Tag Archives: Sulzburg
A Winter’s Tale
I remember a January morning, almost thirty years ago, when I discovered the true nature of winter. We were living in Liberia, and the harmattan winds were blowing from the Sahara. It was a welcome relief from the heat and humidity. Overnight low was about 20 degrees Celsius. That 68 Fahrenheit for you Americans. It […]
The Kids On The Bus (Cultural Differences X)
When I was a child there were no school buses in our neighborhood; we had to walk to school. My mother tells me I was insistent on walking alone on my first day of kindergarten. I had not yet turned five. Supposedly she trailed me at a distance to ensure my safe arrival. Unnecessary really […]
Trimmed
Sometimes things don’t make sense. I realize though that just because something seems senseless to me, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a good reason. I’m still very much a stranger in a strange land here. When Epiphany came I expected the Christmas tree in Sulzburg’s town square to come down. For some reason it […]
Christmas Is Really Over
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 […]
Public Transit Quirk
Coming from a North American city and settling in rural Germany, you know some things are going to be different. One of those things cropped up yesterday. We were taking the bus between Sulzburg and Mullheim. Depending on the time of day, the bus takes either 20 or 40 minutes to make the trip. It […]
Chaos In The Streets (Cultural Differences VIII)
I had been told that Germans celebrate the New Year with fireworks. Experiencing that was far more intense than the description. In Canada fireworks are a controlled affair for the most part. If a holiday is deemed important enough to warrant such pyrotechnics, it is usually the municipality that stages the show. Safety concerns […]
Fall Colours
Technically it isn’t winter until Thursday, though we started off Monday with our first snow of the season. It didn’t last though. We had sunshine by early afternoon, and by the time I made a grocery run it was a beautiful day. I snapped some pictures on my walk home. The colours on the hills […]
Christmas Is Coming!
Hard to believe it is a week from today. With no snow on the ground here it doesn’t feel like December yet. Certainly though, there are enough decorations and holiday festivities to get me in the mood. The main square in Sulzburg was decorated with a tree a couple of weeks ago, plus a sleigh […]
There’s A Hole …
You could easily chalk this up to cultural differences. Or maybe German children are smarter than their Canadian counterparts. The first time we walked out of our village heading into the mountains I noticed a hole in a hill just outside the town limits. There was a small rail car in front of it with […]
Walking to Laufen
Woke up yesterday to snowflakes falling gently. In town they melt on contact, but in the hills above the snow looked so pretty on the trees. It is almost as if there is a line drawn somewhere and that is where the snow stops. One field is white, the one beside it green. I took […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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