Sunday, September 02, 2007
On the road
Yesterday (Wednesday), the first thing I did when my computer found an internet connection on the road was…. to blog. Well, other than frantically tell my dad to “Stop the car! There’s internet here!”, yes. I blogged first. I quickly copied and pasted the scathing review I wrote yesterday into my browser and posted it, then only checked my e-mail.
I can see where my priorities clearly are. lol.
I’m currently in Otterndorf, a charming little town near Cuxhaven (another little town), and finally had a good night of rest. For half the price of the crappy farmhouse in Denmark, we now have a two-story suite that’s big enough to accommodate 4. And is clean. And has good facilities. And most importantly, doesn’t have floorboards that start thumping in the middle of the night!
Our sightseeing today was slightly inhibited by the heavy rain, but we did find a nice museum to walk around in. Bremerhaven, where we were, was the first emigration port of Germany, but otherwise, there is really no claim to fame as such. There were a grand total of two old buildings (the rest must have been destroyed during the second world war).
Here’s a couple funny quotes from this trip:
Dad: “This is the most uninhibited part of Sweden.”
Me: “Uninhabited, isä, uninhibited means like there are naked people running around and stuff.”
Mom: “Naked people?? Where? Where?”
Mom [to Dad]: “Valisa is so stubborn, she wouldn’t follow!”
Dad: “She’s right behind you…”
And why do all German townnames have to be so similar? Less than 100 kms away from each other are the towns of Wremen and Bremen. Both are voiced bilabials, so you can imagine the amount of confusion that caused when both were somehow signposted on the way to Bremerhaven today.
Me: “Yes, we are going right to Wremen”
Dad: “No, Bremen is not on the way – we agreed not to go there.”
Me: “But Wremen is on the coast and you said you want to go the coastal way!”
Dad: “Bremen is not on the coast!”
Me: “DOUBLE-U, Isä, Wah-remen! Not Bah-remen”
Dad: “Ah…”
Well, road-trip aside, we are now back in Otterndorf, and my parents have left me in our nice room (Dad: “Can we leave her without a babysitter?”). I’ve had one strawberry and a beer in their absence, and a little bit of tofu. Definitely need a babysitter.
So, Groningen tomorrow. Or rather, by the time I actually post this – it’ll be today. I started writing this post in the morning before heading off on the road-trip, and now we are back home. Tomorrow I shall update more, I suppose. Unless I’m out having a jolly good time somewhere.
**update**
So now I’m spending Sunday afternoon in my dorm. Alone. I feel kinda weird with it being so quiet here. I mean, isn’t it a student dorm? But then, it’s the postgrad and researcher dorm. It’s kinda spooky, really… the average age here seems to be around 30+ I’m one of the youngest inhabitants! My parents have left me with a mountain of food… and I just kinda feel like stuffing myself at the moment. Stress-eating, I guess…
fon @ 5:16 PM link to post * *