The laughing clown laughs for you.

This is a ride at the Hamburger Dom, a Christmas Festival in Hamburg. Those are people at the end of the long metal structure. It swings you around at a horrifying speed and it was truly horrifying. I was convinced the whole time that the flip down harness that holds you in place was going to come undone. You go completely upside down and backwards and then you race to the earth and back to the sky. Oh my god it was great.

Posted by senorjacob at 03:38 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

News of the Death of Robert Altman came this morning through the internet. It's a sad day. Damn damn damn. Why does death ruin everything?

I'm in Germany for a few weeks visiting B. We're going to Vienna this weekend to listen to the famous Vienna Boys Choir -- their singing one of Mozart's Masses.

Strange things I've seen here in Deutschland:

1. People bring their dogs into restaurants.
2. Dogs are generally more well behaved here than in the states.
3. Germans aren't very outwardly friendly (at least here in Lüneburg where I'm staying). They're friendly when you get to know them but they won't say hi to you on the street. Sure it's a generalization, but you can tell a lot from the vibe you get while walking around town.
4. Every young German can speak English.
5. Germans are WAY into energy conservation. I mean WAY WAY into it. Short baths, proper recyclying (don't mess this up or you're in for it), signs everywhere asking people to try to increase their efficiency, expensive driving schools ($2000 to enroll), gas tax, compost, and don't put anything in the trash resembling uneaten food.
6. If you run into an anti-semitic older neighbor, be prepared to get a chill down your spine.
7. It's rude to leave the tip on the table.
8. It's rude to pet or say hi or play with another person's dog.
9. You're allowed to bring food on the bus but just not ice cream.
10. The leaves have yet to fall off the trees due to Global Warming. Usually the leaves have fallen by the end of October. This is the first year they've stayed on so long.
11. Almost every meal is made up of meat, cheese, and bread.
12. The americans are the loudest mother fuckers wherever you go.

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