Category Archives: Version 1.0

Posts from the first version of this site, thebrownone.wordpress.com… if anyone’s curious.

TraveLog: Germany, Day 6

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Hallole!

• After another late night, I dragged myself out of bed at around 7:30. With less than five hours of sleep each of the past two nights, this morning felt like a school day.

• Sofie prepared another yummy breakfast, which included croissants, eggs, and bacon. Yeah, buddy!

• We drove to Ulm to get a glimpse of the world’s tallest church tower. At 161 meters, it was pretty impressive. Bit what really got my attention was the church’s interior. It was a study in Gothic architecture, with its extremely high vaulted ceiling and intricately detailed sculptures and carvings. It served as quite a juxtaposition to the church we visited yesterday. Since I’m on my iPod right now, I can’t upload any pics; I’ll update the entries when we get back to Burladingen.

• We continued east, hitting a bit of traffic outside Munich. While in the city, we stopped by another castle, Schloss Nymphenberg.

• Sofie, Marty, and I were in and out of consciouness while Gerd quietly drove us farther east. He’s awesome!

• We finally reached our destination just outside of Salzburg, a town called Bad Reichsall. It took us a few tries to find a hotel, but we ended up at a nice one, which (importantly) has internet access, thereby allowing me to post this entry in a timely fashion!

• For dinner, we walked to a local beergarden, where we proceeded to stuff our faces with beer, spätzle, and various meats and sauces. Two words: FOOD BABY.

Tomorrow, SALZBURG!!

Tschüssi!

TraveLog: Germany, Day 5

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8 June 2009

Hallole!  (Practicing my German.  Not bad, eh?)

  • After a quiet breakfast at Sofie and Gerd’s, we drove to Sigmaringen to view another castle.  It wasn’t nearly as impressive as the one we saw yesterday.
  • We then drove to Steinhausen, a very small town not too far away, to see the church that many consider “the most beautiful village church in the world.”  It didn’t disappoint, with beautiful paintings on the ceiling and intricate decorations throughout the space.  Here’s an upshot-selfer (yes, Mike, I love these types of pics):
In front of the altar, looking back to the organ. The church really was beautiful.
In front of the altar, looking back to the organ. The church really was beautiful.
  • We then drove to Schussenried for some lunch at a brewery.
  • After lunch, we took a tour of their “bierkrugmuseum.”  On display were over 1200 beer steins from across several centuries.  It was pretty cool, actually.
  • Our next stop was Meersburg, a town on a lake in southern Germany.  While we at cake and drank coffee, we could see the Swiss Alps and watch various ferry boats cross the lake, transporting people and cars.
  • We then drove back to Sigmaringen for some dinner.  I had the Jaegerschnitzel, which was yum.  The rain started to fall as we left the restaurant and accompanied us on our whole way home.
  • Once home, we started planning for the rest of the week.  Our plans include a visit to Salzburg, and perhaps a stop in Munich if the weather is agreeable tomorrow.  Here’s hoping for sunshine!!

I may not have internet access for the next few days, so this could be the last TraveLog update for a bit.  I’ll have my iPod Touch with me, so perhaps I can log on and give some brief synopses of the days’ activities while away from Sofie and Gerd’s (no pics would be included, though, unfortunately).

Tschuessi!!

TraveLog: Germany, Day 4

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7 June 2009

  • After breakfast, Marty’s cousin, Hans, picked us up and brought us to a gorgeous castle not too far from Burladingen, Schoss Hohenzolhern.
  • Unfortuantely, the tour we took was in German (the English tour was an hour later, and we were hungry and the weather wasn’t cooperating…more on that to come).  So, I spent the majority of the tour glaring at some dude who wouldn’t shut up while our lovely tour guide was explaining the history of the centuries-old building.
  • As I mentioned, the weather wasn’t doing us any favors.  Luckily, we got some pics in before the tour, because after the tour, the skies opened up and we got rained on:
Rain, rain, go away...
Rain, rain, go away...

