Ich hab das schon probiert!

So I tried it. The legendary, cultured health tea drink, kombucha. Interesting, but not really worth it, I don't think.

Bild des Tages

Just a pretty.

Wind in den USA

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/08/17/nyregion/20080818_WIND_index.html

I've always found it interesting that people in some regions are against wind power installations. I guess it's easy to take it for granted when you don't live near one, but I don't think I'd have a big problem with it. Course, I also probably don't use up nearly as much energy as the average American, and I might be a little annoyed if I had to deal with a whole field of them so that people far away can leave their televisions on all day.

Wanderlust

This weekend's wandering: the Europäishes Brotmuseam in Ebergötzen.

In reality, not very exciting. The didn't even have any free bread! or anything on the chemistry of bread making or yeast or the changes in bread-making technique. It was basically a collection of bread-related things. But they did have a selection of different grains and I can now distinguish roggen (rye), weizen (wheat), haffer (oats), and a bunch of others. They even had a garden with a bunch of different things growing. AND the most amazing apples. I might actually not dislike these. AND a windmill and watermill. AND I got to play inside them. It was fun.

Ebergötzen is pretty far away--17 km by the highway--so this trip was kind of a whole day thing. Most of the way there were nice paved bike paths, but occasionally the road disintegrated into gravel. I'm still in awe that you can even get around on a bike and that people let you pass through their property. Maybe it's just part of the integration of city and country in Germany. The village is quite small actually--I guess most of these villages are agriculture based? I don't know where else money comes from for these people. The surrounding countryside is also really pretty: larger rolling hills and a broad valley which ends at the base of the Harz mountains (which were barely visible to me).

Rock formation and bluff in the middle of a forest. Bike paths often run along the old roads between villages and this one looked ancient.

A very old, Roman? style mud oven. It would be fascinating to use one of these! I saw a TV program on it recently and the results looked delicious.

Grain garden with oats, wheat, millet, linseed, rye, barley, sorghum, and others.

Bread machines.

Funk isn't really that common of a name. Funke might be a little more common.

Nice little watermill. Nothing like the grist mills in the Smokies though.


My way home took be through Seeburg, a nice little village on the banks of the Seeburger See (descriptive people, these germans). The See was hard enough to find and not terribly spectacular, but a nice detour. I swear ever yard I saw had a cute little wooden windmill in the yard. Deutschland macht grün!

And I came back through the south, by way of Groß and Klein Lengden (which is ironic because Klein ist größer als Groß Lengden). Altogether, 39.5 km as the car drives, probably more for me, and in about 6 hours. Of course probably more than half that was stopping for Brombeere and Pflaumen (Zwetschgen actually).

A Zwetschgen. I took about 10 of them home and all but one had worms inside. Very sad.

Seeburger See. Might be nice to visit with a boat.

The road back was long and hilly, but very scenic.

Windkraft

Sorry for repeating, but I just can't get over how much wind power there is here. I don't know if this is the future or not, but it seems like it's at least a step in the right direction.

Wetter Voraussage

This is lovely:

Total mean temperature: 9,7°C
Days with highs above 25°C: 42
Days with highs above 30°C: 6
Days with lows below 0°C: 59
Total sunshine hours: 1,544
Total precipitation: 612mm
Days with precipitation: 204

Göttingen has turned into a refrigerator recently. Sadly, I think our
6 days of 30+ weather are passed now, but we're due more 25+, thank
goodness. FYI there should, in theory, be some 4380 hours of sunshine
when there are no clouds at all. So essentially, we get about 1/3 of
our due sunshine here. I wonder if that is better than Nashville?
Remember this spring's rainy Tuesday-Thursdays? I never had dry shoes
when I arrived in Wilson... stupid weather.

Also, I'm really skeptical about this winter thing. I don't think I've
ever spent more than a week somewhere with consistent lows under 0.
Fortunately, I discovered I can get a gym membership on the cheap at
the University here and it would be essentially on my walking path to
work. So perhaps I won't be getting too fat this winter with no biking
(isn't it ironic that people used to fatten up in summer to overwinter
whereas now it's often the opposite? or maybe humans have never really
done the hibernation thing.)

