Cobblestones are Evil

I've said this before, but usually it's in the context of shoes...how they ruin your heels and rapidly wear out the soles...and how they prevent me from wearing most of the cute shoes I brought with me from Texas. 

But this time it's different. Cobblestones are painful.

December has been a very interesting month, beginning with a routine walk to pick up some lunch on the last Friday in November. While crossing over to the Viktualienmarkt, I collided with a woman in such a way that her foot tripped me and sent me flying Superman-style. By some miracle I didn't hit my head or put out my hands (which at best would have made two badly sprained wrists), but instead landed flat on my chest. After a few moments of disorientation, I got up and walked home, still shaking.  I was very thankful for the calming tea the man at the Lebanese restaurant gave me while I waited for takeout. One of those small acts of kindness that really make you feel better!

Nothing was broken or cut and I didn't twist an ankle or hit my head, so nothing to worry about, right? Just a little shaken up.

A couple of hours later, I realized my neck was sore and it hurt to bend over or twist. But, it's unlikely that I could have done anything serious. I would have known if I'd really hurt anything, of course.

At this point, it's sore and hurts when I lay down or get up, but not too much when I sit still. So I still think it's probably just bruises and swelling but unlikely to be anything serious.

And so the next week I go to London for work. One night after our Christmas party, my purse is stolen. Luckily I had most important items back at the hotel, but I had my passport with me as ID. And at this point with the effort of lugging bags through the airport and the stress of having my purse stolen, I'm starting to hurt a lot more and also pretty unsure how to get back to Germany with no passport.

Thanks to a friend in another embassy, I find out how to get a temporary emergency passport, and by 1pm the next daz have a new passport in hand. Thank you, US Embassy for the excellent service!

To make the story short, by Monday I'm incredibly sick, with high fever, chills, coughing, etc. So I decide to see the doctor, which is something I usually avoid. At this point coughing is excruciating and even sitting still yields a dull ache. After a few visits to different specialists I learn a lot of new German medical words, have my first CT scan and get the diagnosis of having multiple infections and THREE fractured ribs. I really didn't think it was possible, but those cobblestones are hard.

Fast forward through 2 1/2 weeks of pretty stressful and long work hours (working from home, at least) and sickness and discomfort...I somehow met all the deadlines, got to the US, and am feeling almost normal again. Relaxing in front of a fire with a couple of dogs and football in HD is helping a lot!

Not an experience I'd like to repeat, but I feel proud of myself for having made it through the past few weeks and am enjoying a well-deserved vacation. And incredibly thankful to have someone like Herr J to take good care of me and feed me ibuprofin, vitamins, and ice cream. And to stock the fridge when I'm too sick to go out or unable to carry groceries.

And I've learned that cobblestones are lovely and quaint, but truly evil!

More Design Gifts

Tis the season for gfits... Here are a few on my wishlist. Though since the wishlist would also have to include space for them, I may have to settle for the fun of giving them as gifts.

For the eco-savvy LEGO lover (or just someone living by the German recycling rules), Italian designers Flussocreativo have created the cool LEGO-style "Leco" recycling center. Space-saving and cool-looking!

via w ooh ome

Another clever way to make use of space is Finnish designer Martina Carpelan's Kulma shelf. Kulma means corner in Finnish, and works to take advantage of either negative and positive space created by a corner.

via CMYBacon

For a smaller gift that's both clever and cute, Icelandic designer Stefán Pétur Sólveigarson's I Could Eat a Horse spaghetti measurer brings truth to that phrase. It measures pasta portions to fit child, adult, and the super hungry. (The horse-shaped measure feeds 4)

via w ooh ome

Also cute and useful in the kitchen would be Australian designer Toro Legno's Kitchen Bull. This cute guy combines a cookbook shelf with a knife holder and and a cheeseboard that pulls out of the bull's back.

I have a magnetic knife rack mounted on the wall and way too many cookbooks to fit him, but he is adorable!

via CMYBacon

For your world traveller friends, the Scratch Map is a world map that lets you use a coin to scratch off each country you've visited. And provide fodder for future travel dreams

Available from iwantoneofthose.

For those who want a little bit of creativity, the MoMa store offers Ricard Saint-Clairs Chalkboard Bud Vase. You can use it for messages or to draw your own vase.

Also from the MoMa store is this great collapsible water bottle. The difference is that this one not only rolls up into a light and portable piece of plastic, but it also stands up like a bottle while full. And comes with a mini caribiner to attach to your hiking pack.  I got one of these for Herr J when in NY last year and was very sad on our Pyrennees hiking trip that I hadn't bought one for myself also!

I'm a sucker for kitchen gadgets and clever designs!

Herr J's New Scarf

I still haven't finished the dirndl, but did take up a new hobby that:

1) Fits into my work-travel schedule,

2) Is portable, and

3) I can actually finish in a reasonable time!

KNITTING!!

It kind of started as a joke, with me asking Herr J if he wanted a scarf. He said he would wear one but didn't have one. I joked, "I'll make you one," and he replied, "I'd definitely wear it!"

And so off to the wool store I go and find some lovely wool dyed in different shades of blue, grey, brown. And some needles.

And then I consult Google and figure out how to knit. I found a pretty simple pattern for a manly scarf that was ribbed and only had knit and purl stitches - nothing too fancy.

There were some speed bumps along the way and something I did was wrong (perhaps winding the yarn the wrong direction?), but i actually liked the way it turned out. And then halfway through it started to be ribbed again. I had to figure out what I had done wrong, rip out the "right" rows, and go back to the wrong way. But, it worked and Herr J now has a warm scarf.

