Day Trippin

Saarland is a historically fascinating location, situated in an area that has been fought over for centuries, conveniently for us as sightseers, although inconvenient for generations of Saarlanders. During the month we have been in Saarbrucken our daughter A (and family -W and I) we were able to step out for a couple of day trips to explore the surroundings.  Two places, each about an hour away, Trier to the north, and Strasburg to the south.  A & W, also got away for a day to another spot just an hour away Metz (let's go Metz!) .

First off, TRIER which provided a perfect over-view of Western Civilization. From the Roman rule and ruins in the 200's to graffiti ruins today,

with many points in between

It's a city that is everything you expect in Europe, a mark from every ruler- from the Roman Amphitheater (fun fact- despite what we heard from all the old gladiator movies, vomitorium did not refer to a place to vomit rather it was the word for the large tunnel like entrance/exit you see at stadiums where people were "vomited or spewed out" after a large gathering, (thanks for missing this teachable moment Tony Curtis), to the Franks, the Holy Roman Empire, Napoleon, the Prussians and eventually the Germans. Now it is a beautiful melange .

 

 It was also very jarring to see beautiful statues of Mary next to H&M signs and Doner shops.

   Trier is also the birthplace of Karl Marx,  here is his large beautiful home near the town center (apparently, he was really into socializing).  His home is now a museum, which appropriately is now next door to a chain pizza shop and Karl Marx snow globes are sold under the Roman Arch.

As we entered TRIER we were treated to a lovely student concert at the Roman Gate

Next was on to STRAUSBURG, which we understood to be the jewel of the Alsace area.  It was a picture perfect French city with the huge and amazing cathedral made only better by the plethora of nuns framed by half timbered buildings taking pictures everywhere. In fact there were so many nuns we were unable to enter the cathedral.   Guess they couldn't find the vomitorium.

But beyond the cathedral there was lot a more. As with Trier, wide range of styles of buildings from middle ages through fin de siècle art nouveau to modern new European Union buildings.  There were canals and rounds of cheese.

Carousels and enormous stork nests (the symbol of Alsace, they migrate and nest here) throughout the city on chimney tops

 A fun botanical garden with frogs and squash tunnel












and wonderful church bells

This week’s photo of topless old man looking out window contemplating his life:  at work in the Soma Factory. 

Nightlife, Wildlife, Afterlife

Night life

Saarland University (Go Owls!?) has over 17,000 students, but because most students live at home (see last post on local housing issues) it doesn’t feel like a college town.   

There is one popular pub with college students called SaarBrooklyn, but since the legal drinking age is 16 (14 when accompanied by a Custodial Person), most of the cool pubs are filled with that age group, so it’s maybe more of a high school town.

We hear them, the high schoolers, being less than rowdy on the weekends outside our window on the platz (square).   Guess it’s awkward to drink with a Custodial Person.

Wild life

In Los Angeles, it was not unusual to see coyotes at least a few times a week, raccoons, skunks, opossums regularly and rarely deer.  Unexpectedly, in more rural Eugene, Oregon we see lots of ducks (Go Ducks!), and sometimes, but rarely, raccoons and opossums.  Weirdly, in Saarbrucken, an area surrounded by woods, spotting animal life has been disappointing.   We’ve seen a few small bats at dusk, similar to the bats we would see in LA at that time of day. We’ve seen some Egyptian ducks, like we saw in Tel Aviv (Go Egyptian Ducks!). There are pigeons here that are bigger, prettier with longer necks (it’s an actual pigeon breed called the Saar pigeon), but they are not pervasive like most cities And, one sighting of a banana slug (Go UC Santa Cruz!). But we haven’t even seen any squirrels, except weirdly this painting in our Airbnb (that’s nuts).

It just confirms LA has the best wildlife, unless maybe you’re a high schooler in Saarbrucken without a Custodial Person.

What we have seen a lot of here are wasps, but I guess it’s been that way since Martin Luther.

Wild Night Life

We have heard fireworks at night, randomly in the middle of the week, weekends, not sure of the origin, maybe some magic does occasionally happen at one of the brothels?

After Life If you don't survive the nightlife or the wildlife, not a problem as you're well taken care of in the afterlife.

This week’s photo of topless old man looking out window contemplating his life. "Damn, I'll be 50 next year!" 

House-Hunters

Our daughter  (A) and family (W and I) have been living in temporary housing provided by W's  work, the Max Planck Institute,  and it ends this month.  Surprisingly, for a university town, housing options seem to be limited.   People, in general, live in their rented apartments for decades.   

Like HGTV House Hunters, our daughter’s family considered  three housing opportunities.  However, unlike an episode of House Hunters, the decision was made before the opening credits finished, preventing the mid-episode discussion over coffee at a cute cafe/beer at the hip pub. Of the three options; one was already rented, one didn’t allow dogs, and so it left them with one choice.  Despite the forced choice, they actually really liked the apartment.   It is near good bus lines, as well as a forest bike/walking path to both work and I's preschool, and in a very pretty area with lots of older apartments (75% of Saarbrucken was in ruins after WWII).     Although the apartment is empty and has been for awhile, for a variety of circumstances, they can't move in for a few weeks (insurance needed, bank account setting up, rental agent vacation, etc).
But they like it, it is big and spacious which is a huge difference from all of their other apartments, especially in Tel Aviv. The apartment comes with walls, and nothing else. No closets, no kitchen sinks, no kitchen counters, no appliances.  Renters need to install their own kitchens. 

Decades later, when you move, you take your kitchen with you because there isn't much of a second hand market.   

you just buy it and pop it in

So we have made the rounds of the German equivalents to Home Depot (Hornbach's), Lowe's (Bauhaus), Walmart (Real) and Kmart (TeDox).  Nothing extremely inspiring with the exception of a  wall of toilet seats,  plus the cheesecake and the best milchcaffee yet at the exceptional Hornbach's cafe and bakery  Ultimately, they probably will just go buy everything at the local Ikea (an actual Ikea) in neighboring Saarlouis. 

































This week’s photo of topless old man looking out window contemplating his life.