The Frankfurt 'Bier Bike'

OK... so while visiting in Frankfurt a while back we heard this big commotion and saw this giant bike with about 13 people pedaling it down the road. At first I thought it was just some stupid tour thing, but no... it is something much grander. Turns out that in the center of this giant bike is a bar with a couple kegs of beer on tap. I say we get a big group and sign up.

More Fun Advertisements

Here's another installment of blatant German advertising... The message is good, but I think they went a little too far on this one... see for yourself:

A Weekend at Home...

Well I suppose this is the first real post I've made in a while that has anything to do with what is going on in my life right now... I've been adjusting to life back in Darmstadt for the past 2 and a half weeks just trying to get back into the swing of things. I haven't really managed to get out and sight see or anything yet, but maybe if I get bored enough this week I might plan a trip somewhere. This weekend I basically spent the whole time in my apartment just watching TV and getting some serious sleep. Although, there were a few moments of pure excitement... I suppose...

I came home Friday after work and working out at about 5:30pm (work gets off at 4:30pm on Fridays in Germany in case you were wondering). The cleaning lady usually cleans my room on Fridays so I expected to come home to a nice sterile smelling apartment with plenty of fresh towels. Well, when I got there I found all of my stuff left in the sink or scattered on the floor and nothing was cleaned... and no towels. Apparently she hadn't started cleaning yet but it was 5:30pm and I just got home from work and wanted to make some dinner. So I put all my stuff back where it was supposed to be and she showed up 30 minutes later and was (amazingly) surprised that I was there... it's 6pm on a Friday, where else would I be? So she said she would come by the next day, I asked what time but she couldn't tell me.

Saturday I woke up around noon and got dressed to go workout since I figured when she came I would just go to the gym and let her do her thing... Well I waited around until 6pm and said screw it, took a shower and made some dinner (traditional German food too, I'm very proud of myself), started some laundry and set in for the night... she shows up at 8pm. Completely surprised, I told her wait until next Friday because at this point the gym is closed... I'm not ready for it anyways, so I am not going to wander around the town for an hour in the dark... besides I still had laundry to do. I remain thoroughly confused about the whole situation.

EUMETSAT Tour

Well I felt like it was about time that I give you all a tour of my workplace. All of these photos except the last one were taken by one of my friends from Alabama when he was visiting for a conference. Normally the security guards severely punish those who use cameras on the premises, but since it was during a conference I suppose they let it slide... I, however, have not wanted to test their mettle so I left my camera in my bag most of the time.


We start on the outside... The building was originally designed to look like one of their geostationary satellites... basically a big garbage can. Also outside of the building there are 3 full size replicas of a few of the satellites run by the organization, as well as a pond that is shaped like Africa (which froze over recently and was used as a shortcut for some people who I may or may not know... much to the chagrin of the safety conscious staff).


The interior is hollow since it is required by law for every office to have a window... pretty, but somewhat of a waste of space if you ask me. There are 5 floors, but only 4 are numbered... one is called 'G' for 'Gallery Floor'. I work on the 4th floor of course in the visiting scientist's office. The bottom floor is where the lunch room and pond full of giant koi fish is.


This last picture was taken out of my window. It is a fake blackbird meant to scare of other real birds from lounging around on the building. It's kind of creepy because it never moves and is always staring at me. To try and comfort myself with its presence I gave it a name... Gunther. Now we're friends.


That's about it... there's where I work... enjoy!

European Small Cars

One of the coolest things about Europe to most guys are the cars. In general they're faster and made with better quality than their American or Japanese counterparts. But what European cars are really known for are their size. After all, since there are so many people here, you had better fit more cars on the road somehow, so why not just make them shorter. Here are a few inspirational photographs for you big SUV lovers out there... small cars can be cool too!

My Hero!

OK... so this picture is so awesome that it warrants its very own post...

Coming Out of the Closet

Das ist eine komische Anzeige aus den Niederlanden... just watch.

Ode to a German Waschmaschine

Here's to you German Waschmaschine... oh how we Auslanders envy your superior environmentally friendly-ness. We don't mind if it takes 2 and half hours to make our clothes wet and not remove any stains... it's the trees and little furry animals of the forest that are our first priority.

But please German Waschmaschine, don't lock my clothes in soapy water inside your magnificent frontloaded belly when you feel like shutting down.

Also, dearest German Waschmaschine, would it be possible to include a written path to follow, such that I may learn to navigate your 12 glorious cycles? With words like 'Pflegeleicht' and 'Schleudern' and 'Wishchwaesche' you make my head go through a spin cycle.

Oh sweet German Waschmaschine, can you be a little less greedy? Are 3 trays for detergent really necessary to be fed? When my clothes return to me soaked in detergent because I angered you by placing detergent in the wrong tray, I feel forsaken.

Most enlightened German Waschmaschine, I feel unworthy every time you break down and I am forced to clean my laundry in my sink or my shower... do you not love me German Waschmaschine? Am I not good enough for you?

Oh German Waschmaschine, how complicated our relationship is... but whatever I do, I just can't quit you!

...inspired by actual events

The NEW Apartment Tour

Alright y'all... it's time to check out my new crib. This here apartment is located almost 10 km outside of Darmstadt, which mean it's about a 45 minute commute to work everyday since I have to walk about half of it. It's in a very quite area kind of tucked away back in a little 'forest'. Here is the Google Maps link to it so you can check out the satellite view yourself... check it out. The building is 2 stories and recently renovated. There is a 'laundry room' in the basement with a washer and dryer... those will be discussed in an upcoming post entitled "Ode to a German Waschmaschine". I have my own mail box, which is currently being tested for ability to receive US mail (I hope). I live on the top floor but there is an elevator (awesome), so no more climbing up 4 stories like I had to in my old place.


