brainsplotch

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...

I can't quite remember where I left off. The day after we arrived in Radebeul, we spent the day in Dresden, looking at the scenery and old (and newer) buildings, including a church [Frauenkirche] that was rebuilt after reunification. It had been a pile of rubble following the Dresden bombing of 1945 and the wreckage was a memorial during the GDR era. I will need to edit this post later with the name, which I know but can't recall (and if I try to flip between here and Facebook, I'm afraid I'll lose this post). On the 23rd, we spent the day decorating the two Christmas trees (one downstairs and one upstairs outside on the balcony) and later that day walked around the old section of Radebeul (with buildings dating back to the 1400s and 1500s). Christmas Eve we met N's brother and his girlfriend and later enjoyed a dinner of sausage and potato salad. We also unwrapped gifts. (I like the lowkey way that Germans celebrate Christmas. I wish Americans would do the same). Y...

L. and I arrived in Radebeul yesterday morning, which was mid-afternoon Michigan time. I need not tell anyone who has flown to Europe how that throws off your body. I am sure most people are aware of it, but me being someone who took this damned long to travel to Europe, it was tough.  Older son and his girlfriend N.'s father picked us up at the Dresden airport. We drove to their house, which is in a fairly quiet residential area of Radebeul. It was once farmland during the GDR era, went fallow after reunification, and then was developed into housing in the 1990s and 2000s. It is, I suppose, the German approximation of an American subdivision, but with winding streets and houses right next to each other and much smaller gardens (yards). The houses here have more character, too. They are all two-story and colorfully painted. Germans have the right idea. There seems much more a sense of community here compared to middle-class, suburban America--in which people live in the...