and after all, you’re my Westerwald…

There’s not much to do in the Westerwald at this time of year. We tagged along because our friend was registered in a “log cabin building course” and we thought we’d serve as moral support for his Mrs, our friend Sabine. We had a unexpected treasure of stopover in medieval Limburg on the way up …


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The Joys of Off Season Travel

We’re nice and cozy in Uli’s old house in Grosskarlbach. While we’re not exactly at a tourist crossroads, Grosskarlbach is wine country and if we were here in high season we’d be sharing the road with gourmets and oenophiles. But it’s February and the sky is gray. Tourists are few and far between. Last night, …


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Travel Plans

We’re heading out tomorrow morning. Current itinerary – subject to change – looks something like this: Drive to Germany Spend a few days in Rheinland-Pfalz (staying with friends Uli and Sabine) Sun: Sabine and I fly to Rome Spend a few days in Tuscany (at Sabine’s place in San Francesco) Take the night train from …


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Essay question

I am here. You are not. Explain. Exemptions granted to those with medical and/or family related excuses.

Catholic Snow

We had planned to go to one of two destinations today, either Salzburg or up to Oberoesterriech. Husband called at nine to tell me that a house in Oberoesterriech had collapsed under the weight of the snow on the roof and region was cut off. Salzburg was doable, but also in the direction of the …


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Rerun: Please Pass the Olives

This post is from my ex-website on MSN. As I’m pondering mulitlingualism, it seems relevant again. Cool sidebar: Earlier this year, the foreign exchange program of a small university contacted me to ask if they could use an excerpt from this story in the materials they use to entice students to sign up for a …


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