adventure, BeNeLux, Brussels, Champagne Bucket trips, YouTube

Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026 (part five)

Tuesday, March 24th, was to be our last full day in Brussels. We decided to visit the Atomium on that day, a place we missed during our 2008 visit. I knew nothing about the Atomium, but I had seen pictures of it and thought it was really cool looking. So we did very basic research, and after breakfast, decided to make our way to the structure, which was initially built for the 1958 World’s Far in Brussels.

While we were having breakfast, I noticed the bees carved on the door to the restaurant. And when Bill wasn’t looking, I decided I didn’t want a piece of bacon and slipped it on his place. I told him the “Speck Fairy” (Speck is the German word for bacon) had visited him. 🤭

We decided to use Brussels’ metro system to get to the Atomium. It took some time to get there that way, and it required changing trains. This is where things got a little annoying. We spent some time waiting on the wrong track at the station where we changed trains. Getting to the right track involved going up and down stairs, which isn’t as easy for me as it used to be. Nevertheless, we did finally make it on the correct metro line, and got to the Atomium in the mid morning. Below are a few photos from downtown Brussels, in the area where we picked up the metro.

The complex where the Atomium is located is a huge exhibition venue. There are several things to do there, like visit a planetarium and see Mini-Europe, a unique theme park near the structure. The Atomium is easily seen from the metro as it pulls into the Heizel stop. But once you get off the train, you have a ten to fifteen minute walk to the exhibit. And if you haven’t booked tickets online, you’ll need to get them from the ticket counter, which is in a separate building.

Once you get your tickets, you go into the Atomium and wait for the elevator to the top, where you can observe Brussels. It was a little hazy on the day of our visit, but I still managed to get some photos. The elevator operator, who spoke French and English, told us that when the elevator was installed in 1958, it was the fastest in Europe. It’s no longer the fastest, but it was still an impressive, if pretty crowded, ride to the top of this very cool looking iconic structure, which stands 335 feet (102 meters) tall, and is currently one of Belgium’s tallest structures. There’s also a restaurant at the top of the Atomium. We weren’t tempted to eat there, although maybe it would have been fun.

*Mini Europe from the top of the Atomium.*

When you finish gazing at Brussels, you go back to the bottom of the Atomium, and take an escalator to the next level, where there’s more information about the structure’s history. There are a lot of interesting exhibits in this part of the Atomium, which explain the history of the structure. It served as the main pavilion of the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair (Expo 58). The Atomium was designed by André Waterkeyn and the architects André and Jean Polak. Meant as a tribute to scientific progress, it also symbolized Belgian engineering skills in the 1950s.

The Atomium depicts an iron unit cell. It was only supposed to last through the 1958 World’s Fair, but was so popular that it was left standing. It was fully refurbished from 2004-06, after it had been closed because it had fallen into disrepair. The nine orbs were once covered in aluminium, but were replaced with stainless steel, which doesn’t lose its shine.

Once you finish on the museum level, it’s time to see the exhibition, which I thought was very, very cool. It involves lights, music, and watching in awe as the creativity of artists, engineers, and musicians come to fruition and put on a great show for the senses. I recorded a few minutes of the show– up and down the escalators, and a fragment of the actual light shows that were designed for the current exhibition. This is really just a tiny taste of how very cool the Atomium actually is…

This was a surprisingly fascinating place.

I hadn’t known what to expect when we planned to go to the Atomium. I just thought it looked like an interesting place to visit. I had no idea that there would be a light and music show. I really enjoyed that part of the experience. All it required was sitting back and relaxing, enjoying the incredible vision brought together by very creative geniuses. It blew me away! Below are some still photos from the light show, which was done in three of the spheres. The others appeared to be used for booking business meetings and other revenue generating purposes.

Once we were finished visiting the Atomium, we had to go through the gift shop to leave, so we picked up a few more presents for the grandchildren. We had opted not to have our picture taken when we entered the Atomium, so we didn’t have to deal with that horror. I hate it when I visit a place, and they immediately ambush me and want to take my picture, which I’m then supposed to purchase. I don’t like having my photo taken, especially by people who don’t know me and manage to catch all my chins and muffin top. Bill also hates it when random people want to take his photo.

