Sami Returns...adventures in Germany...

Well everyone...I'm back from sunny Europe into rainy Yorkshire, but happy yo be home.

Germany was great, it mainly consisted of mountains (climbing of) and lakes (swimming in) and a few cities (Salzburg, Brugge, Heidelberg) and an All-Ireland semi-final thrown in.

Then there was of course the German swimming pool, outdoor, surrounded by mountains and with a big slide . The problem was the slide was pretty darn slow without going down on one of the (limited supply of) rubber rings floating around, so trips to the pool soon involved the game on 'ring hunting', which involved crouching in the shadows at the bottom on the slide like a tiger waiting for someone to let go of a ring and then diving into a fast swin to pounce on it before the other poachers get there first. Getting a ring was relatively difficult, but keeping one was easy, not speaking German was a huge advantage here, when the German people have plucked up the courage to ask if you'd finished with the ring all you have to do is say "sorry? do you speak english?" and most will just run away like they've seen a ghost. This game developed from saying 'do you speak english?' to more exciting stuff like 'Uncle Ernest bought a bicycle and went for a ride in the goldfish bowl' - just for a (rather immature) laugh at the reaction. There are of course several Germans who can speak English, so that's where you're stuck.

Climbing mountains is a strange pursuit, many people (myself included) wonder what the point of it is, but once you have adopted the right technique it's a breeze. The best technique? Take a fully charged mp3 and listen to Status Quo all the way up. Perfect. In Germany and The Alps there is also the added bonus of a 'Mountain Hutte' nestled in the hills somewhere which serves Apfelkuchen, Kasekuchen etc etc. The brother thought he'd ordered buttermilk cake, but he'd actually ordered Buttermilk (disgusting - I sneaked round the back and poured it down a drain, just to be polite), he somehow failed to notice the '0.5 litre' next to the word buttermilk or didn't question how one would go about purchasing 0.5 litres of cake. There was also 'Pancake Soup' - very tasty.

Pancake Soup Hutte was located at the bottom of a mountain who's ascent included a 'Kletterstein' - i.e. ladders, metal rungs etc stuck into the rock to assist climbers in difficult places. We passed the sign at the bottom of said Kletterstein which stated:

"In 1976, 247 died trying to climb this mountain. After the construction of the Kletterstein in 1977, only around 8 people die each year."

We went up the Kletterstein anyway (noone died). I wrote my name in the visitor book at the top to prove it.

The hurling was watched with some Limerick people in O'Reilly's Pub in Heildelberg, a fantastic establishment (tasty chips, great service - offer to set up a tab for a 15 year old). I was amused by the poor old Man United fans (not) who had to watch their premier league game without commentary because we were watching The Sunday Game with the sound broadcast around the whole pub. The Germans (and English watching the soccer) in there seemed very shocked when a guy shouted at the top of his voice "COME ON LIMERICK FOR F*CKS SAKE!" across the entire pub.

I found a real gem of a tourist info leaflet in Brugge (full of swear words and insults) which I must quote on here sometime.

Meanwhile back here to do the coursework which I left for the rest of the holiday until now and await a Tipperary All-Ireland win!*

*Not garunteed by any means.

Fantastic stuff Sami. Great travel report I must say!! I almost feel like I'n there drinking buttermilk myself.
And welcome back.

Good stuff Sammy! Glad you made it up the Kletterstein and back - I thought it was a piano meself!!