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Germany, here we come!
It took us 26 hours door to door. It’s a drag, but I don’t mind. All the shopping and eating you can do at the airport, all the reading and watching, talking and walking: all is good!
Munich is a nice airport to arrive: it is modern, bright, light, clean, everything works, everything makes sense. German efficiency. Kind of the opposite of the Frankfurt airport, which I would title: German inefficiency / what were they thinking? But that is another story and that’s why I try to avoid Frankfurt. So I booked a flight from San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles and from there directly to Munich. And we enjoyed every minute of it! We had great seats, lots of legroom, (relatively) good food, we had good talks, we watched good movies [OMG: “The Zone of Interest”. What a great movie about Germany’s worst time in history, written out of a perspective you’ve never seen before].
And then we arrived, had another hour car drive until we were at our final destination: the house I grew up in, where I spend my childhood, where I walked or biked to school from, where my sister and I shared a room in the attic, a room that took 7 years for my busy dad to finish. Up there it is very cold in the winter and brutally hot in the summer. I guess, I know that my parents didn’t have much money back then, so they must have saved money on insulation materials. But it was always like that, maybe that’s why I don’t like winter or wet, cold weather. Up there in the attic, the winter is inside, the wet, cold weather is crawling under your blanket and barely anything can keep you warm. Except the furnace and that is too small for the room. But here we are again! And every time I arrive I feel like arriving in my childhood again. I participate as if I never left. And today I baked bread…
And that bread has a funny story: just before we left California I had asked my friend Kimberly if she could give me some of her sourdough, since mine had died. Sure, no problem, and since both our husbands wanted to meet for lunch that day, it was an easy transition to get her sourdough over to our house. Except that it was another hot day in Paso Robles, except that the marmalade jar that contained the sourdough was very full, except that Ted put this jar in his cargo pocket of his shorts, except that he and his friend went to wine tasting after lunch, until….. until Ted felt something crawling down the side of his leg. The leg closest to the cargo pocket with the sourdough jar. Can’t blame it: it was hot and it was bored inside! So the sourdough made it into the cargo pocket until that was full and out and down that sexy leg. Fortunately there was enough sourdough left to take to Germany. Inside a ziplock bag, that was inside another ziplock bag, that was inside a plastic drink bottle, that was inside a plastic bag, that was inside my suitcase. No leakage here, you just need to be professional! The sourdough survived and got to be transformed into this delicious bread! Not that we need to bake our own bread here in Germany because Germany is famous for having quite a few varieties. 3200 to be precise! The sourdough has to make it to Italy, that is known for pizza and pasta. Not for bread, especially not for dark, wholegrain, hearty, healthy bread. So I’ll bake my own. And that’s why I brought my sourdough – or whatever was left in Ted’s cargo pocket…..
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Airports vs Railroad Stations
I love railroad stations. And I hate them. Let’s get the bad feelings out of the way to make room for the good, ok? So the story is, that I felt the most lonely ever at – guess – a railroad station. In Munich. On Christmas Eve. With a big bag full of gifts for my family. And there was no train in – what felt forever. My boyfriend and I had plans to visit my family for Christmas, so we got his parents car for that trip, prepared a nice stay with my family and I was bursting with anticipation to be swallowed up in hugs and kisses and laughter and talk and food. Of course there will be food! Delicious Christmas cookies, stollen, marzipan and all those good smelling gingerbread. I was 21, and I thought: this guy is the love of my life. I really did! And I was very wrong. So we had an argument and – just when we were supposed to leave – he decided to not go. So this was the end of the idea to go see my family, which lived an hours train ride north of Munich. And I so wanted to go and see them, I had a gift for each of them, mostly handmade little somethings, but hey: it’s the thought that counts, right? So I packed all those little goodies in a big bag and left. And it was freezing cold! It was already dark outside and because it was Christmas Eve, there was hardly anybody out there on the streets. Christmas Eve is when in Germany everybody is with their loved ones. It is the main event. The highlight! And for me it was the lowlight. Catching a bus to the next subway station was a challenge, taking the subway to the railroad station was the next challenge, because every public transportation was on a holiday schedule. Well and then there was the railroad station, deserted, just the announcements through the speakers and I. I’m not sure, but I must have waited for hours to be able to get on a train to Ingolstadt. I was freezing, I was sad, disappointed, hurt and in disbelieve what I had let somebody do to me! But I made it!!! Another 30minute walk to my parent’s house and everybody was there: it was warm, cozy, happy, perfect!
