We grabbed our 9.58 acre (more or less, according to the deed) slice of the American dream. We did the final inspection today, and the house and everything along with it was in great shape. The previous owners left the whole joint REALLY clean and the grass was freshly cut. We were so grateful. By the way, it is a pretty great feeling to walk around a big piece of land and say "wow, this is mine." Well, all except what the bank owns. But you get the idea. It was nice.
During our final inspection of the home, we met a couple of our neighbors, who came skidding and honking into our driveway in a convertible Mercedes coupe. I think their names were Marney and Rick. It seems they dabble in sheep farming and have all the sheep and chicken manure that you can haul away or shake a stick at. They knew a lot about us. It was a nice welcome.
Here's a country anecdote: our real estate agent got a call today from the local water company. It turns out they knew the house was being sold. To us. By her. And that we must have forgotten to apply for service. They promised to leave the water on for a few days until we got around to it. Nice, huh?
Then, at 4:00pm we spent about 45 minutes signing our names over and over, again and again, in a symbolic gesture of our commitment to paying for, caring for and maintaining a parcel of land that contains (1) a log cabin, (2) an outbuilding that aspires to be a garage, (3) an old barn with a hay loft (!) and (4) an old building that used to house batteries to run the main house and, temporarily, the guy that built the house (but probably not at the same time). My favorite (of about 50) forms that I signed today self-certified that I was mentally stable. I can't be the first person to wonder whether an insanity plea would work if that form ever was used as evidence against me.
So! That's about it. We own it now. David is contemplating which gun he would most like to use to defend his private property. I'm wondering if I plant pumpkins now, will they be up in time for Halloween. Stella is debating whether the rabbits are as fast in the country as they are in town. She's hoping not.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Up and running
So, it's been a while intrepid reader. And the schtick I was running this blog on has changed entirely. Entirely. The blog used to be a way to share our German life with friends and family who were not in Germany. Now, it is a way to share our Indiana log cabin life with friends and family who are not living in a log cabin in Indiana. Although, if we make friends in Indiana who happen to also live in a log cabin, they are welcome to read this, too.
I feel like I am pitching a reality series to the execs at NBC. Here is our story: on the 14th of April, we will close on a 40 year old log cabin situated on 10 acres of land in northern Monroe county, Indiana. The house, as well as we can piece together, was built from the logs on the land by a Vietnam veteran just returning from the war. It is a pretty and atmospheric house, filled with quirks and all the things that you could imagine would be charming (and disturbing) about a 40 year old log cabin.
The land has fruit trees and a tiny little creek at the bottom of the hill, an old barn, and a big garden, where I hope to have pumpkins growing come October.
I am learning that woodpeckers will be my sworn enemy because they are especially fond of laying waste to half a log in the time it takes to write a blog post. It isn't that they particularly enjoy the taste of aged log. No. They like the bugs that burrow in the wood. And they will do anything to get those bugs.
We also have to be on the lookout for termites, wasps, and a host of other country-vermin. Maintenance-wise, the cabin needs to have all the grout-type stuff between the logs (called chinking) replaced. Otherwise, there is very little between us and all the things that can (and will) fit through a one inch slot. You can imagine. There is also the whole septic-system concept to come to terms with, which is sort of disgusting, if you think much about it.
In return for this kookiness, we are surrounded by big, old trees, a quiet country road and neighbors who also like the country life. Kind of nice, if you ask me. And did I mention we'll be doing all of this while calling an old log cabin home?
The point of this (our move, not the blog), is to try and slow it down just a bit. And I plan to chronicle our experiences of moving toward a more sustainable and slower paced life that begins in about two weeks. I think the slower paced part won't come for some time. But we are a step closer. And I hope the more sustainable part will start right away.
I'll try and jot down our experiences of fixing things and growing things and breaking things and so on. So, here goes. A whole new page (and all those sort of cliches).
I feel like I am pitching a reality series to the execs at NBC. Here is our story: on the 14th of April, we will close on a 40 year old log cabin situated on 10 acres of land in northern Monroe county, Indiana. The house, as well as we can piece together, was built from the logs on the land by a Vietnam veteran just returning from the war. It is a pretty and atmospheric house, filled with quirks and all the things that you could imagine would be charming (and disturbing) about a 40 year old log cabin.
The land has fruit trees and a tiny little creek at the bottom of the hill, an old barn, and a big garden, where I hope to have pumpkins growing come October.
I am learning that woodpeckers will be my sworn enemy because they are especially fond of laying waste to half a log in the time it takes to write a blog post. It isn't that they particularly enjoy the taste of aged log. No. They like the bugs that burrow in the wood. And they will do anything to get those bugs.
We also have to be on the lookout for termites, wasps, and a host of other country-vermin. Maintenance-wise, the cabin needs to have all the grout-type stuff between the logs (called chinking) replaced. Otherwise, there is very little between us and all the things that can (and will) fit through a one inch slot. You can imagine. There is also the whole septic-system concept to come to terms with, which is sort of disgusting, if you think much about it.
In return for this kookiness, we are surrounded by big, old trees, a quiet country road and neighbors who also like the country life. Kind of nice, if you ask me. And did I mention we'll be doing all of this while calling an old log cabin home?
The point of this (our move, not the blog), is to try and slow it down just a bit. And I plan to chronicle our experiences of moving toward a more sustainable and slower paced life that begins in about two weeks. I think the slower paced part won't come for some time. But we are a step closer. And I hope the more sustainable part will start right away.
I'll try and jot down our experiences of fixing things and growing things and breaking things and so on. So, here goes. A whole new page (and all those sort of cliches).
Saturday, January 31, 2009
October 11?
Ouch. Well, I'll just pretend the three month gap didn't happen and move on.
So, just a recap: in November, I went to Hisar, Bulgaria for a conference. A sad and interesting place, Bulgaria. Some of the stereotypes are true: people (strangers) aren't so friendly and the food is meat-centric. But where isn't this the case (the meat, not the people)? The communist spirit still reigns in many places. Case in point: some folks from the conference reserved the bowling alley in the basement of the hotel for a two hour bowl-a-thon. I showed up to the event about 20 minutes late and ordered a beer. Response: Sorry, we ran out of beer. Weird, I thought, especially given that there are two bars upstairs, a host of bars down the street and they knew we were coming for three days. Oh well. I walked upstairs, ordered my beer and went back to the holy bowling action. Communists were well known for their resourcefulness, after all.
I experienced one of the funniest cultural mishaps in Bulgaria to date. I needed to ship a box of books back to Germany and when I asked the person at the front desk of the hotel if I could have FedEx pick up the box on Monday, she just shook her head. WTF, I wondered. I'm not asking her to take the box to the post office. I just want it to be available when some schmo comes in and says "I am here to take a box to Hamburg." I stood there with my head cocked to the side, wondering how I had failed to adhere to accepted cultural protocol for international package shipping. While I was pondering my failure, the woman, who seconds before had summarily denied me, grabbed the box and stuck it under the counter. Good lord, I thought. Did my blank staring finally threaten her into compliance? Turns out, acquiescence/agreement/'yes' is, with body language, realized with a side-to-side head movement, much like the rest of the world signifies 'no.' This explains a lot.
