Category Society
Christmas Eve 2018
The world pauses tonight, at least in theory. With bated breath we await the announcement of a miraculous birth, the Christ-child, the Prince of Peace. Every year we remember the world-shaking event. Occasionally I have detailed my struggles in learning German, but when I saw this picture I realized I had learned something. I understood […]
Christmas Dinner
The sign said they were Weihnachtsganse or Christmas geese. This flock of white birds was in a field just below the castle in Emmendingen when we visited a month ago. I thought perhaps they are named Christmas geese because they are snow white. I suspect though that they are so called because that is when […]
Tannenbaum
It is our second Christmas in Germany, and I can’t decide if I prefer the simple white lights used as Christmas decorations here, or the multi-colored ones of North America. I think the white ones are a remnant from the days of wax candles – you didn’t have the options electricity gives. The displays here […]
The Rink
After a year I have figured it out. The big fuss about skating rinks that is. Last year I saw them in Mullheim and Lippstadt. Outdoor rinks installed around the end of November in public spaces and gone at New Year’s. Skates were available to rent and a good time was had by all. This […]
Time To Dance!
I was at an event at a local church recently when dancing broke out. For those who are shocked at the concept of dancing in a church, I should point out it wasn’t during a worship service. It was at an afternoon café, a drop-in for members of the local refugee community. It is held […]
Terror Too Close To Home
When they are far away, they are just news items we may or may not pay attention to. It is different when they happen in your neighbourhood. Throughout the day Wednesday, people in Canada were forwarding me news stories about the terror attack at the Christmas market in Strasbourg, France. It is only an hour’s […]
The Traffic Department
Yesterday’s post about my daughter’s cat reminded me of a time when the cat was actually good for something. I had a lot of fun during the phone call described here, and just as much fun yesterday when I re-read this post from March 16, 2016. I thought it was worth sharing again. “Mr. Anderson, […]
Relics of Another Age
Vienna is full of history. A weekend there wasn’t enough to even scratch the surface. Not surprising really. I don’t recall ever having taken a European history course, certainly not since high school. And if I did not much of the Austrian section stuck with me. I learned a lot in three days, and want […]
That Time Again
With November ending, Advent and Christmas markets are in full swing throughout Europe. I guess it is the European version of Christmas shopping frenzy. Last year was the first time I had experienced this sort of thing, and I may have overdone it. I took in seven or eight markets – eventually realizing there’s not […]
More of a Gray Friday
America is renowned for its cultural exports, whether they be Hollywood films, rock and roll or noir detwective novels. If it is popular in the US, it seems inevitable that it will reach the rest of the world, sooner or later. That goes for the bad as well as the good. Like Black Friday. The […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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