It better snow a lot this winter.. Supposedly they only get 1-2 snows
here, despite the cold weather. I'm going to be very sad if that is
the case. I also want to go ice skating on the lake here, so it better
freeze over.

Doping

Germans are hilarious. And sore losers. Basically anytime someone mentions the Olympics, the topic of conversation eventually turns to...DOPING! And of course, everyone is doing it, but the main offenders are 1) anyone Chinese (because the Chinese only care about winning and their image--ends, not means), 2) anyone American who breaks a world record (read: sore losers), 3) any bicycler (the Tour de France has soured a lot of people--don't go anywhere near Lance Armstrong). Now I don't actually know how much athletes are really using performance-enhancing drugs, but the rabid accusations being made and the utter pessimisim and dissillusionment here are just comical. I think this might go along with general European outrage at things most Americans would yawn at, but I can't really get in the outraged mood about this. Unless, of course, the Chinese keep beating us...

Bovenden und Heidelbeere

...doesn't sound as nice as Bovenden and blueberries.

Actually this isn't in Bovenden, but Eddigehausen. Tiny little town at the base of Berg Plesse. In the middle there is a big barn-like structure with a nice little pond out in front.

In another little town I discovered a neat trail that runs along a bluff. I was tempted to climb, but I decided it wasn't worth risking my neck.


And finally, I bought some blueberries. They were good. I'm happy.

Sommerschluß

Summer is officially over here. I was biking the other day and it kind of hit me. There's that early-October chill in the wind and, even though the leaves haven't turned, you can tell that the trees are tired.

Ich hab mich in die Nesseln gesetzt!

Stinging nettle is indeed the killer plant I have been trying to avoid. Fascinating actually: it has spines which contain histamine and some other things but once cooked, the stinging power dies and it is good to eat like spinach. I'll pass as I have no gloves right now. But if I'm ever out in the woods dying of hunger, I'll remember this.

Bild des Tages

I was adventuring around Rauschenwasser this afternoon and I discovered this adorable little abode. I think it's for a dog, but I could be wrong. It made me think of the little shrines in My Neighbor Totoro, and the effect was magnified by the fact that I was out in the woods and enjoying the natures and such. I think the resemblance of Miyazaki moves to old Europe makes me like the more and vice-a-versa.

Speaking of which!!! The Japanese trailer for Ponyo on the Cliff is out!! Of course, it looks adoreable and very Miyazaki-like. Can't wait to add this to my collection.

Freiheit

I've decided that Germans, and maybe Europeans in general, are a lot more concerned with matters of freedom and human rights than (as they would say) US-Americans.

This struck me as really strange at first--first of all, it was a little bit weird to be around people very vocally concerned about other nations' freedom and rights, and once I got used to it and began to appreciate it as something I should expect, I wondered just how the United States--mind, the 'land of the free and the brave' and 'give me your tired, your poor'--got flipped about so much. And not just concerning our own problems with human rights--I'm betting the nicer questioning methods in Guantanamo are worse than anything China has been doing recently--but also with respect to our ignorance and apathy of the problems being faced across the globe--problems that may or may not be directly traceable back to us and our self-absorbed ways.

A more-or-less impromptu Tibet-freedom protest in the city center. Does this look like anything that could ever happen in the United States? These are normal, middle class people! Not college kids, not angry teenagers (although, goodness knows, germany has enough of those!), not crazy liberal hippies!

I feel a little ashamed that I don't actually know that much about the China-Tibet conflict or the genocide in Darfur or any of the other major human rights issues currently raging (http://www.amnesty.org is helping with the ignorance--why wasn't i made to attend more amnesty events?! i only know half of last years board!). I don't know what the best solutions are, but I think I've started to pick up a little bit of German disgust with US-Americans' apathy though.

Warning to anyone coming to Germany (or Europe): this weed is DEATH:

I dub thee, Razorweed! This thing will sting like a bee. It doesn't cut your skin, but you will wish it had instead of the hours-long, numb pain that ensues. Also, it's everywhere.