Next stop, AZ/NM. Most of my faithful readers know that David and I spent a few days in Arizona just prior to Thanksgiving. We spent the big day in the 505 with friends and family. In both cases, it was nice to be back and spend time with people I care about.
From there, I went north to Montreal for a few-day seminar. I really like Montreal. It's bitterly cold, has a mind of it's own and knows how to make vegetarian sushi. I could for sure spend a couple of years in that city. By the way, shout out to the Dube family - it was great to catch up with you!
This trip was followed by the holiday season - a great time in Germany. Shortly after my return home, we welcomed our VIP house guests: Jori, Maurice, Abe and Jeff (in no particular order). We spent a week touring the Weihnachtsmarkts (and managing to consume reasonable quantities of gluehwein and Feuerzangenbowle) and the highlights of Hamburg including our favorite haunts and the gratuitous men's tour of Hamburg. It's pretty innocuous, despite the implications.
After we bid a fond farewell to Jori and Maurice, we all piled into our rented Mercedes (thanks to Abe!) and drove as fast as humanly possible to Vienna, Austria, where we spent Christmas and the New Year with Joshua. Vienna was such a pleasant place to be - beautiful, bucolic, bombastic, [insert appropriate b'word here]. We had a great time touring the city, the museums, and the restaurants. We also managed to squeeze in a day trip to Bratislava, Slovakia, a quick trip to the country outside of Vienna and about 24 hours in Prague. Wow, Prague.
But, I get ahead of myself. Just a quick few lines on New Year's eve, Vienna-style. Vienna, in its infinite wisdom, sets up several big stages around town where live music is played and celebration is had by all. While the logistics of this arrangement are much more sensible than the single, centralized festivities in Berlin, there was still street peeing all around and mysterious cigars carried aloft by a blinking, wildly popular bathrobe-clad Jesus. We celebrated New Years day at the Vienna Rathaus dancing the 'Blue Danub' and sipping champagne, in the most traditional style.
This brings us almost current, with a short trip to New Jersey in the interim. Princeton is a beautiful little town, filled with legends dead and alive. My first night in Princeton, I watched as Cornell West took a seat at the hotel bar. The same night, a friend explained that John Nash is still spotted muttering and puttering about campus. A couple of nights later, I saw the cemetery where John Tukey rests. Man. That's a lot of personalities.
I'm back in Hamburg, getting ready to head to Sharm el-Sheikh next week and then after that, I am home for several weeks. I'll make no promises regarding my blog maintenance; however, I would like to believe, I'll let you know how things go in Egypt.
Until then, I still, unreservedly, love Hamburg.
So, just a recap: in November, I went to Hisar, Bulgaria for a conference. A sad and interesting place, Bulgaria. Some of the stereotypes are true: people (strangers) aren't so friendly and the food is meat-centric. But where isn't this the case (the meat, not the people)? The communist spirit still reigns in many places. Case in point: some folks from the conference reserved the bowling alley in the basement of the hotel for a two hour bowl-a-thon. I showed up to the event about 20 minutes late and ordered a beer. Response: Sorry, we ran out of beer. Weird, I thought, especially given that there are two bars upstairs, a host of bars down the street and they knew we were coming for three days. Oh well. I walked upstairs, ordered my beer and went back to the holy bowling action. Communists were well known for their resourcefulness, after all.
I experienced one of the funniest cultural mishaps in Bulgaria to date. I needed to ship a box of books back to Germany and when I asked the person at the front desk of the hotel if I could have FedEx pick up the box on Monday, she just shook her head. WTF, I wondered. I'm not asking her to take the box to the post office. I just want it to be available when some schmo comes in and says "I am here to take a box to Hamburg." I stood there with my head cocked to the side, wondering how I had failed to adhere to accepted cultural protocol for international package shipping. While I was pondering my failure, the woman, who seconds before had summarily denied me, grabbed the box and stuck it under the counter. Good lord, I thought. Did my blank staring finally threaten her into compliance? Turns out, acquiescence/agreement/'yes' is, with body language, realized with a side-to-side head movement, much like the rest of the world signifies 'no.' This explains a lot.
Next stop, AZ/NM. Most of my faithful readers know that David and I spent a few days in Arizona just prior to Thanksgiving. We spent the big day in the 505 with friends and family. In both cases, it was nice to be back and spend time with people I care about.
From there, I went north to Montreal for a few-day seminar. I really like Montreal. It's bitterly cold, has a mind of it's own and knows how to make vegetarian sushi. I could for sure spend a couple of years in that city. By the way, shout out to the Dube family - it was great to catch up with you!
This trip was followed by the holiday season - a great time in Germany. Shortly after my return home, we welcomed our VIP house guests: Jori, Maurice, Abe and Jeff (in no particular order). We spent a week touring the Weihnachtsmarkts (and managing to consume reasonable quantities of gluehwein and Feuerzangenbowle) and the highlights of Hamburg including our favorite haunts and the gratuitous men's tour of Hamburg. It's pretty innocuous, despite the implications.
After we bid a fond farewell to Jori and Maurice, we all piled into our rented Mercedes (thanks to Abe!) and drove as fast as humanly possible to Vienna, Austria, where we spent Christmas and the New Year with Joshua. Vienna was such a pleasant place to be - beautiful, bucolic, bombastic, [insert appropriate b'word here]. We had a great time touring the city, the museums, and the restaurants. We also managed to squeeze in a day trip to Bratislava, Slovakia, a quick trip to the country outside of Vienna and about 24 hours in Prague. Wow, Prague.
But, I get ahead of myself. Just a quick few lines on New Year's eve, Vienna-style. Vienna, in its infinite wisdom, sets up several big stages around town where live music is played and celebration is had by all. While the logistics of this arrangement are much more sensible than the single, centralized festivities in Berlin, there was still street peeing all around and mysterious cigars carried aloft by a blinking, wildly popular bathrobe-clad Jesus. We celebrated New Years day at the Vienna Rathaus dancing the 'Blue Danub' and sipping champagne, in the most traditional style.
This brings us almost current, with a short trip to New Jersey in the interim. Princeton is a beautiful little town, filled with legends dead and alive. My first night in Princeton, I watched as Cornell West took a seat at the hotel bar. The same night, a friend explained that John Nash is still spotted muttering and puttering about campus. A couple of nights later, I saw the cemetery where John Tukey rests. Man. That's a lot of personalities.
I'm back in Hamburg, getting ready to head to Sharm el-Sheikh next week and then after that, I am home for several weeks. I'll make no promises regarding my blog maintenance; however, I would like to believe, I'll let you know how things go in Egypt.
