(no subject)
It's a little after 3am and I'm in Donzdorf, Germany. It's been a busy week but I've been learning a lot.
Donzdorf is a sleepy little town with winding roads in the southern part of Germany. Not many folks here speak English, even many of the people in the office struggle with it and try to exit the room quickly when I enter. I only know basic German phrases so I understand the impulse to not embarrass myself.
The hotel we're in is small and older, it's the only one in the town. There are a lot of aspects of it that remind me it's German. The philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Žižek made a point once that you can learn a lot about the national psyche of a country by it's architecture and design. He mentioned the toilets different countries use and specifically brought up Germanys because there's a little ledge you crap on, almost as if you are going to observe your stool, and then flush it. I saw those kinds of toilets when I first visited in 2004. I haven't seen any toilets like that here but there are other things that remind me I am in Germany.
In the bathroom of the hotel I'm in there is one small heater that is mounted on the wall. It seems that no matter where I turn or sit in the bathroom I am burning myself on the heater. It's not a severe burn but it's hot enough that you can't hold on to it very long. It's like a constant reminder to not get comfortable. The lights in our hotel are shut off at a certain time of the night and, because we usually come in late, we have to stumble around in the dark, ascend up winding stairs and stab at the door handle with our key to get in. Oh, there's also a pit bull in the lobby that randomly shows up only to have a German in the background presumably barking at it to not kill you. I don't speak German so I'm not sure.
A lot of the public places don't allow folks to smoke indoors any longer but the decades of smoking still permeates the walls and consequently the air. In meetings I find myself starting to cough, choking on the fumes of past tobacco smoke that is bleeding from the walls, ceiling and carpet. Tonight a couple of our bands are playing in a city close by which I presume means the venue will be thick with smoke. I plan on just hanging in the restroom watching the crowds of uncut men pissing in front of one another, another very German experience - big troughs with no privacy in the restrooms.
On Sat I fly to London to see a couple friends and head back to the US on Sunday.
Donzdorf is a sleepy little town with winding roads in the southern part of Germany. Not many folks here speak English, even many of the people in the office struggle with it and try to exit the room quickly when I enter. I only know basic German phrases so I understand the impulse to not embarrass myself.
The hotel we're in is small and older, it's the only one in the town. There are a lot of aspects of it that remind me it's German. The philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Žižek made a point once that you can learn a lot about the national psyche of a country by it's architecture and design. He mentioned the toilets different countries use and specifically brought up Germanys because there's a little ledge you crap on, almost as if you are going to observe your stool, and then flush it. I saw those kinds of toilets when I first visited in 2004. I haven't seen any toilets like that here but there are other things that remind me I am in Germany.
In the bathroom of the hotel I'm in there is one small heater that is mounted on the wall. It seems that no matter where I turn or sit in the bathroom I am burning myself on the heater. It's not a severe burn but it's hot enough that you can't hold on to it very long. It's like a constant reminder to not get comfortable. The lights in our hotel are shut off at a certain time of the night and, because we usually come in late, we have to stumble around in the dark, ascend up winding stairs and stab at the door handle with our key to get in. Oh, there's also a pit bull in the lobby that randomly shows up only to have a German in the background presumably barking at it to not kill you. I don't speak German so I'm not sure.
A lot of the public places don't allow folks to smoke indoors any longer but the decades of smoking still permeates the walls and consequently the air. In meetings I find myself starting to cough, choking on the fumes of past tobacco smoke that is bleeding from the walls, ceiling and carpet. Tonight a couple of our bands are playing in a city close by which I presume means the venue will be thick with smoke. I plan on just hanging in the restroom watching the crowds of uncut men pissing in front of one another, another very German experience - big troughs with no privacy in the restrooms.
On Sat I fly to London to see a couple friends and head back to the US on Sunday.