Billard mit Nadja und Mario: 15.5.2014

This morning I got a text from Nadja.  “Spontanitätscheck: Hast du Lust heute dein Frühstück zum Abendessen zu machen? Danach könnten wir ja ggf. Billard spielen gehen. Was meinst du?”

I used google translate and got this: “Spontanitätscheck: Do you feel like today to make your breakfast for dinner? Then we could even possibly go play billiards. What do you mean?”

When I first read it I thought she wanted to make me breakfast or dinner. Not just me, but a few of us who had gone out to the museum night in Frankfurt. Once I confirmed with her, she cleared it up. We’ll do that some other time because she said she needs to clean her place before she has guests over. Instead, we just went and played pool for a while (almost 3 hrs.)

We invited Aniol, Sam, Lauren, Aina, and Andras, but only Mario showed up. Nadja invited him. I don’t know Mario, but he’s a part of the Buddy program for exchange students. Nadja looked a bit more girly today compared to Saturday night at the museum. Maybe I just noticed the makeup and the missing glasses. She and I played 3 games before Mario showed up. I won all 3. Booya. She beat me once at ping pong which she remains skeptical about. She thinks I let her win even though I keep telling her I’d never do that. I should have been doing homework, as I’m way behind on making mockups and decisions. I’ll get to it, but I didn’t want to pass up hanging out with Nadja and playing pool. It’s a distraction. I know. But it’s social time, and it’s good for me. The discussions were simple and the vibe was super mellow. Mario is better than me at pool, but I still managed to win a game. After a few rounds of straight pool, we switched it up to knock-out where we play together trying to hit everyone else’s balls in while keeping our 5 in play. I won one of those games too. We also played 9 ball. With three of us, I wanted to make sure we all kept playing. Our skills started to deteriorate toward the end anyway. It’s like golf. I’m not bad for the first 9, but the back 9 go to shit really quick. They were teaching me phrases in German, but I can’t remember them now. One was about making multiple balls in a row. Another the German phrase or Piece Of Cake. Of course, I can’t remember them now. Sorry

I needed a drink, so I asked Nadja and Mario what Almdudler is. I saw it on the soft drink menue and of course had to ask what it is. It’s not American, so I wanted to try it. Mario said it’s a swiss drink. It’s like lemonade with spices, and it looks like apple juice. I bought some anyway. It’s not bad. It’s a bit different than I expected, and it’s not as sweet as the usual soda which made me happy.

Almdudler is the brand name of a popular Austrian soft drink. It was developed in 1957 by Erwin Klein, who derived the name from the then-common phrase auf der Alm dudeln, which means "singing in the (alpine) meadows". The drink was originally created and marketed as an alternative to alcoholic beverages or as a mixer for alcoholic drinks.

The original Almdudler is a sweetened carbonated beverage made of grape and apple juice concentrates flavored with herbs. Its flavor is similar to ginger ale or elderflower cordial, but with a somewhat fruitier and more bitter flavor. Almdudler has been called the "national drink of Austria".

 

After Mario left for his date with his girlfriend, Nadja and I began another game but didn’t finish. After my amazingly shitty brake, I notice the sun was going down and it was really beautiful behind the rain clouds. I mentioned that it would be an awesome sunset. The sun had been trading places with the rain clouds all day which makes for awesome light shows. God rays were shooting through holes in the clouds as the sun went down, and I was glad to see it. They call rainy weather here “Sauwetter” which translates to pig weather. (sau like in ouch. Wetter but the w is pronounced like a v.) Nadja had been wanting to show me Kilimanjaro, which is a small hill by Karlshof which has good views of the city. She asked how much time we have before sunset, and I estimated 15 minutes. Our enthusiasm for pool had been waning, so we called it quits, packed up our coats, paid the bill, and ran down the 6 flights of stairs that smelled like an automotive tire store.

