Random Observations -- Take Five

German radio stations have previews for songs to be played in the next 15 minutes or so. The DJ will play snippets from upcoming songs to whet your appetite before going to a commercial.

Fountain pens are popular in Germany, even among school kids for the simple reason that you can erase and rewrite your answer. Just pick out a fountain pen with a design you like (and be sure you don't get a lefty pen if you're a righty or vice versa). You will also need refill ink cartridges (usually blue) and then the magic eraser marker. The marker is double-ended, one end has the marker for erasing your error and the other end is a blue marker for writing the correction. Your fountain pen will not write on the section you erased. Once you get used to writing with a fountain pen, once you figure out where the pen tip's sweet spot is, you'll never go back to using ball point pens.

Dora and Boots are constantly bumming rides off Tico the Squirrel, the only character on the Dora the Explorer show who has his drivers license apparently. In the episode I watched with Becca the other day, Dora and Boots were yet again taking advantage of Tico and asked for a ride, to which the English-speaking Tico answered, "It would be my great pleasure." Who talks like that?

Sundays are a day to venture outside, even in very cold weather, to get some exercise. You see a lot of Nordic walkers -- people walking with what look like ski poles. I didn't quite understand what the purpose of the poles were until I read that Nordic walking burns 20% more calories than regular walking. And there is an actual technique to it, you don't just swing the poles willy-nilly. Other benefits include increased strength and endurance in the entire upper body, increases in heart rate at a given pace, better balance and easier hill climbing while walking, and significant unweighting of hip, knee and ankle joints. One American I met who gave it try on a vacation trip said, "Would you believe I actually fell down at one point? It's not as easy as it looks!"

This weekend, James is traveling with his soccer team to Berlin for a tournament. On the list of items to bring: a travel mug (for tea).

I'm not sure of the laws involved, but you see ATVs being driven down regular streets in Germany.

If you go to a German department store, even a nice one, and you want to try on an item of clothing, chances are you won't find a dressing room. Instead, you'll simply use a dressing booth with a curtain located right on the store floor out in the open. My kids hate this! I have to hold the sides of the curtain to be sure no one gets a peek at them. At specialty clothing stores, there is usually a dressing room with curtained booths for privacy, but the dressing rooms themselves are co-ed.

The kids and I find this new Nestlé Fitness cereal tasty, but the box made David do a double-take. I believe the word, "Whoa!" escaped his lips. I don't think you have this cereal in the U.S. Would they use the same box design there, I wonder?

I heard Becca and Emilie fighting one evening and went to investigate. I found a tearful Emilie who whined that Becca kept saying, "Du bist Kaka-Kopf! Du bist Kaka-Kopf!" ("You're a poopie-head! You're a poopie-head!") My outburst of laughter made Emilie cry all the harder.