Visitor Coming, Time To Clean

Hey, it's not like we're slobs, but sometimes you let things slide when you don't have people over on a regular basis. Starting tomorrow we'll be hosting B's Mom for a couple weeks, with a number of daytrips (plus one big excursion) on tap. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some dust bunnies to wrangle.

The Song In My Head Today

Ever get struck in the shower with some random song, and it just plays in your head all day? OK, I guess I'm the only one. But just to pad this blog out share my random and eclectic tastes, I figured I'd toss these in once in a while.

Today's SIMH happens to be from German rockers Surrogat and is called "Gib Mir Alles" (Give me everything). For whatever reason, no full video or audio of this song can be easily located, so here is the short (about 1:50) version. Surrogat were a Berlin power trio that cranked out 5 albums in 9 years before heading their separate ways in 2003. This is rawk music as it should be: in-your-face and thick as paste. These guys fall roughly into the "math rock" classification and make quite the glorious racket. Yes, he sings in German, but really folks-- do you have to know the lyrics? More Surrogat info and music can be found easily enough on the interwebs, including their MySpace page with streaming audio. Enjoy.

That's German Efficiency For You

Taking a break from my workload for a minute...

I received a package today through the mail which looked very familiar. It turns out that it was the vitamin order I placed a while ago from an English company. Vitamins, supplements and medicines are extremely restricted here in Germany, and I've heard horror stories from other expats who received a nastygram in the post saying that the allergy medicine (or whatever) that was sent to them from their well-meaning relatives back home was destroyed by German customs inspectors. Because Britain is part of the 27 country European Union (EU), any orders for similar products are supposed to pass through customs with minimal--theoretically zero-- hassle. When I placed this vitamin order from the company it did not show up in the allotted time, which prompted me to contact them again... 4 days later, I received the order with the return address of this company's German subsidiary on the box and didn't really think much of it at the time (for reasons that escape me, it's actually cheaper to order the same exact products from England, even factoring in exchange rate and shipping costs). So I just received what is obviously the original order complete with mangled packaging, and the telltale German Customs adhesive tape holding it together. Good for me I guess-- I get a double order. The infuriating part? The initial order was placed on April 17-- meaning that this package has been in a warehouse somewhere for the last 5 months. On the face of it, I'm surprised that the English company is willing to deal with this sort of nonsense but I guess they consider it a cost of business.

Lockdown!

My big work project came in this morning (actually looking forward to this-- it's been a long summer), and that assignment will be followed almost immediately by family members coming over for a visit with an out-of-town jaunt with said family in the mix. Accordingly and regretfully, blogging will be sporadic for a time. Stay tuned!

Signs of September

You know it's September in Bavaria when the major department stores have their dedicated sections for Lederhosen (and its female equivalent, the Dirndl dress) front-and-center. To some, this is the standard clothing to wear to beer and folk fests, and having been to my share of these, I'd agree. With the Bacchanalian blast of Oktoberfest around the corner, the timing seems correct.



I'd also like to point out that Lederhosen are definitely NOT a German-wide thing-- it's more an Alps thing, meaning Southern Germany only (and seemingly confined to Bavaria), and the neighboring Alpine regions of Austria, Northern Italy and Lichtenstein. Most Germans outside of Bavaria find these traditional farmer's clothes appallingly hayseed, though I see them year-round in these parts. A proper standard quality Lederhosen set runs about 250 Euros, the checkered shirt another 40, plus the socks and special shoes as well. Vest is optional.

Audi-mazing

Spent the better part of yesterday in the central Bavarian city of Ingolstadt with my friend and fellow gearhead M checking out the Audi facility, and all I've got to say is "wow." It was amazing, and I strongly recommend visiting this place even if you don't give two monkeys about cars. We took the English language tour of the manufacturing facility (M-F, 11:30am; a mere 7 Euros), and we were blown away-- it was like science fiction watching steel come in one end and cars coming out the other. My lone experience with a car plant occurred decades ago as my family toured the Ford River Rouge facility, and that did little to prepare me for this tour. Almost silent production, 3 manufacturing lines going simultaneously, robots everywhere, and the place was so very clean, and right on "campus"-- as in next to the office buildings. Compare that to the Ford tour with deafening noise, disinterested workers with ciggies dangling from their lips and soot everywhere in a location far, far away from the offices and city. I wish I could have taken some photos at the plant, but cameras and camera phones were expressively verboten. Afterwards, we went to the tidy Audi Museum which was also a treat. The photo is of a very famous race car, the stunning 1937 Auto Union (a precursor to Audi) V16 Type C Streamline. This car captured many speed records in its day, and was the first to truly use aerodynamics to such an extent.

Mise-en-scène

That's been my view for the last few Friday afternoons-- a pint of Guinness and a live Australian Rules Football game on the tube at my local friendly Irish bar (I know, tough life). The Aussie Rules match is live, which means that it airs in Germany starting roughly at 11:30am local time. While ESPN UK (which every self-respecting English and Irish bar in Europe carries) airs other "footy" matches throughout the weekend, there is no way I can see them at the pub-- not with all of the rabid soccer fans who want to see their matches. The Aussie Rules season is also winding down: the Grand Final (their version of the Super Bowl) is September 25th. For any local readers who want to check out this amazing sport, I'm trying to put together a Grand Final viewing party at the pub-- this shout-out also goes to all the early risers too: The Grand Final airs live-- at 6:30am local time.

Leper House

A building known today as the Wienstadel (wine store) originally built in 1446. It was originally to house people suffering from leprosy who were allowed to visit the city for 3 days during Holy Week. From 1571, it was a wine store (hence the name), and changed its purposes throughout the years. These days, this building is a youth hostel. Taken at night; Pegnitz River to the right.

Timber Frame House

Not terribly uncommon in Europe, old houses and buildings are constantly being refurb'd to accommodate electricity, satellite TV and internet. This building is hard to date, and could be circa anywheres from the 1500's to the 1700's. It currently houses a business that makes paper silhouettes of things (usually people). Note how narrow it is-- about as wide as the car in front is long. Irrerstraße.