Until then, I still, unreservedly, love Hamburg.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Now that's a hiatus
Jeez, I just realized my last post was nearly three months ago. How sad is that? It's particularly onerous when I consider how much has happened in the last three months. Just a short recap (as well as a declaration that I'll not let this thing slide so long again). You've heard the last one before, I suppose.
Anyway, a recap. After we got back from Slovenia in July, things were pretty calm. We had a few little weekenders to towns nearby (Schleswig and Goslar). This was followed by David's brother and his wife, Carmen moving to Vienna, Austria. It is really nice to have them (relatively) nearby. Shortly after, the whirlwind kicked off. The middle of September brought a work trip to Taipei (a fascinating and wonderful city) and a sentimental journey back to Japan with Mark and Joanne. Last week we drove down to the Czech Republic to meet Joshua and Carmen. This week, I was in Berlin.
Now, just a bit more detail here and there. Mostly I stick to highlights since there is just too much.
Taipei:
We stayed in a very cool hotel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_Grand_Hotel). The Grand Hotel is designed in the style of an old palace. The detail inside and out was intricate and colorful - just a very cool place to stay.
Each night after work we investigated a new night market (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_markets_in_Taiwan). Each one was filled with all manner of delights - from sweets to soups and sneakers to tchotchke. Interestingly and disgustingly, we saw some of the weirdest food ever. There were wrinkly, black, unidentifiable things on offer as well as some dish (a soup, I think) that made everyone's stomach turn. It was especially nauseating given the heat and the confines of the markets. We tried fresh juice, excellent curry noodles, tea and 10 minute massages that hurt so bad I thought I would throw up. We took a 45 second elevator to the observatory of the (currently) tallest building in the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_101). And there was a night market where you could pick out a snake and they would kill it and cook it to your liking. Particularly disturbing was the cage full of baby rabbits that I suppose served as dinner for those snakes that were not, you know, dinner.
Japan:
We started our Excellent Adventure in Tokyo where we met Mark and Joanne. After a quick round of hugs we hopped on the Shinkansen headed north to Aomori Prefecture where the whole David/Leslie & Mark/Joanne story began 11 years ago. We went back to Misawa and were surprised to find that the very shabby, rickety bar district that sustained us through our angry, resistant days as young airmen was completely leveled and replaced by what amounted to a crappy stripmall and a concrete pad called "Freedom Park" or some such bullshit. Worse yet, a 1pm curfew was in place. What the hell?
After we mourned our lost Misawa like an old friend, we soaked ourselves in a newly renovated Komaki spa, ate enormous amounts of ramen, kicked around the Hachinohe fish market, walked on the beach, visited a veritably unchanged Yagen and generally took a walk down memory lane. Our first house was still there - no longer military quarters, though. Besides the area right around the main gate and the first bit of "Green Pole" road, Misawa was just about the same. I didn't realize just how rural this part of the world was the first time around.
Sort of the crown jewel to our return north was a night spent at Aoni Onsen in the Hakkoda mountains. Aoni was, way back in the day, a refuge for samurai and until just a decade or so ago, only accessible by foot. It is extremely remote, wonderfully rustic and entirely gas-lamp lit. I can't even begin to describe the ambience. It just wouldn't do it justice. There were a number of hot baths - mixed and gendered. Each one was elegant and exactly perfect. The food was also amazing. Traditional Japanese dinner was served in a dimly lit dining room on very low tables and we sat on tatami mats. Everything was locally caught or gathered. Our rooms were extremely simple with no furniture but a low table. We slept on thin futon matresses under an ocean of feather blankets. We fell asleep and woke to the sound of the creek running through the middle of the spa. I can't wait to go back.
From there we went to Kakunodate - a town featuring preserved samurai houses. As part of this visit we also made a detour for a sake brewery tour. Wow - it was just great. It was like going to your cousin's business and being shown around. Luckily, our cousin was generous and broke out a cache of incredible sake for us to try. I never knew sake didn't suck.
From here we headed south to Tokyo. David booked a night in a kooky capsule hotel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_hotel). It was interesting (and cheap). While I wouldn't stay again just for the fun of it, I would repeat the exercise for the price. Tokyo was great - we ate ourselves stupid on amazing sushi, watched about a million people cross the street at 11:30 at night and crammed ourselves into a TINY little bar where we were thoroughly ripped off. I bought a Japanese kitchen knife that goes through everything like warm butter. And we spied the young and old prowling the streets at all times of day and night.
On our last morning, we marched off to the fish market to have a look around. We found ourselves deep in the dealer area of the market, dodging flung buckets of fish guck and eyeing 65 dollar cuts of tuna. It was really a great "Lost in Translation" experience. Tokyo is such a special city. Man, I feel like a sap, but Japan has a disproportionate part of my heart.
Last weekend, we headed off to a tiny town in the Czech Republic, just across the German border from Dresden. Carmen found us a great little pension in a bucolic little area with excellent outdoor access and cheap beer. What on god's green earth else could you ask for? We spent the weekend walking about in the day and drinking beer and spying wild pigs by night. It was a great time.
As is becoming the norm, we have a number of trips on tap through this year and into the next. It goes with the territory. Our boss told me this week to make sure I have a passport with sufficient pages.
As always, I still love Hamburg (even though I don't see it so much these days).
Anyway, a recap. After we got back from Slovenia in July, things were pretty calm. We had a few little weekenders to towns nearby (Schleswig and Goslar). This was followed by David's brother and his wife, Carmen moving to Vienna, Austria. It is really nice to have them (relatively) nearby. Shortly after, the whirlwind kicked off. The middle of September brought a work trip to Taipei (a fascinating and wonderful city) and a sentimental journey back to Japan with Mark and Joanne. Last week we drove down to the Czech Republic to meet Joshua and Carmen. This week, I was in Berlin.
Now, just a bit more detail here and there. Mostly I stick to highlights since there is just too much.
Taipei:
We stayed in a very cool hotel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_Grand_Hotel). The Grand Hotel is designed in the style of an old palace. The detail inside and out was intricate and colorful - just a very cool place to stay.
Each night after work we investigated a new night market (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_markets_in_Taiwan). Each one was filled with all manner of delights - from sweets to soups and sneakers to tchotchke. Interestingly and disgustingly, we saw some of the weirdest food ever. There were wrinkly, black, unidentifiable things on offer as well as some dish (a soup, I think) that made everyone's stomach turn. It was especially nauseating given the heat and the confines of the markets. We tried fresh juice, excellent curry noodles, tea and 10 minute massages that hurt so bad I thought I would throw up. We took a 45 second elevator to the observatory of the (currently) tallest building in the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_101). And there was a night market where you could pick out a snake and they would kill it and cook it to your liking. Particularly disturbing was the cage full of baby rabbits that I suppose served as dinner for those snakes that were not, you know, dinner.
