Hotel Hasselberg Kaiserslautern

... one must first ask before ordering. This is an important lesson to learn while traveling in Europe. Another important lesson to learn is that not everyone speaks English, and even if they do, many do not appreciate being spoken to in English without first asking politely if they do indeed know the language. “Kre-DEET-car-ten okay?”, I asked. Even that got a confused look and a visit from the manager. I do know that phrase usually works, by the way. We ...

... morning. But this morning the sun was out in full force, cutting ribbons of warmth through the frosty air, and caressing my head and neck (the rest of me was covered). I remember to bring my camera (as opposed to my camera-phone) with me so I could capture the experience for later days. You can see the results below. This is where I live.

... with the animals until sometime on Saturday.

Today I signed up for the Mountaineer Gym, a big exercise center on post. I see they have yoga class for FREE!!! so you'd better believe I'll be doing that. Lots of good classes for free. Okay, back to the dissertation. Enjoy the photos!

... graham cracker crust) to bring over to our landlord's house. Hannah is her name and she is our nextdoor neighbor in addition to our landlord. Slight of build and very friendly, Hannah lives alone but has frequent company. When I showed up with the Heidelbeeren Pie (blueberry pie) she invited me in to enjoy it with her and her daughter, who was asleep on the couch with her little dog, Bobby. "Eating and sleeping on a Sunday ...

Tracy and I are going to buy some gorgeous pieces of furniture during the next three years. Of that we are almost certain. It pains us now to see so many beautifully crafted antiques (book shelves, schrunks (armories), desks, tables, etc.) and know that they're out of our reach for now. The pieces you see pictured here were all somewhere between $1,300-$3,000, but honestly worth every penny.

This morning Tracy and I met DeAnna and Andrew at a bazaar near Ramstein AFB ...

... kleine Dinge, auf die ich während der Reisevorbereitungen gestoßen bin oder aufmerksam gemacht wurde. Ich vermute mal, dass ich während meinem Trip noch sehr viel mehr dazu lernen werde!!

- auch wenn ich mir furchtbar drauf gefreut habe und es der erste Höhepunkt meiner Reise hätte werden sollen: das Seattle Grace Hospital (Fans von Grey's Anatomy wissen, wovon ich spreche) werde ich nicht sehen. Das Krankenhausschild wurde lediglich an irgendein Gebäude drangeschraubt. Was ich ...

... an hour. When I go to these kinds of carwashes I get it all done in about five minutes because that is all you really need if you know what you want to do. He sprayed it down for a long time, then soaped it, then rinsed it, then polished the wheels, then rinsed it, the soaped it, then rinsed it - I have no idea why he didn't do it in a more efficient order, but I don't think he had too much going on upstairs. From my vantage point 50m away I could hear him screaming at ...

My last entry was one of horrible despair and disappointment. This time is in stark contrast: I have come back on the level and I have done my first properly payed work in Germany. For the five days following the world cup loss, I sat around at Alex's house doing basically nothing, but sit on the couch and contemplate what I would do next. The longer I waited, the more comfortable I became doing nothing. I was slipping into a lovely little rut of ...

... 100,000 people that has a 45,000 seat stadium and supports a 1st division German team. We made the 4 1/2 hour drive down early on the day of the game (Monday the 26th). Since Kaiserslautern is so small the closest hotel we could find was 30 miles away. We arrived in town, picked up our tickets and found a parking garage by 11:30 for a 5pm game. When we exited the garage we realized we were smack in the middle of the Australian pre-game party ...

... it. Partied on in the square till late in the night, then on to a bar with a couple of friendly locals. The locals here love Aussies, with many of them donning Socceroos jerseys and carrying "Waltzing Matilda" hymnsheets. We went to a pub with a local American and his German wife and were introduced to the "metre of beer" phenomenon [see photo]. All in all a great day out, spoiled only by the result in the football. Slept late the next day and hung around by the lake, mourning our loss