No city like the city...
Today I have no funny German words for you, but a funny story about German beliefs. It seems that here in Germany, there is a strong belief that one can get indeed very, very ill from cold moving air. Turn on a fan, air conditioning, or even, on a sweltering summer day, try opening a window in a room full of Germans, and watch them squirm. It seems to be a common belief that moving air causes respiratory infections, and all kinds of ailments. It has even been suggested to me that a bladder infection might be caused by cold air coming in contact with the abdomen when warm shirts are not long enough to be tucked in on cold winter days. I have searched long and hard for a word describing the illness caused by cold moving air to no avail. If any of you reading are familiar with such a word, please do let me know.
Speaking of illness, some of you are aware of my proclivity to stiff necks and muscle spasms. Well, in December my problems started acting up again. I eventually went to my doctor to try and fill a prescription that has worked for me back in the states. She gave me Ibuprofen. Ibuprofen! Sigh. Then she told me to make sure I avoid getting drafts on my neck at night….
Anyway, in spite of my pain in the neck, Todd and I have been making the most of our time here with a bit of travel. The weekend before last, we were in Venice. We rented a fancy BMW (when in Bavaria….) and after a drive through the Alps, and about six hours later we were in Venice. Venice is a crazy beautiful place where the streets are canals, and there are boats instead of cars. Other curiosities include:
1) the fact that the city is in fact sinking, and
2) that the city was apparently built with no grid.
(One might not realize that one is a control freak until they arrive in Venice and try to get from point A to point B. Remember, one travels to Venice to revel in the romance of it all, and glimpse a bit of Italian history. I tried to remember this on the many, many occasions that I exclaimed, “Oh great, now where the FUCK ARE WE???” Eventually, as we continued to hit dead ends in the middle of narrow walkways, I replaced this phrase with, “Isn’t this ROMANTIC?” Holiday restored, break-up averted, good-time had by all. See, I really am a romantic at heart.) Here are some photos from the trip....
The Italian alps through the windshield
Almost there...
Where the fuck are we now? Oh yeah, romance on the Rialto bridge
a Venitian taxi stand
this shirt is sooooo AWESOME
a cool-looking canal
The trip to Venice was a bit of a holiday for us before Todd left for the month on assignment in Toulouse. So far, things are going well for him in France, aside from a little cold (He probably caught a rare French draft.). Tomorrow, I am hopping on a plane to Barcelona, as is our friend Vicky. Todd and his friend Jeff are hopping in a car and driving to Barcelona (about a three or four hour journey from Toulouse). The hope is that by some miracle we will converge in Barcelona and then do whatever it is one does in Spain. Stroll the streets, admire the architecture, partake of food and wine, and… what else is there? I’ll report back when we return.
So back to the neck. The ibuprofen wasn’t quite doing the trick. When I reached the point that I was pretty much paralyzed from the shoulders up (better than the other way around I imagine) I forced my way back into the doctor’s office unannounced and tried again to get the medication I needed. She sent me to an orthopedist/chiropractor. I walked into his office, he gave me an adjustment, took a look at what was going on, and sent me on my way with a prescription for muscle-relaxers. After two days, I was feeling better already. While he was treating me though, we got to talking, and he asked where I was from. California is my typical response. He then asked “Which part of California?”
“San Francisco,” I replied.
“Oh, ‘The City’?” He countered.
“Yep,” sigh, “that’s the one.”
Speaking of illness, some of you are aware of my proclivity to stiff necks and muscle spasms. Well, in December my problems started acting up again. I eventually went to my doctor to try and fill a prescription that has worked for me back in the states. She gave me Ibuprofen. Ibuprofen! Sigh. Then she told me to make sure I avoid getting drafts on my neck at night….
Anyway, in spite of my pain in the neck, Todd and I have been making the most of our time here with a bit of travel. The weekend before last, we were in Venice. We rented a fancy BMW (when in Bavaria….) and after a drive through the Alps, and about six hours later we were in Venice. Venice is a crazy beautiful place where the streets are canals, and there are boats instead of cars. Other curiosities include:
1) the fact that the city is in fact sinking, and
2) that the city was apparently built with no grid.
(One might not realize that one is a control freak until they arrive in Venice and try to get from point A to point B. Remember, one travels to Venice to revel in the romance of it all, and glimpse a bit of Italian history. I tried to remember this on the many, many occasions that I exclaimed, “Oh great, now where the FUCK ARE WE???” Eventually, as we continued to hit dead ends in the middle of narrow walkways, I replaced this phrase with, “Isn’t this ROMANTIC?” Holiday restored, break-up averted, good-time had by all. See, I really am a romantic at heart.) Here are some photos from the trip....
The Italian alps through the windshield
Almost there...
Where the fuck are we now? Oh yeah, romance on the Rialto bridge
a Venitian taxi stand
this shirt is sooooo AWESOME
a cool-looking canal
The trip to Venice was a bit of a holiday for us before Todd left for the month on assignment in Toulouse. So far, things are going well for him in France, aside from a little cold (He probably caught a rare French draft.). Tomorrow, I am hopping on a plane to Barcelona, as is our friend Vicky. Todd and his friend Jeff are hopping in a car and driving to Barcelona (about a three or four hour journey from Toulouse). The hope is that by some miracle we will converge in Barcelona and then do whatever it is one does in Spain. Stroll the streets, admire the architecture, partake of food and wine, and… what else is there? I’ll report back when we return.
So back to the neck. The ibuprofen wasn’t quite doing the trick. When I reached the point that I was pretty much paralyzed from the shoulders up (better than the other way around I imagine) I forced my way back into the doctor’s office unannounced and tried again to get the medication I needed. She sent me to an orthopedist/chiropractor. I walked into his office, he gave me an adjustment, took a look at what was going on, and sent me on my way with a prescription for muscle-relaxers. After two days, I was feeling better already. While he was treating me though, we got to talking, and he asked where I was from. California is my typical response. He then asked “Which part of California?”
“San Francisco,” I replied.
“Oh, ‘The City’?” He countered.
“Yep,” sigh, “that’s the one.”
posted by mel at 9:48 PM
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