We pedaled to the hill and arrived just as the sun went down. Rain clouds on the horizon killed the light show, but the view was still nice. The city fair is going on now, so the Ferris wheel and spinny-swing-ride-thing were lit up. I could also look east and see Mathildenhöhe lit up. It was a cool sight as the sky turned dark blue with rain clouds above and the blur of rain falling in the distance. I put my rain jacked down on the wet grass and we sat down to chat. Topics: sexism, gender stereotypes, giving flowers, racism, crazy hair styles. It was deep, and not the conversation I expected. As the coordinator for incoming exchange students, I wasn’t sure if she would keep some distance. I guess not. We’ve been climbing together with Aniol, Aina, and András. I think it’s safe to say now that we’re on a friend level not student-professional (not professor, but something at that level.) It was feeling like a date, but that wasn’t the initial intention. We were on a hill, looking out at the city after the sun went down, sitting on my jacket in the wet grass. I kept telling myself it wasn’t a date, but my mind goes there anyway.

 

(side note: I’m rocking out to Escape The Fate: Dying Is Your Latest Fashion. I love this album.)

 

It was getting cold, dark, and rain was beginning to fall in little spurts. She led me down the back side of the hill which was awesome. The trail went straight down the hillside, and it was a bit steep. Amelia, my bike, is NOT made for that at all. The trail was wet and slippery. My tires don’t have much tread. I have foot brakes for the back, and a normal brake for the front. The ride down was mostly a survival skid in the dark with my shitty front light providing just enough illumination to point my way. I enjoyed it immensely. Nadja walked her bike down it. I’m not surprised because she showed me her brakes and they don’t work well with all the grime built up on her rims. (I checked her bike over, and it needs to be cleaned big times. She lubes her chain, but never cleans it so junk has clogged up her derailleur and pulleys. I told to clean it. The bike lover in me took over as I gave her bike a once-over.)

 

We didn’t take the paved road the whole way back to my flat either. She led me along the train tracks behind a soccer field. It wasn’t much of a trail. It was grassy, bumpy, dark, and fun. I just followed her because I had no idea where I was going. I’d been to the beginning of the trail and turned around because I thought it was over. This night she led me down the dark path and I laughed at the shenanigans. Nadja likes reversing gender roles, so she really wanted to take me home. I went with it. If the girl wants to do it her way, I won’t stop her. I joked that she was taking me down a dangerous dark path; something that if the roles were reversed, would surly cause panic in your average girly girl.

 

Once we made it back to the wet pavement and safety of street lights, she asked if I had eaten dinner and mentioned that she wished she had eaten that apple at work.

“Would you like to come up? I can make you some food really quick.”

“Yes, I’d like that.”

Hmm, what to make for her… Salad? Cereal? No… BREAKFAST BURRITO! I’d just bought eggs and tortillas, so I had the basics for a decent burrito. Once we got inside and took our shoes off, I offered her tea. Again, offering tea was received with a smile. I think I’ll keep a supply of tea on had from now on. That and breakfast burrito supplies. She really like the burrito. It was super basic and quick; eggs, green pepper, tomato, slice of butter cheese, and some habanero jam. It was her first time having habanero jam, and she thought it was delicious. It’s a different concept that she had never seen before. I’m really hitting homeruns with these breakfast burritos and chai tea. The habanero jam has also been a hit.

 

We’ve parted ways multiple times since we’ve met, and it’s always been a simple wave goodbye. From her learnings, she knows Americans are usually less physical with greetings and interactions. Much unlike Greeks who are touchy and really close. In my experience though, handshakes are the go-to for guys, and hugs for the girls. However, this time we hugged goodbye. It’s probably nothing, but it’s a change in actions so I noticed it. Once back inside, Dimi was giving me a hard time that it was a date. I told him it wasn’t, but once I told him what we did, he held firm that it was a date. Who knows.. Either way, I had a good time. We didn’t kiss goodbye, so it’s not a date.. (as if that was ever a legit way of confirming date status.)

7.5.14 Breakfast For Dinner

I’ve had dinner at Sam’s where András cooked Hungarian pizza, then again at András’ flat for Hungarian chicken wraps. I had mentioned making dinner for everyone, so now was the time. When thinking of what to cook for dinner I was having trouble coming up with ideas. What is a good American meal to cook for everyone? Enchiladas are easy and good, but that’s Mexican and I don’t have an oven. Lentils and veggies? I like that, but others won’t be so thrilled. Thai curry sweet potato soup and veggies? Again, I was super stoked on it when I first made it on a whim, but it’s not American and I don’t know if others will like it. What am I good at? BREAKFAST! Duh! Pancakes would be awesome, but better yet; BREAKFAST BURRITOS! Hell ya. Decision made. Done. Send out the invites.