And of course having no experience, I bought twice as much as I should have. But I love this yarn and am making myself a girly scarf (long, ribbed, narrow, and with fringe).

The key to this is that I've been knitting on the train between Munich and Frankfurt. I'm sure it's a funny sight - the 1st class car is mostly German businessmen in suits...and one businesswoman in a suit, knitting.  But it helps to pass the time and I feel great accomplishing something.

Frozen Fog in Munich

In late November, Munich had about 2 weeks of consistent fog.  Almost every day, at least downtown or out in Neuperlach where my office sits, there was low cloud cover and a thick, cold haze all around.  I've never experienced anything like it.

At one point it got cold enough that the fog froze overnight:

At first glance you might think that it snowed, but the ground is clear and the layer of frost gets thicker as you go higher.

It created quite a photo opportunity at one of the train stations south of Munich:

Here's a close crop:  nothing on the ground, but everything the fog had condensed onto became frozen white:

Finally, at the end of November, the weather cleared up a bit, enough to see the mountains again from my office:

Of course, now the sun is setting around 4:20pm, so even during afternoon meetings it starts to feel late:

Still no snow, so it doesn't feel like Winter has really arrived, but you can see some on the peaks (two photos up).
Hopefully we get some nice storms and then the sun comes out for some good skiing.  Until then, it's still umbrella weather.

Street Artists

Remember Kurt Wenner's cool 3-D chalk art ("Anamorphic Painting," to be exact)?

There have been a few other really cool examples this year.

Planet Streetpainting's version of the Terracotta Warriors (even better, the LEGO version of the warriors!)

via w ooh me

This was from Florida's Sarasota Chalk Festival earlier this month, which had the theme "Pavement Art Through the Ages." Can't wait to see next year's art on the "Circus" theme!

A video of the making:

Another this month in Canary Wharf, by 3D Joe and Max, who are currently on a world tour. Sadly, no dates yet in Germany!

via w ooh me

Whisky Tasting - Winter Jack

Winter in Germany means many things. One of the best things is glühwein, which warms you from the inside as well as warming your hands while you hold a warm mug at the Christmas markets.

We've also been learning a bit more about whisky and trying to figure out what we like. So, when we saw this new product from Jack Daniel's, we had to give it a try. 

Jack Daniel's has carved out a good niche in Germany, and now has several types of Jack in stores here.  This winter they're promoting Winter Jack apple whisky punch. Sounded pretty good, so we grabbed a bottle at the Edeka. 

This stuff is tasty! It's very mild (around 15% Abv) and not too sweet, with nice cinnamon and clove notes. Also extremely simple to prepare. All we did was pour it in a mug and heat in the microwave. 

We were afraid it would be syrupy sweet, but they seem to have used an apple juice more to the German tastes (i.e., natural and not overly sweetened).  Definitely a good choice for a nightcap on a cold winter evening. Like warm adult apple juice! 

On another note...while Jack Daniel's certainly can't market this as medicinal, it's pretty close to the old southern cold remedy of warm Jack + honey + lemon, and so much easier to prepare!

Has anyone seen this outside of Germany? According to one British whisky store, it was created for the German market (though is beginning to be available in the UK).

Falconing experience - Part 2

This is our second post at Frau A's photoshooting experience with falcons (first blog entry is here).

Frau A's event started with a younger female falcon that had very little training experience (in the first post).  After that, Herr Schmidt & his associate brought out a second bird.  This female was a veteran flyer with trainers and guests.

The falcons travel in the car with their hoods on (first falcon is on the right, second/older one on the left):

Herr Schmidt and his associate kept the hood on the second falcon until the first was back in the car...

 

...then the trainer took the falcon's hood off and let the bird acclimate for a while on her glove:

This falcon was lighter in color than the first bird, but not nearly as fidgety - its maturity really showed.

It was another very handsome bird:

This time, we could do exercises without an attached rope and up to maybe 20+ meters in distance.
Therefore we all walked around the side of the farm house - down this path in the photograph below:

In the video you'll see the trainer take the falcon, Frau A walks away a bit, and it flies right back.  Well done:

That was quick - no hesitation like the young falcon.  And like the first bird, these two definitely got along well togther.

You'll see in the photo below (background, upper left) the trainer standing down the path, ready for the falcon.

The trainer and Frau A continued sending the falcon back & forth a few times:

Here's a video of the falcon flying to Frau A - it's cool to see the head-on view of its landing approach, wings spread.
It's also interesting that it only secures the chicken meat that Frau A was holding, and doesn't eat it immediately:

After it landed and settled on Frau A's glove, it seemed to pose for us:

The process continued - in the pictures below, the trainer (background, left) stands up the path as the falcon lands:

Here's a cropped version to better see the falcon coming in for a landing on Frau A's glove.  Very cool.

Again later,this falcon seemed to pose - it certainly has style!

I was able to catch a few fast action /sequence shots of the landing too (with Alps in the background!):

Like the first bird, it reached a stopping point (and after the treats, it's not motivatable by food anymore).
So we spent a few minutes taking some final photos with these two beautiful models and gorgeous scenery!

I could tell that this part (hint: more posts) of the birthday present was a hit with Frau A.  That smile says it all:

Actually, I'm not sure who enjoyed this falcon experience more, Frau A or myself.  I got to take some great shots of my beautiful fiancee with some cool falcons, fall colors, and the Alps.  It was a perfect afternoon in Upper Bavaria.

We eventually had to bid a final farewell to the second falcon back at the entrance to the farm house:

A special "thank you" to Herr Schmidt and his associate, and their two great falcons - we really had a nice time.