Ingwerbier Neuausgabe

Yum. Ginger ale aus eigene Ernte. More or less.

It's actually very yeasty and doesn't have the strong, sharp ginger flavor like I like. I don't know how Hansen's does it.

Ingwerbier!

So I'm trying something new this week: Ingwerbier!

That is, making ginger ale/beer. I figure I'm a chemist/biologist, I've worked with yeasties and other bugs, so I should be able to deal with these little guys. I guess I'm a little nervous because I've been so well trained NOT to want to eat what I'm playing with, but I'll get over it, I'm sure. I took some shortcuts on this recipe, but I think it'll turn out well. The quick and easy version is shown here, but I've seen more complicated versions resulting in more flavor or increased alcohol content (this stuff is essentially OH-free). I'm not sure how brave I am yet, but we'll see how things go tonight and I might get braver.

In other news, I love ginger and the way it makes the room smell.

Neues Essen

Some recent food finds:

This is the fruit of a kind of wild rose here. Really interesting looking and it even tastes ok. You have to pick around the edges so as to avoid the seeds inside. The flavor is actually something like a very mild tomato.

While at Burg Plesse I simply had to get a Bratwurst. I think this is the Bavarian style, served with light mustard and (choke) white bread. Why I couldn't have a Brötchen, I don't know!

Burg Plesse

On the top of a hill to the north of Göttingen stand two towers of a castle which have been puzzling me for a while.

I took this on one of the first weekends I was here and I was very frustrated because I couldn't find a good, easy way to get up to the castle. Fortunately, after two months, I've discovered some tricks and shortcuts.

From the top, the view is magnificent. This is Eddigehausen just below the hill and Bovenden further out. If the light and my camera were better, you could see the windmills I was stalking a few weeks ago on the far hills. The Leine river runs through the middle of valley and joins up with many small streams.

The main tower of Burg Plesse. This one is the wider and taller. It must have been restored in the 17-1800s and has recently had work done on it. There were lots of plaques and bits of history; the site seems to date back to 1500 BC, and then actual castle to 900-ish AD, but it has changed a lot over the years.

Like most European castles, this one has all the couryards and walks and arches and towers and such. And like most Americans, I was awestruck. I was tempted to explain to a couple who saw me taking pictures that I was from America where we don't have castles...

Inside the tower a spiral staircase runs up to the lookout deck. The stairs were really old and creeky and I was actually afraid they might give out at one point. Thankfully Germans are, mostly, lighter than Americans and, thus, no tragedies.

Charming little castle. I'd live here.

Deppoldshausen

Deppoldshausen is a tiny tiny village on the very top of the hills to the north east of Göttingen. It basically consists of 3-4 houses and a big, fort-like building that holds some more rooms and a barn. The entire place is surrounded by fields and pasture and feels like it could be from the 1500s.

The entire place is very quaint and feels like stepping back in time. I suppose the people here farm the surrounding land and make most of their own food. I didn't see cows, but I can't imagine going down to town every day for milk..

The fort-building is starting to fall apart, but the houses have been recently renovated to incorporate modern conveniences.

The view from the top of the hills across the valleys to the north. It was a really pretty day (Sunday) but the clouds became threatening at times.

Vampire

I just finished Dracula.

The late 1800s must have been pretty depressing for women. Male posturing has probably never reached such heights... I'm mildly disgusted:

"Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina! She has man's brains—a brain that a man should have were he much gifted—and a woman's heart." And same paragraph: "We men are determined—nay, are we not pledged?—to destroy this monster; but it is no place for a woman. Even if she be not harmed, her heart may fail her in so much and so many horrors; and hereafter she may suffer—..." After a few horrors, by the woman in question: "I shall put a bold face on, and if I do feel weepy, he shall never see it. I suppose it is one of the lessons we poor women have to learn."

I got kind of tired of the weak woman/strong man imagery after a while. If the author had been a woman and it had been a little more absurd (nay! is that possible) I might have taken some passages as sarcastic, but I think it's actually just degrading.

