Thanksgiving

It's taken a few days to get over it this year, the feast of the Thanksgiving, what with days of preparation then immediate departure on Sunday after too little sleep for yet another feast. Hard on the constitution, not to mention the waistline!

But it was good. As always.

We made our shopping list and left it with the ladies at our regular vegetable stand at the market and Thursday I picked up all that along with eggs and potatoes from the Schmidts and a turkey neck and giblets from the chicken stand. I had to walk the bike home - it was too loaded to ride!!

Friday was spent making the chestnut soup Michelle had recommended (fantastic!: here's the recipe and you should definitely try it!), making broth for the gravy, pastry for the pie, and such and so. And it started to snow. It snowed pretty much all night and in the morning the terrace was so pretty.

Yow! We had to walk to the market to get the turkey, but walking in the crunchy new snow is always fun. Besides that, there was enough stuff for a snowman!

The table was set. The guests arrived - we tickled to have Peggy and Wolfgang join us. (They were the first to arrive and the last to leave.) The turkey was served. We ate!

We had the usual turkey and cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce and fresh cranberry relish. The sweet potatoes are always a hit. We opted for green beans with roasted fennel - good but we think the brussels sprouts in all their variations are better. Pumpkin cheesecake (filling wonderful, crust soggy - gotta find a new way to do that) and pecan pie (delicious but the crust stuck to the pan - honestly! I thought I was the pie crust queen!)

But minor disasters aside, it was a great meal with great company. Next year we've voted to do it earlier in the day, take a walk and return for coffee and cake. That way, we can all enjoy the meal AND Werner and I can get in bed before 3 AM!

Sunday Day Walking

Even though we don't have full-time jobs anymore, there's still plenty enough scheduled during the week that we enjoy the weekends and the time off - expecially now since almost every weekend has some event. This was a free weekend, so today, after the usual late-Sunday-morning breakfast, we chanced the weather and drove to Meyenburg for a walk.

It's one of our favorites (see here) and walking along we came to a sign that said "Kriegesgräbstätte". Germans like to put all the nouns into one word whenever possible, so in English this is War Cemetery. We took the path through the woods and 15 minutes later came upon the site.

It is so far off the beaten path - you have to want to go there. These two huge cypress trees frame the stone memorial to fallen Russians and Serbs of World War I and II and are big enough to have been planted just after the war.

Each grave has a marker - this one for a boy of 20. We don't know why these soldiers were buried here - so far from any war front.

This plaque is at the entrance to the cemetery:

If, wanderer, you come to this place
Do not disturb the quiet and the peace.
For all who lie here deserve their rest
Since they were fated to suffer.

It seemed so appropriate, and not a little soothing, to have seen this rainbow after our walk.

Friends in High Places

We always knew Ilsemarie was special, but now it's official: she's been appointed as the Chief Judge of the State Administrative Court of Bremen. Wow. If you're a law geek and want to read about the work and responsibility of the German adminstrative courts, you can do that here.

That said, it is no small position or job. Here's the announcement that appeared in the paper today:


It says: The Long Road to Career Success
and gives info about her training (here, law school graduates decide to train to be judges - if they're good enough - and are not elected) and the steps along the way. She's only the second woman appointed to such a position here in Germany. We have a woman chancellor, but there are woefully small numbers of women in other positions of importance.

So, here's to Judge Meyer ! May you live long and prosper ! And may you be an example for lots of other women to follow.

And -- we're really looking forward to her official investiture which will take place in the historic upper hall of the Rathaus. December 2. More reports to follow!

WEEK IN REVIEW

1. Congratulations to US (A)

The spontaneous outpouring of good will, the smiles, the calls and notes of congratulations have been better than a birthday and a wonderful lead-up to Thanksgiving. When I went to the market on Tuesday, all the vendors I deal with were wishing us luck, and my Siemens group that day wanted to know if I was staying up all night (yes, and I did!). There were election parties all over Germany - one guy in Hamburg had this sentiment about Obama - however, I think Chancellors have to be German.