I did laugh at the cashier in the gift shop, who yelled in French at some kids who were horse playing on the escalator on the way up to the exhibits. He really got his point across, especially with the expression on his face, and the sternness of his French. I’m not even sure if the teens were from Belgium, but they sure got the message!

There are public restrooms in the Atomium, but Bill neglected to visit one before we left. Fortunately, there was a public toilet outside of the Atomium– one of those gross ones available all through Europe. I’ve learned the Belgian public toilets, especially on the side of the road, can be particularly horrifying. Nevertheless, Bill decided to brave it, and swung wide of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who had set up their display next to the potty. We ran into a number of JWs during this visit to Belgium and France!

Below are a few more Atomium photos, mostly taken with the artsy setting on my fancy Canon digital camera…

We decided to head back to downtown Brussels for lunch. There are a few places where one might find food near the Atomium, including the restaurant at the top, and a snack bar on the grounds. But we were in the mood for something a bit more satisfying. What we ended up finding turned out to be that and much more… Our journey back to the city involved changing trains, and once again, Bill got us on the wrong track. 🤨 Consequently, I was a little annoyed when we arrived at our destination.

When we got off the metro in the familiar surroundings of downtown Brussels, we started looking around for a place to have lunch. Nothing seemed to really jump out at us as an ideal place. We crossed the street, and Bill spotted a brasserie called La Lunette. The place actually gets pretty terrible reviews on TripAdvisor, so I’m glad I didn’t look at them before we visited. Otherwise, I would have missed out on meeting our waiter, who happened to be from… YEREVAN, ARMENIA!

When we entered La Lunette, he immediately greeted us, and sat us at a table right by the window, which gave us a nice view of the patio. They were running a special. If you chose one of the daily menu items, they’d throw in dessert. Since we hadn’t had any dessert in Brussels, and we weren’t in a hurry, I decided to order the cheeseburger, which was one of the daily “plat du jour” items. Bill opted for pasta, which wasn’t one of the specials, but the waiter, who spoke excellent, unaccented English, said he’d throw in the dessert for him, anyway.

While we were waiting for lunch, the waiter mentioned that he was Armenian. I perked up and told him about how I’d lived in Yerevan from 1995-97, while teaching English as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He was shocked, because that time in Armenia was very difficult. It was during an energy crisis, so there was a shortage of electricity and running water. It was also just after the Soviet Union fell apart.

The waiter probably wasn’t born during the time I lived in his homeland, but he knew all about it… and he was absolutely delighted when I spoke in his mother tongue to him! He said it made his day! I’m sure he doesn’t get a lot of guests who can speak a word of Armenian, especially blonde ones. At first, he thought we were Germans, because we said we lived there. I guess I can take that as a compliment. I’m no longer an obvious American, I guess.

I can’t say I loved the cheeseburger, mainly because they had mixed in greens with the meat. I shouldn’t have been surprised, since that’s a common thing in Armenia, and the waiter said the owner of the restaurant is also Armenian. However, the desserts were absolutely delicious! I had carrot cake, and Bill had a different cake– He just brought them out; we didn’t choose them. I probably wouldn’t have ordered carrot cake on my own, but I really enjoyed the piece I had at La Lunette! I wouldn’t be surprised if the waiter knew my former student Stepan’s daughter, Susi, who has been studying in Belgium.

*The patio… I think this is a place where a lot of people stop for a quick drink.*

After lunch, we walked the two blocks back to the hotel for a rest. Then later, we went out for one last visit to a bar… A La Mort Subite. This historic place is another bar we visited for the first time in 2008, just after seeing Zane Lamprey highlight it on Three Sheets. It was pretty quiet when we went there in 2008, but it was busy on the evening of March 24th. It turned out to be the perfect place to enjoy our last night in Brussels.

