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Great time in Italy.
Lots of sun each day and a refreshing evening thunderstorm Saturday evening.
Thought you might like a postcard from my 3-day weekend at the beach in Italy.
Rented a bike today and will be doing a bit of cycling.
Weather is fine, glad I’m not there.
J
will take place in Bonn on 18 & 19 November 2006.
So, who’s coming?
The definites:
J
Jen and Sparky
Belinda
Christina
Who else? All are welcome, even if you don’t live in Germany and/or don’t whine. All you have to do is have a desire to meet the people behind the blogs and talk about nothing in particular.
Answers to possible questions:
- Will the Whiney Network be covering any of your costs? No.
- Is Bonn worth visiting? Definitely.
- Is Bonn perfect? No, but what city is?
- Will you have a good time? Most likely.
- Will we whine about Germany the entire time? Most likely not. I’d say that less than 0.5% of last year’s Meet Up was about that. The rest was getting to know each other and having fun together.
- Will we be speaking German? Heck no!
- What should you bring? Hmm…Germany in mid-Nov – an umbrella (or two), a winter coat, a hat, mittens, good walking shoes, an open mind, an appetite for beer, a smile, a good sense of humo(u)r, money, a desire to learn about the country you live in, etc.
- Are partners welcome? Yep!
- Will it be both days? Hopefully.
- Do you have to come for both days? No.
- Can you only come on the 18th? Yes.
- Can you only come on the 19th? Yes.
- Where can we stay if we come for both days? Belinda’s flat! She lives closer to Bonn than me, so bring a sleeping bag, your bunny slippers and a smile. She’d love to have 40 guests on her couch but she might force you to learn how to knit! Or, if you’re allergic to yarn, a hotel can be found.
- Will we be going shopping? Hopefully not.
- Should you travel by Deutsche Bahn? Sure, if you have patience (most of us that travelled by DB actually made it to Marburg last year) and/or like fodder for your blog.
- Will you be late if you travel by Deutsche Bahn? Is this is rhetorical question?
- Will you actually get home if you travel by Deutsche Bahn? Perhaps (it was touch-and-go for Christina and me last year).
- How long will it take and how much will it cost you to get from (insert your town) to Bonn? Dunno. Consult www.bahn.de and add an hour or two to how long their website says. Email me if you need help with Sparpreiss tickets.
- Can you drive to the Meet Up? Of course, but you’re on your own with directions, parking, etc.
- Will J make you ride bikes? Nope.
- Is cycling on those snazzy DB bikes an option? Always!
- Will Sparky be naked? I really hope not!
So, please reply if you’re coming so that we can get a headcount. Also, it would be appreciated if a link to this post was posted on your blogs so that we can get the word out.
A very common sight here in Germany.
I’ve been living in Europe for seven years now and in that time have gotten to enjoy watching football (soccer). I basically know the rules, however when asked about the team I support people are shocked to find out that there isn’t one. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about different teams – which is where you knowledgeable people come in.
The major team in my area is FC Köln, but from what I’ve read on the internet, they suck. They’ve been demoted to Bundesliga 2, the same league that the team in my town plays in (which means it’ll probably be a good idea to be out of town when those two teams play each other). Bonn is in the Oberliga (4th league), so that’s out too. I want a team that will remain in the Bundesliga.
Here are my requirements:
-I want to attend a home game or two, so they can’t be too far away;
-Tickets to games can’t be too expensive;
-It has to have an easy chant (and other things if there’s more than just a chant) to learn so that I can sing along with the other fans;
-The stadium has to be convenient to some kind of rail transport (that includes trams);
-Cool colours would be nice – in case I’m freezing at a game in the winter (not that I’d actually go to a game in the winter) and have to buy one of those scarf thingies to keep warm (my winter jacket is green);
-A team with players that have easy names to pronounce would be appreciated (I assume I’ll have to learn some of the names).
Finally, I also need to know exactly how much beer I am required to consume on the train before I get to the stadium, the cheapest place to buy one of those big cartons of beer that all footie fans seem to carry around and also the minimum amount of decibels I am allowed to shout on trains (I’m not a shouter).
So, football fans, find me ‘a team’.
Notes:
Hot!
We’re in the middle of a heat wave. It’s been in the 30s for about four weeks now and yesterday we hit 40°C here in the Land-of-No-Air-Conditioning. Most people feel like they’re about to melt and think it’s too hot to do anything other than go swimming, but I love it. I don’t see the need for air conditioning in weather like this other than in cars. If I went from an air-conditioned school/office to a non-air-conditioned home, it wouldn’t have enabled my body to adapt to the heat as it has.
I had to teach an incompany class in a town the West Forrest (WW) yesterday afternoon that is at at least quadruple the elevation of my town, hence a bit cooler, and there was definitely a noticeable difference in temperature when I got back to the city.
I’ve read there’s also a heat wave gripping the US and that air-conditioned buildings are being opened as ‘cooling centres’. I’d like to see those sissies experience our kind of heat wave – hot and humid weather with high temperatures and not an air-conditioner in sight.
Cycling, photography and ?
I unexpectedly have a long weekend.
My Thursday afternoon (16h) incompany class has cancelled (due to the fact that most are on holiday and those that aren’t are covering for those that are), which means that I finish work today at 11h30 and don’t have to be back to work til 17h30 on Monday due to the fact that our daytime classes are on summer break and that’s (usually) all I teach on Fridays. Hooray! Now all I have to do is find things to occupy my time (I did my laundry and grocery shopping after my evening class yesterday so there’s nothing I actually have to do).