2. Amina's Birthday

We were back at René and Rima's to help celebrate Amina's 5th birthday. It was a nice crowd with Rima's parents, 3 of her four brothers, a sprinkle of other friends. (Monika and Lex were in Holland, so couldn't make it.) She got more things for her new room - and she was happy!

3. Kristallnacht

The Night of the Broken Glass. November 9, 1938, 70 years ago, the Nazis stood by while synagogues, Jewish businesses and private homes were burned. In our little neighborhood there's a memorial in an empty lot where a synagogue was burned to the ground on that night.

That's not vandalism on the surface of the plaque; it is symbolically made to look as if it is on broken glass. Serious services were held in Berlin and many other locations around Germany. Living with the past is an everyday event, here.

Follow the Leader

A well-beaten path does not always make the right road.

People like sheep tend to follow a leader,
occasionally in the right direction.

Sunday it was cold and rainy so we decided to take a walk on the beach. Makes perfect sense to me! We drove to the other side of the Weser to walk along the dike on our way to the beach and decided - since we had our Wellies on anyway - to march ON the dike.

Here's the evidence of why people have sayings about sheep, sheep to the slaughter, follow like sheep, etc. etc. Grass everywhere, but only one well-beaten path that the sheep follow.

Ursel's Chair

Sounds like the name of a movie, or something. But it's just a chair. Well, not JUST a chair since the chair is a family piece well over 100 years old, hand carved and irreplaceable. Unfortunately, it was covered in old-lady velvet, the shade of which was akin to spoiled meat. A new cover was demanded.

Ursel and I visited the fabric shop, found the perfect piece and then Werner and I got the chair. Yow.

It was a daunting task. I was scared to death of harming the chair and constantly fussed at Werner to "watch out!!" for anything and everything and unimagined things.

But finally it was done and done well. Ursel pronounced herself delighted! Werner and I are delighted too now that it is back home where it belongs.

Hawaii + Stuttgart

Of course Hawaii and Stuttgart have nothing in common except when cousin Tom Strickland from Hawaii (mother's cousin's son, which if I am correct makes him my 2nd cousin and is realted the same way that Hunter/Hannah/Hayden/Dylan and Rachel/Rebecca/Robin/Kelly/Daniel/Sean are related - whew!) is here visiting his friend Gila. Stuttgart was the closest major city and it was a nice terminus since we could take a short tour of the city before heading out to where we were staying.

Once again we went by train - quicker, easier, cheaper than by car. Especially easier! Sit, read, gaze out the window, snooze, stitch, eat, and let someone else do the driving.

After greeting us at the station, Gila and Tom took us to the Stuttgart old city. Germany had kings and princes in every region before it became a sort-of-united country under Bismarck in 1871. That means that before that time castles and royal residences were built all over the place in various sizes and shapes so that the various princes and kings could demonstrate how cool and rich they all were. (Sort of like the Wall Street guys before the current unpleasantness.) Stuttgart is no exception. Here's the square in front of the royal palace, now the administrative offices for the city. Quite imposing still. No one but the state can afford these places anymore.

There are lots public parks and public art. And - SURPRISE - we found a modern bronze sculpture of a pelican. Naturally, a picture with my pelican man was in order.

Here's another castle, located near our hotel. We noticed it when we took a getting-oriented walk around the neighborhood. What do you think it is? We thought: a children's playhouse, or puppet theater.

Nah. PUBLIC TOILET. How's that for German humor? It is fun to go potty in Germany!! You still have to pay, but it's only 20 cents.

The next day we visited another royal residence in nearby Ludwigsberg. This is a smaller version of Versailles, but no less impressive.

Funny, this palace had NO toilets! The last queen - an English import - had to have her potty chair carried all over the palace for her convenience. She was inconvenienced.

