Eye Candy Everywhere!

This city is full of eye-candy. I like the subtle things... today, shoes and socks intriguied me. I may start to make images of one thing a day and see how that translates???


I thought that the local area would keep us busy for a while and I was right. There is a lot to do within a five mile radius of here. It's a bit overwhelming. Recently, I've been taken with the food and drink (can you tell?). I can't wait to have family and friends come over and treat them to an Italian meal one night, then an Indian meal and then a German meal, etc. all authentic and very different from anything they've ever had. What fun that will be!



Mannheim is an industrial city - with BASF and several other plants.

Mannheim, Germany

The Stadtbahn into Mannheim is a wonderful ride. Although it's unseasonably warm here, it was a blast to go into Mannheim on the train.

Mannheim is a large city and reminds me a lot of Paris (believe it or not, I know it sounds silly). Maybe it's my virgin American eyes, but it has some very cool places and cafes/coffeshops/bakeries everywhere.

Tonight, we went downtown for dinner and it was another wonderful meal in Europe! We sat outdoors in the great little place called "Hemingways". The waitress spoke some English and with our very limited, broken, mangled German we were able to have a great meal and a lot of fun (can you say Knoblauch Es ist Weiss, Ja?)

Photos are not uploading tonight... I'll try to update this tomorrow with images.

New Tastes & Smells

I started "in-processing" today. I have to attend briefings, fill out paper work and watch Power-Point presentations. This will go on all week.

Jean and I just got back from visiting the housing department. We are scheduled to look at a house in Rheinau, Germany. It's 225 square meters, 6 bedrooms, apartment upstairs, fenced yard, terrace, etc. We'll see what happens. We're also second in line for a nice place near Grunstadt. I would prefer that area.

I got to video conference with my friend Caron last night. It was very enjoyable, technology is great! I hope we can do that more often!!


What a wunderbar dinner!! This is what I love (at least one of them). We had a little zin before dinner but these Wiener Wurstchen were the tastiest (a bit salty cooked in Olive Oil) with the Kohl!! There was a nice (dijon like) mustard and dill cream! The (peach) yogurt for desert was the creamiest and best I've ever had!! What can I say? The hits just keep on coming. Now if I can get some sleep tonight!!





Guten Nach!

My Third Day In Germany

It's my third day in Germany and I am captivated and disoriented.

I need to document these feelings so they are always available to me. I know in time, this will become familiar and I need to be able to speak to the experiences (intimately) that our family and friends will experience the first few days, weeks or months here. I NEVER want to forget these feelings and emotions. I am alive again!

We are living in an apartment/hotel on Gorxheimer StraBe #7. It's right on the border of Mannheim near Ben Franklin Village, a U.S. military post.

Quinn in Mannheim on a very hot summer day.

It's so different here. Far from what I am familiar with. I find myself pondering the smallest things. The smells, sights, sounds, everything. It feels very different. If you find yourself bored and lamenting your life in your familiar rut, in other words if you are "rutified", move to a different country. Your senses will awaken and you will feel alive again, I guarantee it!

Nahrung: We went grocery shopping yesterday and we went up and down every aisle wondering what 90%+ of the products were. I have never seen so much sausage (no, not that kind of sausage) and pork products. Pork/ham products are called "Schinken" - there are more varieties than you can count. It sounds stereotypical, but it's true, Germans love their Schinken und Bier!
Quinn and Jeanne, July 23, 2006 - Mannheim, Geramny

Bier: Don't get me started! For a beer drinker, this is heaven. Very, very good beer that is very, very inexpensive. I can't believe I've been drinking that shite from Utah (well, I really haven't that much, but in theory I had no choice if I wanted a beer). It's no surprise to me that Germans can, and will, enjoy a Bier most anytime, day or night.

Wein: This was surprising to me too. I didn't expect the variety and quality of wine here. Again, very good and very inexpensive. We've been having Wein und Bier mit Abendessen every night.

Kaffee: The most tastiest, yummiest stuff I've had (well at least very similar to the Dutch coffee I love so very much). We bought a brand called "Jacobs" appropriate, no? It's strong, but very drinkable and wires you up nicely. I recently gave up coffee drinking but couldn't resist here. Europeans love their Kaffee in the morning and Wein und Bier at meals. As they say, "When in Rome..."

Milch: A new experience. I love this stuff! It's heated to a very high temp for a long time and it doesn't need to be refrigerated. It lasts for months! It's rich and creamy too. Great on cereal or in Kaffee! A popular Kaffee Creamer here is also very good and is fridge-free.
Milch, yummy, yummy milch.

I'm going to keep these posts short and sharp as possible. I'll post images with them and pick some highlights of the day.

The Big Move

I'm moving to Europe in July.

My goal is to use this space as a journal and document my thoughts, activities and experience through images and text.

I'm also entering my fourth semester of graduate school at Goddard College. I hope my advisor can visit and make comments on this blog during the semester.