'Germany 2007' Archive

Field Notes: Stateside

The last post from our weeklong visit with my mother-in-law Nina in southwestern Germany:
Chicago you really know how to roll out the red carpet. After nine hours in a flying tin can, we collapsed into a cab at O’Hare on Saturday night. Minutes later we sat in a traffic jam on 94, courtesy of the [...]

Field Notes: They Got a Church in a Rock and Everything

The sixth post from our weeklong visit with my mother-in-law Nina in southwestern Germany:
We popped over to Idar-Oberstein yesterday where they got a church in a rock and you should see it.

I imagine two enterprising builders of yore sitting at the Nahe river’s edge, chewing on grass stalks and staring up at the massive cliff [...]

Field Notes: Slovenia Is My Lovely Mother

The fifth post from our weeklong visit with my mother-in-law Nina in southwestern Germany:
On a country highway several miles outside of Ruschberg stands a modest house covered with hand-painted messages, written mostly in English. The signs praise the United States and NATO; they warn enemies away from Israel; they praise peace-loving countries.
The homeowner, an older [...]

Field Notes: Storming the Castle

The fourth post from our weeklong visit with my mother-in-law Nina in southwestern Germany:
For those following along without the use of an RSS reader, I’ve posted my notes from Koln and Bonn chronologically, so skip down to the next post for the recap.
Back to the castle portion of the program:
German word of the day: Kartoffelplätzchen!
My [...]

Field Notes: Koln and Bonn

The third post from our weeklong visit with my mother-in-law Nina in southwestern Germany:
German word of the day: entshuldigung!
I could smell Germany all day. It’s like fireplace smoke and snow 24/7. I could also eat Movenpick yogurt and pretzel bread all day.
Four German cities later and I have yet to see a piece of litter. [...]

Field Notes: Day Two in Germany

The second post from our weeklong visit with my mother-in-law Nina in southwestern Germany:
German Word of the Day: Kaiserslautern!
(The German Word of the Day must be shouted, no exceptions. Hit each syllable hard for full effect.)
I’ve had some sleep and some coffee, so I’m ready to go. (Note to Unisom: you’re useless. I took you [...]

First Cup of German Joe

That’s right; I traveled 4700 miles to have Starbucks.
In my defense, it was 4am Chicago time and we hadn’t slept all night; the eight hour, overnight flight to Frankfurt was bumpy, and our seats reclined two inches (Renate’s) or not at all (mine). I just needed caffeine, even if it cost me roughly five dollars.
We [...]