Germany, as anyone who lives here can tell you, is a land of rules and regulations. It is a minefield for newcomers who are going to make some minor transgressions of laws written and unwritten – and you can be sure your neighbors will tell you after the fact. When I saw this sign though, […]
For a history junkie Europe can be agony. There is simply too much to take in. We were in Breisach, where the idea was to enjoy a sunny day with a walk along the Rhine, and maybe check out the cathedral that we had been told was worth a look. Too easy though to get […]
I try to keep my promises, even if it takes a while. Last July (I think it was) I promised you that at some point I would get inside the church in Britzingen that I had been told is one of the most beautiful in the region. Every time I was in the town, it […]
One aspect of the military cemetery in the hills above Colmar and Sigolsheim that I hadn’t considered before was just who fought in the Second World War battles to liberate France. I guess that is a bit of Canadian blindness on my part. Canadian war cemeteries, or at least the ones I have visited, have […]
Every so often my wife and I walk over the hills to the Black Forest town of Staufen. There’s a cafe there she likes, and the five kilometre walk is a healthy one. Whenever we walk down the main street I see signs commemorating the date Allied forces bombed Staufen during World War II and […]
The national cemetery in the hills above Sigolsheim, France, contains the remains of several thousand soldiers who died in the Battle of Colmar which ended on February 9, 1945. The tombstones are a sobering sight. I have been to Canadian war memorials in Belgium and France, so standing on this hill is not the first […]
Ever hear of the Battle of Colmar? Neither had I, and when I was younger I used to read a lot of Second World War histories. One of the great things about not having an agenda when you travel is that you are open to unexpected discoveries. You don’t have to get back on the […]
When I was growing up, the western was a television staple. There was Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Big Valley, Have Gun Will Travel, The Rifleman and a host of others. The myth of the American West was burned into my psyche. It was a time of larger than life characters, both heroes and villains, […]
My Spam folder is filling up with urgent messages these days. Most purportedly from retailer Amazon. Though if they really were urgent, they wouldn’t be flagged as spam. I wonder why the spammers are so sloppy in their pitches. Maybe it is that their time is valuable. Why waste it on people with brains? The […]
There’s wi-fi on this train, so it feels as if I should write something. After all, I paid for it, or somebody did. Most of the trains I take in Germany are local. No amenities other than washrooms. And in a year no-one has ever checked my ticket. I’m on an ICE train this time […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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