brainsplotch

It's hard to believe that it was exactly one month ago that our plane touched down in Germany. Time flies ridiculously fast. The ripple effect of that trip continues. I am processing more of it now than I was when I was there. I also can't help but feel a tad jealous of my son, who lives there full time. Then again, he speaks fluent German and me--not so much. Also, I do think that, though the United (United?) States drives me crazier and crazier by the day, there are definitely aspects of life here that I'd miss if I lived in another country.  A few years ago, Nora's parents gave us a small book about Dresden and a CD compilation called Die 100 Großten Ost-Hits, Volume 1  that contains a hundred big East German pop songs. I have to admit that prior to December 30, 2021, these items remained relatively untouched at our house. I did play a little bit of Ost Hits at one time with mild curiosity (and found much of the music surprisingly better than I expected), and might h...

N's parents enjoy walking and hiking--a lot. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining at all. If you want to know why Europeans are, generally speaking, in much better physical condition than Americans, look no further than how much and how often they walk. We took a long walk to the communal cemetery the first day we were there, walked all over Dresden the next day, hiked up to the bluff overlooking Radebeul, and hiked well over three miles in Moritzburg on Christmas Day.  By the way, I will never get over how freakin' cool it was to be at an honest-to-God CASTLE on Christmas Day, and then proceed to hike all over Augustus the Strong's hunting grounds.  Speaking of hiking, the only bad part was that, at the last minute, I decided to bring a "nicer" winter coat to Germany instead of my utilitarian Dickies coat. The Dickies coat, though somewhat lacking in fashion, would have been more comfortable for all the walking we did. I also wore "nicer" shoes ...

We returned from Germany on December 30, and I feel that I need to just dump whatever impressions I have now before I forget them, so here are some thoughts I have in no particular order. Many of these will be superficial observations. Christmas decorations: I like the German approach to Christmas decoration. They are subdued and tasteful. I particularly love the Moravian stars that one sees everywhere in Germany. Germans don't seem to go for the garish and over-the-top decorations that Americans love. I became obsessed with German toilets and the flushing mechanisms that are built into the wall: one large white rectangular button for "#2" and a smaller white button for "#1." I noticed some variations (in a public restroom in in Meißen, a large oval-shaped button with a smaller oval-shaped button within the large button). I also enjoyed the similarly shaped light switches. As I mentioned on Facebook, it felt as if I was living in a life-size Playmobil or LEGO ho...