The floors were still a horrible mess in my flat. It hasn’t been mopped since I moved in, and probably wasn’t for a long time before. Instead of waiting for Dimi to borrow a mop from his friend, I took action and washed the floor on my knees with a small towel and sponge. It took some work, but I got it done in two sessions; Tuesday morning after the others went to school and work, and after school today before cooking. You can imagine how nasty the water was. You could see dirt swirls where someone did a half-ass job at wiping up beer. I found gum on the floor. I scraped up a dirt chunk by the stairs that was covered in dust bunny fir just bigger than a silver dollar. Ya. Gross. But, I got it done and am much more relaxed about bringing people here to a “cleaner” space.

I had purchased a bag of potatoes, bananas, two packs of bacon (each two slices ¼” thick,) sliced cheese (Gouda and black pepper & chili,) two packs of tortillas, and 10 more eggs. They don’t sell eggs by the dozen. Is that weird, or is it weird that we sell them in packs of 12? I had some ingredients already, so the food costs really wasn’t bad at all to feed the 7 of us. Oh, I also bought ingredients to make salsa. I love my salsa. It’s not like the Pace Picante sauce I like back home, but it’s delicious in its own way.

Burrito Checklist

Scrambled eggs with a dash of milk

Chopped bacon

3 kinds of sliced cheese

Red and Yellow bell peppers

Chopped potatoes fried in the bacon grease with onion

Homemade salsa

They really liked it. I got a couple compliments on the salsa. András had never had this so he didn’t even know how to put the ingredients together. I can image it would be tough to figure out the correct ratio of ingredients when all laid out like that. I made the first one for him. Rita was stoked to see bacon and cheese. I was going to ixnay the bacon because I don’t normally eat it, but I thought I should go legit with these. Not ham: straight to bacon. ‘Merica. Good thing I did. It really does take the breakfast burrito to another level.

I left the ingredients on the stove and counter top to keep it warm and lay it out assembly style which worked out wonderfully. We sat in the living room on the couches with plates on our laps, talked, and listened to music through my flat’s surround sound stereo. The day started out gloomy with rain threatening to start dumping. It did. It dumped like the dickens, but only for a couple short bursts. The weather was nice during dinner so for our second round of burritos, we ate outside. It was a bit chilly, but we sat out there anyway. I offered everyone chai tea, and it was graciously accepted. Aina had mentioned that she really liked it and only discovered it once in Germany, so she jumped on the offer and raised her hand and smiled immediately. It felt odd asking if anyone would like tea. It is not a phrase I use often. I’m not sure I’ve ever said it. Aniol enlightened me that a dash of milk in tea is called a cloud due to its visual effect when poured into a hot cup of tea. Ok. I learned something today. I put honey in it too. It’s good. Try it.

The evening was a success. Food was consumed. Hardly any leftovers remained. Nobody spilled anything on my newly cleaned floor. A good time was had by all. Aniol and Aina left their remaining orange juice. And I can now take my time cleaning the dishes.

Next time: fire at the lake and s’mores.

May 1: “International Workers’ Day” “Erster Mai” “Tag der Arbeit”

Timone told Sam and Lauren about the Erter Mai celebration in Heidelberg that sounded fun, but had a risk. It starts Wednesday night up on a hill in Heidelberg where people have fires and generally hang out and bbq the whole night. It takes place at Heiligenberganlage, which is an old Nazi theater. It was built during the time of National Socialism by an architect from the Reich Labor Service and Heidelberg students.

Back to the risk; It starts at night, is a long walk from the train station on top of a hill, and the last train leaves at 11:30pm. The next train leaves at 5:30 am. If you miss the 11:30 train, you’re looking at a very uncomfortable night.

