Whew...

Living in the fast lane can really take a lot of effort, it seems. A friend of ours asked us if we wanted to have dinner some weekend soon. I told her we'd be gone next weekend and besides the weekend after that, we'll have to shoot for mid-July. Huh? July? Really? It's mid-April. There are a couple of trips that are not so firm, but yeah, July. You maybe can't tell, but I have a really big smile right now. Who'da thought?

David is freshly back from South Africa and this weekend, we are heading to Munich for three days of castle exploring and bier trinken - woohoo. David is slightly less than enthused. He thinks Bavaria is completely cheesy - coo coo clocks, sausage & lederhosen. Oh, and oompah bands. I have the same impression, but I want to see it anyway. It's the Germany that every American imagines, sauerbraten and all. After this excursion, I think we are pretty much done with touring Germany. There is just too much other stuff to look at in Europe. And my list keeps getting longer while free time keeps getting shorter. I maybe need to quit my day job.

What else? Our Deutsch is slowly improving. I've implemented a number of methods - Rosetta Stone CDs, formal classes and Pimsleur 'Learn German' on my MP3 player. I figure if I bombard myself, some of it just has to sink in. I am hopeful that at least my comprehension will improve. I'm not so sure about speaking - my accent is awful. At least that's what all the Germans say. But that's how they roll - it's nothing personal. At least they like dogs. And beer.

Although, it seems that public beer drinking may be on the decline here in beer-loving Deutschland. One of the big party districts in Hamburg recently made it illegal to consume alcohol on the streets, which is nearly religion in that neighborhood. I also read that some podunk town outlawed public drinking after 5pm and on weekends. It's perfectly ok to get shitty in public on, say, Monday at 8am, however. Thank god.

So, that's about it. Stella is well and she still hangs out with her very good friend, Inge. They recently spent 10 days together at the beach. Man, that dog lives the life, I tell you.

While I love all the travel, of course, I still love coming home to Hamburg!