I gotta find a new mattress

Paris Marathon Training: Week 1 of 18
Today’s target run: REST day

This German mattress and slat thing is KILLING my back. Please, the good Lord willing, somebody tell me where I can find a US style mattress and box spring set. This is getting dire.

A little trick for hard gingerbread

Paris Marathon Training: Week 1 of 18
Today’s target run: Cross train (45 minutes)
Today’s completed workout: Cross train (45 minutes)

A helpful hint from Hachie Gal: If your gingerbread cookies have been sitting out a while and feel more like gingerbread “bricks”, no worries. I’ve a little secret to pass along.

Just put your gingerbread in a tupperware container, with a little dish of water next to the cookies. (In other words, don’t let the water and gingerbread mix). Seal the container, and let sit overnight. Next day, take out your gingerbread to find it is once again soft and edible.

Hey, this one is simply a freebie…from me to you.

This L&O junkie needs a little assistance

A very thoughtful and accommodating relative (thanks, Peggy) routinely tapes the current shows in the Law & Order Franchise and sends them to me in Germany. These include Law & Order, L&O SVU, and L&O Criminal Intent. Having watched these shows now for easily over a decade, I am familiar with the format. Cops, DAs, and prosecutors come and go, keeping the show fresh. I like that….

However, my last set of L&O Criminal Intent tapes now contain Detectives Logan (Chris Noth) and Barek (Annabella Sciorra) rather than Detectives Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio) and Eames (Kathryn Erbe). Again, not a problem at all with this, but just looking to connect the dots. What gives?

Christmas Road Trip

Paris Marathon Training: Week 1 of 18
Today’s target run: 1 hour, 6 minutes
Today’s completed run: 1 hour, 6 minutes

With the impending Alsace road trip, it is definitely time to break out the Christmas CDs for the journey. Not sure what your collection of favorite Christmas tunes and artists would include, but I am always looking for a solid Christmas CD recommendation. Any posted suggestions from blog readers would be greatly appreciated.

For this weekend, I believe there will be quite a potpourri of musical selections, with the following definitely in the mix. As the designated DJ, it will all be under my control anyway:

* A Winter Romance, Dean Martin
* Christmas Time is Here, Diane Reeves
* Wishing You a Swinging Christmas, Ella Fitzgerald
* A Jolly Christmas, Frank Sinatra
* Christmas Album, Herb Albert & the Tijuana Brass
* Christmas Eve, Johnny Mathis
* The Christmas Album, The Manhattan Transfer
* Merry Christmas, Mariah Carey
* The Magic of Christmas OR The Holly and the Ivy, Natalie Cole
* Christmas Portrait, The Carpenters
* We Three Kings, The Irish Tenors
* Silver and Gold OR Star Bright, Vanessa Williams
* Snowfall, Tony Bennett

Don’t get me wrong. There are tons of other Christmas CDs I could add to the above list, as the Hachie Gal’s Christmas CD collection numbers into the low 100s, numerically speaking. These are the first ones I seem to go back to each year, though.

Round 4 of Christmas Markets

So, we have a little variation on a theme. Still yet another set of Christmas markets, but this time, we are driving to the Alsace region in Eastern France, a region with a decidedly German heritage and flair. We’ll only spend a couple of days in the area so we will focus primarily on the towns and villages of Colmar, Ricquewihr and Ribeauville, and Kaysersberg.

We’ll also be checking out those new winter tires this weekend, as we will be driving to France, rather than doing the train thing. We’ll see how those work out for us. More the challenge may be Bud staying awake as we drive to France on Saturday, after his return from Seoul the night before.

“He’s a Seoul Man”

Paris Marathon Training: Week 1 of 18
Today’s target run: 33 minutes
Today’s completed run: 33 minutes

The Budman is back in the city that started overseas living for us: Seoul, South Korea. Actually, he is speaking at a conference, so it will be a quick trip over and back. He did confirm that he arrived safely, and that all items (i.e. briefcase, passport, suitcase, Ipod) were accounted for. (Yes, we’ve had some issues in the past of forgetting our things on trains).