Japan:
We started our Excellent Adventure in Tokyo where we met Mark and Joanne. After a quick round of hugs we hopped on the Shinkansen headed north to Aomori Prefecture where the whole David/Leslie & Mark/Joanne story began 11 years ago. We went back to Misawa and were surprised to find that the very shabby, rickety bar district that sustained us through our angry, resistant days as young airmen was completely leveled and replaced by what amounted to a crappy stripmall and a concrete pad called "Freedom Park" or some such bullshit. Worse yet, a 1pm curfew was in place. What the hell?
After we mourned our lost Misawa like an old friend, we soaked ourselves in a newly renovated Komaki spa, ate enormous amounts of ramen, kicked around the Hachinohe fish market, walked on the beach, visited a veritably unchanged Yagen and generally took a walk down memory lane. Our first house was still there - no longer military quarters, though. Besides the area right around the main gate and the first bit of "Green Pole" road, Misawa was just about the same. I didn't realize just how rural this part of the world was the first time around.
Sort of the crown jewel to our return north was a night spent at Aoni Onsen in the Hakkoda mountains. Aoni was, way back in the day, a refuge for samurai and until just a decade or so ago, only accessible by foot. It is extremely remote, wonderfully rustic and entirely gas-lamp lit. I can't even begin to describe the ambience. It just wouldn't do it justice. There were a number of hot baths - mixed and gendered. Each one was elegant and exactly perfect. The food was also amazing. Traditional Japanese dinner was served in a dimly lit dining room on very low tables and we sat on tatami mats. Everything was locally caught or gathered. Our rooms were extremely simple with no furniture but a low table. We slept on thin futon matresses under an ocean of feather blankets. We fell asleep and woke to the sound of the creek running through the middle of the spa. I can't wait to go back.
From there we went to Kakunodate - a town featuring preserved samurai houses. As part of this visit we also made a detour for a sake brewery tour. Wow - it was just great. It was like going to your cousin's business and being shown around. Luckily, our cousin was generous and broke out a cache of incredible sake for us to try. I never knew sake didn't suck.
From here we headed south to Tokyo. David booked a night in a kooky capsule hotel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_hotel). It was interesting (and cheap). While I wouldn't stay again just for the fun of it, I would repeat the exercise for the price. Tokyo was great - we ate ourselves stupid on amazing sushi, watched about a million people cross the street at 11:30 at night and crammed ourselves into a TINY little bar where we were thoroughly ripped off. I bought a Japanese kitchen knife that goes through everything like warm butter. And we spied the young and old prowling the streets at all times of day and night.
On our last morning, we marched off to the fish market to have a look around. We found ourselves deep in the dealer area of the market, dodging flung buckets of fish guck and eyeing 65 dollar cuts of tuna. It was really a great "Lost in Translation" experience. Tokyo is such a special city. Man, I feel like a sap, but Japan has a disproportionate part of my heart.
Last weekend, we headed off to a tiny town in the Czech Republic, just across the German border from Dresden. Carmen found us a great little pension in a bucolic little area with excellent outdoor access and cheap beer. What on god's green earth else could you ask for? We spent the weekend walking about in the day and drinking beer and spying wild pigs by night. It was a great time.
As is becoming the norm, we have a number of trips on tap through this year and into the next. It goes with the territory. Our boss told me this week to make sure I have a passport with sufficient pages.
As always, I still love Hamburg (even though I don't see it so much these days).
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Spotting lions and vowels
So, I am just back from the latest round of travel. My first stop in the middle of June was South Africa en route to Botswana. David was just wrapping up a seminar in Pretoria, S. Africa and we planned it so I would arrive a few days early and he would stay a few days late so we could have a quick look around Kruger National Park, in the north east part of S. Africa. I flew overnight and caught a quick hop from Johannesburg to Nelspruit where I rented a car. David was due to arrive the next day, so I was on my own in wild and woolly South Africa, a country whose reputation certainly precedes it. I was feeling a little bit jumpy given that I was running on very little sleep, I've heard so much about the violence in S. Africa and (I noticed as we were landing) driving occurs on the left side of the road. Hmmm...good thing I once lived in Japan.
My rental was a cute little VW rabbit, which I drove to the park, stopping briefly for food and water. Once I got in the park, I promptly began my safari adventure. I reserved a hut in the Malelane rest camp - a remote satellite camp of Berg en dal rest camp. Kruger is spotted throughout with a number of these rest camps, which are basically camp grounds with restaurants, gas stations, and a grocery store. All of the camps are completely surrounded with high fencing. You know, because of the lions. And the rhinos. And the elephants. And, well you get the picture. It's South Africa! The hut was a simple affair - a round stucco building with a grass roof. Electricity, bathroom and bed were all included and everything was quite comfy. That afternoon, I spent about three hours just driving very slowly through the park. My efforts paid off in 1 elephant, a giraffe, a whole herd of impala and a leopard which everybody but me could see. In Kruger, a strict 'don't get out of your car under any circumstances' rule applies. You can understand why. This also explains why I couldn't really jockey into a better position to spy on the leapord. I photographed the tree he was in anyway, just in case I could see in better detail once I downloaded the photos.
The next morning bright and early, I picked David up at the airport and we headed back into the park for a 4 day adventure filled with all the wild life you could shake a stick at and more. One highlight, at least for me, was the morning walk with armed rangers. We had great fun getting way too close to two rhinos. I have blurry photos to prove it. On an evening game drive, we found a whole lazy pride of lions, one of which was lounging about in the road. What a bunch of divas, those lions. One afternoon we stumbled on a huge (in so many ways) herd of elephants at a big watering hole. There were 50 or more elephants of all shapes and sizes. We also hung out around a lake filled with hippos, who are a noisy, splashy group of beasts.
On our last morning, we were stopped by a heard of buffalo who were in no hurry. These creatures are an underestimated species. 1200 to 2000 pounds of beast with giant horns that include a heavy helmet that looks like badly parted hair, they are not to be trifled with. Every animal in the savannah knows this. Until that morning, I thought they were glorified cows. A close encounter with 20 of them modified my view of the African buffalo. We had to sneak our car in between two waves of the herd. Not something I am wont to repeat.
Each night we stayed in a different rest camp, all of which were different and nice. In each area, the landscape was also quite different and was likewise hospitable to different animals. We saw all of the big five except the leopard. Well, technically, I was in proximity to the leopard, as I said. But, I don't really think that counts. We also saw many zebras, one hyena, a wild dog, several small cats, lots of baboons, monkeys, and countless varieties of deer-like creatures including kudu, Sable antelope, springbok, etc. It was such an excellent time, I would do it again in a moment. No questions.
After S. Africa, I spent three days in Botswana for work. Botswana is a stable, relatively wealthy country. It's capital, Gaborone, is absolutely boring. I have nothing to report.