Over 450 rooms (but no bathrooms, remember).Royal audience room. Ballroom. Baroque gardens (shown here). Opulence.

And finally the end of opulence. After 200 years, the lace curtains finally show appropriate wear and tear. Wouldn't the original residents be appalled!?

There was a pumpkin festival on the grounds, billed as the largest in the WORLD. I don't know, but it was big enough.

Hey, some LARGE pumpkins!

They had displays of all kinds of sorts of varieties of types of pumpkins from here and there and everywhere. Some were reallly ugly. Some were of course really really really big. The theme this year was "Stars and Space" so there were displays of astrological signs and space creatures all made of pumpkins. Weird. But the pumpkin goodies were good - we tried the pumpkin quiche and pumpkin bread. Then Werner had to go back for pumpkin snack bars. We did not try the pumpkin schnapps. Next time.

On the way back to dinner (Tom made a Mexican dinner for us - really good!) we stopped to look at the vinyards. I don't think I knew that the different vines changed colors differently. It was a sight!

We had a nice visit. Even though we only met cousin Tom a year ago, he's still family and somehow that trumps all. Thanks to all ya'll for being my family.

Weekend Delight

Last Sunday was lovely - mild temperatures, sun between the clouds - perfect for a bike ride. And coincindentally there was a craft show downtown. Cool.

The Glocke (The Bell) is a concert hall in the center of town (we'll be there on the weekend before my birthday for my birthday present - a Blue Man concert!) but Sunday it was a high class market. Hats, jewelery, woods, ceramics. As you can see, we weren't the only ones there! We found a couple of things suitable for Christmas gifts.

We took the train into town so we could look at the show at then take a meandering trip home by bike. I really wanted to go by the still-in-development old Überseehafen (Foreign Port). The port has been largely filled in the last few years and they're developing a shopping/office/apartment area using the old warehouses as a base. The old warehouses are solid brick industrial buildings, but nonetheless interesting and appealing. There are lofts, apartments and lots of retail space for rent or purchase (actually, I'd love to live there myself!).

We stopped for a look, had a coffee and found this gem in the parking lot.

Wow. Wow. Shiny black beautifully restored Speedster. Wow. Wish I could take that home with me!!

Bohnen, Birnen und Speck

In English: Beans, Pears and Bacon. Somehow it's more musical in German (if you can imagine German as musical). I thought I'd written about this before, but a search didn't find anything, so I guess this is new.

We do this meal once a year and invite Werner's mother to join us - it's a reminder of old times and she loves it! It's a very traditional, down-home, country meal known here in north Germany but totally foreign in south Germany. (Sounds like grits!) This time of year there is an abundance of fresh pears and fresh green beans, so naturally folks try to find a way to put them together. Of course, there's always bacon hanging around.

This is my favorite combination of tastes: sweet, salty and smokey. If you want to try it yourself, here's the recipe:

Bohnen, Birnen und Speck 4 servings

1 pound cured bacon in slab
1 1/4 pound green beans
1 1/4 pound potatoes
8 small pears (Bergamotte if you can find them, otherwise small and firm)

1 bunch parsley
salt and pepper

Boil the bacon in water for at least an hour. Wash the beans. Peel the potatoes. Cut the blossom end from the pear. Put them all in the pot and cook for 17 minutes. Remove the bacon and slice. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with mustard if you like. (Germans like mustard with meat it seems)

It can't be easier. We cook the potatoes separately since it makes the pot a bit crowded.

Mutti and I decided that this was the best ever. We don't know why, but it was. The pears were just done, the beans were bright green and tasty, the bacon was smokey and yummy. Mutti has to be careful with her cholesterol (don't we all?) but she had her share of this.

Afterwards, we took a walk along the river and then had some coffee and cake. What a nice day.

Translation Woes

I suppose I could start a lot of these entries with that header. Sometimes I don't even see the translation errors; sometimes I've got so used to a particular misuse that it doesn't register.

