Month: March 2008

When you get beyond seeing the most freakin’ amazing gargantuan Gothic cathedral ever, you might get around to noticing the rest of Cologne. It may be in the shadow of that cathedral, but it sure isn’t dark. The city has its own version of Mardi Gras every year, except they call it Karneval and it’s…

My Mormon friends speak fondly of the time they spent on their youthful misson abroad. Around the age of 20 or so, Mormon men (and sometimes women) apply to become a missionary, and often they get sent abroad for a year or two. It’s as much a year (or two) abroad as much a mission….

As I was walking through the old city portion of Heidelberg, I came across what looked like a farmer’s market in the market square. It was like a farmer’s market, except there were only 4 stalls, 2 of which had rather sad-looking produce (at least by California standards), and one was salamis, and the other…

When in Heidelberg, you will see the Heidelberg Castle. I’m pretty sure it’s a rule. You can’t miss it, and it’s easy to get to, whether you walk up to it from the old town or take the 1-minute ride on the Bergbahn. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to take the tour at first,…

By far, the hardest thing for me to get used to in modern Germany was the graffiti. I kept telling myself it was a different sort of thing that American graffiti, more a form of expressionist glee. But I’ve lived in America too long, where graffiti is a sure omen of urban decay. To me,…

On my first full day in Heidelberg, I tackled the Philosophenweg. It’s on the other side of the Neckar River and winds up a hill to a street which gives you a beautiful view of Heidelberg. Many a romantic philosopher has taken that route, and now many a tourist follows in their steps. Peter set…

My Lufthansa seat mate was understandably proud of Germany’s technological prowess (they invented the mp3, among other things), status as a financial and political bulwark for the European Union, and its compassion and support for the down and out. The outstanding food, beautiful scenery, and dramatic, tragic history are nothing to sneer at either. But…

One of my major goals on my trip to Germany was to polish my German. It’s been nearly 25 years since I’ve had a real conversation in German, and what German I did have was understandably rusty, vaguely accented, and as I found out, a little old-fashioned. What I wanted to avoid was what I…

I happened to arrive in Germany on unofficial Let’s Mock Liechtenstein Day. As far as I could make out, Germany had just discovered that some people had been able to set up bank accounts in Liechtenstein under fake names, stick their money and avoid getting taxed on those assets. I was like, what, this is…

My Lufthansa seatmate had gone to school in Heidelberg, and he was surprised that I wasn’t going to be staying in the town, but rather in the little suburb of Dossenheim. “What’s in Dossenheim?” he asked me. “The White Rock,” I burblingly replied. “I’m going to go hiking to the White Rock.” “Well, what’s up…