My next stop after a 20 hour hiatus in Hamburg, was Slovenia, a tiny country bordered to the north and west by Austria, the west by Italy, the south by Croatia and the east by Hungary. I could be missing a border country. I don't have a map handy and I am too lazy to google it. In any event, this former part of Yugoslavia is an outdoor person's paradise. The country is filled with huge, peaky, green mountains, pale green rivers, beautiful lakes and every type of outdoor activity you can possibly imagine. David and I absolutely fell in love.
We spent a week in Ljubljana (pronounced Loo-blee-ahna), which may be my favorite city ever. It is the Europe I always imagined - old buildings, throngs of quaint little street cafes, musicians on the street, everyone eating ice cream, a castle on the hill. In a word, charming. And perfect. Ok, that's two words. But Ljubljana deserves it. It especially could use the extra vowels. There seems to be a shortage of these in Ljubljana in particular and Slovenia in general. It doesn't change my feelings for the place, but it makes pronunciation a bit difficult for my english-speaking tongue.
From Ljubljana, we made our way to the mountain region of Slovenia. The first night we stayed right near a beautiful mountain lake and watched a bit of a strong man contest. Weird, but fun. After this we moved onto Bovec, a town renowned for adventure sports. Here, we tried canyoning, a fun sport that involved a 45 minute hike up a mountain to a spot where we could access a mountain stream. The next two hours we spent descending through the canyon mostly by jumping into the creek, sliding on rock slides and jumping into cold, deep pools. The water, in the 40s by the feel of it, necessitated a full, thick wetsuit with booties. We also got helmets.
The peak for me was the "surprise" slide. Our guide made each of us lie flat in a pool at the mouth of a water fall which we weren't allowed to look down in advance. He proceeded to pick each of us up and 'slide' us one-by-one down a 6 meter waterfall enclosed on all sides by a rock formation. We each splashed below into a deep pool. It was really scary and fun. Especially since you didn't know what was coming. David outdid us all by being dropped off of a three story water fall. I was invited but declined. It was hard enough watching him fall more than 30 feet. He emerged hooting and pumping his fists in the air. He still gets glassy eyed when he talks about it.
We filled our days with amazing hikes. We walked for hours and saw nearly no one. The last day and night and next morning we spent in the Vipava valley (a wine region). It looks exactly like Italy only without the high prices or tourists. It was so weird. We drove for hours and saw no tourists. None. In Europe, in July. There isn't really any infrastructure for tourists in this part of Slovenia in spite of how beautiful it is. I can't imagine this will last. We stayed at an operational farm that also houses tourists. It was a big, old farm house surrounded by vineyards with an amazing view of the valley. We spent the evening eating great food, drinking great wine and scheming about how we are moving to Slovenia. We both felt like we found the place we want to spend the rest of our lives. David swears if we move to Slovenia, he will live there until he dies. It's that nice.
Ok, I've gone on enough. I still love Hamburg, but (with only a tiny feeling of betrayal) I admit that my heart is in Slovenia.
My rental was a cute little VW rabbit, which I drove to the park, stopping briefly for food and water. Once I got in the park, I promptly began my safari adventure. I reserved a hut in the Malelane rest camp - a remote satellite camp of Berg en dal rest camp. Kruger is spotted throughout with a number of these rest camps, which are basically camp grounds with restaurants, gas stations, and a grocery store. All of the camps are completely surrounded with high fencing. You know, because of the lions. And the rhinos. And the elephants. And, well you get the picture. It's South Africa! The hut was a simple affair - a round stucco building with a grass roof. Electricity, bathroom and bed were all included and everything was quite comfy. That afternoon, I spent about three hours just driving very slowly through the park. My efforts paid off in 1 elephant, a giraffe, a whole herd of impala and a leopard which everybody but me could see. In Kruger, a strict 'don't get out of your car under any circumstances' rule applies. You can understand why. This also explains why I couldn't really jockey into a better position to spy on the leapord. I photographed the tree he was in anyway, just in case I could see in better detail once I downloaded the photos.
The next morning bright and early, I picked David up at the airport and we headed back into the park for a 4 day adventure filled with all the wild life you could shake a stick at and more. One highlight, at least for me, was the morning walk with armed rangers. We had great fun getting way too close to two rhinos. I have blurry photos to prove it. On an evening game drive, we found a whole lazy pride of lions, one of which was lounging about in the road. What a bunch of divas, those lions. One afternoon we stumbled on a huge (in so many ways) herd of elephants at a big watering hole. There were 50 or more elephants of all shapes and sizes. We also hung out around a lake filled with hippos, who are a noisy, splashy group of beasts.
On our last morning, we were stopped by a heard of buffalo who were in no hurry. These creatures are an underestimated species. 1200 to 2000 pounds of beast with giant horns that include a heavy helmet that looks like badly parted hair, they are not to be trifled with. Every animal in the savannah knows this. Until that morning, I thought they were glorified cows. A close encounter with 20 of them modified my view of the African buffalo. We had to sneak our car in between two waves of the herd. Not something I am wont to repeat.
Each night we stayed in a different rest camp, all of which were different and nice. In each area, the landscape was also quite different and was likewise hospitable to different animals. We saw all of the big five except the leopard. Well, technically, I was in proximity to the leopard, as I said. But, I don't really think that counts. We also saw many zebras, one hyena, a wild dog, several small cats, lots of baboons, monkeys, and countless varieties of deer-like creatures including kudu, Sable antelope, springbok, etc. It was such an excellent time, I would do it again in a moment. No questions.
After S. Africa, I spent three days in Botswana for work. Botswana is a stable, relatively wealthy country. It's capital, Gaborone, is absolutely boring. I have nothing to report.
My next stop after a 20 hour hiatus in Hamburg, was Slovenia, a tiny country bordered to the north and west by Austria, the west by Italy, the south by Croatia and the east by Hungary. I could be missing a border country. I don't have a map handy and I am too lazy to google it. In any event, this former part of Yugoslavia is an outdoor person's paradise. The country is filled with huge, peaky, green mountains, pale green rivers, beautiful lakes and every type of outdoor activity you can possibly imagine. David and I absolutely fell in love.
We spent a week in Ljubljana (pronounced Loo-blee-ahna), which may be my favorite city ever. It is the Europe I always imagined - old buildings, throngs of quaint little street cafes, musicians on the street, everyone eating ice cream, a castle on the hill. In a word, charming. And perfect. Ok, that's two words. But Ljubljana deserves it. It especially could use the extra vowels. There seems to be a shortage of these in Ljubljana in particular and Slovenia in general. It doesn't change my feelings for the place, but it makes pronunciation a bit difficult for my english-speaking tongue.
From Ljubljana, we made our way to the mountain region of Slovenia. The first night we stayed right near a beautiful mountain lake and watched a bit of a strong man contest. Weird, but fun. After this we moved onto Bovec, a town renowned for adventure sports. Here, we tried canyoning, a fun sport that involved a 45 minute hike up a mountain to a spot where we could access a mountain stream. The next two hours we spent descending through the canyon mostly by jumping into the creek, sliding on rock slides and jumping into cold, deep pools. The water, in the 40s by the feel of it, necessitated a full, thick wetsuit with booties. We also got helmets.
