned, and are certainly never delicious.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Monday, April 07, 2008
Connoisseur
These are not only a few of my favorite things, but also Wilhelm's. In keeping with his taste at the age of 2 weeks (see Rock'n'roll baby, June 2006), he is a great connoisseur of music, demanding "muckes" or, starting today, "music", whenever we enter the kitchen or living room, our prime music rooms. Of course, I ask what he'd like to hear, maybe the Beatles? "Beatles, ja" he says. How about Belle and Sebastian? "Still blue" he says, reciting the lyrics of The Blues are Still Blue, one of his Belle and Sebastian favorites. (I am not exaggerating, he really recites that song.) Then I suggest Sufjan: "SUF-jan!" he says. "Ja! SUF-jan!" So I guess that's what we'll play. Then the whole thing continues. We don't just listen to the music, Wilhelm then goes to the speakers and greets the music, saying "Ooooh! Muckes!" then comes to me, hugs my leg, and pleads "Dance!" Well, what can I do? I pick him up and we dance. Then he looks deep into my eyes and says "Sing!" This could go on for a good hour or more. And I can't really complain, the kid has good taste.
These are not only a few of my favorite things, but also Wilhelm's. In keeping with his taste at the age of 2 weeks (see Rock'n'roll baby, June 2006), he is a great connoisseur of music, demanding "muckes" or, starting today, "music", whenever we enter the kitchen or living room, our prime music rooms. Of course, I ask what he'd like to hear, maybe the Beatles? "Beatles, ja" he says. How about Belle and Sebastian? "Still blue" he says, reciting the lyrics of The Blues are Still Blue, one of his Belle and Sebastian favorites. (I am not exaggerating, he really recites that song.) Then I suggest Sufjan: "SUF-jan!" he says. "Ja! SUF-jan!" So I guess that's what we'll play. Then the whole thing continues. We don't just listen to the music, Wilhelm then goes to the speakers and greets the music, saying "Ooooh! Muckes!" then comes to me, hugs my leg, and pleads "Dance!" Well, what can I do? I pick him up and we dance. Then he looks deep into my eyes and says "Sing!" This could go on for a good hour or more. And I can't really complain, the kid has good taste.
In search of the illusive fashion herb
We went to Polenztal in the Sächsische Schweiz yesterday, braving rain and cold in search of the very fashionable Bärlauch, aka wild garlic. This time of year you can get rolls with wild garlic, cheese with wild garlic, every foodstuff you can possibly imagine, all with wild garlic!! This has only been going on for the last couple years, as far as I can remember. Supposedly, it tastes like a mild garlic (which it does) but doesn't stink like garlic (which I contest, as do some of my students). You can see it above, that lovely long leaf in the middle. At least that looks like it. You see, wild garlic has a wicked little Doppelgänger, the pretty and highly poisonous lily of the valley. Last year at the same time we had to throw away a whole bag of leaves that looked like wild garlic because I also picked a whole bunch of lily of the valley leaves. Oops. So what we did this year, which is probably pretty forbidden, was dig up a couple of the little guys and plant them on the balcony to see what they turn into - lilies or Lauch? We already had some wild garlic, but with our lovely German weather this spring, it started growing and then got frozen.
What we did get yesterday and eat was a whole bag full of watercress. My in-house chef turned it into a delicious salad with endives and some homemade dressing. It tasted good, but if I die suddenly, you'll know he didn't clean it well enough and I got a fox tapeworm. My life is so adventurous!
I stayed out of the herb collecting this time around, what with my massive failure last year, and hung out, looked after the kid, and took pictures of the scenery, asking myself the whole time: "Why did we bother going to Gomera for Christmas when we can see all this cool moss and rainy forest scenery right here practically in our back yard, with way easier trails?"
Everything was so green!
And so fantastically mossy!
Then we got stalked by some ducks. I think they had rabies.
We were even lucky enough to see this precious little doc hopper.