Railroad stations on the other side are fantastic! They are the start to an adventure, there are trains from everywhere, going to somewhere else. There are announcements, magazine kiosks, bakeries. You can watch people hurrying, running, waiting, strolling. Everybody wants to go somewhere, nobody wants to spend time there. Railroad station are not for staying I guess: they are just in-between launches to somewhere exciting. They are a promise to the next destination!
Airports are also temporary locations, similar to railroad stations, but in a different way. You are forced to stay there longer than you want, 2 or 3 hours before your departure, sometimes even longer if your connection flight leaves 8 hours later, like yesterday, when we flew from California to Munich and had a leisurely forever break in LAX. So you have time to kill and the airport gods know how they want you to spend your time: you should eat. Especially in airports in the US there are significantly more places to eat than anything else. You grab food to go, you sit down to eat, you hang out at a bar at 8am, everything is encouraged. Eating and drinking is the main focus what people should do when they are bored. And you have at least 2 or 3 hours to be bored, that means you can eat a tremendous amount of food! In any airport outside the US you’ll find way less food opportunities and more shopping and relaxing places. An occasional restaurant, yes, but your boredom should be filled with shopping. Not much better, but at least you’ll be healthier. Think about all the food you’re not eating and all the steps you’re walking!
And then there is the mystery about the carpet. Why do airports have carpet on the floor? Of course you think they want you to work harder pulling your suitcase, that makes you burn more calories and because of all the calories burnt your appetite builds up and – voila! – you will be happy to see all the food choices!
No, that’s not really the reason why there are carpets. The only true thing is, that it is harder to pull your luggage around. Another reason you will think is noise reduction. And you are right: it is significantly less loud if there are carpets on the floor. No matter where you are: houses, restaurants, airports, etc.
And here comes my fun fact about carpets in airports: researchers have found out that people feel more homey and cozy when they walk on carpets and therefore – drumroll – they spend more money shopping. In fact, 25% more money is made in airport areas with carpets than in those without (because without a carpet they think they are at a railroad station and they are in a hurry and don’t have time to shop. Maybe…)
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A long way home
It would take 75 hours and 30 min to take a train from New York City to Paso Robles, CA. And it can take 27 hours to fly. You could fly in 6 hours, but that would be easy cheezy. 27 hours with several hiccups is the way to go – if you want to stretch out your vacation time that is.
I was not asked, but thrown in the cold water. The first leg of my flight was delayed due to weather (which weather?). Then my connection flight was gone, the last flight of the night. Which made me being stranded in a freezing cold airport in Phoenix (outside temperature 114, inside 40, both Fahrenheit). And everything at the airport was closed, except the bathrooms. Nothing to eat or drink! Awful! And to top off the misery: not a single bench to sleep on. They all had bars across, so nobody could lie down. Awful awful awful!
So I spent 11 hours in Phoenix, in a freezing cold airport, hungry and thirsty…
My hotel room. -
New York, New York
Imagine you’ll have a whole week to spend in NYC with your friend and no agenda. Imagine this week is now! And so I went from Miami to NYC to meet Lisa, my friend of 40 years. She’s never been there before and so we did the typical touristy stuff a first-timer likes to see: street market on Lexington, Grand Central Terminal, Liberty Island, Little Italy in Greenwich Village, Ellis Island, Central Park, Show on Broadway, etc. My favorite: the MET, where we visited “Sleeping Beauties – Reawakening Fashion”, a fabulous exhibition of fashion / art / creativity – right down my alley!
Let’s start with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the MET:
And look at a variety of people, some more famous than others:
The naked cowboy on Times Square 
Lisa at Times Square 
Three beauties on Liberty Island 
Lisa 
Statue of Liberty (in case you don’t know) 
Christopher Street Park (where everything started) And then we ate. A lot!
Lox bagel for breakfast 
Lox bagel for brunch 
And we enjoyed New York!!!
Washington Square Park 
Times Square, right in time when Venezuela got rid of their president 
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Great Stirrup Cay – Bahamas
We are almost done with our cruise, with the last stop at Great Stirrup Cay, a private island owned by Norwegian Cruise Line. NCL acquired this paradise with sandy beaches, a lighthouse from 1863, calm pristine ocean waters and a wide variety of marine life in 1977.
No words – just beautiful
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Bahamas
No words, just beautiful!