The peak for me was the "surprise" slide. Our guide made each of us lie flat in a pool at the mouth of a water fall which we weren't allowed to look down in advance. He proceeded to pick each of us up and 'slide' us one-by-one down a 6 meter waterfall enclosed on all sides by a rock formation. We each splashed below into a deep pool. It was really scary and fun. Especially since you didn't know what was coming. David outdid us all by being dropped off of a three story water fall. I was invited but declined. It was hard enough watching him fall more than 30 feet. He emerged hooting and pumping his fists in the air. He still gets glassy eyed when he talks about it.
We filled our days with amazing hikes. We walked for hours and saw nearly no one. The last day and night and next morning we spent in the Vipava valley (a wine region). It looks exactly like Italy only without the high prices or tourists. It was so weird. We drove for hours and saw no tourists. None. In Europe, in July. There isn't really any infrastructure for tourists in this part of Slovenia in spite of how beautiful it is. I can't imagine this will last. We stayed at an operational farm that also houses tourists. It was a big, old farm house surrounded by vineyards with an amazing view of the valley. We spent the evening eating great food, drinking great wine and scheming about how we are moving to Slovenia. We both felt like we found the place we want to spend the rest of our lives. David swears if we move to Slovenia, he will live there until he dies. It's that nice.
Ok, I've gone on enough. I still love Hamburg, but (with only a tiny feeling of betrayal) I admit that my heart is in Slovenia.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
The desert (sort of) and the beach
We are back in Hamburg for a couple of weeks before at least one of us is off on our next jaunt, so I figured I better catch you up on our latest activities.
But first (for planning purposes, because that's what Germans do best), a peek at the next six week's calendar:
South Africa (David)
Botswana (Leslie)
Slovenia (Leslie & David)
Trinidad & Tobago (David)
Besides the frequent flier miles we are racking up, we are also accumulating a heap of overtime because our job pays us for travel time. A trip to S. Africa is worth about 16 hours (one way). Just travel nearly gets us a week off on these big trips. The only bummer is we have no time for vacation. But, when life feels like a vacation, it's not such a big deal.
And now, a look back. First of all, the sun has been shining almost nonstop here in rainy-ass Hamburg. Or, I guess I should say - formerly rainy-ass Hamburg. The grass is even starting to turn brown. Did you get that? The grass is starting to turn brown. It's a little disorienting, not walking around in rainboots and constantly checking my bag for an umbrella, but I can get used to it.
A couple of weeks ago, our neighbor (and frequent Stella-watcher and Stella-friend), Inge invited us to her beach house for the weekend. I normally would be reserved about spending an entire weekend at a relatively remote location without a car and with someone I only casually know at their house. But, Inge is cool. She was a communist and still calls her good friends 'comrade'. She is also an artist. As it turns out, her very cute beach house is covered in her art, which is one part impressionist and one part kooky lady with a proclivity for flourescent pink. It works, especially in volume. She is the only person in her entire neighborhood without immaculately groomed grass. Instead, dandelions and other weeds grow wild, threatening the pristine lawns around them. Somehow, her status in the community allows her to get away with her unkempt yard - really a feat in hyper-orderly Germany.
Anyway, we spent a great weekend on the beach - walking, relaxing, drinking wine and watching Stella fetch tennis balls out of the Baltic sea.
Let's contrast this with the next beach experience - Bahrain. What an incredibly weird place. It is a tiny little island right off the east coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf. The population is around 1 million people, many of whom are immigrant workers from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Phillipines, and other relatively poor Asian countries. These immigrants effectively do all of the manual and service labor - all of it. You would never in a blue moon see a native Bahraini waiting tables, cleaning or even managing hotels or restaurants. Maybe a really swanky restaurant, but even then, a stretch.
Even professional positions are 'outsourced' - the engineers, bankers, doctors, professors, etc - all from the West. I'm not sure exactly what most native Bahrainis do during a typical day, other than shop at the competing malls that occupy an absurd amount of Bahraini real estate. Malls and desert - it's just about all that's on the island. Oh, and big, fancy hotels, which seems to be where everyone eats.
The country (and most of the region) is filled with odd paradoxes. For instance, most Bahraini women are extremely conservative in their dress, wearing black abayas that cover their entire bodies, head to foot and some variety of hair covering. The hair cover is also black and typically covers at least a woman's hair but may also cover part of or her entire face except for her eyes. Although, most women with only their eyes peaking out are Saudi Arabians who've driven across the 20km bridge to get their shop on.
Now to the paradox. We were in Bahrain from Saturday evening until Friday evening. Weekends in Bahrain and most Gulf countries are either Thursday and Friday or Friday and Saturday - the muslim holy day is Friday. I tell you this because we noticed a sharp change in the hotel clientelle starting Thursday evening. First of all, there were many more Saudi Arabians than other days during the week. You can tell because the men wear red and whited checked hair coverings and their wives show only their eyes. The other notable change were some pretty scantily dressed women milling about the hotel - in the elevators, in the lobby. These women absolutely stuck out under the circumstances - but the 5 inch heels and 3 inch skirts would have grabbed any Westerner's attention. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I just think it's freaking weird that these uber-conservative Saudis cross a physical (and apparently symbolic) bridge to a land where whores and beer (both of which are absolutely forbidden in Saudi Arabia) await them. And somehow this is completely acceptable.
I don't know what gives. But, who am I to judge? They just better not judge me.
The other weird paradox is the abuse of air conditioning. Don't get me wrong, it's hot. And humid. And you need air conditioning. But, for almost a week solid, I froze - in the seminar room, in the hotel, in cars. The A/C blasted out of every vent, conduit and building orifice at about 30 degrees. I was really glad to get back to Hamburg, where it was warm.
Also, given the abundance of ultra-cheap labor, you can get a custome-made suit for about 60 euro, which we did. It's pretty sweet, too. Cashmere-silk blend, nice jacket. The pants need some work, but for the price, hey! At first, David and I deliberated about the ethics of having some guy make us a suit for such an absurdely low price. But then, I realized this guy was making about ten times what he would normally get in the Calvin Klein factory. At least. And he can set his own hours. And we're not giving money to some corporation. At least, not that I could tell.
Anyway, Bahrain was an interesting place that I am glad I saw. As part of the traditional seminar excursion, we went to the Bahrain International Circuit - a Formula One race track. We all got to go inside the control station and the press boxes - a very cool insider's look. We also went to the brand-new Bahrain National Museum. One more quick story. This new museum got lots of money from UNESCO, representatives of which came to see the museum on opening day and were surprised to find the museum open only 4 hours each day because they couldn't find enough people to keep it open all day. See what I mean?!
Ok, next stop, (for me) - Botswana. I'll try to post again between now and then - we should have something fun to share with you!
Since the sun is shining and it's been like 80 for 2 weeks, of course, I love Hamburg!
