an unforseen winter

some days before Christmas, a strange, chilling winter breeze kissed the tips of my ears, as i rode back home from work. my friends and colleagues were persistent in making me realize that such weather in Ostfriesland, usually first dissolved by the sea, comes seldom if ever. so i hoped to capsulate what little delusion i could through my lens.

from a Nebraskan girl's eyes, it merely looked at first like salt.

Emden, Dezember 2009

however, it quickly prove difficult on a bike.
Emden, Dezember 2009




but the awkwardness of it made for great illusions.
Emden, Dezember 2009

the white began to hide and halt what normalcy we've had.
Emden, Dezember 2009



it continued to fall even on the islands.
Norderney, Dezember 2009



yet, some were less shaken by the great white coating.
Norderney, Dezember 2009

and some found the secret to age old mysteries
Norderney, Dezember 2009

and all of this, somehow before Christmas. how unnerving.
Norderney, Dezember 2009

an ode to the sea.

in pictures of course.

Norderney, Sept. 2009
sometimes you forget how hard the waves can crash against your lightly constructed frame

den Haag, Oktober 2009
sometimes there are subtleties about it that bark during the night


den Haag, Oktober 2009
somehow the weight gets swallowed up with little trace of life

Norderney, December 2009

sometimes there are those who walk it with you


Norderney, December 2009
somehow you can't help but stay warm in it's winds
(perhaps it's really the surfer's cafe that does it)

A Danglish Christmas

Please . . . don't be afraid to read this out loud. Trust me, you'll get it.

When the snow falls wunderbar
And the children happy are,
When the Glatteis on the street,
And we all a Glühwein need,
Then you know, es ist soweit:
She is here, the Weihnachtszeit


Every Parkhaus ist besetzt,
Weil die people fahren jetzt

All to Kaufhof, Mediamarkt,
Kriegen nearly Herzinfarkt.
Shopping hirnverbrannte things
And the Christmasglocke rings.


Merry Christmas, merry Christmas,
Hear the music, see the lights,
Frohe Weihnacht, Frohe Weihnacht,
Merry Christmas allerseits...


Mother in the kitchen bakes
Schoko-, Nuss- and Mandelkeks

Daddy in the Nebenraum
Schmücks a Riesen-Weihnachtsbaum
He is hanging auf the balls,
Then he from the Leiter falls...


Finally the Kinderlein
To the Zimmer kommen rein
And es sings the family
Schauerlich: "Oh, Chistmastree!"
And the jeder in the house
Is packing die Geschenke aus.


Merry Christmas, merry Christmas,
Hear the music, see the lights,
Frohe Weihnacht, Frohe Weihnacht,
Merry Christmas allerseits...


Mama finds under the Tanne
Eine brandnew Teflon-Pfanne,
Papa gets a Schlips and Socken,
Everybody does frohlocken.
President speaks in TV,
All around is Harmonie,


Bis mother in the kitchen runs:
Im Ofen burns the Weihnachtsgans

And so comes die Feuerwehr
With Tatü, tata daher,
And they bring a long, long Schlauch
And a long, long Leiter auch.
And they schrei - "Wasser marsch!",
Christmas is - now im - Eimer...


Merry Christmas, merry Christmas,
Hear the music, see the lights,
Frohe Weihnacht, Frohe Weihnacht,
Merry Christmas allerseits...

Michael Campbell: The Orienteer: Humor Essays

Michael Campbell: The Orienteer: Humor Essays

It's a small world after all

to begin . . .

I must first assure you that Lacey in Germany will be much fuller than it was the last time I was here (all of one post). The Fulbright's minimal requirements, I'm sure, will offer me much more time to start writing again, both via computer and some creative-fiction writing.

The comfort of my beginning adventures has been somewhat startling. Somehow, I feel very close to home. Perhaps it's because I was greeted and taken in from a friend from Lincoln, who is just returning to Germany after a year in Nebraska and Boston.

I've been staying for the past few days with Eileen and her wonderful family in Lüneburg. Lüneburg, what Eileen and I have dubbed die schönste Stadt Deutschlands, is somewhat surreal at the moment and I feel as if I have been transcending space and time. I owe this supernatural sense to my being here the last time I was in Germany and for the fact that Eileen is here with me, who Ive only known in Nebraska. The both of us have, however had some wonderful surprises since weve been here that make us feel at home in Nebraska and makes the world feel even smaller than its already becoming.

First and foremost . . . Lüneburg has cornfields. Yes. Though theyre smaller than in the Midwest. I have yet to take a picture of this, but soon Ill be meandering about to document my stay, and that of course is at the top of my list.

My stay with Eileen and her family--Christa (mama), Harald (papa) and Isa (Isabel-sister)--has been very casual. I have my own room in the basement and my own bathroom, which are both very comfortable and wonderful for jetlag.

I am also welcoming some of the German delicatessen back into my daily routines (Nutella, hard bread, tee and coffee, potatoes and schnitzel, and more). After a fairly stress-free, but tiring, flight across the Atlantic, I'm happy to feel at home and in good company -- No worries Mom.

More from Lüneburg will be coming very soon.

Mai Feiertag!

Now that I finally have a reliable internet connection (who knew that such a developed country as Germany wouldn't have internet!) I could post a little about what I've done and provide some awesome pictures as well!

I'll start with the 1st of May. May is already my favorite month, since it is my birthday, but May Day (the first of May) is a special day here, signaling the first day of beautiful Spring and it is also Father's Day, in which all men (regardless of whether or not they're actually fathers) walk around pulling a small wagon full of beer and drink all day long.
Fortunately I'm not guy, (I hate beer) and my wonderful Italian friends decided to have an old-fashioned picnic on a wonderful day! We ate and played by the river.
Although we initially wanted to go to Prague and then to Poland on our "Feiertag" weekend, we ended up staying around Marburg. Frankfurt was cheaper. We ended up going to a famous club in Frankfurt called "Cuccun" and stayed all night, until about 7:00am. I couldn't believe it when we walked outside the club to go to the Strassenbahn that it was bright daylight!

(My friend Helena from Greece and Sarina from Washington-the state not D.C.)







And for an even better end to an expected boring weekend, we decided to head to Kassel, which is only about an hour away by train and visit Herkules, the BergGarten, essentially a massive (but gorgeous) garden with a few castles to spare. It is called Herkules I believe because there so many damn steps to the top of it!

The Grimm brothers actually ended their Fairytale road in Kassel . . . maybe that's why is was so dreamlike. Lot's of pictures of course of the garden.


And also some of the nasty Swans that try to bite your fingers off!






But the stairs were a good workout and and the view even more incredible!

ONE MONTH!

Well, as soon as I start my trip I'll have more interesting posts!