However, before the conference actually began, I have it on good report that a quick trip to Itaewon transpired. Yes, Joe, more Hamilton shirts were purchased as it was time to turn some of the inventory. Plus, this is the land of the “genuine fake”, so maybe there will even be a few early Christmas surprises for me. Bud did remark that Itaewon is “not what is used to be”. I guess nothing is ever quite like you remember it.

Finally, there is a Starbuck’s in Itaewon that is only about a 5 minute walk from the old apartment. Just about 4 years too late.

The first visitors have committed!

Tickets have been purchased so it’s official. The first travelers from the US are slated for a visit to Deutschland in March 2006! And this time, we have a two-fer, two couples are visiting at once.

Yes, Joe and JoBeth are going for a trifecta, as the only people who have bragging rights about visiting the Budman and Hachie Gal in Seoul, Taipei, and now Germany. New entrants on this trip will be Ken and Dietra – the more the merrier.

We are looking so forward to it we can hardly stand it. It’s only about 3 months away….

Sometimes you gotta celebrate the small successes

Paris Marathon Training: Week 1 of 18
Today’s run: rest day (YEA!)

I ordered pizza tonight...for myself...by myself...in German...or at least my version of German. It was not pretty but I received a pizza about 30 minutes later, so I guess we can call it a success.

Thank goodness for the German "cheat" words in the back of Fodor's Germany travel book. It is at times like this that I really do need to learn to speak a little more German.

And yes, the pizza was good.

Glühwein

Yes, we’ve tried glühwein now on a couple of occasions. We think it must be an acquired taste, but that is definitely a minority opinion. These Germans are guzzling the stuff like Prohibition just ended. So, for those of you out there in blogville, a glühwein recipe for you.

Glühwein
(Hot Mulled Wine )

Ingredients:

2 bottles red wine
1 cup sugar
3 cups water
1 lemon, sliced
20 whole cloves
6 to 8 cinnamon sticks
1 orange, sliced for garnish

Directions:

Mix water, lemon and spices and simmer for an hour. Strain. Heat but do not boil the red wine. Add wine to hot water mixture. Ladle into cups and serve with half a slice of orange. Makes 24 glasses.

St. Nikolaus’ Day

Paris Marathon Training: Week 1 of 18
Today’s target run: 33 minutes
Today’s completed run: 33 minutes

St. Nikolaus' Day, celebrated on December 6th, is favorite holiday of all children, as it is a gift-giving day. (Heck, it is a favorite day of mine if gifts are involved.) St. Nikolaus is the patron saint of all kids, bakers, and seamen.

The story of St. Nikolaus, the bishop of Myra in Minor Asia who died on December 6th, 343, dates back to the 4th century. History tells us that he was in the company of Knecht Ruprecht ("Knecht" meaning "servant"). Ruprecht was a dark and sinister figure who wore a tattered robe and carried a big sack on his back in which, as a legend says, he would put all naughty children.

As the gift-giving function of St. Nikolaus began to shift to the events of the Christmas season and an emphasis on the birth of Christ, Knecht Ruprecht became the servant and companion of the Christchild. In this role, Ruprecht became the patron saint of Christmas and was called "Weihnachtsmann," Father Christmas, or Santa Claus.



Sidenote: As I was in the Berlin airport today enroute to a business meeting, St. Nikolaus and Knecht Ruprecht look-alikes were passing out gifts (OK, technically they were not gifts; they were bags of cookies advertising another low-cost air carrier’s entry into the German travel market. Ah, the commercialization of Christmas in yet one more way). I can report that St. Nikolaus was dressed almost identically to the dude in the photo above. Sadly, I had no camera with which to snap a shot of Ruprecht. Conceptualize a guy in a court jester’s ensemble with black-face and you have the visual.

Originally, children left hay and straw for St. Nikolaus’ horses but now they simply put a shoe or boot outside their bedroom door, window, or by the fireplace on the evening of December 5th, hoping to find it full of sweets, biscuits, nuts, and fruit the next morning.

Another tradition kept for this day is baking Stutenkerl, or Printenmann (e.g. gingerbread). Not being the baker, I’ll opt to follow the gift giving tradition (smile).