The other day I needed to make a stop at the public toilet (50 cents to use) in the train station and this caught my eye:

What kind of role does the tissue want to play? The hand towel role? The wet wipe role? The ingenue role?

We'll hope it is the role of a lifetime.

Class Reunion

Last weekend Werner had a class reunion - number 47 - of his high school graduating class. The class had dinner Friday night , then Saturday we met in Fischerhude, a picture-book village close by that all of you who've visited us have seen as well! Usually the event is restricted to just class members, but a couple of us spouses tagged along on Saturday.

We met at Lotte's house, right across from the old mill, next to the stream that feeds the water wheel, home to lots of very vocal ducks! It started with high fog and a bit of cool.

Our walk through the fields and countryside took us by this rustic bench. You can see the mistiness in the background.


Not far from there was a bridge over the stream - ideal for a class photo! You can see it's not a big group; a class in those days was the group with a "homeroom" teacher, a group that took almost all their classes together and had little interaction with other classes in the school. There were 21 who graduated together in Werner's class; some have died, not all could come. One came from New York but was at his 50th middle school reunion! (We met up with him later in the week.) Another who lives in Bremen was having a reunion with Peruvians he'd participated with in an earlier exchange.

It's fun for me now to tag along - in a limited way - in these get togethers. People are always curious about the US and what's going on there and I can finally speak enough German to converse with people. I am of course the resident US expert. It's nice, too, to listen to old stories that I otherwise wouldn't hear! Besides, it was a pretty day at the end. Here, a lovely fall yellow over a thatched roof against a brilliant blue sky.

Oops

What is this? Do they do this in the USA? Maybe in some places. Unfortunately, I haven't been there in a while. Fortunately, I don't know the answer.

Oops. Werni got caught. He was driving too fast (though not REALLY fast - 70k in a 50k zone). And this is how the police catch you here. They take a picture. They send you the picture. They send you the bill! It's really hard to challenge the evidence.

But it was only 10 euros. Thank goodness.

'Tis the Season

Christmas? Not yet, but soon enough. I'm already approaching panic mode even though I really do start these next Christmas things as soon as Christmas past is past. Somehow, there's never enough time in between the time when I think I have lots of time and when time is almost up.

But that's not the season I meant anyway. I meant Election Season.

I have sometimes wondered if Europeans - and Germans in particular - follow the political events in the USA more closely than many Americans do. From my very first trip abroad from the US, I was / have been impressed by conversations among just regular folks about politics and history and current events and such. US politics was on the radar here. That hasn't changed. Except that in the last 8 years, the conversations I hear have been - how to say it - more vocal. Hum. Louder. Hum. Not very US-government friendly.

And now this election. As THE American-in-residence for almost all the Germans I know, I get asked constantly and I mean ALL THE TIME about the latest events and developments and polls and opinions regarding Obama-McCain and especially Palin. (Aware as they are, Biden is known to folks here, but his star pales in comparison to Ms. Palin. Sorry, Joe.) Though I am wont to keep up anyway, I think I pay even more attention because of all the questions I get.

Nevertheless, everyone here knows where I stand with George. And so they are not surprised at where I stand on the upcoming election.

My ballot arrived this week. I filled it in. I sent it off.

Here is my first - and last - blog comment on the upcoming election.




Vote for change.

Contrasts

It was the annual fall weekend away with Ilsemarie, Ulli, Klaus and Johanna, and this time we were off to Bochum. It's in the Ruhr valley, a sprawling indrustrial area full of coal mines and steel mills and related industries - many now defunct. Sounds like a real vacation spot, doesn't it? But it was new to us and we're still exploring Germany. And, hey, riding the train is still fun! Since 4 of the 6 of us have discount cards for the train, we can get 1st Class for pennies more than 2nd Class. That's worth a smile.

I'll spare you the image of the Marriott Courtyard where we stayed, a bit upscale and more modern than our usual digs, but everyone was impressed by the American-style amenities and the service. Staying in a charming downtown spot wasn't possible since 93% of the town was bombed to rubble during WW2.

