Germerican Denglish

The morning of day 4 started rather unexpectedly with a visit from my sister-in-law. Not that it’s unusual for her to stop by, but unannounced and unplanned isn’t the norm. At about 4 a.m. that morning there had been a small problem with my brother-in-law’s nose when he sneezed. The sneeze wasn’t the problem though, it was the spurt of blood that came flying out with it. The still larger problem was the stream of blood that followed the spurt and turned his nose into a faucet with a slow leak. Unable to find the shut off valve for the faucet of blood, they gathered his crutches and a bowl to bleed into and headed to the hospital. Apparently the doctor couldn’t find the easy switch either but they got him fixed up, the only drawback being the few days required hospital stay.

After an the unexpected visit, going for a run seemed in order. Who goes running in December you ask? Well, as the Germans say: “There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes!”. Even by other countries’ standards it wasn’t particularly bad weather though, just a light rain and a little cool. Once I got going I knew I had made the right decision. A few kilometers and a trip around the neighborhood ponds later, I landed back at the house full of euphoria. I am not a big fan of running itself, but I love the feeling it leaves me with.

A little 1st grade homework session was then all that lay between us and a quiet dinner with friends, and for little guys a fun evening with grandpa. Watching a 6 year old learn is a sight to behold though. The leaps that they make in their understanding of things are awesome, and the surge of confidence they get after they figure something out on their own warms the soul. The very best part of helping a child learn though is watching his world grow as he learns to read, simply amazing.

In the evening we and a few friends went to dinner at a little place called Zum Thrin, which is ran by the lady who previously ran the “Brauhaus”. We were instantly recognized as we came through the door, which is always nice. The food was just as delicious as always, and I had schnitzel again of course. I may very well turn into a schnitzel by the time we leave and I don’t care! I love how it is the norm in Germany to stay at your table as long as you want after you’ve finished your meal. We definitely took advantage of it that night stayed so long that we closed down the joint.

Once back at the house we gathered around the kitchen table to hear the story of my father-in-law’s evening with the little guy. Apparently there was a lot of soccer and cartoons on TV and cops and robbers to be played all over the house. Having a Stubbi and shooting the bull in the kitchen, another great way to end the day. Bis zum nächsten mal, Tschüß!