la merde en erfurt

thuringer. how do i even begin?

1.
the weather has recently begun to look more like summer. as recent as wednesday it was still cold and dreary, then all of a sudden the clouds went off and the sun came out and now the girls are in short skirts and eating gelato in the streets is not such a distinct impossibility anymore.

2.
"tell me someting," she said. "do you love me?"
"you know i do"
"will you do me two favours?"
"you can have up to three, madame"
she smiled and shook her head. "no, two will do. one is for you to realise how grateful that i am that you came to see me here. i hope that you will understand how happy you've made me. i know it's going to save me if anything will. i may not show it, but its true."
"i'll come to see you again," i said. "and what is your other wish?"
"i want you always to remember me. will you remember that i existed, and that i stood next to you like this?"

"always," i said. "i'll always remember."

3.
the other day we went to the park. it was the sort of day where you couldn't tell the time - the clouds hung low and everything was in monochrome. put down a tablecloth from the hotel and sat down. luckily somebody had the foresight to suggest bringing some beer. bitburger; scheisse but better than nothing. music from figaro blasted from one side of the park. the dj speaks in german but the songs are always in english. they said that only the old folks listen to german music. why? where have all the young german songwriters gone to? or is mtv a more powerful force that i had previously thought?

on the other side of the park dogs are barking and running about. here in europe nobody leashes their dogs. perhaps the wide expanse of space here makes them less angsty. or maybe the cold weather gives them their cool temperament. its difficult not to draw a comparison with singapore, where humans and their pets alike compete for the same 645 square kilometers of space. sometimes i think we need to leash some people in singapore. grrr.

oops, it looks like a light drizzle is upon us now. shall we leave, or is it tolerable. luckily my nike is waterproof. seems like they would like to go. yes, now for wet is bad and warm bed back in hotel is good.

4.
german food is incredibly salty. wurst is salty, frickadeller is salty, pommes frites is salty. no wonder they have all that beer to wash it all down. why can't they learn from the french - croissant and baguettes, jambon beurre, fondue, bourgignion. ok not steakfrites but you get the idea.

5.
ok well at least the germans have their technology going in their favour. audi, volkswagen, mercedes benz, blaupunkt, bmw, faber-castell, man, liebherr. and let's not even get started on the supercar brands. man its just like watching porn on the roads - hey the old lady down the block drives a heavily modded TT! its enough to make me miss my gti. =(