Tag Archives: American influences

Bavaria, blog news

Yes, I spell like an American… Have you got a problem with that?

Today, Bill’s mom is coming to visit us for a week. Bill is about to leave the house to go pick her up from the airport, as her flight will arrive in about an hour. Her last visit was in 2020, so it’s been awhile. I genuinely like Bill’s mom, so this should be a good time. 

Monday, we’re going to be heading out of town for the work week, but we’re not going far. I’ve booked us a rental house at a winery in Würzburg, which is only about a 90 minute drive from Wiesbaden. But we will be in Bavaria (Bayern), rather than Hesse.

I don’t have a lot to report about this trip right now, except to say that we’re probably also going to take a day trip to Bamberg, which is an hour away by train. Or, maybe we’ll drive there. I would have liked to stay there, but the lodging in Würzburg is better suited to bringing along a guest. We could have gotten two hotel rooms for the same cost of renting a small house. Both cities are noted for their beautiful architecture. I expect we’ll enjoy some Rauchbier (smoked beer), too. 

Today, I want to very briefly address something I noticed when I was dumping the (very full) spam folder this morning. Someone with a British Web (spam) address left a spam comment that they “enjoyed my content”, but it’s “rife with spelling errors” that makes it hard for them to read. My guess is that this person didn’t read much more than the title of the blog, which is indeed, spelled correctly with just one “l” in “traveling”. Why? Because I am an AMERICAN, and I spell like an AMERICAN. Or maybe this person just wants to be an asshole. 

Do not criticize my spelling. There’s nothing wrong with it. I’m just not a British subject. You cringe when you see me leave out letters and use a z instead of an s. I cringe when you use an s instead of a z and use more letters than you really need. It is what it is. If you don’t like my American spelling, you’re free to read or SPAM a British person’s blog. I don’t mind criticism where criticism is warranted. But there is nothing wrong with an American person using American spelling on a personal blog. In fact, if my American spelling really makes it harder for spammers to leave annoying trash comments, so much the better. ;)

And please don’t spam my blog, either… because it’s a complete waste of time. :D

That’s all.

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holidays

Pumpkin project!

Yesterday, since it was cloudy, Bill went to the local market to pick up some pumpkins. We have new German neighbors who have small children and they asked us to celebrate Halloween this year. So we obliged, although it wasn’t easy to find pumpkins. Halloween is becoming more and more popular in Germany, especially in areas were a lot of Americans live. Bil had to go to three stores to find suitable pumpkins for carving. The local farm near us was having a corn maze/Halloween fest, so he thought he might get lucky there. But there was nowhere to park! All the kids were celebrating Halloween!

I remember our first year in Germany, back in 2007. We were living in a hotel on Halloween, although it was our last night there, as we moved into our first German house on November 1. The following year, we had people ring our doorbell, but since we didn’t know if Germans celebrated Halloween, we were completely unprepared. Then in 2009, we had to move back to the States prematurely.

In 2014, we came back to Germany and lived in Jettingen. That year, we had candy, although I’m not sure if we carved a pumpkin. A pair of German teen boys in rather lame costumes rang our bell. That was it for trick or treaters. Ever since then, if we’ve been home, we have candy just in case, but we don’t usually bother with jack o’lanterns. Last year, we were Croatia on Halloween, which was a marvelous place to be. Croatia in the fall is glorious, as you can see here.

Anyway, below are some photos of our pumpkin project. I think they turned out okay. Bill is going to go get some American candy, and hopefully our neighbors will ring the doorbell tomorrow night. Otherwise, I’ll end up doing what I do every year for Halloween, and eat all the candy myself. God knows, I don’t need to be doing that! Our jack o’lanterns aren’t very menacing. I’m not that good at pumpkin carving.

We have pretty nice weather today. The sun is out, and it’s not too cold. We probably ought to go out and do something fun, but Bill is still resting up after his bout with COVID. Except for a little fatigue, he’s fine now, and will be headed back to in person work tomorrow. Meanwhile, our sweet Arran continues to improve on the medication he’s getting for lymphoma. Yesterday, he even started jumping on the bed again. The chemo regimen is obviously doing some good for him as he enjoys what will probably be his last fall season. We continue to cherish our time with him and marvel at what a trouper he is. I’m grateful that we’ll be able to enjoy his company for a little bit longer.

Today is also the first day of standard time. Next week, everybody in the States who change the clocks will be moving their clocks back, too. I think if we have to change the clocks, it’s better to do it before Halloween. That way, it’s dark enough for a proper Trick or Treat experience. That’s how it was when I was a kid, anyway.

Anyway, if you celebrate, Happy Halloween!

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