Movin’ on up
My school is moving to a new building (500 metres from the current one) tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday. As of now, the bosses haven’t asked me to help but rumour has it that I’m on the ‘to be asked’ list, so I’ve been avoiding them the last few days. If my luck holds out, I’ll literally be running out the door at 11h30, hopping on my bike and pedalling off so that I can’t be found (at least til the heavy lifting has finished).
Not unexpectedly, the telecom company has screwed up the order for the new school so we won’t have internet access for the first two weeks we’re there, so I’m not sure how often I’ll be online for a while. I might make a daily visit to the internet café, or not.
Tumbleweeds
Holiday time is in full swing in Germany, which means that my usually not-all-that-crowded town is basically deserted. There’s no traffic at any time of the day in the city and not even the supermarkets are crowded. Number plates from places I’ve never heard of are in town (GER and WAK were two that I saw today) and an abundant number of people are travelling with bikes on their cars.
will you see a ferry with a DJ on it transporting cyclists and inline skaters across a river while they are singing along to the YMCA song and doing the hand motions.
Click photo to enlarge.
not an everyday occurence.
I was sitting on a bench and having my picnic lunch when four young ladies put their backpacks on the bench next to me and started jabbering on in English. North American English.
They were chatting about this and that, taking photos of the Rhein, themselves, etc. After my lunch, I asked them where they were from. It turned out that they were two groups of sisters on summer holiday from university and were backpacking Europe.
They had spent a day in London three days prior and the last two days had been spent in Amsterdam. They ended up here in Nowheresville because their Eurail passes entitled them to free rides on a cruise line that navigates the Rhein (good for them!) and decided to go to Mainz that way before catching their train to Zurich for the evening – they were just passing through Germany. I inquired as to their plans after Zurich and here’s the list they rattled off: the Glacier Express (which they told me is a scenic train that crosses the Swiss Alps), then Milan for a day, down the east side of Italy, over to Greece, back up the west side of Italy, along the French Riviera and to Spain, where’d they visit Barcelona, Madrid and the cultural capital of Spain (not!): Ibiza. After that, they were going to Morocco for an afternoon at the beach (I did inform them that Spanish beaches were much better). From there, they’d be retuning through Spain and then going up the coast of France and make their way back to London for their return flight. Total amount of time for their European holiday: 30 days.
They must be train fanatics.
The architecture of the new Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart (opened in May 06) is quite remarkable. Photo taken on 9 July 2006.
I had no plans for last weekend (next weekend either, for that matter) and passed the time on Saturday by cycling, sitting in the sun along the Rhein and reading a book. I went to the beach again, but it had lost its allure (it’s really just a beer garden with sand and volleyball), so I didn’t stay. I ended up riding about 60km.
When I woke up on Sunday, I realised that I needed to find something to do so that I wouldn’t be bored. So, I hopped on my bike and pedalled to Bonn for the day (65km)
My first stop in Bonn was the tourist information office, where I annoyed the lady with difficult questions like whether or not Bonn has a symphony (it does, but she didn’t know that) and the size of the city (she had no clue). Just for fun, I asked if Bonn had a baseball team, and after she consulted her book about sports in Bonn, I was told that it didn’t. I then provided her with the name of the team and website. Call me picky, but I expect tourist info offices to know more than just how to get to a cathedral and other major tourist attractions. However, in Bonn, Cologne, Frankfurt and my town, they don’t. I hope these people are just volunteers, but I fear that they are paid employees.
I hopped back on my bike and rode around for a while longer, eventually making it back to the Rhein promenade. As I’ve mentioned before, the promenade along the Rhein in Bonn was wonderful for cycling. It’s quite smooth and walkers are separated from cyclists. It’s a great place to be on a sunny afternoon.
In time, I made my way back to the Rheinaue, a large leisure park that just happens to be where baseball is played. However, baseball is on break until the last weekend of July to allow the players to be able to go on holiday, I cycled around one of the lakes for a bit and then headed over to the lonely baseball fields. However, they weren’t so lonely – a Capitals game was being played. Curiously, I rode over and locked my bike.
As I was going to the bleachers (actually, cement steps that we sit on), I saw S coming towards me and we had a brief chat. I had thought that she had Cody were in Paris, but they had already returned. As I walked up to the seats, Cody was there, so we shook hands and exchanged cordialities. After asking about the game, I was told that it was the B team (minor league) so I sat down to watch. Three of the players from the major league team also play on the minor league team, which surprised me.
The rest of the flawlessly sunny afternoon was spent watching my favourite sport, drinking beer and having great conversation about baseball, life and nothing in particular – in other words, it was perfect.
After the second game was over, I hung out for a bit with some of the players for more beer and conversation. I had the opportunity to meet the other American on the (major league) team for the first time (Jason Pasma from Fresno). We had known of each other was and I had cheered him on when batting, but had never had the occasion to actually meet. He seems to be a good-natured guy that likes to have fun. It turns out that he and Cody were roommates back in the US and Cody had recommended him to the team as a shortstop before coming over last year.
Not wanting such a good day to end, I decided to ride back to the main train station instead of the Bonn-Bad Godesberg station, which was much closer. The sky was still sunny, people were still out – the weather was still absolutely splendid.
I dawdled around on my bike for a while and made it to the station for the 20h57 train – or at least that’s what time it was schedule to depart – it was fifteen minutes late departing and pulled into my town twenty minutes late. It didn’t matter though, as I was having too good of a day to let DB spoil it.
Germany definitely didn’t suck yesterday.