We chose a battered table on the right side of the bar room. It gave me a good view of the locals, enjoying after work libations and light food. I decided to have Quiche Lorraine, while Bill went with a sandwich. We enjoyed a couple of the bar’s own brews, while taking in the historic, yet cozy beauty of this classic bar that dates from 1910.

*It was just around the corner from our hotel!*

I enjoyed our waiter, who was one of the younger servers, but appeared to be approaching middle age. He was unflappable and slightly sullen as he brought beers and food to the people who had stopped by. I finally saw him crack a smile when Bill gave him a tip.

We left A La Mort Subite at a reasonable hour, as we had to rise on Wednesday morning and prepare for our onward journey to Paris! I’ll write about that journey in the next post.

Champagne Bucket trips, Eastern Europe

Onward into Czechia… part four of our 2023 Czech tour!

At last, we arrived at the day I’d been eagerly anticipating, Tuesday, October 3rd. One of the reasons we decided to visit the Czech Republic is because October 3rd isn’t a holiday there. German holidays are great if you’re German, because you get a day off work. But if you’re not German, it usually means a lot of things are closed. Our hotel was closed, after all. They said it was due to a lack of staff, and I believe that’s true. But I also think it was because of German Unity Day, which is, of course, a big deal and should be celebrated.

I’m old enough to remember when there were two Germanys. I even wrote about East and West Germany when I was in the sixth grade, having been shocked to find out that the country was then divided. What can I say? We had no Internet in those days, so I spent a lot of time playing outside instead of surfing the Web, learning new things about the world. I don’t know that today’s kids have it better than we did in the 1980s, but they sure do seem to be more articulate and world savvy.

Of course, forty years ago, when I was eleven years old, I had no way of knowing that in just six years, the Berlin Wall would start to crumble. Bill was actually in Germany when it happened, and every time we go to the Czech Republic, he tells me at least once about how he used to guard the German border and mess with the sometimes female Czech border guards. 😉

We packed up our bags, enjoyed the leftover croissants and juice, and Bill got some cappuccinos to go from the bakery. Once we were all set, we loaded up the car and dropped the room key in the mailbox, where the proprietors had told us to leave it. I was kind of glad to be on the way to Czechia, although overall, we enjoyed Hotel La Casa. The people who run the hotel are very nice. I hope they get some new colleagues soon, so they can get back to being fully functioning.

Our drive to Cesky Krumlov would take several fun filled hours. I can’t say that the drive was particularly exciting, although it was quite pretty in some areas. Bill and I are pretty familiar with the German part of the drive, since the beginning of it is the same way one would go to Austria, Slovenia, Italy, or other points southeast from Stuttgart. We broke up the trip by stopping at a pretty awesome truck stop, where I had a really delicious chicken burger and Bill had a Pfännle, which is hard to describe. Luckily, I have photos.

After lunch, we were back on the Autobahn. We had no need to stop at a Rastplatz, because Bill had gotten an electronic “vignette” for the car. This is a cool new thing the Czechs are doing, making it possible to pay to use their highways without having to put stickers on the car. I hope the rest of Europe follows suit. He had pre-paid for the electronic vignette to last for our full time in Czechia– about a week or so.

The countryside on the way to Cesky Krumlov was as beautiful as I remembered it, as the roads were as loaded with potholes. There’s a definite drop off in road quality as one exits Germany. Here in Germany, we have constant road construction projects, but very few shitty roads. In Czechia, it seemed the opposite was true. Our route took us through some scenic areas, albeit with a few aggressive drivers on our tail. Below are some photos I took of the landscape as we headed east toward our destination.

I had pretty vague memories of Cesky Krumlov, as the last time we were there was on my birthday in 2008. It happened to be during their Five Petalled Rose Festival, and everyone was dressed in medieval garb. They had medieval games, too. I seem to remember we parked in a dirt lot near the town after visiting the old town of nearby Cesky Budjovice, where Czech Bud is made. I remember climbing the castle tower, seeing the bears, and noticing how pretty the town was.

