For those who are wondering...

... why we haven't updated on this blog much. Just klick over HERE or on the picture below, and you'll find out what we were up to lately.

Since Roland's Vespa Bella, a GTS250, is street-legal and back on the road we have seized every spare moment to venture off scootering.

Germany votes for Mutti

61.8 million voters, 34 parties, and a total of 75 Million Euro campain budget (for all parties that is). Germans have been called to cast the ballot for the federal election.

In Germany elections always take place on Sundays, between 8 AM and 6 PM, so most people will find the time to vote. For a federal election you actually have two votes, one for electing a local candidate directly, and a second one for the allocation of seats in the Bundestag in Berlin.

Usually the campaigns tend to be a bit boring, as there are not many show elements involved. This time there was one "TV-Duell" between Angela Merkel and her contender Peer Steinbrück plus there were quite a few of roundtable discussions with top politicians of the leading parties CDU/CSU, SPD, Green Party, "The Lefties" and FDP. The voter had lots of opportunities for an informed decision.

As usually no party in Germany gets a majority it is standard that there are coalitions between two or more parties to reach a joint majority. Although it was obvious for months that "Mutti" (Mommy) Angela Merkel would continue her leadership for another four years the big question was whether she could continue working with the liberal party FDP, because this junior partner was ailing significantly in the last few years.

And indeed, when the first prognosis was presented at 6PM it was clear that the FDP would not reach the necessary 5% of votes to be allowed into the Bundestag. A second party (AfD) got close to 5%, but did not make it either, and there were a few other parties with a total of 6% that did not even get close to that threshold. So all in all almost 16% of the votes did not have any impact on the future seating in the federal parliament which was unheard of before in Germany! This situation had the strange effect that the CDU/CSU - although "only" at 42% of the votes - was close to reaching the majority.

In the end they did not make it though, and now there will be a very difficult phase of negotiations between Merkel and the SPD (or the Green party). In theory there could be a coalition of SPD, Lefties and Green Party, but this seems highly unlikely. If no majority can be found within the next months it could happen that there might be another election. The next weeks will be very interesting!

A Mini-Trip to Sweden

Roland: My first international business trip had originally been scheduled to be held a few weeks ago, but due to the host having fallen sick the meeting in Sweden had to be postponed. This week a few colleagues and myself met at Frankfurt International Airport for a two hours flight to Stockholm, and another 80 minutes limo(!) drive to our destination in the Gävleborg area close to the Baltic Sea. The car turned out to be a two years old Audi A4 with 304,000 km down! According to the driver who drives an estimated daily distance of 700 to 1,000 km the car still feels like new, and it definitely looked new!

The scenery was typically Swedish, and the city looked like a typical Swedish town. After eight years in North America, where somehow one city looks like the other, it is still surprising how different landscapes and cities look in Europe within a flying distance of one or two hours...

The hotel (see above) was just fantastic, without a doubt the best I ever had in Scandinavia! Great rooms (albeit small), fantastic bathrooms, great dinner buffet and even better breakfast buffet. They even put my name at the door of my hotel room! Obviously the quality of the hotel is linked to the fact that the whole city has evolved within the last century around the plant that has been founded here some hundred odd years ago. There is more or less only one employer here, so you better make sure that you provide a great service!

The meeting was held in one of the classic Swedish buildings, and lunch was served in another one. We almost felt like in an Astrid Lindgren novel! The highlight was the tea room we visited after lunch: It catapulted us straight back into a time where the company's founders would settle with a cognac and a cigar to discuss business.

Unfortunately there was no opportunity to further explore the area, but next time I will make sure to get a closer look at the surrounding lakes and, of course, the ocean.

A Field Day in the Woods

Roland: Once a year my company organizes an outing where people from three plants in two countries (Germany & France) meet for a 15km hike close to one of the plants. This year the task of organizing the field day was given to the colleagues in the Frankfurt area. At 5:45 AM we boarded a bus to the German state of Hesse, to the Taunus area to be exact, where the Feldberg hills were waiting for us.

Unfortunately the closer we got to our meeting point with the other colleagues the worse the weather conditions became. Anyway after a hearty breakfast we were off to conquer the 300 m difference in altitude to the top of the Greater Feldberg.

A pitstop between Roman ruins.

On top of the Greater Feldberg

No view!

It rained continuously, but the group of 160 did not let that fact affect the mood. We walked through puddles of mud, conquered steep climbs, beared phases of heavy rain, but we never gave up! So after net four hours of walking time, a couple of breaks to water our insides as well - one of them, of course, at an old Roman garrison at the old Limes wall -, a lunch break on top of the Feldberg, and a few material failures (e.g. soles that came off their shoes) we arrived at a well-deserved Hessian buffet that even had various choices for Sonja and the other vegetarians in the group!

At some point things became very interesting when the French colleagues from the area of Alsace (close to the German border) started singing songs in the Alsatian dialect which in fact is much closer to German than it is to French. We have to admit that we understood only every second word, but we pretty much have the same problem with the "badisch" dialect that is spoken in the town where we live now.

After a long bus ride back south, we arrived home Sunday morning at 0:30 AM where we were greeted by a long hot shower before our bed was calling us! Today we suffer a mild muscle soreness, but we enjoyed the rainy day in the woods very much!

How Green is my Valley

Sonja: It has been raining for almost two days straight and I was getting cabin fever. So I dressed for the occasion (hiking rain gear) donned my headphones, turned on the music and walked up the hill behind our dwelling. There is an abundance of hiking trails up in the forest, and most trails are in good condition.

