Update from Germany

Things are going pretty well in the Fatherland. Two weekends ago I went to Frankfurt to visit Paperworld, and do some shopping and various touristy activities

As I had a generally positive experience last time, I decided to take the train again–first class, naturally. It was a bit nicer than second class, a bit more room, a bit better seats, and a bit fewer obnoxious children, plus I booked early and actually got the ticket for less than the price of travelling second class. Yee haw.

There is something I love about the train, something about how the iron and stone (yes, they have stone railway ties in Germany) never made the transition to plastic and silicon. Something in the tremendous power of the engines, still occasionally diesel, or even coal-powered in a few cases. Something about how the sparks fly from between the track and the wheels when a train arrives at the station. Yes, there is something very raw, and yet noble in these machines, they seem to exude an aura of courage, strength, and adventure, and there is a palpable romance in the connection to things from over a century ago. This effect is made all the more poignant by the setting of the magnificently carved stone hall that is the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, with its terrifyingly vaulted ceiling, and rusted copper statues. I really recommend visiting, if you get the chance.

I hung out at Paperworld for a good six hours on Saturday, saw the sights, took some pictures, and was offended by the Polish.

It was about 5:30 before I got to the shopping district, and 5:45 before I realized that all of the shops closed at 6:00, and about 6:15 before I found out that they were all closed on Sunday too. But I wandered around anyhow, saw a couple of interesting places to visit on a later trip: a very interesting looking gun/knife shop for Danny, et al.; the opera house; a few other shops.

Sometime around then I also began my "Quest"...

To make a long story short, I walked half way across the downtown area, and went to four McDonald's before I finally found one that served beer, but boy was it worth it. They served it in the classic wax paper cup, so I took it and my fries, and sat down. And I savoured that beer, I savoured it through a yellow and white straw.

The night went on, I tried some fried duck at a chinese restaurant with moderate food, but the best service I have ever had in my life. I found out where all the excitement happens in Frankfurt, and eventually I made it to bed.

Those were most of the highlights from Frankfurt. There were a few other things, but perhaps they would be better told in person.

Aside from that, I tried some more blood sausage. I decided to fry it over a low heat, flipping it frequently, but that didn't help at all. After a few minutes, it just erupted in the frying pan, and all that greasy, grainy, black, rank-smelling "meat" went everywhere...especially the garbage can. Last week a coworker held a welcome dinner for me, with a "Vesper", which is a local meal that involves a lot of raw meat and onions, and some blood sausage (correctly called "Blutwurst".) As you might expect, I tried it again. And I very quickly discovered something: you aren't supposed to cook it! Holy crap! It's filled with little pockets of pork fat, and when they heat up, the Blutwurst ruptures. Anyway, it actually wasn't that bad, when prepared properly. Who knew?

And in other news, I moved from the beautiful little flat 60 seconds from my office, to a house about 10 minutes away, and about 200 meters lower in altitude. I figure it will be good for my cycling training in the summer. And also, it is quite free. The family regularly hosts exchange students and the like, so they have offered me a couple of rooms in their rather monstrous, century old house, meals, and even laundry absolutely free of charge. Quite awesome.

Oh, and by the way, this week was carnival, or "Fastnacht"...more on that later.

Anyway, I think it's time for lunch.

Cheers!
Greg