We left at 7:30 and arrived at around 8:30. It took us one and a half hours to get to the site. By that time, we would have had to turn right around and head to the train station. We didn’t want to do that so we figured we’d hang out for a bit and take the 1:30 train. (That mythical 1:30 train was somehow Lauren’s idea. She was wrong.) The walk was really awesome. Once across the Neckar river, we were no longer in Hessen, and we began our hike up the mountain. The sun was long gone, and we had an awesome view of Heidelberg Castle. It was lit up and looked massive. I’ll have to go back and check it out during the day. We were navigating by way of Lauren’s (sometimes false) confidence that she knew the way, and a cell phone photo of the map at the train station. While we paused on the bridge taking in the beauty of a rainy night lit by a large city, I asked a guy on a bike if he knew the way to Philosopher’s Trail. In German: Philosophenweg.”

Images found online. That circle in the middle where the big fire was. People were set up all up and down these steps. Safety personel were there too in case of emergency. While we were at the beer garden, an ambulance drove off twice. I hope it wasn't anything too serious.

We followed his directions, and then decided to simply follow the groups of people heading in that direction. They had backpacks with what I assume is food and/or beer. I wish we had brought more food. We joined the herd and hiked up the mountain on a paved road that faded to an access road. In the dark, there was still no need for flashlights because the cloud cover reflected the city lights and provided just enough light to navigate the trail under the tree cover. Mostly, it was follow the people in front of you. We heard English a few times on the way up which is now not surprising. I guess the three of us aren’t the only Americans in Germany. Especially in a big city like Heidelberg, and on a night of celebration with hundreds of young adults.

We arrived to an amazing sight. The theater was full of people. There was a big bonfire front and center. A drum circle was providing the soundtrack for the night. People all the way up the steps had set up BBQs and looked like they were ready to spend a long time there. A couple groups had tents (smart idea.) Candles and small torches lit up the theater with a yellow glow. Nobody had lanterns or bright flashlights. The theme here is fire, and food. We found a spot to rest and take in the sights. Sam and Lauren popped open a bottle of wine and passed me a honey waffle. I took a few sips of their cheap red wine and relaxed. Yep, I drank MORE than one tiny sip of wine.

I found this image online. Mine didn't look this cool, and there weren't this many people because it was raining. You get the idea though.

It began to rain as we sat there talking about how awesome this was. We need things like this in the States. Maybe there are, but I don’t know about them. I put on my rain jacket, and passed my umbrella to Lauren who had forgotten a rain jacket. It had been raining on and off for the past few days, so I was expecting this. We took a lap around the whole area to see what people were up to. Mostly people had set up small portable BBQs and were cooking small bits of meat. (I really wish I had stopped and bought a döner in town. Döner is a Turkish flatbread filled with meat and veges that originates in Berlin) We made our way all the way to the top, said “wow,” and headed back down to the main fire. It was super hot near the fire and the rain was no longer noticeable. The drum circle was thumping, some people were dancing, and I could only think that Kirky would love this.

With no food, no drinks besides wine, and only one umbrella, we decided to turn back and retire to the Biergarten for a while. I bought Kartoffelsoupe und Brotchen for 4 € and was very thankful for the warmth. The crowd at the covered Biergarten was growing due to the increasing rainfall. We were now squished between people so I tried to make friends.

An older gentleman was to my left and he had his two kids with him across the table. I asked him if he had walked up the mountain, and he replied that he did. A few short sentences later I was completely lost and couldn’t continue in German. I hate not being able to hold a conversation, but I also hate studying. Such a pickle! Sam jumped in a continued on with me awkwardly in the middle. With the noise level they had to lean toward each other to talk. I don’t know why I didn’t move. I should have.

By the time we left and arrived back at the train station it was 1:30 and the late train Lauren said might be available was definitely not. We were f*ed. It was either wait 3 hours and pay 30 Euros for a ticket on the ICE, or wait 4 hours and take the free train home. After a few bouts of frustration, slight anger, and regret, we accepted the fact that we were going to have to spend the next 4 hours at the train station. I tried to sleep on a bench with no success. It was cold and uncomfortable. Duh, it’s a train station not a Motel 6. Later we moved to another wing where it was closer and I pulled out my Frisbee to kill time. Sam and I tossed it back and forth for a while. Sam hit the wall, the ceiling, the ground, and the lockers. If it was near us, he nailed it with the Frisbee. He hit a homeless guy with an erratic throw that I didn’t catch. He was walking by and had some unlucky timing.