 

  • After the castle, we went to Boll for some lunch.  I had some potato pasta with a (heavy) mushroom cream sauce and some salad.  Very rich, but tasty.
  • Then, we drove to Hechingen and walked around the quaint little town for a bit before getting some tasty pastries to eat with Hans’ girlfriend, Irmgard.
  • She was waiting for us in Gammertingen, where I had some Black Forest cake and coffee.  Luckily for Marty (and me, for that matter!), she spoke English, so the conversational burden could be shared between us.
  • Since the weather wasn’t very nice at end of the castle tour, Hans drove us to a lovely viewpoint that overlooked the castle.\
  • After parking the car, we had to hustle 1.5 km to the spot due to the uncertain weather conditions.  But, amazingly, the sun came out just as we reached the overlook.  Here’s a selfy of that spot (note the sunshine…yay!):
The castle is MUCH bigger in person. Cool view, though, huh?
The castle is MUCH bigger in person. Cool view, though, huh?

 

  • We then drove back to Burladingen and waited for Sofie and Gerd to get back from their election day work.
  • Sofie perpared a DELICIOUS dinner, and we capped off the meal with a shot of Jaegermeister.  Ah, Germany.

TraveLog: Germany, Day 3

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6 June 2009

  • Woke up around 9 a.m. surprisingly NOT hungover from the previous night’s debauchery.  I did, however, feel very tired and my body definitely felt like it drank the night before.  For some reason, I had trouble falling asleep, for whatever reason.
  • Had another great breakfast, including scrambled eggs and bacon, rolls, fruit, juice, coffee, rolls, toast…EXACTLY what I needed and what I craved.
  • Drove to Stuttgart to the Mercedes-Benz Museum.  Very cool building and innovative technology inside to help patrons learn about the brand and its place in the German and global auto industries and economy.
Not my greatest photographic moment, but it'll prove that I was, indeed, at the Mercedes-Benz Museum.
Not my greatest photographic moment, but it'll prove that I was, indeed, at the Mercedes-Benz Museum.
  •  After learning about MB, we stopped by one of the restaurants in the museum for a snack.  I had some yummy Weissewurst.  DELICIOUS.
  • Drove back to Burladingen.  I updated my blog and FB status while Sofie prepared a nice dinner that consisted of soup, salad, and lasagne, dessert, and two kinds of wine.
  • Ate said 4-course meal.  Again: Delicious.
  • Retired early (around 11 p.m.), only to stay up with Marty joking about cheeses and salads for another two hours.  Yup, we’re almost 31.

TraveLog: Germany, Day 2

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5 June 2009

  • Woke up around 9 am.  Got some good sleep.  Not great, but good enough to feel rested.  Tried to get Marty out of bed, which proved a tougher task than I had anticipated.
  • Sofie and Gerd (our gracious hosts) prepared a nice breakfast for us that included rolls, all kinds of fruit spreads and preserves, coffee, juice, pretzels, and cheeses.  Delicious way to start our day.
  • After eating, I FINALLY showered…and it felt great.  Ahh, so fresh and so clean clean!
  • Shopped at a local store in Burladingen, then came back for some lunch: Kaiserschmarren.  It was like breakfast for lunch.  Yum.
  • Drove to Reutlingen.  Did some window shopping.  Also walked on the world’s narrowest street.  No kidding, it’s ONE FOOT wide.  Check it out:
Yes, this is a real street, with addresses and everything. Told you it was narrow, even for skinny guys like me.
Yes, this is a real street, with addresses and everything. Told you it was narrow, even for skinny guys like me.
  • Then drove to Tubingen.  Got some souvenirs and had Tellerschnitzel and some beer for dinner.  Again: YUM.
  • Drove back to Burladingen to host family’s friend’s house and spent the next 4.5 hours getting WASTED on beer, schnapps, grapa, and liqueur.  And I mean WASTED.  I have the two failed Facebook status updates to prove it.
Just one of MANY shots on the night.
Just one of MANY shots on the night.
  • Then Marty spent the next 1.5 hours grilling me and teasing me about Xan.  Fun times.

TraveLog

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3 June 2009

  • Left JFK on time, at 8:35 p.m. local time.

