Something on wheels.

My brother http://no1broadstreet.blogspot.com/ told us about his battery going dead on him in his Blog and that reminded me of an incident years ago. I was on a round trip visiting customers in south Germany; I was finished for the day and had only one new customer to visit on my return journey home. I booked in late at a hotel just outside Stuttgart for the night. Because it was that late there were no more vacant parking lots direct on the hotel so I had to park my car on a spare piece of open ground. In the night the temperature fell to 6 below freezing. On trying to start my car the next morning there was absolutely nothing, dead as a doornail. My car in those days was a BMW six cylinder turbo diesel. I asked the guy who was parked next to me if he could help me out with a jumper start (poor bugger). I can’t remember now what he had for a car I only know his battery acid were blubbering, sputtering and steaming in no time, also his battery was red hot from trying to start my car, luckily his engine was running because I had the feeling we had knackered his battery. To cut a long story short I phoned the German ADAC and was put on a waiting list, apparently half of Stuttgart had dead batteries. Eventually the ADAC man came at half past eleven, my appointment with the new customer was at nine, I arrived there at half past two in the afternoon. As you can imagine arriving so late didn’t go down very well with the customer. Naturally we never heard from the guy again. That’s what a dead battery can do for you!

Talking about cars I have to go for my TÜV inspection on the 7^th of April The TÜV is equivalent to the New Zealand WOF. The TÜV inspection takes place after three years for a new car and then in two years intervals. I also need new summer tyres, that will cost me around 350 to 400 Euros. At the moment I have winter tyres on the car.

Setting up a Blog for my friend I will have to postpone for a while, his mother died yesterday and he is driving over to England (per tunnel) for the funeral. It was no shock for him, his mother was 92 years old and had been ill for some time.

The weather seems to be picking up, let’s hope it stay that way?

The photo is something on wheels (fitting for this post) It was taken years ago with my Canon A1

Take care out there were ever you are. Tschüss.

Daffodils and snow

It’s Easter Monday morning and I have just come in after clearing snow. I can’t remember such turbulence weather situation at Easter like it is this year.

Yesterday it was lovely and sunny but cold. In the afternoon my wife and I went with our dog for a long walk. We were out for two hours and we both enjoyed the walk. On arriving home we had coffee with honey on home made bread.

On Saturday my wife had a shock, we received the news that a close cousin of my wife had passed away. We weren’t aware that she was seriously ill (cancer of the lungs). Her husband told us on the phone `that only the close family knew how ill she was and she didn’t want any one else to know.

There home is 200 km away from were we live, so we have decided not to attend the funeral because of the bad weather condition.

This bad news of course reflected our thoughts once again to our next-door neighbour who also has cancer of the lungs and is at the moment on chemo and suffering tremendously through it.

Now to something not so morbid. Over the weekend I set a Blog up for my wife http://bara-gellendorfblog.blogspot.com/ the posts will be naturally written in the Germany language.

The aim of this Blog is to find German emigrants living abroad and in New Zealand and would like to read about daily living in their Heimat.

If any one out there knows a Blog address of such persons we would be very grateful if you would add this in a comment.

I naturally didn’t get the Blog right in my first attempt (we are both in our middle 60) but try and try again was our motto and in the end we were successful.

I hope for my wife’s sake that this will work out because she is very enthusiastic about it and I’m sure she will enjoy writing a Blog as I do.

I was on the phone to my brother http://no1broadstreet.blogspot.com/ over the weekend asking his advise about setting the Blog up for my wife, always get the right answers from him which of course helps me a lot. It was nice talking to him if only for a few minutes

From Saturday of Sunday some Morons (and we have enough of them) on their way home from probably a heavy drinking section smashed in the side windows of seven cars parked on our road just for the fun of it. Nothing was stolen, it was pure vandalism, one guy who was passing by on Sunday morning said, “It’s how some people interpret democratic freedom” and I must agree with him One of the main problems is, they never catch them and the investigating police officer said the same.