But first (for planning purposes, because that's what Germans do best), a peek at the next six week's calendar:
South Africa (David)
Botswana (Leslie)
Slovenia (Leslie & David)
Trinidad & Tobago (David)
Besides the frequent flier miles we are racking up, we are also accumulating a heap of overtime because our job pays us for travel time. A trip to S. Africa is worth about 16 hours (one way). Just travel nearly gets us a week off on these big trips. The only bummer is we have no time for vacation. But, when life feels like a vacation, it's not such a big deal.
And now, a look back. First of all, the sun has been shining almost nonstop here in rainy-ass Hamburg. Or, I guess I should say - formerly rainy-ass Hamburg. The grass is even starting to turn brown. Did you get that? The grass is starting to turn brown. It's a little disorienting, not walking around in rainboots and constantly checking my bag for an umbrella, but I can get used to it.
A couple of weeks ago, our neighbor (and frequent Stella-watcher and Stella-friend), Inge invited us to her beach house for the weekend. I normally would be reserved about spending an entire weekend at a relatively remote location without a car and with someone I only casually know at their house. But, Inge is cool. She was a communist and still calls her good friends 'comrade'. She is also an artist. As it turns out, her very cute beach house is covered in her art, which is one part impressionist and one part kooky lady with a proclivity for flourescent pink. It works, especially in volume. She is the only person in her entire neighborhood without immaculately groomed grass. Instead, dandelions and other weeds grow wild, threatening the pristine lawns around them. Somehow, her status in the community allows her to get away with her unkempt yard - really a feat in hyper-orderly Germany.
Anyway, we spent a great weekend on the beach - walking, relaxing, drinking wine and watching Stella fetch tennis balls out of the Baltic sea.
Let's contrast this with the next beach experience - Bahrain. What an incredibly weird place. It is a tiny little island right off the east coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf. The population is around 1 million people, many of whom are immigrant workers from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Phillipines, and other relatively poor Asian countries. These immigrants effectively do all of the manual and service labor - all of it. You would never in a blue moon see a native Bahraini waiting tables, cleaning or even managing hotels or restaurants. Maybe a really swanky restaurant, but even then, a stretch.
Even professional positions are 'outsourced' - the engineers, bankers, doctors, professors, etc - all from the West. I'm not sure exactly what most native Bahrainis do during a typical day, other than shop at the competing malls that occupy an absurd amount of Bahraini real estate. Malls and desert - it's just about all that's on the island. Oh, and big, fancy hotels, which seems to be where everyone eats.
The country (and most of the region) is filled with odd paradoxes. For instance, most Bahraini women are extremely conservative in their dress, wearing black abayas that cover their entire bodies, head to foot and some variety of hair covering. The hair cover is also black and typically covers at least a woman's hair but may also cover part of or her entire face except for her eyes. Although, most women with only their eyes peaking out are Saudi Arabians who've driven across the 20km bridge to get their shop on.
Now to the paradox. We were in Bahrain from Saturday evening until Friday evening. Weekends in Bahrain and most Gulf countries are either Thursday and Friday or Friday and Saturday - the muslim holy day is Friday. I tell you this because we noticed a sharp change in the hotel clientelle starting Thursday evening. First of all, there were many more Saudi Arabians than other days during the week. You can tell because the men wear red and whited checked hair coverings and their wives show only their eyes. The other notable change were some pretty scantily dressed women milling about the hotel - in the elevators, in the lobby. These women absolutely stuck out under the circumstances - but the 5 inch heels and 3 inch skirts would have grabbed any Westerner's attention. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I just think it's freaking weird that these uber-conservative Saudis cross a physical (and apparently symbolic) bridge to a land where whores and beer (both of which are absolutely forbidden in Saudi Arabia) await them. And somehow this is completely acceptable.
I don't know what gives. But, who am I to judge? They just better not judge me.
The other weird paradox is the abuse of air conditioning. Don't get me wrong, it's hot. And humid. And you need air conditioning. But, for almost a week solid, I froze - in the seminar room, in the hotel, in cars. The A/C blasted out of every vent, conduit and building orifice at about 30 degrees. I was really glad to get back to Hamburg, where it was warm.
Also, given the abundance of ultra-cheap labor, you can get a custome-made suit for about 60 euro, which we did. It's pretty sweet, too. Cashmere-silk blend, nice jacket. The pants need some work, but for the price, hey! At first, David and I deliberated about the ethics of having some guy make us a suit for such an absurdely low price. But then, I realized this guy was making about ten times what he would normally get in the Calvin Klein factory. At least. And he can set his own hours. And we're not giving money to some corporation. At least, not that I could tell.
Anyway, Bahrain was an interesting place that I am glad I saw. As part of the traditional seminar excursion, we went to the Bahrain International Circuit - a Formula One race track. We all got to go inside the control station and the press boxes - a very cool insider's look. We also went to the brand-new Bahrain National Museum. One more quick story. This new museum got lots of money from UNESCO, representatives of which came to see the museum on opening day and were surprised to find the museum open only 4 hours each day because they couldn't find enough people to keep it open all day. See what I mean?!
Ok, next stop, (for me) - Botswana. I'll try to post again between now and then - we should have something fun to share with you!
Since the sun is shining and it's been like 80 for 2 weeks, of course, I love Hamburg!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Catch-up
So, as seems to be the order of the day, I am lagging behind in Deutsch-updates. And, oh what a string of them I have for you in this installment.
Backing up just a couple of weeks, we recently spent a long weekend in Munich drinking enormous beers and eating enormous pretzels, both of which were delicious. It's funny, too, because there is a strong north-south tension between Hamburgians and Muncheners. I'm not quite sure what the fuss is about, but there seems to be a bit of snobbery on both sides and some monetary jealousy up north. I can't figure out what the Hamburg folks are crying about - this town is loaded. I understand some of the animosity, at least from Hamburg - a real liberal bastion. Munich is conservative, especially politically and they are really pushing for more work, less benefits and all the same crap that has been a mainstay of the American economy since the industrial revolution.
One area that Munich is absolutely not in the least tiny little bit conservative about is beer consumption. Those cats can put away the beer any time, any place. David and I were at a weekend market downtown and by 9:30 the place was filled with (obviously) locals getting their breakfast drink on. Beer is nutrition in Bavaria. Not that I'm complaining, I just don't think the neo-liberal labor approach is compatible with such a serious beer drinking schedule. I'm personally rooting for the beer drinkers in this battle - they clearly have a leg up.
Some of the definite highlights of the trip were
- Dachau concentration camp (really a lowlight - stark and sad)
- Munich biergartens. The one in the Englischergarten is particularly nice
- Neuschwanstein and Hoheschwangau Castles. The Neuschwanstein is what the Disney castle is modeled after and you can really tell. The setting was indescribably beautiful. Snowcapped mountains, cool mountain lake, dreamy castle with a waterfall in the background. Really worth a visit.