4 June 2009

  • Arrived in Reykavik early, at 6:05 a.m. local time. Switched planes.
  • Departed Reykjavik on time, at 7:25 a.m.
  • Arrived Frankfurt a bit early, at 12:30 p.m.  Luggage took a few minutes to get to us, but otherwise, all good.
  • Ate some McDonald’s in the airport as a quick snack.  Marty and I were quite hungry and tired, but this gave us enough energy to get to the car, in which…
  • We drove from Frankfurt to Stuttgart.  Marty and I promptly passed out during the 2.5-hour ride.
  • In Stuttgart, we walked around a bit and enjoyed a beer (mmm, Hoffbrau) and some sunshine.
  • Drove to Burladingen.  Passed out on the way…again.
  • I had some Kas-Spatzle (missing some umlauts, I know) for dinner.  Cheesy and heavy (surprise), but quite delicious.
  • Got home a little before 9 p.m.  Enjoyed a beer and some conversation.  I listened mostly. 🙂
  • Finally went to bed around midnight.  Ahh, sweet sleep.
Enjoying the some German sunshine in Stuttgart.
Enjoying the some German sunshine in Stuttgart.

Whirlwind

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It’s about two hours before Marty I leave for the airport to fly to Germany via Iceland (hey, Björk!).  This after I returned Monday from an excurison to San Diego to present at a conference.  As I’m waiting to leave, I can’t help but reflect on the past year and how much has happened and how much is going to happen in the next few months.  It has been and will be a whirlwind that shows no sign of slowing until possibly mid-August.  But the way I see it, the school year was tough, much more of a struggle than I anticipated and much more of a struggle than I initially wanted to admit, so I deserved some time off to travel and see new places and meet new people.

I should have fairly regular internet access, so I’ll be sure to post some pics from Germany, and I hope to have some really good ones for the upcoming 12 of 12.  Stay tuned!

Star Trek

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J. J. Abrams...you've been upgraded to first-class.

I saw Star Trek today.  The way I see it, I could go on about the casting, the special effects, the story, the action sequences, etc.  But I won’t.  I’ll just say this:

It was awesome and I loved it.

May 2009 12 of 12

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I apologize in advance if you fall asleep before making it through my day.  Boring doesn’t even begin to describe it.

8:42am - I don't teach on Tuesdays, so it's my chance to sleep in. At this time yesterday, was wrapping up my first class.
8:42am - I don't teach on Tuesdays, so it's my chance to sleep in. At this time yesterday, I was wrapping up my first class.
8:43am - Oreo is ready for her morning trip outside.
8:43am - Good morning, Oreo!
8:53am - Oreo watches intently as one of my neighbors brings her dog, Diesel, out for his morning business.
8:53am - Oreo watches intently as one of my neighbors brings her dog, Diesel, out for his morning business.
9:09am - Fueling up for the gym.
9:09am - Fueling up for the gym.
10:11am - The entrance to the UML Campus Recreation Center (CRC).
10:11am - The entrance to the UML Campus Recreation Center (CRC).
1:52pm - A view of my desk at school, as I write my Theory 1 final and chat with Marty.
1:52pm - A view of my desk at school, as I write my Theory 1 final and chat with Marty.
2:45pm - I shot of the Merrimack River as seen between two buildings on campus, shot on my way to drop off receipts for a reimbursement.
2:45pm - A shot of the Merrimack River as seen between two buildings on campus, shot on my way to drop off receipts for a reimbursement.
3:57pm - Going over an error-detection exercise that will be used as part of my review in Theory 2 tomorrow.
3:57pm - Going over an error-detection exercise that will be used as part of my review in Theory 2 tomorrow.
4:44pm - Makin' copies.
4:44pm - Makin' copies. Apparently, I forgot how to use the zoom on my camera.
5:17pm - A little Chopin and Mozart to end my day at school.
5:17pm - A little Chopin and Mozart to end my day at school.
6:31pm - Enjoying a beer with dinner.
6:31pm - Enjoying a beer with dinner.
9:09pm - Watching the Cubs beat the Padres.
9:09pm - Watching the Cubs beat the Padres.

I promise that my next 12 of 12 will be much more exciting.  I’ll be in Germany; so the way I see it, at the very least, it should be scenic!

Cave canem

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As Oreo and I got in elevator this morning, there were two elderly women already in the car.  Oreo got excited, as usual, but did her best not to go crazy and dutifully sat when I asked her to.  One of the women in the elevator then remarked that Oreo “looks vicious.”  Oreo vicious?  Really?  Seriously??  The way I see it, Oreo couldn’t be less vicious-looking if she tried.  You be the judge:

Careful: she'll cute you death!
Beware of the dog: she'll cute you death!