The photo was taken this morning in our garden.

Take care out there were ever you are. Tschüss.

Easter

Once again it’s Easter time, and the weather forecast predicts a cold and gloomy one for us here in Germany. Never mind, grumbling over the weather doesn’t help; there is no bad weather just unsuitable clothing.
The photo I took is of some coloured Easter eggs hanging in a small bush in our garden. It’s
tradition in Germany to hang coloured eggs out side a week or two before Easter. The other tradition is that On Easter Sunday small gifts and Easter eggs are hidden out doors (or indoors if in bad weather) by the parents and the younger children (those that still believe in the Easter rabbit) have to search for them.

Easter egg traditions

Pace-eggs

In the North of England, at Easter time, a traditional game is played where hard-boiled pace eggs are distributed and each player hits the other players egg with their own. This is known as "egg tapping", "egg dumping" or "egg jarping". The winner is the holder of the last intact egg. The losers get to eat their eggs. It is also practiced in Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, the Republic of Srpska and other countries. They call it tucanje. In parts of Bavaria, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland it is called Ostereiertitschen. In South Louisiana this practice is called Pocking Eggs and is slightly different. The Cajuns hold that the winner eats the eggs of the losers in each round.

Our Easter Sunday dinner this year will be of Lamb with self made Rösti (a Swiss potato receipt) green runner beans with fried bacon wrapped around the middle of them, for dessert ice-cream with raspberry sauce and to wash that down a bottle of South Africa Pinotage. Now doesn’t that sound delicious?

The photo is of some hand painted Ukrainian Easter Eggs

We would like to wish every one who reads the Runner Blog a Happy Easter.

Take care out there were ever you are. Tschüss.

Presentation

I have been donating blood to the English Red Cross then the German Red Cross since I was 18 years of age. Over the years I have become a regular donator because it’s something I believe in. The amount of blood that is needed daily is tremendous, alone in the Bundesland (county) were we live, to provide the hospitals and other establishments 4500 donors are needed daily. On Friday afternoon I donated blood for the125 time for the German Red Cross.

Because of this I was awarded, along with six other donators a diploma and a golden Red Cross pin studded with 6 diamonds chips also a presentation basket filled with groceries. My wife was there for the presentation, also the local press; all in all it was a memorable afternoon.

The weather is once more going haywire, on Friday the highest temperature was 9 degrees then yesterday it was up around 20. We sat outside in the afternoon for the first time and had coffee and cake. This morning (Sunday) it’s pouring down and the temperature is again around 9 degrees. The weather forecast for the rest of the week, it’s going to get colder, frost at night with snow and sleet, no wonder my blood pressure is going crazy on me. Yesterday morning I had 103 to 75, my wife made me strong coffee to get me going.

Like I said “ it pouring down” so that means I’m not going for a run this morning, which I make myself believe is common sense but deep inside it annoys me when I don’t do my sport.

My wife says not to run is more common sense because I donated blood on Friday and I need a couple of days to recuperate not being as young as I was.

The photo is taken at home me with the basket full of groceries. The other is a cheer me up photo of some field flowers taken last year.

Take care out there were ever you are. Tschüss.

Spring is just around the corner.

Although we are continually being lashed by gale force winds from the never ending low depressions coming in from the Atlantic, hitting of course the British Isles first causing a lot of damage there also in France & Spain, one can’t deny it, spring is just around the corner. Every were one looks things are bursting into life there is a light touch of green on most plants and bushes.

The weather situation being unpredictable at times, I have still managed (between showers) to do some work in the garden, in fact I even managed to mow the lawn and then Thatch it (that word I didn’t know, in German it is Vertikutieren) There are so many jobs to be done in the garden before the fine weather sets in ( if it ever does) but I extremely enjoy working in the garden so it raises no problems for me.

