Gig and I went to Fellbach's town hall (Rathaus) to register me as a Fellbach resident so that I might get European plates on my car. Gig had been assured that this was legal, and the easiest way for me to get the car onto the road. Of course, we were soon in a snafu. For three months, this would work, but for nine months it wouldn't, unless I could show that I had employment in the area. So, no car in my hands, yet. Tomorrow, we shall solve the problem. Where there's a will, there's a Weg.
Dietmar then took me to the local electronics shop to price GPS systems. Three hundred Euros seemed a bit too high to me, so I resolved to find a book of maps before heading off to the East.
Then, I did my gig at Max's senior English class at Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium. The class was quite polite, asked many good questions covering myriad topics, from the election to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, and didn't show boredom with my digressions. Frau Gabrielle Schaefer, the teacher, seemed to be satisfied, telling me after class that she felt fortunate, as guest speakers could be a risk, but that our hour was well spent. Thankfully, Max concurred. We then went to lunch with Gig and Frank Sauter, a nico sales manager who once did a six-month internship at Rochester Shoe Tree Company! Gig then returned to the office, and Max to classes, so I stayed at the house for a nap.
After my siesta, Ferdi and I took a mile walk downhill to town to find a bookstore. They had a 2008-2009 book of European road maps. They aren't as detailed as those in the Michelin guide, but appear more than adequate to get me from the Stuttgart area to Cluj-Napoca, and they were a whole lot less costly than a GPS.
Dinner was at the Schmid house with Sabine, Max and Ferdi. Sabine served us her mother's pumpkin soup and Bavaria's white wurst (sausage). Both were rich and delicious. The soup was so good, and so new to me, that I have asked Sabine to send me the recipe. Such a soup makes the use of pumpkins for jack-o-lanterns seem a sin.
2 comments:
You're really getting the hang of this blogging thing rather quickly.
I'm sorry to hear about the red tape with the car. It seems the Europeans aren't that different from us after all. Nor have they solved bureaucracy.
Send my best to the Schmids. Have you sent an email letting people know about the blog yet?
To most of the family, yes. More importantly, I have added the blog link to my Yahoo Mail signature line, so all my correspondents will know of it.
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