Der ist ein grosser Weihnachtsbaum (that is one big Christmas tree)

Paris Marathon Training: Week 1 of 18
Today’s target run: 33 minutes
Today’s completed run: 33 minutes

An excellent weekend was had by all as we continued to embrace all things related to a European Christmas. In addition to trimming our year (with yes, a whole new set of Christmas ornaments), wrapping a lot of Christmas gifts, and listening to the season’s first Christmas music, Budman and I did make a Saturday afternoon road trip to Dortmund, about 45 minutes north of Düsseldorf. Reason? You guessed it – another Christmas Market. We figured that if for no other reason, we can eat our way across Germany via their Christmas markets.



Dortmund's Christmas market, one of the biggest in Germany, has over 300 stalls. However, its hallmark is a gigantic Christmas tree which consists of 1,700 individual fir trees, stands 45 meters tall, and is adorned with 13,000 lights. The total weight of all these trees is about 140 tons and it uses about 3200 liters of water a minute. OK, so this is NOT your typical Christmas Market decoration – quite impressive.



I agree with the Budman. These German Christmas markets all have about the same feel, a similar atmosphere, and many of the same kinds of booths, food, and decorations. Christmas markets seem to be about enjoying the atmosphere more than anything else.

Still, a “new food entrant” appeared on the scene at the Dortmund Christmas Market: the “potato pancake”. These little babies are deep-fried right in front of you. We could tell that the booth worker was shocked and dismayed by these Yanks putting ketchup, rather than mustard or mayo, on the potato pancake. You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can’t take Texas out of the girl.

PS - Buddy is the shadowy figure on the far right hand side with the hat on. Yes, he is queuing up for a potato pancake.



Other Dortmund Christmas Market photos for your viewing pleasure.

St. Barbara’s Day

Today is another one of “those” holidays during Advent season that I am not familiar with.

As the story goes, Barbara was the daughter of a rich merchant, Dioscuros, in what is present day Turkey. Dioscuros decided to lock Barbara in a tower with only 2 windows while he took a journey, in order to protect Barbara’s ”innocence”. During his absence, the tower now showed 3 windows. Many saw it as a sign of a miracle as the third window was seen to symbolize the sign of the Holy Trinity; Barbara was baptized by a priest during her father’s absence.

As the legend continues, this was all done without Dioscuros’s consent; thus, Barbara was accused, tortured, and condemned to death. As a branch of a cherry tree had gotten caught in Barbara’s dress when she was locked in the dungeon awaiting her execution, Barbara watered it with the water from her drinking cup. On the day of her execution which the angry father had personally made (in the winter of 306), the branch bloomed.

From this story comes the notion of "Barbarazweig," the custom of bringing branches into the house on December 4th to bloom on Christmas. In some areas of Germany, St. Barbara's is also the day to bake Kletzenbrot (a fruit cake).

For those interested in trying their hands at forcing flowering branches to bloom indoors, some helpful hints:

(1) If outdoor temperatures have been around 32 to 40 F for six weeks, most buds are ready for forcing. Apple, chestnut, cherry, lilac and jasmine branches are well suited for this.

(2) Cut stems on a mild, non-freezing day. Look for branches with swollen buds.

(3) Mash the ends of the branches and put the branches in a bathtub of cool, not icy, water for several hours. Leave branches for a few days in a cool place.

(4) As soon as the buds appear to swell bring them into a warm room, but not too close to a heat source.

(5) Spray the branch from time to time with lukewarm water, and when the bloom buds appear, place them on a window sill for they need a lot of light and cool air, thus ensuring the blooms will stay fresh longer.

(6) Change water every two days.

(7) Note: Thin branches force quicker than thick ones; the flowers should appear anywhere from one to five weeks later.

The escapades of Shugie Lynn and Sweet Kitty (a.k.a. Gracie and Ginger)

We had left them alone in the apartment for 2 weeks while we were in Italy. A “feline caregiver” (named either Simone or Nicole, we can never remember for sure, so we call her Simone-Nicole) was coming by the apartment twice a day to feed, water, play cat games, and address the inevitable cat box issue. I doubt there was much cat-playing going on, because Shugie Lynn (alias for Gracie) and Sweet Kitty (alias for Ginger) look like they’ve packed on some LBs while we were away. And no real catastrophes to contend with upon our return. Either that or the evidence had been disposed of by Simone-Nicole.