I didn’t get home the next day until around 8:30. I ended up sleeping through the holiday where you’re supposed to go outside and have fun instead of working. Oh well. I made a decision to go, and suffered the consequence. I’m still glad I went and saw that. I don’t think I missed anything by going.

Darmstädter Tage der Fotografie & Dinner: 27.4.2014

27.4.14

Today, I went on a photography gallery tour with Christina and Evangelos (from Greece.) It was a rainy Sunday, so not many people were out which made it nice and quiet. There were galleries spread out across town hosting small photography exhibits, so with a map in hand, we started cruising. Our first gallery was in a small room at Schloss in the town center. The artist was there and answered our questions about subject matter and his chosen process. I had to ask. When you see stuff like that, it’s hard not to.

Photos by Hendrik Faure. Somone found that dead cat and gave it to him. 

*Photogravure is an intaglio photo-mechanical or printmaking process whereby a copper plate is coated with a light-sensitive gelatin tissue which had been exposed to a film positive. The plate is then etched and printed by hand. These high quality intaglio prints reproduce the detail and continuous tones of a photograph and are popular for their long established permanence and richness.

The plate can be re-inked for another impression, however Faure only produces eight impressions of each image.

Christina, Evangelos and I saw maybe 5 exhibits around Schloss then we parted ways. I headed north to Mathildenhohe to see more. A really cool piece I saw was a large print that had been burned. I’m not sure how though. Maybe it was put in a commercial pizza oven because the print was taller than me. I don’t know much about the process, or if there was an image to start with. I just know I liked the finished product.

 Work by Daniel T. Braun. With a title like Rocketogram, I think he lit rockets on photopaper and was left with images like this. The first one I saw in person, obviously, but the second two I found on his website. I really dig his work.

One really neat exhibit was by a German guy telling a fake story of how the American moon landing was faked. He had photos that looked old, put it into a book with written explanations of each hoax, and made it all very convincing. I asked him about it, and he was happy to show me the English version. He said his uncle was part of the team at NASA who divulged all the hidden secrets. The moon photos? Actually they were macro shots of the hood of an old car with deteriorating paint. According to the artist at the exhibit, the team on the moon had forgotten the camera cable, so a team back on Earth had to recreate the images. The famous man on the moon shot? Actually it’s a guy in a bee suit against a black backdrop. Some creative processing was all it took to make it look like he’s in a space suit on the moon.

In truth, the artist made up the whole thing. It was a hoax hoax. I got a good laugh at how this guy had created a whole story to prove the hoax. He knew it was all bullshit, and had fun doing it. His “uncle” in the photos is actually his brother. Classic!

That evening I went to Andras’ flat for a group dinner because his girlfriend was in town. I was doing laundry leading up to the dinner, and I would just finish in time to take my clothes from the drier to my flat then walk to Andras’ flat. Luckily he lives in Karlshof too. Problem: I had forgotten to hit start on the machine and all my clothes were still wet. FUCK! I only had 20 minutes left on the machine so I hit start and ran to Andras’. Sam, Lauren, Aniol, his girlfriend, and a girl named Helena were already there. I was only a few minutes late and food was just about to be served.

Andras had made chicken and spread out some veges and a yogurt sauce to make wraps. Yahoo! Something in a tortilla! When the first tortilla was warm and ready, it was passed around being offered to everyone. Nobody would take it, and it went around the whole circle. As soon as someone said my name, I jumped on it. Hell ya, I’ll eat first! If everyone else was going to be too polite, I can’t let a warm tortilla go to waste. Someone as to go first and start eating, so why not me? Once I began, it was easy for the rest to begin eating and passing the tortillas around.

It was nice to eat something that tasted light and fresh. Sliced tomatos, cucumber, peppers, lettuce, cheese, chicken, sauce. I ate 3 wraps and some rice. We talked about music, language, vacations, being a tourist, and food. Andras may be from Hungary, but he has a musical taste similar to mine. I recognized many of his songs. He had his iTunes music playing on shuffle, and it had music from a few years ago. Unlike me, he doesn’t purchase much music because the online radio streaming services are so easy and many are free. While I’m here, I listen to Spotify like crazy because all my music is on my Mac back home. I am very thankful to have Shreddin’ Cheryl’s iPod with me. It’s my source of music that I can count on, even if it is not my whole library.