I finely posted the bloody Income Tax return on Wednesday. My wife and I had to go through the whole lot again because we had missed something out in the first attempt, we still don’t know if we have filled the forms in correctly! But who the hell cares! If they are incorrect we will be sure to hear from the Inland Revenue people in no time.

It is my brother’s birthday today. I have sent him an e-mail congratulating him and wishing him all the best. He will be 55 on the day, I wish him most of all less stress situations in his life and the most important thing of all, good health.

The photo that I have added is one of the rare photos that I posses of my brother and me together, taken 1983 while on holiday in New Zealand. The other photo is taken of the front garden of a house a few streets away. When I saw it that’s when I thought spring is just around the corner.

Take care out there were ever you are. Tschüss.

Disappointing

My wife was right in her presumption that she would not sell many of her doilies; in fact it was utterly disappointing, (may be because they aren’t in fashion any more) People don’t appreciate handcrafts like they used too. Older people knew straight away that the doilies were hand made, the younger generation you had to tell them. Most people exclaimed how well made they were and they understood that a lot of work goes into making them, but that didn’t alter the fact that nobody wanted to buy. The total amount my wife made was 12 Euros. I felt really sorry for her. I can ensure you that’s the first and last time we will try to sell doilies.

Saturday afternoon I decided that I would cycle to Reisholz, they have just opened a large Do-it-yourself store there and I needed a new tap washer and one or two small things. Seeing that it was a lovely early spring day, a bit nippy but the sun was shining, what more do you need?

Now were the hell is Reisholz you’ll be asking your selves. It’s a borough from Düsseldorf and very famous as far as soap powder are concerned Henkel the maker of Persil has its factory there.

The route I chose to Reisholz takes me past a farm and through a large wooded area called Hassler forest. (Oh! I nearly forgot it takes me past a Mc Donald’s) I took my camera with me this time just in case I saw something worth taking a photo of. (See Photos) The photos of the wood figures are situated in the forest they are carved out of a logs right there were they stand.

While I was on my way to the Do-it-yourself store my wife backed a cake so on arriving back home the surprise was perfect and we had coffee and cake.

Dead on half past six Saturday evenings I sit in front of the TV set with a bottle of cold beer and watch the German first division football, its on for about 90 minutes and for me pure relaxation.

This morning I did my usual Sunday run and I must admit it was plain torture compared to my normal runs, the case being my body is still stiff and sore from Tuesday, the older one gets the longer it takes to recuperate.

The photos are of my wife’s stall, figures in the forest, cows in cow shed.

Take care out there were ever you are. Tschüss.

Hard work and aching bones

Up till now this week has been a busy one for me. On Tuesday the weather was perfect for work in the garden so I decided to complete one of the alterations that my wife and I had thought out for the garden this year.

One of the alterations was to extend the area were we have our garden bench, it’s a place were we sit mostly in the evenings to enjoy the evening sun. Now laying paving stones is not an easy job at any time and for a layman plain hard labour. It took me a complete day to do the job but I must admit in between I had to drive to the local do it yourself super market to buy one or two items that I needed to finish the job. Getting out of bed the next day was plain agony I had aches and pains all over, there are muscles I never knew I had (must be getting old)

My wife is busy putting a collection together of hand crochet doilies that she had made over the last year (she also knits socks). On Saturday (tomorrow) we have been invited to the international English Library in Düsseldorf. They are holding their annual spring sale of books and handcrafts. Our neighbours (live across the road from us) who are English and she runs the library asked my wife if she would like to take part in the spring sales. Ten percent of what you sell goes to the library for the buying of new books. My wife reckons she won’t sell much and I told her “you don’t know till you have tried.

The winter has returned to many parts of Germany this week, down south they had night frost of minus 15 degrees and in other parts of Germany they have had heavy snow falls. We again have been lucky, night frost around 4 degrees and no snow.

The photos are; Me laying the stones. The finished job. Just a small sample of the doilies.

Take care out there were ever you are. Tschüss.

