(sent today the 23rd)
So it my 2nd (and last for this trip) Sunday in Germany...
The days have been full (though not as full as the production expert who has been up late testing things before he presents them for the first time), and at this site, no internet access... all the emailing I do happen after hours...
As usual I'm spending most of my free time eating (as some of you have noted based on the photos). I wouldn't be surprised if I've been gaining weight at the rate of a-pound-a-day, no joke...
I have however stumbled on to something quite fascinating... I've discovered how to turn a yoga practice into a weight/resistance training regime... maybe I could market this a fitness method and make millions... lookout Bikram!!! It's Sunday morning and I actually did get around to some time on the yoga mat... man is it ever apparent how a little extra weight translates into a lot more work doing the postures...
The Wine tasting on Friday was a real treat!! One of my German colleagues brought us to his cousin's familly's vinyard for tasting and a cave visit. It was in a small village (where my colleague currently lives and grew up) and also real pretty... The village is called Ediger-Eller, and he droves us out of there by the small roads... I think he was surprised by the weight of 2 Canadians in his car... I think he couldn't drive as fast as he'd been hoping... http://www.flickr.com/photos/orbyroy/3049903427/in/set-72157609067088990/
Despite Gilles urging I did not get out to Köln... it is too far for a day trip for me...
I did get to Koblentz Saturday though. Drove up with Seb and he and I wandered around the city where my Grandfather was born... got some pictures to show him of his birthplace when I get home... including the Koblentz-cobblestones... http://www.flickr.com/photos/orbyroy/3049835913/in/set-72157609067088990/
It snowed Friday... the rental car doesn't have winter tires, or a scraper/snowbrush... Saturday morning I borrowed a small scraper from the Grand-Dame of the Hotel Mass this morning... she walked me to her car out back to fetch it, and her very old (and quite posessive) dog was very concerned about me being in his territory with his owner... he was barking and even mock-biting me as I waited for her to emerge from digging around in her car... I was tempted to pull a Caesar Milan open finger poke on him...
Got some sweet treats and headed off to Ulmen to pick up Seb... I shared them with the hotel staff (all family). They were very appreciative... (big doughy balls just like sugar donuts) It was a real treat for me too... the Grandmother at that hotel really reminds me of my own Grandmother. And my Grandmother was a really special person, and I loved her dearly. Speaking of bakeries...
I'm very sorry to say Colin, that it is proving very difficult to arrange a Warm Pretzel Breakfast... turns out in Bavaria it would be quite simple... round here though no so... the little bakery near the hotel does pretzels, though not with salt...
I did the driving (to Koblenz) the car was fine on the expressways (no snow)... and we did listen to 2 different SAT/NAV systems guide us right to the city center parking... Quite a few Thai-Massage places there (and jewelry shops and optic shops and Apotechs-pharmacies)... and a really well-stocked shop selling Tibetan and Asian imports... the largest collection of singing bowls I've ever seen (and in fact some of the largest bowls I've ever seen too)... and some really nice gongs... was playing one, which had a wonderful low tone when you got up close to it... wish I had a spare 1800$ cdn to scoop it up... and how exactly would I ship a heavy brass disc 1M in radius??
So for those of you who had a hard time reading Gilles drawing of room A1...
Ref: http://www.flickr.com/photos/orbyroy/3052576184/
First of all in his defence, Gilles started to draw a cross-section scetch starting with the roof... then he switched to top-view for the floorplan... it's almost impossible to read if you didn't know that (so ignore the roof)...
In the travels set on flickr I've uploaded some photos of the room... including the hotel's own floor plan of the top floor/Room A1. http://www.flickr.com/photos/orbyroy/3050601060/in/set-72157609067088990/
Actually Gilles was quite accurate... I wonder if he remembered that the entire hotel was not exactly square?? There's also more food updates... no shots of Glhüwein, or saussage treats at the Christmas fair in Koblenz... and more shots of my goofy mug enjoying myself in Germany...
While wandering around Koblenz drinking Glhüwein (hot mulled wine) and fresh-grilled saussage treats (Christmas-themed fairs go up in towns all accross Germany), I realized that I'm away from home at a strange time of year... This is when people start shifting to the holiday season mode, the end of year mode. I'm not sure I've ever been away from home at this time... it's kind of strange not being in my usual home-routine this time of year...
I won't have a lot of time to experience my year winding down, and mind mind and spirit looking forward to the next one... it'll be an excellerated year-end for me this year...
Seems I can't tune into a radio station with out hearing this song...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id4NrISYNwA (video with audio, a live performance)
Quite catchy, she's got a wonderful voice... if it's not that song, it's Ah-Ha, or Tears For Fears, or Rick Ashley, or some other 80's tune. Seems Germany is fixed on the 80's... and not on any traditional Christmas-type music...
For all the shots: http://www.flickr.com/photos/orbyroy/
I hope you're all well and are keeping out of trouble!!
roy
P.S.
Thanks kindly for sending along some of your own comments and updates and photos!!