German tabloid papers

The tabloids are a big part of life in Germany. They colorfully decorate sidewalk corners with big screaming headlines. "PRICE SHOCK! ICE CREAM NOW 2 EUROS!" (yes that was real). They are kind of fun to read though. Lots of bold text, and schadenfreude.

Another "curious" aspect of these papers is that they always have a nude girl at the bottom of the front page. Usually one or two more inside (okay, yes, I looked!). Apologies to sensitive viewers for the nudity, but I had to share one of these for the SHOCK! value:



The text that goes along with the picture is creepier than the picture itself. For this one:

Valerie's dream became true!

For a long time temp worker Valerie (20) from Freiburg wanted to pose for erotic photos. Now her dream has become true - in a fairy tale scene at a historical park, between colorful flowers and trees. Valerie (who is 1.70 meters tall) said: "My boyfriend Torston thought the photos were cool!" Today, Valerie has to go back to work in order to pay the 400 euro a month rent for her 40 square meter apartment.

Valerie (Hobby: swimming) lives alone in her 40 square meter apartment.

Why so much about her apartment? Weird...

A couple other boys and trains

Our kids love trains. So this story by an illustrator for the New York Times really hit home. His pre-school boys are really obsessed by trains. It's funny and sweet, check it out.

Munich half-marathon

With some folks from work, I ran in the half-marathon Sunday. Dreading the occasion a little bit, because I've slacked off on any running for the last month or so. The combination of hot weather and visit from Kris's parents gave me a lot of excuses! So I knew it would hurt a bit.

There were 17,000 runners. I was hoping to come in somewhere around 2 hours total time. It was definitely interesting running in a huge crowd. We headed north from the start at Marienplatz into the English Garden. The bulk of the run took place there, going up and down along different trails. I drank water a few times at way-stations. I also gave myself 3 one minute walk breaks. Somewhere after the half-way mark, my legs were running out of gas. Oh well, just have to crank through! I looked at my watch and got excited to maybe beat 2 hours, and that kept my pace up until the end. In the last minute I "sprinted" though my legs were so slow you probably couldn't tell the difference!

It paid off though...I came in with a time of 1:59. One minute under 2 hours!

Afterwards there was free, cold, alcohol-free beer. Only in Munich, eh?

Thanks to Assaf at work for organizing our participation!

Trains home from Zermatt

Kris made a neat map of the many trains we took home from Zermatt last Friday. Check it out here.

Sunday morning at home

Sunday morning at home
Originally uploaded by ripsaw ridge

Just a nice morning, happy to be back home after vacation. I'm gonna miss spending all day with the kids. Their abilities are growing so fast...

Great time in Zermatt

We had an awesome trip! We stayed in the Haus Ascott, had a nice apartment where, shocked by the high prices in Switzerland, we resolved to cook every meal. This turned out to be one of the most fun things. Kris invented a dish with chicken wrapped in bacon. Mmm. Lots of red peppers and onions too. Man it was good. Had many adventures with the boys, including a long hike down a mountain ('bout 500 feet elevation descent, not too shabby for 3 year olds I think).

I've got a Flickr slideshow here. Kris will also have pictures, and I'll add the link soon.

In Zermatt

We are in Zermatt for the week with an amazing view of the Matterhorn out our window. But today it's clouded over, and the family is huddling under blankets. Brr! We need the sun! We are staying right across the street from the 400 year old house/barns of the old town center. The houses seem to huddle together for warmth. I couldn't imagine living here in the 17th century!

Once we learned to buy groceries and not go out for exorbitant meals we started having fun :-). The Glacier Express train was really nice (and really expensive). We spent Thursday night in Chur, and it was kind of a shock. From the train station we walked to our hotel which was in the middle of the "red light district." Oh. The web site made it look like a charming Swiss villa! But there were strip clubs and "sex cabins," and noisy bars with people watching the soccer game. I never expected that in Switzerland! Rowan slept with Kris and I, thought I should put "slept" in quotes. He was so excited to sleep with us that he beamed and grinned and squealed for at least an hour. Then he tossed and turned violently. Apparently Elijah slept like a log with Kris's parents.

The boys traveled really well on the trains. One thing kind of funny, is the way Elijah says "hello" to everyone. He just boldly starts saying hello until they finally answer. People try to ignore him but he doesn't let them. Then he says "bye." Our Elijah, forcing the world to be more civil! I think maybe he does that to relieve the anxiety of being among lots of strangers: turn them into friends.

Kris is knitting me socks from yarn that she spun herself. One sock is done and it's awesome.

Gas tops $4/gallon on average in U.S.

The gasoline crunch is really hurting in rural areas of the U.S.:

Here in the Mississippi Delta, some farm workers are borrowing money from their bosses so they can fill their tanks and get to work. Some are switching jobs for shorter commutes.

People are giving up meat so they can buy fuel. Gasoline theft is rising. And drivers are running out of gas more often, leaving their cars by the side of the road until they can scrape together gas money.

Read the article here.