Monday, October 26, 2009
The Return of Tom de Plume
Frequent poster, curmudgeon, and gadfly (and possibly the single most censored individual on The Conservative Wahoo) Tom de Plume returned yesterday from a trip to Germany and Austria. I thought I'd provide him with this little spot to provide us with some thoughts on modern Europe. TDP, are you listening?
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4 comments:
My head is still fuzzy from the jet lag but I'll try to provide a few observations.
Munich is one of the world's prettiest cities. It must be the Italian architecture combined with the German orderliness; or at least that's what I notice in the old section of the city.
Bavaria and the Tyrol are loaded with more castles than I had imagined. Some of the "B" list castles I visited this time around were Burghausen (at over 1000 meters, the longest castle in Europe) and Hohenwerfen (made famous in "Where Eagles Dare"). But it also seemed like every other village or town possessed at least a small castle once inhabited by a minor nobleman.
Public transportation is always enhanced by the lack of the scent of urine in the subway systems. This was my fourth time riding the Munich subways but the first time I ever had my ticket checked.
People who have a reason to speak English, like those in the tourist industry, are able to. Construction workers on a hydroelectric project, not necessarily so.
My friend Greg never caught on to the idea that Germans who don't understand English won't understand it even if he spoke loud and slow.
Munich women looked great in their jeans stuffed into their knee high boots. But maybe it also had someting to do with the lack of obesity.
I like the idea of making a salad out of sausage, baloney and salami for breakfast, and soft pretzels at every meal.
On my first visit over 30 years ago, a pizza parlor was a rare find. Not anymore. An Austrian restaurant window sign announced Authentic Austrian Food and NO PIZZA!
People in some of the smaller villages less frequented by tourists seem almost honored by the idea that one would come all the way from America to visit their village.
I wanted to puke when I saw a collection of Obama books in a religious bookstore at the Kloster Ettal in Bavaria.
Being able to read a roadmap beats the GPS systems any day.
I love German music, but not at 6:00 in the morning. If anyone knows why there was a parade at that hour outside my hotel in Partenkichen, please let me know.
At least European panhandlers are multilingual.
Sitting in on a recitation of the rosary in one of the old Munich cathedrals gave me an idea of what it must have been like during the days of the Latin mass when most of the congregation really couldn't understand what was being said.
I noticed more than one farmers field that contained a huge draft horse and a small pony. Is the pony there to keep the large horse company?
Very cool Tom, thanks.
Yes, Tom. A small pony or donkey is often used as a companion for a horse, quite often a pregnant one.
I'm very jealous. I was posted in Northern Italy many years ago and remember that area well. The train ride from Verona to Innsbruck to Munchen is a sight to behold. I've never seen grass as green as the Brenner pass in summer; it's like everything is in Kodachrome.
By the way, you're too old to be gawking at the babes, but if you must you could do a hell of a lot worse than Munich women.
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