Author Archives

Bill Pearse publishes memoir, travel journals, poetry and prose, and lives in the Pacific Northwest.

• The Buten

  By Bill Pearse on October 10, 2009 • ( 0 )

  

  I spent most of today picking grapes in a nearby village. It hasn’t rained here in two months really, but it rained like hell while we were on the steep slopes with our buckets and clippers. Our friend Uwe has… Read More ›

• The Pleasure Principle

  By Bill Pearse on October 9, 2009 • ( 1 )

  

  I downloaded this album by Gary Numan for our trip to Paris this week and we listened to it on my laptop, in the hotel. With the lights out, the window ajar, and the iTunes visualizer on, this was one… Read More ›

• Les Bres in Metz

  By Bill Pearse on October 5, 2009 • ( 0 )

  This weekend, we drove to Metz (France) to visit our friends Laurent and Nanou. They live in a two-bedroom apartment with their three kids, cat, and French bulldog. The kids are 9, 3 and 18 months. Needless to say, add… Read More ›

• Cannstatter Volksfest

  By Bill Pearse on October 2, 2009 • ( 1 )

  Last night I met up with our police friend Eberhard and visited the second-largest beer festival in the world, the Cannstatter Volksfest. It’s a 35 hectare fair area set on the banks of the Neckar river, with about six tents… Read More ›

• 1989’s Disintegration

  By Bill Pearse on September 30, 2009 • ( 1 )

  I had a cassette copy of this record by The Cure (“Disintegration”), and I wrote “1989’s Disintegration” on the spine of the tape when I dubbed it. I did this to be ironic, since 1989 was the year my first… Read More ›

• Englischer Garten

  By Bill Pearse on September 30, 2009 • ( 0 )

  

  Just got back from my second overnight trip to Munich: spent the night with a former boss of mine. He’s working with Starbucks again as an operations coach, or consultant, to help the stores in the south improve. When I… Read More ›

• An Empty Shelf

  By Bill Pearse on September 28, 2009 • ( 0 )

  

  I was the only American among 24 tour-goers, when we went around and introduced ourselves at the memorial site. Our guide, a young woman from New Zealand, asked us to say our name and why we’ve come to Dachau. I… Read More ›

• Dachau

  By Bill Pearse on September 28, 2009 • ( 0 )

  

  As a show of moral conviction, I was seriously thinking about a visit to the concentration camp here, to balance out my weekend of beer and excess. 15 years ago, on my first trip to Munich, my girlfriend wanted to… Read More ›

• Speak My Language

  By Bill Pearse on September 28, 2009 • ( 0 )

  

  It has been a strange week. Tuesday, I went with Gilles to get a haircut in Erligheim. The plan was for him to leave me there, and then I would walk home, through the forest. He took great care describing… Read More ›

• Eight More Weeks

  By Bill Pearse on September 20, 2009 • ( 0 )

  I have eight more of sabbatical, six of which are in Europe. When I got up this morning I realized there’s two more days of Winzerfest too, which is too long for a wine festival. It is fascinating to observe,… Read More ›