16k Run & Redneck Zombies: 27.4.14

Yesterday I ran a 16k race with Aniol and Avorado (both from Spain.) I’ve been running a few times to stay in shape, but not with any elevation gain. Most runs are in the 5-7k range on level ground. My last training run was at Mathildenhohe. I did repeats by running from the bottom of the park to the top and used the way down as recovery. It’s the closest hill around and I did put in some good effort. The Frankenstein Lauf was 16 km up a mountain with 398 meters (1,276 feet) of elevation gain. We started the first couple kilometers together, but I slowly pulled ahead.

Aniol and Avorado have been training too. Avorado more than both Aniol and I. I think I just push it harder and can’t resist going fast when it’s race time. I was never sure if I wanted to stick with them no matter the pace, or do my own thing and race. I ended up only 4 minutes ahead of Avorado and 9 minutes in front of Aniol. I wasn’t sure how far back they were by the end, but I knew they weren’t far behind at the half way point when I saw them just after the turn-around point. I had a blast. It was a big effort, and the scenery was awesome. Running on trails and a short section of single track made for a very enjoyable race; even though I was running past my comfort zone. With each marker of the completed distance, I was fueled even more. With 4 km left, I was really wishing I had brought some gels. The water stations were nice, but I was putting out more effort than water could replace. They had a sports drink, but it’s unwise to drink it without knowing how your body will react. I did drink a little of it at the first aid station to test it, but I passed it up for the remainder of the race.

Post-race I had more than my share of half bananas and a couple apples. I was really hoping from some bread or other carbs, but the only other options were the baked goods and sausage sandwiches for purchase near the spectator hangout. Luckily I had brought some KIND bars, Cashew Clusters, and Powerberries from home. During the awards ceremony, I knew I hadn’t won, but I couldn’t help but anticipate my name being called. No matter what, I am always hoping to hear my name called. 8^th place isn’t bad, but I want to win stuff. I’m competitive. I can’t help it. None of us won in the raffle either.

Johnny Flesh and the Redneck Zombies

After running 16k that afternoon, I wasn’t sure I was really feeling like a late night on my feet. Hell, I’m only here for a few months, so I better make the best of it! (That attitude doesn’t always survive my blue moods. That’s another story.) The ticket was only 6€, and the bike ride is super easy. I arrived on time, but the show didn’t start for another hour. It was at a bar that hosts live music weekly in the main bar area, but also has two other rooms for concerts.

While waiting, I just watched what few people were there mill about drinking bear and playing on their phones. I was tempted to play solitaire, but I held back. I wanted to keep my eyes up and watch the scene. I sent Aniol a message to see if he wanted to join me. I sat around, walked around, and went pee. Just as the show was about to start, Aniol showed up. Yahoo! A buddy.

The music was good. It was nice to see local bands even if the crowd was small. The bands must have had friends in the crowd, because there were a couple hecklers, but it was all in good fun. The bands had fun, and even joked a bit when they made mistakes. Starting a song over a couple times may frustrate other people, but I enjoy those moments. It shows some personality by how they handle it. The crowd didn’t care either. One guy yelled something, then the band got going again like it was no big deal.

The second band, King Moron, had a member from Boston. The singer mistakenly said, “Moscow” which turned into a running joke between songs. Now he’s from “Boscow.” They sounded really good, I recognized a few cover songs. They played a song I know from Lars Frederiksen and The Bastards. Blitzkrieg Pop by The Ramones was played really fast with the usual rock-a-billy style. I bobbed around and really got into it. Aniol seemed to enjoy it too.

Johnny Flesh played last. Someone joked about them being called “Johnny Fleisch.” Fleisch, pronounced fl-eye-sh, means meat in German. They were dressed like hillbillies, the stand-up bass reminded me of The General Lee from Dukes of Hazard with the stars and bars painted on it. Their lyrics were about getting drunk and went along with the hillbilly vibe. Aniol didn’t know what that term meant, and I tried to explain it. I told him a hillbilly is one who is less educated, likes beer, big trucks, mud, flannel shirts, old rock n roll, and had a thick southern accent. Try explaining a hillbilly to someone from Spain. It was harder than I thought.