There seemed to be limited tourist spots that were very appealing, but we finally landed on the German Mining Museum (Deutsches Bergbau Museum) in Bochum and the Villa Hügel in Essen as our major outings. I wasn't expecting much outside of good company, good food and relaxation.

Surprise!

This is the exterior of the Mining Museum with the huge - HUGE - winding tower used to work the elevators that carried the miners down and - more importantly UP - from the mines. I started to walk up from the elevator landing to the top of the tower but after one storey of looking through the mesh stairs and landings, I was sufficiently wobbly to say "enough". I'm turning into a real wimp when it comes to heights.

The exhibits included a mock-up of the underground world of the mine. Impressions: it was very dark, it must have been unbelievably NOISY and dusty / dirty, hot and claustrophobic. We saw monster machines that shaved and cut and drilled and blasted the coal. Nothing of it was inviting or appealing except that - based on the photos we saw - there was a camaraderie among the workers that must have made up for a lot. And there were the horses and ponies (and the occasional cat) who spent their entire lives underground, supplementing the machines and I imagine giving a certain normalcy to the mines

We asked each other how in the world they got these gigantic pieces of equipment so so so so far underground and we decided they must have been taken down in parts and then reassembled.

We could ask each other because THEY LET US LOOSE IN THIS PLACE ALL ALONE !!! In such situations, I'm reminded of Michelle's reaction to our visit to the bird park last year when we sat within pecking range of the giant pelicans - "they wouldn't allow this in the US - but isn't it interesting!" I suppose one of these days Germany will have to deal with lawsuits and damages, but till then we can get up close and personal with these exhibits.

Look at this: a tandem bicycle for the underground tracks.

There were above-ground activities too. No surprise, there was a festival going on that weekend, Essen am See - Essen on the Water. There was music and bratwurst and beer and crostini and sailboats. It was lovely.

Saturday we went to Essen to visit the Villa Hügel. Hügel means hill and this was the estate of the Krupp family, built - on a hill - overlooking a lovely lake.

The Krupp wealth came from steel production, so they were at the receiving end of the work done in the mines we saw the day before. Krupp Inc. also had close ties to the government (or emperor as the case may be) and provided more than a few cannon and tanks for the various wars that Germay participated in.

So, they had a lot of money and they built a really big house, not unlike the mansions of barons in England or railroad magnates in North Carolina or Coca Cola entreprenuers in Atlanta. Grand. Stone. Imposing. Beautiful. Extravagant.

Here's the group photo, all of us on on the back terrace. Pretty, sunny day.

This statue on the grounds overlooks the lake far below and is dedicated to the first Mr. Krupp. I think it is supposed to represent Fortuna but Werner thought it was the Ice Cream Queen holding 10-scoop cones in each hand!! I love ice cream; that sounds fortunate to me.

Saturdays, 7 games are played and the other 2 on Sunday. Werder Bremen was scheduled for Saturday, playing against Bayern Munich in Munich. All of you will certainly remember that Bremen-Munich is the equivalent of FSU-Florida.

The fans with us were REALLY excited when they found out that Bremen had beat the Lederhosen 5 - 2 and it had been 5 - 0 at one point and the Munich player who scored both goals was a former Bremen player so they thought the score should have been 7-0 Bremen ! Ulli showed this little sign to any and everyone on the street, in the restaurant and at the hotel !! Weren't we proud!

Two final pictures : one of a comical sculpture group in downtown Bochum illustrating the examination of a would-be university graduate who had squandered his time and talent and his parents' money but nevertheless thought he deserved a medal and a job leading the church if not the country even though he was totally unqualified. Sound familiar?

If you want to read the original poem (translated into English) you can find it here.