Arriving there in 2023 was surprising, as they had parking lots designed for tourists and busses. We had booked two nights at the delightful Monastery Garden, a small lodge near the castle gate. The manager had helpfully sent me instructions on where to park and how to find the place. Unfortunately, we had a lot of trouble finding “P2”, the parking area where we were instructed to park. We finally ended up parking at the bus station and walking into the town to find the Monastery Garden, which we did after about twenty or thirty minutes of searching. Below are a few first looks of the beautiful town of Cesky Krumlov.

As we were checking in, Bill realized that one of his colleagues was also there. They had just spent a week working together in Bavaria. She had her aunt, uncle, and mom with her, and I got the sense that maybe she was delighted to see us. Bill called her by name as I went to get us checked in by the very friendly and English speaking receptionist.

Cesky Krumlov is a very charming medieval town, recognized by UNESCO. Very limited driving is allowed in the town, and you have to pay a fee to legally do so, even just to drop off luggage. Bill paid for the permit to drive into the town, but ended up just parking in P2, once he found it, and trucking in our luggage. Poor guy. He’s such a mensch.

*Monastery Garden in Cesky Krumlov is a wonderful place to stay.*

We booked Room 6, which was one of their “Signature Suites”. It was a very large room, beautifully decorated, with a very cool looking armoire with a door that opened into the bathroom. The bathroom had a clawfoot tub, with a handheld shower sprayer. The place also had an “honesty bar” in the lobby, where guests could help themselves to food and beverages and just report what they had the next day. The lobby is also where they serve their incredible breakfasts that are as beautifully presented as they are delicious. Below are some photos from Room 6.

After we settled in, we started trying to plug in our various electronics. This was when we realized that using a typical adapter doesn’t work in the Czech Republic. Every outlet has a metal post that sticks up. Fortunately, I have a bunch of electronics with European specs, making it possible for Bill to connect his phone and get charged via my laptop computer. The whole time we were traveling, he kept saying he wanted to stop in an electronics store and find a new adapter. He never did, though.

Finally, once we got the electronics sorted, we headed out in search of dinner. I believe this might have been the only night. we went to a restaurant for dinner, which surprised me. I guess we’re just getting old. In the evenings, we were usually not hungry and too tired to go out for an evening repast. So we’d watch TV, drink wine, and eat snacks. It probably saved us money and calories, to some extent.

The place we visited was called Papa’s, and it served very typical heavy Czech fare. I had a duck leg with gravy and heavy dumplings. Bill had pork with a mustard sauce and dumplings. We both had beer. The food was pretty filling. I can never eat more than one dumpling, at most, but they usually give you at least two. I think there were four on the dishes we ordered! We were too full to consider having dessert, so after we ate, we walked around a bit more and stopped at a bar called Apotheka, which used to be an apothecary (druggist). There, we had several interesting designer cocktails. It was a nice way to cap off the evening, even if we did drop quite a few Czech crowns there.

One of the cocktails I ordered…

When we got back to where we were staying, Bill’s colleague and family members were at the big breakfast table playing cards. We stopped to chat with them for a few minutes, but I got the sense we were crashing a private party from the older folk. Bill’s colleague, by contrast, seemed eager to chat with us some more. I can’t say I blame her! As much as I love my family, the idea of traveling with them makes me a bit weak in the knees. I might do okay with my mom, if she was more up to traveling. She’s pretty low maintenance.

Anyway, aside from a rather adventurous “shower” in the fancy bathtub, everything was in order for our night’s slumber. We went to bed and rested up for our big, active day in Cesky Krumlov.

We are now in Cesky Krumlov… (cross-posted)

We arrived here, in the Czech Republic, yesterday afternoon. The drive wasn’t too bad, because it was a German holiday. But once we got over the border, we wound up on some pretty primitive roads through the country. It kind of reminded me of the last time we went to Croatia, although we have been to Czechia a lot more times than we’ve been to Croatia. It just hasn’t been recently.

