MacGyver is back!

Ok, version two of this blog, which I have been putting off for two weeks. The original which was already 2000 words when it was gone was awesome and I hope this one does it justice. I am already finding it hard to find the motivation to try to fill its shoes.

Market square

So anyway, I went to Wernigerode for work on this trip in this van. We were going there to decorate many weddings in a small radius. On the way there we went to this place called Babelsberg to collect some massive candle stands. Before I got there I didn't know exactly where I was going, but it was the film park where films such as Metropolis and all other German films were made. It was quite humbling to be in the place where such an influential film was made. Anyway we picked up our gear and left the park and got on the road. You can't really drive too fast in a long van, so we had to cruise along slowly in our cramped cab with the three of us.

The castle on the hill

I was told to expect this horrible hotel when we got to the city and I had all these horrible thoughts going through my mind like rats and cockroaches everywhere and fires and what-not with mouldy food for breakfast. After I started thinking more realistically, I thought it might have been a youth hostel, which was vaguely possible. We passed a youth hostel in the city and I yelled "hey there it is!" and they just looked at me strange, so I shut up. I then started to get worried, because how could a hotel be any worse than a youth hostel?!?! Anyway we arrive at our terrible terrible horrible disgusting woeful hotel which was actually a four star beauty. We checked in and I got a bowl of fruit, a double level room, a TV and a massive bed. The breakfast was amazing too - hard times in Germany, but then again the people who told me it was horrible obviously come from toffee-nosed backgrounds...that is obvious from other contact with them. Yes sir, No sir, three bags full sir!

The Marktstrasse

We met for a glass of wine that night in one of the rooms and the dude who brought the wine along forgot his bottle opener. So he goes back to his room to get it. During this time the girl grabbed the bottle and was trying desperately to open it without a tool. She was clawing at it, using her teeth, her fingers and during this she seemed completely oblivious to my presence. It was reminiscent of a dog trying to get food out of a small box or a cat trying desperately to get a mouse of out a small hole. I always thought she might have been an alcoholic, but this was proof. When the bottle opener came, I opened the bottle and she tried to grab it out of my hands before I could pour a glass. To cool her jangled nerves, I gave her the first glass - she was happy about this!

The next day was amusing to say the least. We had to decorate this massive wedding and you will be glad to know that all the time watching MacGyver has not gone to waste. One of the more impressive capers that I got up to that day was how I got the candles to go on the candle holders because the spike that held the candle was too thick and would split the candle. Now I know what you are all thinking: I am going to make a bomb out of a shoelace and a coin like MacGyver, but this was a little bit more tame, but equally satisfying as blowing something up. So the tools for the job were:

A cordless drill

A screw

A candle

Matches

Candles

Candle holders.

So I went to work - I lit the candle, put the screw in the drill in place of a drill-bit and then heated the screw until it was very hot. I then drilled a hole in the base of the candle with the hot screw to make a deep and wide enough hole for it to sit on the candle holder. Despite being a very funny sight, it was highly effective. Cordless drill - 20EUR, Candles 4EUR, Getting the candles to go on so your work mate doesn't smash candles on the floor like a child, priceless hahaha.

Anyway, enough about work and more about the city. It is a smallish city with about 30,000 residents in it. From the way the city has been kept and the company that we shared in the hotel, I am guessing that almost all of the revenue for this city comes from American tourists who are in search of the quintessential German town. The main attractions are the town hall, old town and castle on the hill. It is also relatively close to the biggest mountain in northern Germany, the Brocken. The Brocken is 1142m high and you can find some semi-interesting information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brocken As is mentioned in the wiki, there is a lot of superstition about witches around this area and so most of the restaurants and shops have some sort of theme about them. I never got to go to the castle, but it looks nice and I got a picture of it, albeit from far away. The thing I least liked about Wernigerode was the obscene about of roadworks that were being conducted there. When I drive around in Germany I use a Mercedes A-Class 180 with a built in navigation system. Too bad the navigation was useless because of the roadworks. No matter which way the computer tried, there was a block on the road. I almost had to leave the city and come in from the other side before we could find a suitable path.