Post Titled: Something like a PfandflaschenPhenomenon

Intro: I took a bag of empty bottles to the grocery store, popped them in one by one into an automat (in this case a large red robot) and got a receipt which I took to the cashier and received 5 euro and 7 cents back, and thought "Holy sh*t- no wonder all those old people go all over town collecting bottles, its actually lucrative!" It is true, the teenagers go out at night in little groups with their bier and cola and whatnot, setting down bottles in the subway stations and sidewalks all over town and the elderly are right there behing them collecting the bottles as they go, then returning them for cash. These bottles are then returned to the factories, washed and refilled with bier, cola, water, limo, etc. Genius. Much more direct than recycling, gell? "Gell" is a pfalzisch word I re-learned this weekend, it is comparable to the Canadian "aye?"

Wald and Erika and Volker in Katzenbach, old stomping ground.
Pfältzisch continues to elude me. We just spent three lovely days in Hornbach (southwest Pfalz approx 15 km form the french border) at Nadine's monther/grandmothers house on the occasion of ther Oma's 80 birhtday. The strange thing I suppose I didn't prepare myself for was that everyone was speaking Pfälzish (a strong local dialect) which is just barely german, so whereas here in Berlin I can understand 8-9 words out of 10 spoken, with pfälzisch I can only understand 2-3, very very frustrating. But overall, the trip was nice. We flew directly from Berlin Schoenfeld to Zweibruecken (where Nadine was born) An old military base has been converted into a - well, everything, an airport, Eisstadion (ice rink where both Nadine and I had ice skated in out early teens) and clubs, resteraunts, offices, etc.

Post Subtitled: Better living through simplicity.

Much like the Pfandflaschen deal, I was so impressed by the way Nadine's family and the Schroers live. The 'Pfalz', (a.k.a the german state of Rheinland Pfalz) where my family was living from 1993-2005 is so nice in its simplicity. Sure, there are problems, sure there are the usual run-of-the-mill societal ailments: unemployment, alcoholism, boredom and lust for material goods but in all these little houses nestled in all these little vallies between the green hills and farmer's fields there are people living very simply, and I love that. I don't think I can even really describe it- but, for example, the refrigerators are tiny, so Nadine's Oma puts the cakes out on the balcony where it is naturally cool. So much is conserved, renovated, and kept-up rather than disposed of it is almost brilliant. Simple, economic heating units, and hot water that is only used when absolutely necessary (because it has to be turned on or plugged in).

I am back in Berlin , tired at midnight and listeing to iTunes on random and Michael Vermillion's "Seven Up has lost her tongue" has just come on... I'm not sure but to me this always reminds me of that game we would play in elemantary school just hours before we were released on holiday break, when everyone would put their head down and then you would have to guess who tapped you... which I always thought was a very sly game because I'd always tap the girls I had crushes on... I think that WAS the game actually... one of those boy-girl games...