We felt as if we'd put our trust in an almost total stranger to care for our girls while we were gone. I wondered if Ginger and Gracie thought we were coming back or if they remembered we’d even really gone anywhere. Either way, I tried not to think too much about them while in Italy because of the guilt I felt in leaving them alone for two weeks (bad mother). Yes, Simone-Nicole stopped by daily, but still….

Sweet Kitty rebounded quickly. Within 5 minutes of our return, she was already in the master bed, lounging in her old spot, and wanting a little attention.

Not Shugie Lynn. For many reasons, not just due to our disappearance for 2 weeks, Shugie Lynn would not get up on the bed, but chose to sleep in the home office. What gives? This troubled me greatly.



So with the guilt of being gone for 2 weeks still hovering over us, we spent 30 minutes in a local pet store debating the pros and cons of all the various cat beds. This one’s too small, too big, not soft enough, an ugly color, etc. Finally we hit pay dirt: we settled on a very soft, color matching (gray), and realistically priced cat bed for our bedroom. Now, Shugie Lynn could have her “own” bed but sleep in the same room with the rest of her peops (people).

I’ll save you the long story. Ginger co-opted the bed immediately, and Shugie Lynn has returned to the chair in the home office, with the occasional sunny slumber in one of the baskets in the kitchen. Children!

Oui, oui to the Paris Marathon

The long awaited time has now returned. Time to commit to another marathon. Sadly, the last one (the 10th one, I might add) was completed in March, 2001. Why the long wait? Well, it wasn’t because I was burned out or did not enjoy the marathon training or race itself.

No, it was all about training logistics. There was just something too challenging about trying to find space to run in Seoul and Taipei. Something about streets packed with people and lots of bumping bodies, motorcycles everywhere, including the sidewalks, lots of cars and crazy drivers who drove as if pedestrians did not “have the right-of-way” (and they didn’t), pushcarts, baby strollers, yada, yada, yada. And you simply can’t do a long run on a treadmill.

With the glorious Rhein River’s multiple running paths now at my disposal, I have decided to train for another marathon. If I was truthful, my first choice in destination running would be the London Marathon. Sadly, London uses a lottery system for selecting the 35,000 runners to participate in the marathon out of a field of about 75,000 applicants. The odds were slim of even getting making the cut. No, I wanted a sure thing, so, I went with my back-up choice: the Paris Marathon on April 9, 2006.

http://www.parismarathon.com/

Still, a very respectable (and veteran) race with a 25,000 +/- runners’ cap. What could be more picturesque than running through the Arc d’Triomph, under the Eiffel Tower, through Place Vendome, and past Notre Dame. And, the race is already closed meaning no more applications will be accepted for next April’s race. No worries, as I am in, I’m already accepted…man, I’m THERE.

That gives me 18 weeks of training to prepare for the big day. And training officially starts bright and early on Monday morning. (Yes, you’ll be able to follow Hachie Gal’s training progress on the daily blog posts or “suffer” through them as the case may be). The biggest challenge facing me is not the discipline of following a training schedule, nor the solitude of training alone (no way will Budman do another marathon – three were enough). And this year, no long runs in the Texas summer heat, getting up at 4 am to beat the sun or saving the “University” streets because I could do my last hour in the shade of those big ole trees.

No, my challenge will be somewhat the inverse of that last statement. Hint, hint: pictures of the running paths from earlier this week.





Hachie Gal is accepting applications for road support, so should there be any takers who might be interested in an April trip to Paris that coincides with the Paris Marathon, let me know. Selection criteria: ability to open gel packs and Gatorade bottles and to cheer for me every time you see me as if I was leading the race. No other training required.

Stowaway cat arrives home

I love this story...a happy ending the whole way around. Maybe this is the trick to getting a business class upgrade on an international flight.

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/12/01/emily.cat.ap/index.html