"…something like the supervisor of an entire team of political agents…"
Lovely afternoon on Tuesday. The highlight was a 320-step climb up that 13th Century Brugge belfry. Here’s what the tower looks like by day: We adults were quite winded. Our 6- and 9-year olds were pretty much unaffected by gravity. They practically floated to the top. On the way down, I tried to convince my … Read more
We’ve run into lots of crazy laws here in Europe. For example, did you know it’s a crime to transport livestock in a Volkswagen Passat? This is one law I agree with, however: The locals here in Brugge tell me it means “Please don’t wear a derby hat and shovel coal onto my lawn.” Who … Read more
Most of today was spent racing from Colmar to Brugge — our version of the Gumball Rally (I like to think I was part of Cobra Team). In France, every cute little village was noted with a sign by the road featuring a lovely drawing of that town’s gem — a church or a castle … Read more
As I mentioned a little earlier today, we’ve driven from Switzerland and the snow to sweltering France. Crossing over (with less than a wave from the border guards) we were struck by how much the countryside in this part of France looks like good ole Northern California. For the last two nights we’ve been staying … Read more
Trips like these afford you a lot of time to stop and think about things. I’ve been using that time to develop a new musical theory. It’s a little hard to put across in “coherent sentences,” but it boils down to the idea that all truly great songs end in “Hey!” For example: “The Dreidel … Read more
Having spent a week or so near moutains, on moutains, and occasionally in mountains, I’ve reached the conclusion that mountains are a good thing. Especially the high mountains — the ones with glaciers and whatnot. In case you haven’t seen that sort of mountain for a while, here’s what one looks like: Mountains. There’s lots … Read more
A bright smiling extremely helpful East German woman — the designated English speaker at our local pizza shop — explains that she comes to Switzerland every summer because the East German economy is compeletely thrashed. She tells us, still smiling, that the last year or two it’s been worse there than it was during communist … Read more
We’re staying in a lovely valley surrounded by a tall, stern, jagged mountain range. The peaks are white-capped with fresh snow. I’m walking home at dusk as a slender train trucks along the base of these mountains, glittering like a sardine. The peaks feel like they’re bending down just a little. Tall, stern. It’s very … Read more
Today we drove through the city of Cuhr. Interesting sidenote: Back in the ’40s, a guy named Bruno Färber ran for mayor of Cuhr with what may be the worst campaign slogan ever: “An Almond in Every Pot.” Färber’s attempts at damage control only made things worse. “Five almonds in every pot!” he promised. Then: … Read more
On closer inspection I now realize those weren’t actual Swiss people, they were German-speaking baby giraffes. But in my defense, it’s an easy mistake to make. Actual Swiss people have struck me as exceptionally quiet, at least compared to us yackety yack Yanks. We went through a plaza today with well over a hundred people … Read more