Randoms: 19.4.14

 I went shopping and found a sweet mask. I almost bought it. Instead I purchased an new Aerobe frisbee.

I stopped in the park to hang out for a while. I saw a slackline so I went over and asked to get on it. The girl got off quickly, didn't say much, and left me alone for a while. It was nice to do it for a bit and not think of anything besides balancing.  A bit later a couple girls came over and I had a short conversation with them in German. It was about working and school, so I caught just enough of the vocabulary to understand the general idea.  It was a birthday for one of the guys and they had music, food, beer, and games. Seeing people playing drinking games in the park is not something you'd see in the U.S. I guess blasting music in the park is a bit unusual too, but here it's common for groups to bring stereos and rock out in the park. They had Billy Talent playing at one point so I was grateful for the tunes.

I rode my bike out of town to explore a bike path I had seen a few days before. The road between Darmstadt and Dieburg has a sidewalk separated by some grass from the street so it's really nice to ride and it feels safe. The first lake I got to was full of families having BBQs and generally having fun. The lake has paddle boats too which looks fun, but only for 20 minutes or so. It's a small lake; maybe a few hundred yards long. This lake, pictured above, is a few kilometers past the first lake. Fewer people hang out here which made it nice and quiet. I threw the frisbee around for a while, and when I got back to my bike I saw a naked couple enjoying the sun. I hopped on my bike to pedal home and then saw a naked guy walking along the lake. It turns out this is the nude lake. When I told Rita I saw naked people at a lake, she knew exactly where I was. I guess you have to learn some things on your own in a new town. Nobody is going to divulge this kind of information without being directly asked. That's cool. Now I know.

 Another show at the Oetinger Villa. This band is from Italy and they were awesome. The drummer was the main man and was killing it the whole time. There was no singing except for some samples, so it was a set of non stop rhythm. I like watching drummers the most at any show, and this guy did not disappoint.

I shouldn't leave this duo out. I fist saw this guy playing his bass and singing into a carrot in Ludwigplatz next to Mc. Donnalds. I think I posted a pic of him a while back. I'm not sure what I would call this type of music. The concert poster said Einfach nur Weiß's Rock. I don't see how that is a description, but judge for yourself. It was entertaining for sure. 5€. Smokin' deal.

This is from another day. I was reading Congo and watching the sun go down at Mathildenhohe. I found a nice spot on the grass and some ducks came over to say hello. They were kind, and just observed me for a bit, then waddled off without incident. These rascals weren't shy at all.

Thoghts: 18.4.14

I’m falling into old habits. I’m becoming reclusive. I’m disappointed in myself for not planning trips for this week off. Sam and Lauren headed to Bavaria to explore the region, and eat dinner at the famous Hofbräuhaus. They’re traveling for 5 days and checking out cool spots. Mac and some other guys rented a car to go to Amsterdam and a few other places. I had almost bought a ticket to Stockholm, Sweden but wussed out because I couldn’t get any solid confirmation from Kayleigh who is living in the area. I should have bought the ticket anyway and explored on my own. The ticket was 93 €. When I checked again recently, the price had jumped to over 200 €.

I’m home, wasting time on the computer. Watching videos on pinkbike.com, catching up on stupid TV shows, and reading articles on Outside.com. I should be doing research, sketching, and planning my timelines for projects. Nope. I waste a lot of time. Not socializing. Not partying. Not getting out with people. It needs to change, but it probably won’t. It’s what I do. I do my thing, and eventually it sucks enough that I get out and interact. For now, I’ll just live in the blue room that is my consciousness.

Good (bad) Friday. 18.4.14

Aniol said he and Aina were going to Frankfurt today with friends, so I figured I’d go too and meet them there. They were going by car, and me bike train/bike. I had a Post-It with destinations and a couple addresses. I thought it would be a good day of exploring, but I was soon disappointed.

