Hello to all my friends at home,
I arrived in Germany safe and sound. I've obviously found Internet access--it's in an Internet "Café" in Metzingen, in Baden-Württemberg, about 2 km from where I am staying in Riederich. I have to believe that the German economy is fuelled by Internet Café surfers who have to learn a new kezboard lazout and spend countless time hitting the backspace kez. Dammit!
My seatmates on the planes were perfectly well behaved, the most crucial seatmate (that being for the 9 hour and 26 minute flight from Calgary to Frankfurt) was a late 40s woman dressed somewhat age-inappropriately (hello, Cleavage), reading a Cosmo and dying for a cigarette, but she turned out to be pretty cool. She was on her way to spending seven months in Serbia, flying to Belgrade after her hop in Frankfurt. Must be nice to have seven months off, I think....
My aunts, or more accurately my aunt Ursel and her housemate Gerlinde, were waiting for me at the Stuttgart airport, and with a grand stroke of luck, my bicycle wasn't there. Lufthansa told me my bike was still in Frankfurt and would be delivered within 24 hours or so. What a coup! It turns out it wouldn't have fit in Gerlinde's car, anyway. Whew!
I arrived in Germany safe and sound. I've obviously found Internet access--it's in an Internet "Café" in Metzingen, in Baden-Württemberg, about 2 km from where I am staying in Riederich. I have to believe that the German economy is fuelled by Internet Café surfers who have to learn a new kezboard lazout and spend countless time hitting the backspace kez. Dammit!
My seatmates on the planes were perfectly well behaved, the most crucial seatmate (that being for the 9 hour and 26 minute flight from Calgary to Frankfurt) was a late 40s woman dressed somewhat age-inappropriately (hello, Cleavage), reading a Cosmo and dying for a cigarette, but she turned out to be pretty cool. She was on her way to spending seven months in Serbia, flying to Belgrade after her hop in Frankfurt. Must be nice to have seven months off, I think....
My aunts, or more accurately my aunt Ursel and her housemate Gerlinde, were waiting for me at the Stuttgart airport, and with a grand stroke of luck, my bicycle wasn't there. Lufthansa told me my bike was still in Frankfurt and would be delivered within 24 hours or so. What a coup! It turns out it wouldn't have fit in Gerlinde's car, anyway. Whew!
Do I miss anything yet, other than my friends? Well, suffice it to say that the air in Victoria is far better than here--Germany hasn't quite gotten to clearing public spaces of cigarette smoke (oh, man, does it hit you in the airport, and my eyes are burning a little at this terminal). Is smoking common here? When was the last time you saw a cigarette vending machine on a residential street?
Also, I will have to learn to eat sausages without cucumber relish--I don't think it exists here. My aunts have never heard of it. On the plus side, I bought my first Ritter Sport chocolate bar for about $1 Canadian. If I buy 1500 of them, I will have saved enough money to pay for my trip! The land of chocolate!
Thanks again to everyone for their kind wishes for my safe and enjoyable journey and for those who took me in when I was homeless. I hope to write again soon.
Michael Poplawski in Riederich, Baden-Württemberg
2 comments:
(Hey, Dave! It looks like we can post our bitter and twisted thoughts on Flosski's blog!)
Mike: It's Tuesday, April 17th and I have finally ridden "Phil the Wonder Bike" - ever so slowly - to work.
Imagine my surprise, when I went to load up our shared closet with my stuff and the whole bar came crashing down, given the enormous weight of your "nicht-reisen-mit-Flosski-zu-Deutschland " wardrobe that you had crammed in there.
But, we all enjoyed our "dress-up like Flosski" walk at lunch to Value Village. They were as tickled as an ocelot to receive such a great donation of assorted garments. Including the suspendies and the bras.
Blog on, dude!
John W.
Thank you, John, for the information. I mean, informations. Happy riding!
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