Storm Emma and Tax return

Update on the storm Emma. Apparently the storm increased in velocity during the night from Saturday of Sunday hitting the East and south Germany and cursing considerable damage and unfortunately with loss of life. The top wind speed measured were as high as 223 km per hour. Other countries were also hit hard for instance, Holland, Poland and the Czech Republic.

On Sunday morning I did a ten km run through the local woods, to my surprise I only saw one tree that had been blown down. There were broken branches littering the way and one had to be careful that you didn’t tread on one and twist a ankle. A few years ago I indented on doing the Cologne Marathon and was in training for it. During a run I stepped on a branch under some leaves and strained my ankle so bad, that I could not compete in the Marathon.

Sunday afternoon The Family Manager (my wife) and I did our tax return, like I said in my last Blog “ stress pure”

Why I ask myself do they have to make a tax return so complicated? Also they seem to change the tax forms from year to year, which doesn’t help. We started doing our yearly tax return just after lunch, finishing with taunt nerves around four. My wife then made a cup of tea to sooth our nerves. I think I’ll have to run through the whole lot again just to check if we haven’t missed anything out. You may be wondering why do we as pensioner have to do a income tax return, yes our pension is taxed, here in Germany you are taxed on everything and when I say everything I mean just that.

The photos are; The Dutch coast on Saturday, soaking this lighthouse near the town of Ijmuiden.

A damaged ICE: A high-speed train was struck by a falling tree near Cologne, injuring the driver.

Emergency workers removed a fallen tree that struck a police car.

Photos courtesy of Spiegel online international.

Take care out there were ever you are. Tschüss.

Storm Emma & Beer

Glad to say that my wife’s stomach upset is long past and gone due to cups and cups of Camomile tea, it doesn’t taste all that good but it certainly helps.

On Friday evening we were invited round to some neighbours friends for drinks (this is a common practise here in Germany) they live across the road from us. It was an enjoyable evening, they are both pensioner’s like we are so most of our interests are mutual. We had a couple of beers (that is Heinrich and myself) the ladies had wine, the beer that we drank is called Alt bier this beer is drunk mainly in and around Düsseldorf. In Cologne (which is not so far from Düsseldorf about 30 km) they drink Kölch, but that’s an other story.

We were warned in the middle of the week that Europe would be hit by a storm (Called Emma) with gale force winds up to 135 kilometres per hour. When we came home it was around midnight it was raining and a strong wind was blowing. Half past three in the morning the storm hit us with thunder and lighting and gusts of wind that howled around the house we could hear the branches of the trees in the nearby woods thrashing wildly against each other. On such a night to be snug in bed with the wind howling outside is a great feeling.

Apparently from what they say on the news there has been considerable wide spread damage, the worst hit areas being the North of Germany and the North sea coast line.

Every year the same procedure, this year no exemptions, the filling out of the tax forms. Over the last four years I use a program, which helps you get through the tax jungle and gives you a very accurate account of what you get refunded or not. Tomorrow my wife and I shall do our tax return for 2007 which means stress for the pair of us.

Information about Alt Bier

(often abbreviated to Alt) is the name given to a form of pale ale that originated in Düsseldorf and Mönchengladbach the Rhineland region in Germany

The name Altbier, which literally means old beer, refers to the pre-lager brewing method of using a warm top-fermenting yeast like British pale ales Over time the Alt yeast adjusted to lower temperatures, and the Alt brewers would store or lager the beer after fermentation, leading to a cleaner, crisper beer than is the norm for an ale.

History

The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot of 1516, was drawn up to ensure the production of decent-quality beer; however, this decree did not affect brewers of the Rhineland. As such, the brewing traditions in this region developed slightly differently. For example, brewing during the summer was illegal in Bavaria, but the cooler climate of the Rhineland allowed Alt brewers to brew all year long and to experiment with storing fermented beer in cool caves and cellars.

The photos are of a glass Alt bier and the second one is downloaded from Spiegel online

Take care out there were ever you are. Tschüss.