A Relaxing Day on the Bodensee
Sunday June 25, 2011
Today, Sunday, is an odd continuation of my departure day. Those of you who have flown to Europe are familiar with the curious realization that though you've not yet finished the day you were in, when you land in Europe, you're already starting the next one! I did my best to prepare for this by sleeping after dinner was served on the plane, and was successful in getting about 5 hours of uninterrupted rest. That and the general excitement of seeing old friends and a new environment kept me awake and refreshed well into Sunday.
My arrival in Zurich was without incident and, as promised, Ron was waiting for me after I cleared Swiss customs, which was uneventful. Unteruhldingen, the German village where Ron and family live, lies on the north shore of Lake Constance, known to Germans as Bodensee. Though there are routes around the lake, Ron decided we should take the ferry across,
and we spent 30 minutes or so on the ride enjoying the beautiful weather - apparently it and I arrived simultaneously. 
We had planned this to be a "low key" day in anticipation of my being jet-lagged, so Ron shared some of the local culture and flavor with me. Ron, Christi, and I walked along the lakefront as he expertly played tour guide - answering my questions, translating the maddening German language ("V" is pronounced "F", "W" is pronunced "V", and there's a large, pregnant-looking "B" that is actually "ss") And all of this is before ANY of the accent marks, modifiers, and such. The Germans have a curious habit of creating new words by splicing two or more existing words together into a 30-plus letter conglomeration obviously intended to confound North American minds and tongues. Mission accomplished.
Kudos to the Germans for being trailblazers in "green" living. They recycle EVERYTHING, partly evidenced by the separate bins for different types of trash in public places. This is nothing but a great idea, and makes me want to rethink my lack of recycling effort.
We're off to visit famous castles on Monday.
Today, Sunday, is an odd continuation of my departure day. Those of you who have flown to Europe are familiar with the curious realization that though you've not yet finished the day you were in, when you land in Europe, you're already starting the next one! I did my best to prepare for this by sleeping after dinner was served on the plane, and was successful in getting about 5 hours of uninterrupted rest. That and the general excitement of seeing old friends and a new environment kept me awake and refreshed well into Sunday.
My arrival in Zurich was without incident and, as promised, Ron was waiting for me after I cleared Swiss customs, which was uneventful. Unteruhldingen, the German village where Ron and family live, lies on the north shore of Lake Constance, known to Germans as Bodensee. Though there are routes around the lake, Ron decided we should take the ferry across,
and we spent 30 minutes or so on the ride enjoying the beautiful weather - apparently it and I arrived simultaneously. 
We had planned this to be a "low key" day in anticipation of my being jet-lagged, so Ron shared some of the local culture and flavor with me. Ron, Christi, and I walked along the lakefront as he expertly played tour guide - answering my questions, translating the maddening German language ("V" is pronounced "F", "W" is pronunced "V", and there's a large, pregnant-looking "B" that is actually "ss") And all of this is before ANY of the accent marks, modifiers, and such. The Germans have a curious habit of creating new words by splicing two or more existing words together into a 30-plus letter conglomeration obviously intended to confound North American minds and tongues. Mission accomplished.
Kudos to the Germans for being trailblazers in "green" living. They recycle EVERYTHING, partly evidenced by the separate bins for different types of trash in public places. This is nothing but a great idea, and makes me want to rethink my lack of recycling effort.
We're off to visit famous castles on Monday.
posted by Matt Lewis at 7:24 PM
1 Comments:
If cities would make recycling as easy as it's obvious the Germans have, that would help. Once a week pick up and no containers out in town makes it a challenge. Our school district does a pretty good job, some schools more than others, but it takes work to get everything up and running. The high school students bought into it first thing, which is hopeful for the future. Maybe the Scouts could get involved?
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