I arrived at 10am which is when Aniol said he’d be there. I figured I’d head out on my bike and we’d contact each other by phone: text, call, or Facebook. I tried, but we never connected. I started the journey to my first destination; a popular neighborhood called Sachsenhausen. It’s supposed to be a nice area with a mix of old and new buildings and a nice shopping area. I blew it, and didn’t realize that everything would be closed on Good Friday. I rode along the river and began to enjoy the scenery so I delayed my crossing over the Eiserne Steg (bridge.) Once on the south side of the Main, I just began cruising in whichever direction I felt. There was a slight incline, so I decided to keep going up. Up Up Up. The ascent wasn’t difficult, and I relished in the extra effort. Finally, a bit of cycling to boost my heart rate. Even if it is just a few beats.

I ended up in a normal neighborhood. I didn’t see anything really special. I past right through the shopping area I had on my list. It’s easy to miss because EVERYTHING IS CLOSED and nobody is out. There were a few people, but nothing like I had expected for a Friday. I just kept on riding up the hill. I did see an apartment building which was a cool piece of architecture. It was curved with terraced levels and had at around 10 floors. I slowed to take a look, but wasn’t enthralled, so I kept pedaling.

Hmm. What’s over that wall? I don’t see any structures, just trees. I found a cemetery, but nobody of past centuries were laid to rest there. I only saw a couple dead dates before 1900. I walked along the rows of headstones to check names and dates for anything interesting. Wilhelm seems to be a common name. Wilhelm (or William I) is the name of a past King of Prussia and first German Emperor. It’s a cool name. And the name of a cool punk band: A Wilhelm Scream. A “Wilhelm Scream” is a movie sound effect that is used a lot. It’s a stock recording of a guy screaming. It’s used in Star Wars, and other films usually when someone is falling a great distance.

After Sachsenhausen, I crossed the Main again to check out the Frankfurt Cathedral. Officially it’s the Kaiserdom Sankt Bartholomäus and was built in the 14^th and 15^th centuries upon a previous church. Today, it’s totally been rebuilt. Inside is mostly new, but they kept a few old pieces which can be seen in a few spots where the newly constructed walls incorporate the old stone structures. It’s a tourist magnet. The altar wasn’t that spectacular. The walls weren’t as ornately adorned as other churches I’ve seen here. Yay, a cool building on the outside under delivers on the inside. Moving on.

I made my way to Innenstadt. What should be a bustling shopping district was an almost empty network of wide shopping side streets. Rain came in an instant and what people were there huddled under what few overhangs there were. I did the same to wait it out. It got cold too. It was windy and even with a few layers on I was still a bit cold. I should have worn jeans, but I hate riding my bike in jeans. I should have brought gloves too. Just as quickly as it came, the rain stopped and I headed back out onto the now wet stones that make up these streets. With so few people, and many businesses closed, it wasn’t too exciting. Moving on.

From there I just started riding. I would check my notes and the map on my phone, but I still became turned around and made too many U-turns. Oh well. Being alone makes it easier to deal with.  I had no schedule, so I just relaxed and took in the sights. Frankfurt is the biggest city in Hessen and has some contemporary skyscrapers of different shapes and heights. Most buildings were glass which looked really dynamic with the passing rain clouds and sunshine taking turns creating reflections on all the glass. That part of my day was cool.

I was hungry and could only find a donner shop. There were cafes open, but donner is the go-to meal for on-the-go people. I bought a falafel donner and pommes “mit zunehmen.” (to go.)  I ate my late lunch back by the Main and really began feeling better with food in my belly and sun on my face. I could see story clouds not too far away that must have been dumping rain pretty heavily. I could see the blur that occurs when a cloud and rain become a blue-gray haze that hovers over the affected area. Good or bad, it’s all perspective. I love the rain, but not when I’m lost in a city and my hands are getting colder and colder. I could see the cloud from a distance and was happy to view it while the sun warmed me up and I chomped down my donner and pommes (French fries.) Once done with my food I remained on river side bench and read Congo. This was the best part of my day. I should have been doing this the whole time. Forget the tourist shit. I just want to sit by the river, eat some food, read a book, and bask in the sun.

After my siesta by the river, I took the train back to Darmstadt. I’d had my fix of Frankfurt for one day. I’ll try again with a better plan of attack. Plus, after I told Rita about my day, she said she’d show me around next time.