Germany: A Summer's Tale

Dear apostles,

I'm back in Germany for 2 1/2 weeks now, and since I write my blog in German while I'm in the US, I decided to write at least one entry about my capers in the fatherland in English. a) because it's fair and b) because some people asked me for it.

I want to apologize in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes or the possibility that this article wont be as entertaining/funny as my early work. Simply because (and I know that most people in the world will disagree with me) German happens to be the funniest language in the world. Or as Mark Twain said: "Mastery of the art and spirit of the Germanic language enables a man to travel all day in one sentence without changing cars".

Speaking of cars: That's were I spent a considerable amount of time since I came back. I drove to a near film festival (1 hour), to Cologne (2 1/2 hours), to Trier (2 hours)... I get pretty bored while I'm driving, especially since my sister-in-law seems to have hidden all of my CDs while I left her my car. To Americans a 2 hour drive seems incredibly short, but to me it is just a waste of time. I usually just sing some weird songs or start cursing aimlessly just to keep me entertained. At least I could do one of the things non-German people are jealous of: Going 120 Mph on the highway/Autobahn without fearing to get into any trouble. While still getting passed by bigger cars. By the way, the current price of gas is about 6,84$ per gallon (and this is the cheapest in the last 3 years or so). Thankgod my car has a good mileage.

I spent the first ten days back home and used them for some quality time with my family and my dog. My grandma decided to put me on a German diet, Schnitzel, rotisserie chicken, Kaiserschmarrn (cut-up and sugared pancakes with raisins) etc.
Since the weather in Germany has been a whole lot better than in NYC so far, I also spent my days barbecueing with my awesome friends. In Trier (Germany's oldest city, founded around 20 BC) I actually bought a bbq set right across the street from Karl Marx's birthplace.

As Vince Vega noticed in "Pulp Fiction", the most interesting things are the little differences between the US and Europe.
- Yeah, we get beer at McDonalds. But why should we when we can get better beer just about everywhere else. And so cheap in comparison to NY!

- Drinking in public is legal in Germany and expected in Cologne. And big fun for the whole family.

- The US are lightyears ahead in technology. If technology means funny gimmicks like Iphones, TiVos, blogging etc. In other areas, I feel like being back to the future. An elecrtical stove? Without gas? It's magic. "The money will be in your account tomorrow" instead of "The check should be in the mail...". Not to speak of the miracle called non-cthru-toilet paper.
Actually my mom wants a cell phone with internet access. She's always been an early adaptor, while my dad would like to live in a cave with no light and war water (I recommended him some apartments on LES). The main reason for my mom to get a mobile internet access is to find an easy solution for discussions with my dad. Usually they call me and ask "Hey, what's the name of that movie/actor/actress/director/athlete...". Since they have arguments like this everytime they go out, an internet flat rate would be a lot cheaper, than all those international calls.

- My stay here reaffirmed the observation that I made in New York: the common German has a terrible hair cut. And is usually wearing terrible clothes. Whenever I see someone in the street in NYC who looks kinda displaced, I know where they're from.