Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts

Friday, August 12, 2011

I Still Got It

Once I safely arrived in Germany, I faced another challenge: I had a rental car at my disposal. That meant that, for the first time in 16 years, I had to navigate German roads. Not only are German roads much narrover than American roads, there are also parked cars left and right. It was not unusual to count seven cars in close proximity on the same side of the road. Add to that the traffic circles that have popped up around nearly every village and it all makes for interesting driving.
It didn't take me long to get used to it and I enjoyed the freedom that a car afforded me. I was not dependent on public buses anymore and could visit friends in villages off the beaten path. Next time, I will definitely consider a rental car again. Hopefully, the weather will allow me to do more sight-seeing than during my recent cold and rainy visit.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Spaghetti ice, rain and white storks


I just returned from a trip to Germany. For the first two days, temperatures hovered in the 90s, but then they dropped considerably. So much so that cool, rainy days seemed to be in the majority. The weather affected people's moods and limited my outdoor activities. Unlike during other visits, I was not able to go for a ride until my last day. Stuck in a small town without a car, my days dragged on forever while my dates with friends mostly took place during evenings. One highlight was a mini-reunion from my business school where I met two "girls" I hadn't seen since 1974.
As the title suggests, a visit to Germany is not complete without eating several portions of spaghetti ice. This concoction consists of whipped cream topped by vanilla ice cream which is pushed through a press (similar to a potato press, I assume) and then covered with strawberry topping and white chocolate flakes. Thus, it looks just like spaghetti and tomato sauce, but tastes much better.
Years ago, white storks were reintroduced to my hometown and this time, I was finally able to take some photos of them. I know my pictures aren't very good, but it's the best I could do without a telephoto lens. There were four storks, but one was missing. Mrs. Stork was recently killed during an encounter with a power line. I hope that Mr. Stork finds another mate. I heard that he is quite finicky and won't accept just any lady that comes along. I wish daddy and the kids all the best.