It wasn’t easy to find the right parking lot for where we’re staying. We ended up parking at the bus station; then left our bags in the car, and walked into the cobblestone town, which is just as pretty as I remember it from 2008. As we were checking into the monastery, Bill recognized one of his colleagues, who had brought her mom, aunt, and uncle with her. They were checking in, too! It’s yet another one of those times when I (or we) run into someone we know, somewhere unexpected. It also happened on our cruise back in June, when we ran into a guy and his wife we met on a cruise in 2012.

Prior to this year, I’ve run into people I know, or people my friends know, in exotic places. The most amazing example was back in the 90s, when I was waiting tables, and I waited on a couple with an Irish accent. They turned out to be neighbors of my friend, Chris, from Newtownards, a town near Belfast. But I’ve also run into old work buddies, like in Texas back in 2013, when Bill and I ran into a couple I knew when I worked as the cook at a Virginia summer camp as we were going to see one of Bill’s high school pals. Or back in the 90s, when I randomly reunited with a guy whose floor I slept on in Sofia, Bulgaria, at the Peace Corps office in Washington, DC. During that same period of time, I ran into the Vice President for Student Affairs at my college and another woman I worked with at the summer camp.

It always amazes me when this happens, but it shouldn’t. By now, I should expect that at least when it comes to me, and my life, it’s a very small world after all. I don’t know if other people have experienced this phenomenon, though. You can tell me in the comments if you have.

Anyway, once we got parked, Cesky Krumlov gave us a warm welcome. It’s not super crowded now, although I have seen lots of Asian families. That’s not so unusual, especially in this area. Bill and I have run into so many Asian bus tour groups in Austria and the more popular cities in Bavaria. It makes sense that they’d visit a beautiful old city like Cesky Krumlov, which is now very touristy indeed. We’ve also run into a few Americans and at least one couple from France. But it’s not totally overrun with people right now, and the weather is good. So I expect we’ll have a great time exploring, then get back on the road tomorrow, to head to Brno.

I’ll put this post on the main blog, too, for the half dozen regular readers I have there who might enjoy it… 😉

Champagne Bucket trips, Finland, Regent Seven Seas Cruise Lines

Our first impressions of dinner on Regent Splendor…

Our first night aboard Splendor, we had dinner reservations in Prime 7 (the steakhouse) for 8:30 PM. We don’t usually eat that late in the evening, but there were no earlier times available. Since I wanted to try all three of the specialty restaurants, I took that time. It wasn’t a bad plan, as a lot of people don’t book the specialty restaurants on the first night. Also, at this time of year in Scandinavia, the sun still shines brightly at 8:30 PM.

Bill could have put an eye out when he opened our sailaway champagne!

We had plenty of time to kill before we went to eat dinner, so Bill and I went to the Observation Lounge on Deck 11 for the welcome party. As we were sitting there listening to a guy name Rick “tickling the ivories” and sipped wine, we heard someone call our names. We turned to our left and there were Gail and Ger, whom we met on our second SeaDream Yacht Club cruise in November 2011.

We got up and hugged them, then moved to their table for four, where we caught up on things. Ger and Gail live in England, and like us, they’d moved since our last in person meeting. Ger is a pilot and is about to retire. When I asked him if he was okay with that, he seemed very honest and happy when he reported that he truly is. Now he can travel for fun even more often!

Gail and Ger were also booked in Prime 7, but they had an earlier reservation. So after a little more catching up, they took their leave, and Bill and I hung out in the lounge a little bit longer. Rick, the pianist, had packed up and left by then, so we listened to the easy listening/jazz/mellow R&B that seems to be piped in all over Regent Splendor. I didn’t mind some of the jazz selections they were playing. I even Shazamed some of them. As I type this, I’m listening to music by Diane Kirkwood, a jazzy singer I discovered on Regent Splendor. I even downloaded her album.

Some of the other music they piped in was decidedly “elevator music” style, which I like a lot less, and sometimes even find a little “triggering”. Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous, but some of you haven’t been forced to ride for hours in the back of a van with a hyper-controlling musician wannabe father who hums, and it shows. 😉 While it’s true that Regent has a number of “senior” folks aboard, most of them seemed far from needing a nursing home. I think if anyone from the cruise line asked me for my opinion, I’d advise Regent to ditch the “beautiful music” style tunes and stick with a more adult contemporary sound. But, that’s just me.