By the time doc hopper hopped along, I was getting hungry and moody, because I hadn't expected the herb collecting to be so successful and thus take so long. But all the waiting and picture taking (...without my regular camera, because I thought it was broken. It turns out I just forgot how to use all of the settings. The frog pictures could have been so much better...) paid off! We went to the Czech Republic, to Decin, a super beautiful city on the Elbe River with big supermarkets that are open on Sunday and are full of delicious exotic sweets we don't know in Germany and can't pronounce in Czech!
We went to Polenztal in the Sächsische Schweiz yesterday, braving rain and cold in search of the very fashionable Bärlauch, aka wild garlic. This time of year you can get rolls with wild garlic, cheese with wild garlic, every foodstuff you can possibly imagine, all with wild garlic!! This has only been going on for the last couple years, as far as I can remember. Supposedly, it tastes like a mild garlic (which it does) but doesn't stink like garlic (which I contest, as do some of my students). You can see it above, that lovely long leaf in the middle. At least that looks like it. You see, wild garlic has a wicked little Doppelgänger, the pretty and highly poisonous lily of the valley. Last year at the same time we had to throw away a whole bag of leaves that looked like wild garlic because I also picked a whole bunch of lily of the valley leaves. Oops. So what we did this year, which is probably pretty forbidden, was dig up a couple of the little guys and plant them on the balcony to see what they turn into - lilies or Lauch? We already had some wild garlic, but with our lovely German weather this spring, it started growing and then got frozen.
What we did get yesterday and eat was a whole bag full of watercress. My in-house chef turned it into a delicious salad with endives and some homemade dressing. It tasted good, but if I die suddenly, you'll know he didn't clean it well enough and I got a fox tapeworm. My life is so adventurous!
I stayed out of the herb collecting this time around, what with my massive failure last year, and hung out, looked after the kid, and took pictures of the scenery, asking myself the whole time: "Why did we bother going to Gomera for Christmas when we can see all this cool moss and rainy forest scenery right here practically in our back yard, with way easier trails?"
Everything was so green!
And so fantastically mossy!
Then we got stalked by some ducks. I think they had rabies.
We were even lucky enough to see this precious little doc hopper.
By the time doc hopper hopped along, I was getting hungry and moody, because I hadn't expected the herb collecting to be so successful and thus take so long. But all the waiting and picture taking (...without my regular camera, because I thought it was broken. It turns out I just forgot how to use all of the settings. The frog pictures could have been so much better...) paid off! We went to the Czech Republic, to Decin, a super beautiful city on the Elbe River with big supermarkets that are open on Sunday and are full of delicious exotic sweets we don't know in Germany and can't pronounce in Czech!
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Last Weekend's Adventure
Stop! Only beavers are allowed down this trail! But I guess I'm allowed, since I am from Beaverton...
Last weekend we attempted to visit the beavers in the Dübener Heide. I say attempted because they are very elusive little guys, only emerging from their dams in twilight. We thought maybe we heard some after waiting around for nearly an hour in what we thought to be the twilight, but we sure didn't see any beavers. The only beaver we saw was on this sign. Though we did see some funny beaver traces, as you can see below. Or maybe these were also made by the park rangers to give the illusion of there actually being some beavers around.
Hey! It didn't fall down! I bet the beavers were confused when this fencepost didn't fall over.
I have to admit, I was a little disappointed in the Dübener Heide, because it was very flat with not-so-exciting scenery. I think it's worth the trip if you actually get to see some beavers, but otherwise I'm not so sure... My husband said the best part of the Dübener Heide is Wittenberg, where we stayed on Saturday night. I was really impressed with Wittenberg, this is a very beautiful small city where you get American-style portions of food at prices which seem cheap compared to Dresden. And the food is really good. And even our three star hotel was very nice, clean with a very friendly staff and a good breakfast. We were wary of three star hotels following our three star experience in Berlin, which was not so good. It wouldn't have surprised me to find some body outlines on the floor of the hotel where we stayed in Berlin, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, on to Wittenberg. This is where the reformer Martin Luther lived and nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Schlosskirche. Unfortunately, the Schlosskirche to which he nailed his theses burned down, but you can see a door embossed with the theses at the same location. You can also climb the tower of the church for just 2 Euro to get a great view of the city.