There was a constant drizzle and I was slowly getting wet, so I thought, why not getting wet(ter) in the pool?

Actually it was a wading pool. Off with shoes and socks, I went into the deep end. With outside temperatures of 13C (55F), and a felt water temperature around zero (32F), I was freezing in the beginning, but it got better after a few rounds.

You are supposed to walk around like a stork, and also dip your arms in it. The water therapy is meant to heal and keep you healthy... I for my part felt refreshed and warm, that is after I gave my feet a good rubbing.

Moving on I had to make sure I stayed on the right track, to avoid losing myself in the woods. There are many (sometimes confusing) signs pointing in various directions, and I was surprised to see what distance I had already made.

This time of the year the forest is rich with all kinds of mushrooms. As a (mostly) Vegan I love meals and salads that have white mushrooms, chanterelles or porcini in it.

I spotted a male version of lil' Red Riding Hood in the forest. A basket in his right he was walking slowly, and almost looked like in some kind of trance, so I went to see what that was about. Turned out that he was a mushroom gatherer (or however you call them), and he proudly showed me his treasures.

The one on the left is a Marone, and the one on the right is a Hexenröhrling, a mushroom that loses its toxic properties when properly prepared. He also had chanterelles in his basket (yum!). I wished him a good hunting and walked on.

It was time to turn around, I had already spent almost two hours in the forest, and was admittedly quite soaked through by then.

The apples are ripe for picking, and the corn is almost 'done', too. I am looking forward to harvest season and all the local produce showing up on farmer's market.

Straight ahead on the hill I could spot the castle ruin of Hohengeroldseck, but it was shrouded in clouds again when I made a second attempt to snap a picture.

It's hardhat season. There was a thump and some tock-tock behind me, and suddenly I found myself attacked by falling apples and acorns.

 Happy me in the canola fields.

About three hours later I came home dripping wet, and with a good reason to take a warm shower, don some comfy clothing and slurp a hot veggie broth. Life is good!

In the Claws of German Bureaucracy... a Happy Ending?!

It was about time to get our license plates replaced for our Audi and Sonja's Vespa Alonzo (changing the address always means changing plates in Germany, except if you stay in the same city), so we opened another chapter in our book of horrors through German Road Traffic License Departments. Or so we thought...

In fact it turned out that in the Ortenau District you can prepare everything using the Internet. First you are able to reserve a plate. Then you provide all necessary information in a website template. And finally they even allow you to book appointments to finalize the process at the department. 

We chose a 4:30 pm date which is pretty much the last one of the day and arrived just in time for our appointment (We were actually slightly early, but had to figure out the correct way of getting the old plates off our Audi). 

We were immediately asked to a twin desk where two friendly and competent ladies took care of our needs. Within minutes the procedure had been finalized, we paid our fees, had some new licence plates made in a nearby facility, had all paper work finished and were done! Pinch us! We can't believe it.

A big thanks to the Offenburg Licence Department for rebuilding some trust into German bureaucracy! There is hope!

We yet have to get Roland's Vespa Bella through TÜV. But that's another department and another story to be told...

Tourist Triathlon in Triberg and Roadside Oddities

The city of Triberg is a must-do for any Black Forest tourist. Only here you have the (first ever) biggest walk-in cuckoo clock. Another one close by claims to be the (current) largest...

The heart of the clock is made from wood.

There are cuckoo clock shops galore, cuckoo clocks on the walls, and one house is even sporting a bear clock.

We found some disturbing art, and have yet to understand why those wooden Easter Island Moai lookalikes would wear Bollen Hats.

With the next big tourist trap attraction in mind we followed the river Gutach upstream to the Triberg Waterfalls, which is at 163m (535ft) one of the highest waterfalls in Germany, and came across some further sights. This beautiful timber-frame building for example.

But the town had yet another oddity in store for us: In Europe we are familiar with designated parking space for families, women or Smart Cars. The Triberg authorities have decided to create the first designated parking spot for men. Bravo, men have come a long way in the equal rights issue  ;-)

Finally at the falls: After paying an entrance fee of 3.50 EUR per person (conservation of nature costs money!) we walked up the steep trail along the falls. Well, we have seen bigger and more spectacular waterfalls in North America (and for free), however, the Gutach river cascading down over seven steps admittedly looked mighty pretty, too.

And while Sonja was still looking for the best vantage point, Roland had already continued his hike up.

The Triberg Falls are in fact the main attraction in this region, and rightly so. We were impressed and glad that we didn't shy away from the tourist trap character the town seemed to reflect.

Another cascade, and a view from above.

Still breathless and in awe we began with the descent.

After this energy-sapping exercise Roland needed to be fed. The man chose a salami pizza while the lady went with roasted potatoes and salad.

On our way home we spotted a castle on a hill, one of many by the way. But this one called us, and we went up.

Again Sonja went where no normal people her age would go to get the above spectacular vista of Hornberger Castle and the city of Hornberg. Roland followed suit to snap a picture of her. Later we worried a bit about getting down again... lets just say it was not the most elegant way to descent.

Hornberg is also home of a major sanitary ware manufacturer. Their design center provides a huge (probably walkable) toilet as an peculiar eye catcher. The company doesn't beat around the bush. The message is clear: "We deal with your crap!" Not sure if that lack of subtlety in that specific matter would work in North America, though where a simple thing like a toilet becomes a washroom, restroom or powder room...

And last but not least we spotted a cowboy or maybe he was a shepherd using a public road.

Enough of the curios for today. It was another good day spent in the shoes of a tourist.