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Sick on a cruiseship
Getting sick on a cruise ship is great! I mean, getting sick sucks, but getting sick while on a cruise is – if you’re used to the American healthcare system – very direct, convenient and efficient. You take the elevator down from the 10th floor (or wherever your room is) to the 3rd floor, knock on the doctors door and they’ll take care of you. All possible tests, COVID & influenza, blood work, X-rays, etc. they have ICU beds, and treat you with whatever you need. Before they send you back up to the 10th floor (or wherever your room is) they give you all the medications you need with detailed instructions.
The next day you can stop by and pick up the paperwork, X-Ray DVD and detailed bill. And they will already have submitted their claim with your travel insurance, that might take ~15 days to process. So make sure to always have travel insurance!!!
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San Juan – Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States. It was founded in 1521 by Spanish colonists, which makes it older than the United States! San Juan is the capital and largest city.
Ted is heading out by himself today since I’m sick of🤒. Fever, coughing, headache. The medical staff test me for Covid and influenza, run some blood work, X-Ray, and decide that it’s a bacterial infection.
Timo bought me a „get-well-soon“ gift, a tile from Puerto Rico. What a sweet guy! He’s bringing soup and water and checks in frequently. -
Phillipsburg – St. Maarten
So far, we visited the Dominican Republic (Puerto Plata) on the island of Hispaniola, which is shared with Haiti, the Virgin Islands (St.Thomas), which is US territory, and Antigua (St.John). Today we’ll explore the island of St. Maarten, which is a constituent of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It encompasses the southern 40% of the island, while the northern 60% constitutes the French overseas collectivity of St. Maarten.
The whole island is only 37 square miles. It’s the smallest landmass in the world to be shared by two sovereign countries. The Dutch part has casinos, duty free shopping and island culture, whereas the French part is all subdued sophistication…..
Fortunately the traffic is on the right side again, which feels comfortable and less stressful. We took a bus to go over to a beautiful beach on the French side. Our tour guide tells us about the harmonious-non-collaboration between the Dutch and the French. For example, each side has its own airport, hospital, university, etc. If you call somebody on the other side, it’s considered an international call ($0.50/min). It’s cheaper to call somebody in your homeland! We realize this immediately, when we cross the border and AT&T, our US phone company charges us another $10 and another one on the way back 🤔. The south side‘s currency is the Netherlands Dutch Florin (NAF), whereas the northern side‘s currency is the Euro. Go figure!
The story has it that, when the Dutch and the French divided the island, they met at the beach and headed in opposite direction. From the starting point to the point wherever they meet again should be half of the island. The Frenchman put rum into the Dutchman’s water, make him fall asleep on the beach. That’s why the “halves” are unequal (40/60). I remember a similar story about Siena and Florence, who wanted to find the middle point between both cities to mark the counties. They agree to send out one rider on horseback, who should start galloping first thing in the morning, with the sound of a rooster. The Florenze rider didn’t wait for the rooster, but woke him up before sunrise and started riding. The honest Siena rider did play by the rules and when they met, the countyline was established according to the incorrect meeting point.
The beach where we spend our day was beautiful, the sand white and powdery, the water turquoise. What else do you need? of course I pack a small bag of sand, which the safety officer on the ship complained about. I’m not supposed to take any sand; a small amount would be ok, but not what I took. She sends me over to another officer to figure out how much sand I have to dump, but he just waves me through. 😬 🏝️
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Ted and the “Mr. Sexy Leg Competition” – now with working videos!
Cruise ships are fun. They offer a nice variety of entertainment, a hypnotist show, a comedian, live music in every bar, etc. And then there are games, trivia of all kinds, competitions, couples games and more. And then there was the announcement of the Mr. sexy Leg Competition. And since Ted has great legs, and I mean GREAT LEGS, I suggested he’d participate. And because Ted is a great sport, he got up there on stage at the pool, along with 20 other guys, Timo included, to show off their legs. Each of them did a little something special, a dance or movement that would show how great their legs are. Ted, funny Ted, introduced himself and said he wants to get laid tonight. He started with a pole dance, followed by a (safe) striptease, flinging his hat off, pulling his T-Shirt off and finishing with another little pole dance. All the women were roaring and he was chosen to be Mr. Sexy Legs. Oh my, we had a good time! Timo was a runner up, but his dance moves just couldn’t compete with Ted.
Fast forward: random people on the ship approach Ted, congratulate him, buy us drinks and have a good laugh about his performance. The next day they ask if he got lucky, if he was successful, if he got what he wanted. And when you switch on the TV and check out the entertainment program, they show a video with – guess what – Ted’s pole dance and striptease! Oh my!!!