Schlosskirche tower
The roof of the Schlosskirche.
Wittenberg is full of Martin Luther stuff, since he is the city's biggest claim to fame. You can see his house, the church where he preached, his pulpit and all that kind of stuff. The city's other, newer claim to fame is the high school which was redesigned by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, that crazy Austrian architect. This colorful assymetrical school is a refreshing change of scenery after looking at lots of historical buildings and churches and cozy courtyards. This school was originally a pre-fab building put up in the GDR times, and there were lots of other schools around that looked exactly the same. The students had the idea to ask Hundertwasser to redesign their school in the 90s, and he did it free of charge. Below are some pictures.
Finally, to top it all off, we visited Gräfenhainichen, where there is a "City of Iron": Ferropolis. This is a display of old coal mining machines, also from GDR times, and boy are they big.
If you look closely, you can see some people in the pictures, so you can get an idea how big these things are. You could go on the second one and have a look around, and I felt like I was going to puke. I'm a little afraid of heights, and it was windy up there. Unfortunately, this place could have given some more information for people like me who don't know so much about coal mining. It's neat to see the machines, but I'd like to know more about the whole situation and what the mines looked like and all that sort of jazz. Oh well, it was the end of the day and we were tired anyway.
Stop! Only beavers are allowed down this trail! But I guess I'm allowed, since I am from Beaverton...
Last weekend we attempted to visit the beavers in the Dübener Heide. I say attempted because they are very elusive little guys, only emerging from their dams in twilight. We thought maybe we heard some after waiting around for nearly an hour in what we thought to be the twilight, but we sure didn't see any beavers. The only beaver we saw was on this sign. Though we did see some funny beaver traces, as you can see below. Or maybe these were also made by the park rangers to give the illusion of there actually being some beavers around.
Hey! It didn't fall down! I bet the beavers were confused when this fencepost didn't fall over.
I have to admit, I was a little disappointed in the Dübener Heide, because it was very flat with not-so-exciting scenery. I think it's worth the trip if you actually get to see some beavers, but otherwise I'm not so sure... My husband said the best part of the Dübener Heide is Wittenberg, where we stayed on Saturday night. I was really impressed with Wittenberg, this is a very beautiful small city where you get American-style portions of food at prices which seem cheap compared to Dresden. And the food is really good. And even our three star hotel was very nice, clean with a very friendly staff and a good breakfast. We were wary of three star hotels following our three star experience in Berlin, which was not so good. It wouldn't have surprised me to find some body outlines on the floor of the hotel where we stayed in Berlin, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, on to Wittenberg. This is where the reformer Martin Luther lived and nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Schlosskirche. Unfortunately, the Schlosskirche to which he nailed his theses burned down, but you can see a door embossed with the theses at the same location. You can also climb the tower of the church for just 2 Euro to get a great view of the city.
Schlosskirche tower
The roof of the Schlosskirche.
Wittenberg is full of Martin Luther stuff, since he is the city's biggest claim to fame. You can see his house, the church where he preached, his pulpit and all that kind of stuff. The city's other, newer claim to fame is the high school which was redesigned by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, that crazy Austrian architect. This colorful assymetrical school is a refreshing change of scenery after looking at lots of historical buildings and churches and cozy courtyards. This school was originally a pre-fab building put up in the GDR times, and there were lots of other schools around that looked exactly the same. The students had the idea to ask Hundertwasser to redesign their school in the 90s, and he did it free of charge. Below are some pictures.
Finally, to top it all off, we visited Gräfenhainichen, where there is a "City of Iron": Ferropolis. This is a display of old coal mining machines, also from GDR times, and boy are they big.
If you look closely, you can see some people in the pictures, so you can get an idea how big these things are. You could go on the second one and have a look around, and I felt like I was going to puke. I'm a little afraid of heights, and it was windy up there. Unfortunately, this place could have given some more information for people like me who don't know so much about coal mining. It's neat to see the machines, but I'd like to know more about the whole situation and what the mines looked like and all that sort of jazz. Oh well, it was the end of the day and we were tired anyway.
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