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I have just finished a two week trip to Germany to visit with my good friends Roberts and Sarah and her kids. It’s funny, I just spent what most people get as an annual vacation relaxing and recovering from 5 months of travel. Most days I slept in and took a nap on top of that.
Besides the F1 race and a trip to the Porsche factory in Stuttgart (that will get it’s own report) I did very little touring or picture taking. Part of it is that Sarah is a good mother and she took good care of me. “Bryan, I think it is your nap time.” “I picked up some of your favourite gluten-free snacks at the store today.”
I was very impressed with Germany. The weather was good, which helps. It is a very clean country. The houses are well designed, and Sarah’s had a big patio, a bigger yard with bunnies and fruit trees and a horse as a neighbour. People walk and bike everywhere, motor scooters galore, and traffic flows easily because everyone follows the rules. Small villages are surrounded by farms and forest and there are walking trails all over the place. It
Porsche Factory and Showroom
I have seen Heaven and it is three floors of Porsches is a planners dream. There are no suburbs that I could see. It is still a fairly car centred culture but it is better designed for pedestrians and bikes.
I joked that I felt like I was in a Star Trek episode. You know the one, where everyone seems so happy and even Spock falls in love when they are sprayed by plant spores. That is until the dark side of the plants and their spores becomes evident. In the two weeks I was there I did not find any evidence of the dark side. Granted I was in an area dominated by employees of SAP (Germany’s Microsoft) and the US Military.
Given that I struggle with English as a second language and am new language adverse the only down side I could see to moving to Germany was that they all speak German here. One day Sarah picked up the kids at school and then picked me up from the village of Weisloch. As I jumped in the car I said “Too bad the German’s speak German, otherwise I just might move here.” Then this little voice in very steady yet Germanically-accented English said “German is easy
to speak.” “What, who was that, are they watching me?” I was caught red handed being an arrogant American. It was the voice of the local contingent of the school carpool representing the honour of his country.
The Germans are very orderly and logical and rule orientated. This is a cultural disposition that cannot be transported trough time and space to another large population. But what struck me was the evidence of how public investment in public infrastructure does enhance the quality of life. German monetary policy and German laws both provide significant benefits and require the social responsibility that go along with it.
For example, children at the age of ten are required to take a classes related to bicycling so they are able to enter the roads with traffic. In exchange bike lanes, bike racks, and bike accommodations are plentiful so that people of all ages can be found running daily errands on bike. Walking trails are plentiful and dog owners are required to take their puppies through training. The result is that you do not have to fear meeting an unruly dog on the trails.
On Saturday I joined Robert and family for his
graduation from an eight week hunting course. One cannot hunt in Germany until the course is completed. The graduation is part of a long tradition and social contract between farmers, hunters, conservationist and the Government. The graduates where reminded that they have taken the place of Apex predators at the top of the food chain. They are not involved in a blood sport but part of a carefully managed system to maintain wildlife while controlling populations, protecting crops and providing food to the population. They where reminded that this is not the US where the interpretation of the constitution allows you to walk into Wal-Mart, buy a gun and go into the woods and start blowing things away. This reminder came from a career US military officer talking to a room full of military personnel. The class Robert took was geared towards Americans in Germany.
The graduation involved a time honoured ceremony and of course food and drink - lots of drink. The rubber chicken, fuzzy hats, back slapping, open bar, bad jokes and war stories made me feel right at home in a VFW hall.
That night we pitched tents at the Gun and Rod Club right
German Train
Despite the reputation, and the best efforts of a short man in a red hat, this train did not leave on schedule. between the riffle range and the skeet shooting range. The kids crashed, we built a fire and settled in for S’mores. Without 1,000 drunk German’s I found out that camping in Germany can be down right peaceful, that is until the nearby race track started up and the firing range opened at 9:00 am on Mother’s day.
When I had left the club house to start up the fire a US Military MP of all of 18 years of age was approaching the tent. Sarah’s oldest daughter was sitting by the tent waiting for us to arrive. I jogged up to the MP and explained that we had authorization to be here as we where with a member of the gun club. “Oh, Okay,” said the pimply face with some confusion as he headed back to his patrol car. Obviously I had reduced his post 9-11 fears.
For the moment: about 2 ½ hours later, after midnight he returned with reinforcements. After a visit with his conscience and Dick Chaney it was obviously determined that a shortage of paperwork had been produced during his shift and further investigation was warranted. “We need to collect some information from you.”
Hunter Graduation
Bonfire, buglers, knighting, and evergreen brnches in the hat - thats what a hunter's graduation is all about. Funny how annoying it can be to give over information that one gladly gives to Amazon.com when it is requested by someone half your age in camouflage wielding a larger then life flashlight. Walking a fine line between lighting the moment with jokes and mocking we made it through the ordeal. As a consolation prize we went home with one of the flashlights that the flustered MP left behind (don’t tell Uncle Sam).
Now I might also be biased towards Germany because, after searching so long, so many near misses, rejections, and missed opportunities I finally got lucky on my last weekend in Europe. I finally found what I have been denied in over a year. It had been a long tough dry period, but finally it came to a glorious end…and it lasted for three nights. The head was not much to write home about, but the taste was sweat and full, and afterwards I felt refreshed and satisfied. If fact the body was so-so, but at this point beggars can’t be choosers.
That is right; I found a gluten-free beer! After two months in the land of Guinness I found it harder to be in Germany
Gluten-Free Beer
Robert Sarah and Me with G-F Beer. Check out the difference in color. and not drink beer. The variety and quality of beer in Germany is much better and much more tempting. In a local bio-store (Health food) we found a gluten free section with beer - we cleaned them out. Being made from rice the beer I had was like a bud light (not a surprise since bud is made from rice), but like I say beggars can’t be choosers.
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Alla
non-member comment
Glad
Brian I am glad you got some.