Actually there were several things I didn't like about it. "Treatment" of mental illnesses, Victorian propriety, the English hereditary title system (I think I liked the American guy the most), assumed superiority of technological advancements (mingled with reliance on religion and superstition), the aforementioned female-belittling attitude (the woman later fulfills her societal duties and pops out some babies), the alluded-to male posturing--a major tension point with three men after the same girl, and probably other things. But I'm apparently a picky (and feminist) reader.

Apfelsoße

Let me mention again just how much I really, really, really don't like apples. Or pears.

I bought two very beautiful pears the other day and I've been collecting apples for a week or two. Unfortunately, I really had no idea what to do with them until the other night. The pears I cut and cooked in a pan with butter and ate, mashed on toast, with some quark. Then last night I was tired of seeing apples in my fridge so I made applesauce!

I might mention here that I do like cooked pears and saucy apples. Really, the reasons I don't like them normally (raw) are--in order of importance--thus: 1) (disgusted:)Hand picked fruit tends to be home to critters. There are very, very few things worse than biting into an apple and finding a worm or bug or whatever has made it it's home (of course, barring the discovery of only half a worm, bug, etc). 2) (flustered:) The skin is really annoying and gets in your teeth and won't come out until you get home and floss. 3) (just picky:) The texture of a raw pear and many kinds of apples is something like that of wet cardboard. 4) Fructose:fiber is too unbalanced.

Now that I have made my case against apples and their cousins in their uncut, uncooked form, I will admit that I LOVE applesauce (and most every cooked apple/pear pastry or pie)--provided it is made my way! That means peels left on (trying so hard on #4), marginally chunky, essentially no sugar added (again #4), lots of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, a splash of vinegar, and whatever else I feel like adding (like caramelized onions).

Yum. Sorry if I offended any apple lovers.

Kapute PlastIk

So I was just thinking to myself that europeans are really smart for using glass for a lot of things Americans would rather have in plastic. Pretty much any juice you buy here comes in a REUSABLE (mehrweg) bottle--even, or perhaps especially things like soda and beer. This is an amazing thing that American companies should pick up right now. The bottles, in theory, cost an extra 0.10 or 0.15 € (das Pfand) and there are receptacles that you return them to in most groceries, Getränkenmärkte (basically beer/wine+water+juice+some liquor store), and places with lots of vending machines--whereupon you recoup your change. I know some states have refunds for return of some types of glass bottles and maybe some plastic, but I don't think there is any state--even golden California--that has such and extensive tax/reward system setup. And while I suppose it's government supported, I think it's actually a company that collects the bottles and such. It's really quite an ingenious process given that it's probably much easier to clean and sterilize old bottles than have new ones cast. Granted, plastic is probably cheaper. Until there is some societally-accepted way (i.e. a way Republicans/Libertarians won't complain about--probably never going to happen (incidentally, shouldn't this be exactly the government's job? to regulate where free-market capitalism can't compensate for hidden costs--i.e. transfered health, environmental, and QOL costs)) to tax companies for the end environmental impact of their products, I don't think such schemes would catch on (wow, that's really hard to understand. good luck!).

Anyway; back to my other point. I was just thinking this when I went to lift my curtain and--POP--one of the little PLASTIC clasps breaks. There is absolutely no reason to make these things out of plastic. In fact there seem to be many reasons to make them of brass or steel or, hell, dried hemp--not the least of which is that they are holding up a moderately heavy object which will be raised and lowered 3 times a day and thus transferring (why on earth does that have two Rs? transfer-ing. why, english?) a good bit of stress to whatever is holding them up.

Come to think of it the most traumatic of my misadventures here have been due to unnecessarily cheap things breaking (also: by bike light died the other day. just fell right off. i think i'm illegal now!). So I guess even in Europe people have to some degree bought in to the American mentality: It's cheap! If it breaks, I'll just get another and throw it away! Who cares about the island of trash in the Pacific?!

I'm saddened.