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 ›
Memoir
The Pleasure Principle
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
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
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 ›
Englischer Garten
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 ›
Dachau
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
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
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 ›
Winzerfest, Day 1
We got through our first day of this four-day festival, and the only thing that woke me was the sound of the truck cleaning the streets, this morning. There was a reggae band down the street that started at midnight… Read More ›
Besigheimer Winzerfest 2009
Winzerfest starts tonight, at 7 p.m. It will go on for four nights, and segments will be televised on German TV. This is a wine festival that occurs every two years, just here in Besigheim. They’ve been primping up the… Read More ›
Bill Pearse 