Appreciating the Sun - or - the Coldest Lunch in Town

When you live in a part of the world where overcast days are the norm and soggy weather is standard, you truly do learn to appreciate the sun. And everyone sure does, here in Bavaria. When was the last time, in the U.S., you saw dozens of folks eating lunch outdoors when the temperature was below 40 degrees? I never have either...
I checked the thermometer on the bank right after taking this picture - it was all of 39 degrees. But start with some sun reflecting off the snow, add a nice tall Helles beer and a pretty girl or two to the equation, and suddenly Das Leben ist gut!

"Get Yer Program; You Can't Tell Who's Jesus Without Yer Program!"

It's almost Passion Play time in Oberammergau, the once-every-decade pageant which runs from May through October. Townspeople play every role and one can only imagine that the competition for the choice roles must be great. All roles have now been announced, and to help the locals get used to who is who, they've posted large photo montages, showing this year's cast, along with former casts. Now, as you walk down the street and accidentally bump into the guy you recognize as playing Jesus, I guess it would be wise to be REALLY apologetic. This montage shows Jesus Through the Ages, or at least back as far as the 1860s. As I mentioned a couple of months ago, once you've played Christ, what more is there to look forward to? You've "peaked at the Play," I guess.

Plane Differences

One area where you quickly note major differences between the U.S. and Europe is in airplane travel. The Europeans still have not mastered the art of rip-off, and nickel-and-dime-the-customers means nothing (probably because they use the Euro...). At the Munich airport yesterday, I had an outstanding meal and two huge beers. Total price? About $14. Wake up, Germany! An airport is the last place one should be looking for 1) good food, and/or 2) any bargain. Even on a 60-minute flight, they serve you a choice of sandwiches and drinks, all at no charge. And in the terminal itself, Lufthansa provides free coffee and an array of about 10 German-language newspapers and 4 in English. All free, of course.
European travelers also seem about 50 years behind the times. I don't know why it is, but I always happen to bump into the crowd of middle-aged folks who give the impression that this is their very first trip to an airport, where they will soon embark in one of those new-fangled flying machines. They stand in clusters, blocking doorways, crowded around the departure TVs, reading every entry aloud, and arguing whether Gate 17 is before Gate 18, or after Gate 16.
I guess in the long run it's a small price to pay for excellent, cheap food and free copies of the Herald Tribune.

Probably Better Off Not Even Asking...

Dirty Word: 7 Letters and it Ends With ---hole

You guessed it (if you live in Belgium): it's pothole!
Never have I seen a country allow its major highways fall into such a state of disrepair. One or two potholes; OK, it can happen. But several miles worth? And these aren't the kind you drive over and say, "What was that; a pothole?" These are the kind you drive over and say, "The realignment will be 300 Euros!" This, followed by a choice string of curses in your favorite language. Driving to work last week, traffic slowed to a near crawl - at 6:40 AM, mind you - on the only major freeway headed north from Waterloo to Brussels. The cause? A "field" of potholes so bad that not even crazy Belgian drivers wanted to chance dropping into these car-eating bad boys at anything faster than about 20 MPH. The only good news is that when you cross the invisible border from Wallonia (the southern, French speaking part of Belgium) into Flanders (the Dutch part to the north), conditions improve noticeably. But then that's the case with just about everything in this country...