When it was time for our reservation, Bill and I headed to Deck 10 on the starboard side, where we were met by a smiling man named Aras who said he had a table, but not one that was by a window. We said that was okay, since we were there to eat, rather than look out the window. Bwahahahaha… Actually, I like looking out the windows when I travel, but I knew we would certainly survive dinner without direct window access. So we sat down and enjoyed a very beautiful meal… See below!

After dinner, we waddled back to Suite 964 and watched the sunset as we left Sweden for Helsinki, Finland. Helsinki is, of course, the original place we were going to visit. Finland won the champagne bucket draw, after all. I was looking forward to seeing a new place in a country I had never visited before. But first, we had to get there, and it would take all night, as Regent Splendor gently made her way…

We tucked ourselves into bed and soon fell fast asleep. No joke… Regent Splendor’s linens are absolutely exquisite. It took no time before we were sound asleep.

Baden-Württemberg

Lunch at Il Due in Nagold…

I have been wanting to try Il Due (the two), an Italian restaurant in Nagold, for ages. We went there one night and they were totally full. Most times, when we visit Nagold, we notice this restaurant right off the main square is completely packed. Although I was struggling with very irritated eyes thanks to fall allergies, we decided to go to Nagold today… and wonder of wonders, we managed to get a table at Il Due.

The place was rather full, but not entirely so. We sat down next to a very pleasant looking German couple who were very friendly to us. After we ordered drinks, they moved to another recently vacated table because they ran into another couple they knew and were invited to join them. I didn’t know it at the time, but the same thing would happen to us about an hour later.

Anyway, Bill and I decided to order from today’s specials. Bill had a glass of Pinot Grigio and I had a glass the Barbera region in Piemonte. He had ravioli with Steinpilzen (stone mushrooms) and I had Seeteufel (monkfish) with black tagliatelle and vegetables. The dining room was energetic, with plenty of of locals enjoying the Italian fare. I’m pretty sure there was a birthday party going on in a private dining room, too. We saw people leaving with bouquets of flowers.

Bill studies the menu. We had plenty of time to look at the menu because service was a little slow. No big deal, though.

There were only a couple of women taking care of the whole dining room, so service was a bit slow. It wasn’t a big deal, though, because we weren’t in a hurry. Our big plan after lunch had us going to the Lidl to buy German style American food for tomorrow’s blog post. When our food did arrive, it didn’t disappoint. I could see why Il Due is so popular.

A well stocked wine shelf. Il Due has a nice bar area with padded benches.

I went with a Barbera that was on special. It had really nice jammy flavors with rich red fruits and was just very slightly effervescent. Bill had the house Pinot Grigio, which was tart, but not all that exciting. He liked it fine.

Bill’s ravioli, which was priced at about 14 euros. It was filled with mild mushrooms and topped with rocket, freshly shaved Parmesan cheese, and a cream sauce. I didn’t try it because mushrooms are of the devil. But Bill loved it.

I was very happy with my choice, which sold for 24,80. I’m pretty sure the price was mainly because of the saffron cream sauce. Seeteufel is monkfish, which is also known as angler. It’s very dense and reminds me a bit of catfish, without the dirt essence that usually comes with catfish. It was lightly fried and served with black tagliatelle, black because it was infused with squid ink. And there were lightly sauteed green beans, carrots, and broccoli. I really enjoyed this dish, though I couldn’t finish the pasta.

As we were eating, Bill noticed the family that lives across the street from us. They sat at a table at the back of the restaurant and didn’t notice us by the window. Just as we were finishing lunch, they saw us and we ended up hanging out for awhile. I had a couple more glasses of wine, switching to primitivo, which was also very nice had a pleasant vanilla essence. Our neighbor had a rose that she said was a bit sweet. We ended up having a great chat and I almost felt a little sad for the wait staff, since they were having their “pause”. I will note that they were very gracious. Our neighbors’ daughter had tiramisu for dessert. The neighbor had a beer; his wife had another glass of wine and so did I. And we finally got to know each other better after having lived across the street from each other for three years.