And here's the last picture. Our three guys, gray-haired or gray-bearded as the case may be, settling the problems of the world because THEY ALL HAVE BLUE SHIRTS. Blue rules. Without consulting each other, they all ended up wearing blue. Looked like triplets. But from different eggs.

Silly me. It was a great weekend and just as expected filled with fun and talk and relaxation and food and beer.

Oh. One last one. Don't forget the Currywurst.

Georgians

No, not your Georgia, but the one nearer to us, lately in the news for having been invaded by Russia.

These Georgians are here to attend the Jacobs University Bremen (formerly the International University Bremen until the Jacobs Foundation gave them millions and millions of euros). It took some extra time getting out of Georgia and getting here because of the unrest, delayed visas, rearranged flights and et cetera. But they made it finally last Monday. We did a lot of running around for three days - getting registered, finding rooms, moving in, shopping for food, et cetera.

Ana and Mari are delightful, both lovely and I guess really smart. They each have undergraduate degrees in physics and will be working towards a masters in biophysics here. I hope we'll stay in touch.

Here we are about to have dinner. Mari (on the left) pronounced my cooking "perfect"; that was for the dinner meals. Breakfast, they preferred Froot Loops to German müsli!

Happy Birthday, Dylan Rose

One year old today. Wish we could be there to share the day (and some cake and company), but we did send a present.

Here it is: a dress and a doll.

The fabric has little rosebuds all over - how appropriate! And the pattern was the same one I used for the dress Hannah wore to Lee and Crissy's wedding. Little connections.

Looking for a baby doll is actually harder than sewing a little dress! It has to be small enough and big enough and soft enough and sweet enough. I hope this one has enough!

I made the baby a dress (almost) like Dylan's, so they can play dress up together.

Heynitz Weekend

Maybe some of you remember the name - it's a very small village not to far from Dresden. One of Werner's fellow students in the German program at FSU is from there. Well, the family has a little castle there, actually.


View Larger Map

We've been there twice now - once for a "Gator" reunion in 2000 and then in 2005 for Beni's (Benita von Heynitz) wedding. It's a real retreat.

A rearranged class made it possible for us to leave early, so Thursday noon we headed out and stayed overnight in Lutherstadt-Eisleben. There are three "Luther" Cities in Germany - Wittenburg, where Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the cathedral door; Eisenach, where he translated the Bible from Latin to German; and Eisleben, where he was born, baptised, and died.

It's small and half-charming. The Rathaus and market square have been restored, the Luther memorials are well-preserved, but like most cities in the former east, it's half-and-half. Too many people have left so there are too many empty and run-down buildings.

No matter. Lots of interesting sites, including this sculpted over a door: "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" - but here in German (Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott).

Werner noticed we were near the town of Naumburg and said we had to go, it was SIGNIFICANT. As an Art History Person, I was embarrassed to NOT know the significance of the place. But it is - and it was a special stop. Here's one of the most famous statues: Uta. She was one of the sponsors of the construction. This was sculpted in about 1250. It looks so modern! She was lost to view for decades while those who don't know from art or religion used the whole choir as a lumber storage area.

While appreciating the sculptures and windows, a visiting women's choir group performed spontaneously: Dona Pace (Give Us Peace). How appropriate and moving.

A short stop in Freyburg where we visited another lovely church and charming town square, here the colorful door to the Town Hall, but more importantly picked up Zwiebel Kuchen (Onion Tarte) and fresh wine (Federwießer) for our appetizers.

Gotta move! We're gonna be late!

Finally we arrive in Heynitz. The old castle is above, but we stayed in the old sheep barn below that's been partially renovated and restored. Beni and Siegfried have a three-bedroom getaway, just 2+ hours from where they live.

We ate, we walked, we TALKED a lot, we picked plums, Nicole made a tart, we had a glorious relaxing time.

On the way home Sunday, we had one last bit of fun - we ran into an air show in Magdeburg when we had to stop for gas. Lots of dives and twists and old planes and noise. You can see it was a beautiful day. The cap to a beautiful weekend.