It was a grey Saturday when we were in Freiburg last month, but we visited the cathedral anyway. I’m not sure if that was the right move. Certainly the building is impressive from a distance, and just as impressive up close, even surrounded by the stalls of the Saturday farmers’ market. Inside though it felt […]

It was a quick visit to Freiburg and we decided to climb the hill, Schlossburg, in  the centre of the city. In the Spring we’ll go back and explore, as we didn’t see the lake or any of the ruins I read about online. It was just a nice place for a Winter walk with […]

It’s not me. But to keep peace in the family I’m not going to say who it is. Maybe it is you.

Went for a short walk yesterday and noticed it was Christmas tree pickup day. I guess that, not Epiphany, signifies the real end to the Christmas season. In Ottawa disposing of a Christmas tree is a casual affair. Yard trimmings are accepted every week (unlike garbage which is collected every second week). In Sulzburg, if […]

While walking from Dottingen to Heitgersheim a couple of months ago we saw what looked like a scenic lookout on the ridge. At that point there wasn’t time (nor energy) to investigate further, but I promised myself we would return to see what the view was like. This past Sunday afternoon we went for a […]

It was Friday night, getting late, and our hostess casually mentioned, “of course, tomorrow is a holiday.” Nobody told me. I knew Saturday was January 6. I knew in the church calendar that is Epiphany, the dated celebrated for the arrival of the Magi. But I’m from Canada; it never occurred to me that the […]

My wife and I are city-bred. Wildlife there is generally on the order of a skunk, squirrels or raccoons in our backyard. I was a Boy Scout though, and paid attention in school. I know a little bit about animals. I should have realized Sunday was going to be a bad day for observing nature […]

I didn’t make any resolutions this year. You  may have. If you are older than about 25, your resolution was probably to lose some weight. This stuff may help. You are welcome.

Sometimes technology scares me. Not so much the machines themselves, but what can be done with them. For my first couple of months in Germany I didn’t bother to change the time on my computer. It seemed unnecessary. Maybe it was a coping mechanism as I adjusted to this new reality. Eventually though I set […]

I wrote last week about some mild frustrations I was experiencing with a couple of packages I had ordered online. Living where I do, online shopping is usually the only option. In the first week of November I ordered knives, measuring spoons, measuring cups, a couple of compact discs, a new BlackBerry and I don’t […]