I guess Il Due is that kind of place… where people meet and hang out. We saw more than a few people running into each other there today. The food was very good. The service was pleasant and professional. I would not hesitate to visit again, although I would recommend reservations if you’re going on a popular night like Friday or Saturday. It’s not a big restaurant and it’s very popular in Nagold. Pizza and pasta is available, as well as fish and beef. Warmly recommended!

In warmer months, outdoor seating is available.

Uncategorized

Another American in Jettingen!

Last night, Bill and I decided to go to Taverne bei Dimi’s for our Friday night Greek fix. It turned out to be an interesting evening, mainly because there were more English speakers than Germans there. In fact, we noticed one German couple sitting between our table and a large table of Germans and at least one Brit. Everyone was speaking English.

The waitress was one I hadn’t seen before. She seemed to be German and was very pleasant. Dimi was happy to see us, too, and offered a wave as he served lots of food.

Bill and I decided to have something different and ordered a sampler platter for two…

We got two of these beautiful farmer’s salads. I was enjoying filling up on the vegetables until I got an unusually hot pepper! I could have used some yogurt!

This was our platter. It came with Dimi’s yummy fries, bifteki, souvlaki, gyros, and pork steaks, as well as plenty of t’zatziki. We managed less than half and brought the rest home. This was a pretty good deal, too. For two people, it was 27 euros.

While we were eating, an older black gentleman and his son and daughter arrived. I knew he was an American immediately because he wore a wedding ring on his left hand. He sat down with the group of Germans and their British friend, but I noticed he kept looking over at us. He eventually came over and introduced himself. It turns out he and his family live in Oberjettingen. His wife is German and he is a government civilian who wished to become a contractor because he’s about to be rotated out of Germany.

So he and Bill talked and it turned out he was trying to score an interview with Bill’s company. Bill, being a “pay it forward” kind of guy, promised to talk to his boss. I’m kind of a big believer in fateful encounters. As I mentioned last week, I have a knack for running into people I used to know. I also have a knack for doing things that end up benefitting others.

When I was in the Peace Corps, I helped out a beautiful young Armenian woman who was hoping to go to college in the United States. I didn’t know her, but had noticed she had posted an ad in the Peace Corps office looking for people who had attended certain private east coast colleges. She needed to be interviewed by alums in order to be accepted. I happened to know a couple of people who had gone to the colleges she was interested in attending, so I took her number and passed it on to my friends. They both talked to her and were very impressed. She ended up getting a full scholarship to Bowdoin College. She also got accepted to Hamilton College, which was the other school she wanted to attend.

I know about this because I ended up meeting her one night while visiting another friend. She was dating an American teenager who was the son of a professor who worked for the US Department of Agriculture. When she found out what I’d done, she thanked me profusely. The Peace Corps does attract a lot of graduates of small, private, liberal arts colleges, but the odds there would be two local alums available in Yerevan was pretty slim. Fortunately, someone noticed her ad and knew two people who could help her.

I am certainly not responsible for her success. She was a very bright and engaging young woman who impressed my friends, who were alums. All I did was help set the conditions for her success. I’m thinking that maybe Bill can do the same thing for the man we met last night. I think it’s a good way to foster positive karma. I don’t know how my Armenian acquaintance’s story ended. I’d like to think she enjoyed four years at a very exclusive school. But I didn’t even know her well enough to be able to Facebook stalk her. I only remember her first name.

Anyway, this guy we met last night has very good reasons for wanting to stay in Germany. His son is in high school and plays football. If they have to move, it’ll be to Fort Polk, Louisiana. Granted, I haven’t been to Fort Polk, but I have heard it’s not exactly the greatest place to be. And if you are a civilian, there’s no telling how long the government will keep you in an assignment stateside.

So, I’m hoping things work out for our new friend. In any case, it’s nice to know we aren’t totally alone out here on the edge of the Black Forest.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: running into people