(Video tour at the bottom of the post) The apartment is made of two large rooms and a bathroom... all separated by doors, so no more olive green curtains. The 'kitchen' is part of the living room and includes a dishwasher and microwave, as well as the standard hotplates and mini fridge. They included pretty much a full set of dishes, cookware and utensils... so I have everything I need. The bedroom has two separate beds and each bed has a unique style... one is a super soft spring mattress while the other is a firm memory foam mattress... so whatever mood I'm in I have a bed for the occasion. The only problem is that the beds cannot be pushed together, so I am stuck sleeping on what feels like a rather narrow twin sized mattress. Satellite TV (consisting of 34 German stations... no English) and Internet is free, but I have to pay for 'cleaning'. I am responsible for providing and cleaning my own towels, as well as cleaning the dishes. I also have to keep the kitchen area and bathroom clean as well. I also have to dispose of my own garbage. Also, the bedsheets only get changed once every 2 weeks... so I'm wondering... what am I paying them to do? It sounds like the only thing they do is vacuum. Shoot, give me my money back and I'll vacuum my own place.


Luckily that is my only complaint with the place, so I am very fortunate compared to the old place, which cost 50 euro more than what I am paying now. Also, it seems like the manager actually cares about her property, so that is a big plus in case anything breaks. I have already set off the smoke alarm while cooking, so every time I cook I unplug the battery now. Luckily it was just to localized room smoke alarm and didn't set off the entire building... which would have been incredibly embarrassing since it was only 2 days into my stay. Nothing like making everyone evacuate in the freezing cold to introduce myself.

I have already met one person there... a guy from England whom I met while doing laundry. Supposedly there are some people from California there too, so I guess I'll have to make my obnoxious American-ness known and maybe they will seek me out.

Return to Germany 2009

Well, it's been a while... Went home to Oregon for 3 weeks for the holidays. For the most part it was a fun time, except for the 18 inches of snow and ice that came in the span of 2 days (see photo). I had tickets to the Jets/Seahawks game up in Seattle right after the storm hit. Luckily I have a truck with 4WD so we managed to make it up there, but very slowly since the road was just a sheet of ice. A trip that normally takes 3 hours took us 6 and a half. We decided to go up early to make sure we got the on time and crashed at my sister's for the night. The game was great... Got to see Brett Favre and also Mike Holmgren's last home game before he retired. They did a big tribute to him at the end which was neat. What was really fun was that the stadium was covered in snow, so everyone was throwing snowballs everywhere. Security tried to kick people out, but that just encouraged people to do it more. At the end of the game some of the Jets players were getting sick of it all and decided to retaliate at the fans... check it out.

I had a good Christmas... Got some gift certificates for some new clothing so went on a shopping spree. The cashier lady was surprised by how much stuff I had, but I told her that I had to stock up on good fashion before I headed back to the land of neon jumpsuits and mullets. Once Christmas was over my mom and I made a surprise visit to Madison to visit the family. We though it would be smart to leave on the day after Christmas during all the crappy weather (sarcasm). We made it to Minnesota alright, but got stuck there for a good 7 hours before they loaded us on buses and shipped us down to Madison. The trip took about 6 hours, so we didn't get in until almost 3am. We were supposed ot get in at 7pm the day before so we had to get a taxi to a hotel for the the night. Had a good time meeting up with the family, especially since I haven't been there for like 5 years. The trip back to Oregon wasn't much better. In Madison we got stuck for 5 hours for some 'maintenance' issue, so we missed our connection to Portland. We got on the next one, but we had to wait 2 hours in Minnesota before it arrived... and of course it arrived late. Let's just say I spent a good amount of time that day in a bar watching football.

The flight back to Germany was alright. They moved my seat without asking me but put me in an exit row so I had tons of leg room. The only problem was that it was right next to the bathrooms so everyone congregated around us, which got a little annoying. Also, there was a family in the middle row with 3 young children who kept running around and crying and pooping themselves. At one point one of the youngest ones came over and blatantly knocked the cup of orange juice off the tray of the guy that was sitting next to me... no punishment. Kids get off too easy these days for stuff I would get smacked for.

Anyways, when I arrived in Germany we got in 45 minutes early, so they had to unload us on the tarmac onto buses to take us to the terminal. Kinda sucked, but what made it miserable was the fact that it was -20 C out (~0 F) and it was windy. I think my lungs actually froze about 10 seconds after being out there. But I managed to survive and made it to my bus to Darmstadt and then got a taxi to my new apartment. Luckily the manager spoke a little English, so with my little German we were able to figure everything out. She was really nice. She showed me around the apartment and told me how to work everything and what not, so the transition was smooth. Once I was settled I headed to work to pick up the stuff I left behind in my office. I arrived right at lunch time so I got lunch with the people I usually eat with and then I headed out. Once I deposited everything I had to make 2 trips to the grocery store (about a mile away) to get some food. Since I can only buy what I can carry I have had to make 4 trips there and back in the past 3 days, and I will probably be making another one today after my workout. Kind of obnoxious, but hopefully I will be able to cut it back to once a week after I have all the basics that I need.

Anyways, this is getting too long so I should probably cut it. Coming up... apartment tour... get excited.