Really? I'm AWAKE this early again?
Ah well, I went to bed at 20:00, so I shouldn't be surprised... and also, I've only been in this time zone for 6 days, so it ain't so bad!
Is there something wrong with popping the cork of a bottle of Prosecco under the blanket (don't want to wake the whole hotel with that gun-shot-like noise!) at 5:45?
Even if this should turn out to be a NO-NO, TODAY I don't really care ....
At 6:50 I realize that I'm not only tipsy but drunk, LOL.
Time to get ready to eat some breakfast to soak up that booze....
Breakfast Woman is as lovely as ever..... a cheery person .... probably one of two main reasons why I keep coming back to this otherwise DIRE hotel ....
9:45
It's time to shoulder my two backpacks back and front and to hop onto my rental e-bike !
The weather gods are with me….. it stays DRY during my ride
back to Mom-Town…… but the temperature of less than 10 Celsius is still hurting my hands exposed to the elements on the handlebar.
...return the bike….. get two more bottles of yummy Lugana at
REWE…. and then to Mother’s old-age home for a last visit and to bridge the
remaining hour until my train leaves (YES, I do realize that sounds heartless...)
WHY did they barricade Mother’s room door from the outside
with a cleaning cart and a HEAVY walker?
The door only opens a tiny bit and through this narrow gap I see Mother’s
face lit up by incomprehension and she is shouting “Son, HELP, HELP, HELP!”.
The fucking dermatologist still hasn’t shown
up so officially my mother is still not allowed in the common rooms….. and THIS
is how the personnel here deals with it?
SHITE… all those stories about atrocities at old-age homes are TRUE after
all…..
 |
| Mother after having been liberated by her offspring |
 |
| NOT a bad view for a room in an old-age home |
11:25 …. The train is ON TIME !
12:50
I completed my train change in Cologne...
Deutsche Bahn is mighty proud of finally offering Wifi in its Premium ICE trains for a few years now..... but today the on-board WiFi reminds me of the old days of dial-up connections.... it's fucking GLACIAL ! I am reminded that Irish Rail had perfectly FAST WiFi in its trains all the way back in 2013!
The train has been sitting at Mannheim station for 10 minutes now.... due to a technical track defect..... what does that even mean? and how much longer will we have to sit here? 14:35.... the doors are closing...... but the train is still not moving..... oh... now it is....
15:15
I've arrived in my Hotel in Karlsruhe .... and there is an e-mail from Mother's state-appointed care-taker, whom I had informed of the barricade in front of Mother's door. I feel sorry for the staff of the old-age home already......
I have unleashed Ms. S., the HOUND of WRATH !
Back to reality: Karlsruhe is supposed to have the nicest local climate of all Germany..... YES, it is 5 degrees warmer than in Mom-Town.... but FUCK, it looks like a typical Vancouver day out there !
17:30
I could sleep .... but NO, that is NOT what I am in Karlsruhe for ..... I'm here to meet my favourite relatives..... people OOZING POSITIVE energy ! I'm not exactly sure what the degree of kinship is called... This woman is the niece of my grandmother....
We drive somewhere.... I have no idea WHERE we are .... Marxzell.... the foothills of the Black Forest.... A country inn serving Baden-style food.... Great Uncle has Kutteln (the stomach lining of a pig?), Great Aunt has a Wiener Schnitzel (the REAL calf variety), and I end up with turkey breast strips in a cream sauce.... NOT exactly Baden food, but it is light and tastes fabulous!
But what is MUCH more important than the food: I GET ALONG with these people..... Conversation flows.... laughter all around ... there are no awkward moments here.... I am enjoying this!! .....I wish I could spend more time with them!
22:00 I NEED to go to sleep, LOL
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