- The Residenz Museum. Formerly the home of the king and queen of Bavaria. A nicely done museum of royal life through the last few centuries.
Not worth it in Munich (at least as a couple)
- Hofbrauhaus (one of the Oktoberfest hotspots). It was sort of loud and moist when we were there and someone rifled through my bag when we were in a crowd. Thankfully all the crap I had crammed in it obscured my wallet and camera.
Ok. Totally different subject. In Hamburg we have some left-wing friends who are politically active, particularly against the far-right nationalist (read 'Nazi') party. On May Day (May 1), there was a demonstration in Hamburg. The details are thus: the nationalist party wanted to march in a working class neighborhood to celebrate May Day (usually recognized as Labor Day or Laborers Day). To counter this, the anti-fascists staged a counter-demonstration largely to protest the wanker Nazis and to actually celebrate May Day. As a side goal, a signficant effort of the demonstration was to disrupt the Nazi parade.
As it happens, we got the insider's guided tour to one of the most raucous demonstrations that has hit Germany in nearly two decades. The police, who were tasked with protecting Nazi assholes from getting attacked by the left demonstrators, were outnumbered on all sides and were obviously scared. I was just glad they don't carry guns. As it was, I saw way too many demonstrators getting the crap knocked out of them by hopped-up, nervous, baton-happy cops. It was really like something from the evening news. Or, oh, I don't know - YouTube (have a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ALYMaPU8Og for Nazi car burning or the first minute of the news clips here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lp7Mn4P_A0).
We and folks we were with were nearly whacked by crazy, baton-wielding cops, but we had the sense to get out of the way of the rush when it happened. However, I saw a girl get knocked down as a line of a hundrded or so cops rushed past. A few of the cops stopped to beat on her a good bit before they moved on. A particularly disgusting show of force.
We also got to witness the aftermath of the anti-fascist's attack on the Nazi buses. All of the windows of the big tour buses were totally smashed, the buses were badly damaged and many of the cars the Nazis came in were set on fire. This we saw personally. I imagine the bus company will think twice before they agree to haul a bunch of neo-fascists to a demonstration.
It was really chaos and there was a feeling that these guys, the left-wing demonstrators had a big impact. Maybe even made a difference that day. In the neighborhood where the Nazis marched, a lot of the working class folks (ethnic minorities) living in the neighborhood also demonstrated with vigor - carrying anti-fascist flags and getting into the spirit of things. Something you don't see too often, largely out of caution. It was something pretty special and I am glad I got to see it. I felt proud of Hamburg and the anti-fascist movement. It's sad that we need an anti-fascist movement in Germany after everything that happened here. But, I'm glad that there is one.
Of course, after all this excitement, I still love Hamburg. Here is my favorite photo of the day:
Backing up just a couple of weeks, we recently spent a long weekend in Munich drinking enormous beers and eating enormous pretzels, both of which were delicious. It's funny, too, because there is a strong north-south tension between Hamburgians and Muncheners. I'm not quite sure what the fuss is about, but there seems to be a bit of snobbery on both sides and some monetary jealousy up north. I can't figure out what the Hamburg folks are crying about - this town is loaded. I understand some of the animosity, at least from Hamburg - a real liberal bastion. Munich is conservative, especially politically and they are really pushing for more work, less benefits and all the same crap that has been a mainstay of the American economy since the industrial revolution.
One area that Munich is absolutely not in the least tiny little bit conservative about is beer consumption. Those cats can put away the beer any time, any place. David and I were at a weekend market downtown and by 9:30 the place was filled with (obviously) locals getting their breakfast drink on. Beer is nutrition in Bavaria. Not that I'm complaining, I just don't think the neo-liberal labor approach is compatible with such a serious beer drinking schedule. I'm personally rooting for the beer drinkers in this battle - they clearly have a leg up.
Some of the definite highlights of the trip were
- Dachau concentration camp (really a lowlight - stark and sad)
- Munich biergartens. The one in the Englischergarten is particularly nice
- Neuschwanstein and Hoheschwangau Castles. The Neuschwanstein is what the Disney castle is modeled after and you can really tell. The setting was indescribably beautiful. Snowcapped mountains, cool mountain lake, dreamy castle with a waterfall in the background. Really worth a visit.
- The Residenz Museum. Formerly the home of the king and queen of Bavaria. A nicely done museum of royal life through the last few centuries.
Not worth it in Munich (at least as a couple)
- Hofbrauhaus (one of the Oktoberfest hotspots). It was sort of loud and moist when we were there and someone rifled through my bag when we were in a crowd. Thankfully all the crap I had crammed in it obscured my wallet and camera.
Ok. Totally different subject. In Hamburg we have some left-wing friends who are politically active, particularly against the far-right nationalist (read 'Nazi') party. On May Day (May 1), there was a demonstration in Hamburg. The details are thus: the nationalist party wanted to march in a working class neighborhood to celebrate May Day (usually recognized as Labor Day or Laborers Day). To counter this, the anti-fascists staged a counter-demonstration largely to protest the wanker Nazis and to actually celebrate May Day. As a side goal, a signficant effort of the demonstration was to disrupt the Nazi parade.
As it happens, we got the insider's guided tour to one of the most raucous demonstrations that has hit Germany in nearly two decades. The police, who were tasked with protecting Nazi assholes from getting attacked by the left demonstrators, were outnumbered on all sides and were obviously scared. I was just glad they don't carry guns. As it was, I saw way too many demonstrators getting the crap knocked out of them by hopped-up, nervous, baton-happy cops. It was really like something from the evening news. Or, oh, I don't know - YouTube (have a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ALYMaPU8Og for Nazi car burning or the first minute of the news clips here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lp7Mn4P_A0).
We and folks we were with were nearly whacked by crazy, baton-wielding cops, but we had the sense to get out of the way of the rush when it happened. However, I saw a girl get knocked down as a line of a hundrded or so cops rushed past. A few of the cops stopped to beat on her a good bit before they moved on. A particularly disgusting show of force.
We also got to witness the aftermath of the anti-fascist's attack on the Nazi buses. All of the windows of the big tour buses were totally smashed, the buses were badly damaged and many of the cars the Nazis came in were set on fire. This we saw personally. I imagine the bus company will think twice before they agree to haul a bunch of neo-fascists to a demonstration.
It was really chaos and there was a feeling that these guys, the left-wing demonstrators had a big impact. Maybe even made a difference that day. In the neighborhood where the Nazis marched, a lot of the working class folks (ethnic minorities) living in the neighborhood also demonstrated with vigor - carrying anti-fascist flags and getting into the spirit of things. Something you don't see too often, largely out of caution. It was something pretty special and I am glad I got to see it. I felt proud of Hamburg and the anti-fascist movement. It's sad that we need an anti-fascist movement in Germany after everything that happened here. But, I'm glad that there is one.
Of course, after all this excitement, I still love Hamburg. Here is my favorite photo of the day:
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