Alps

Yesterday when Rob, Stephanie and I were driving back to Munich via Italy and Austria, Rob offered up an interesting tidbit. He said that in German, Alptraum means nightmare. So, I know that in German "traum" means to dream, so does "alp" mean "bad" or "evil?" This afternoon I did some research on the roots of the word, and here is what I have learned. Some scholars think the "alp" comes from "albus," meaning "white," or "altus," meaning "high." Both these definitions say the word comes from the 16th century French and Latin. Websters 1828 dictionary offered this:

ALP, ALPS, n. [Gr. white; L. albus] A high mountain. The name, it is supposed, was originally given to mountains whose tops were covered with snow, and hence appropriately applied to the mountains of Swisserland; so that by Alps is generally understood the latter mountains. But geographers apply the name to any high mountains.

I thought the most interesting interpretation came from wikipedia. There, alps are related to elfs, and the female version of an alp is a mare. You can read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alp_(folklore). I think I like the wiki version best.

It was under the oven the whole time!

Yesterday the landlady and her significant other came over to repair our refrigerator. Which was great, because it was getting rather difficult to open and shut. Anyhow, the guy lifted the fridge out of its spot on the wall (and then realized it would be best if I took all the stuff out of the fridge so it wouldn't fall on the floor), removed a bunch of screws, took off the cover and took off the old hinges. Two of them came off in several smaller pieces, which explains why the door didn't work well. But anyhow, after he screwed in the new hinges (which fit perfectly) he needed a stool to reach up to the top of the door. So the landlady reached UNDER THE STOVE and pulled out a stool! Are there any other things hiding in my kitchen? Oh, and the door works great now! We don't have to lift it over the freezer to shut it anymore.

Easter, Munich style

Some things about Easter are the same here in Munich as in the States. People hang painted eggs on trees. There are chocolate Easter bunnies everywhere. I get the impression that Germans don't have a tradition of dying Easter eggs with their children. Instead, pre-colored eggs were sold everywhere. I took this picture at the ViktualienMarkt. Also, another thing that I noticed was different is that Germans don't eat jellybeans. And, besides baby chicks and bunnies, they have frogs as Easter mascots too. Anyhow, we had a nice day, the weather was beautiful. I planted flowers in pots I found in our "basement," worked on a quilt, went for a bike ride with Rob, and made delicious chewy chocolate cookies, and ate dinner on the patio.

more funny signs

On Saturday we took the S-bahn to the end of the line in Gruenwald. There is a big forested area there that looks like fun to bike through. But we didn't have our bikes with us, so instead I took some pictures. We liked the concept of a "dog toilet" and also found the license plate on the red car funny (DU DU). My biggest question, would anyone want to eat at this restaurant? It sounds a bit like the plague! It's name, if you can make it out, is "Eboli."

Older than dirt, almost

When I was at my parents' house recently I noticed that a lot of things looked old. So I got out my camera and snapped some pictures. I felt a little bit naughty, like a snoop. But here's what I found. This sign has been on the back of the toilet since the early 80's.
And you can guess how long the Rolaids have been in the medicine cabinet, eh? And how about that shaving cream! Does the Fuller Brushman even exist anymore?

olay

I was at the store yesterday to buy some soap,
and I saw this (see picture on left) which reminded me of this (see picture on right): Why is it Olaz in Germany, and Olay in America?

Munich, again

By the way, I'm back in Munich again. I arrived late on Friday afternoon, without my luggage. I left Portland last Sunday, and stopped in Orange County for a few days to see my parents and Rob's parents. Then on Thursday I got back on the plane, to fly to San Francisco. Unfortunately, the plane departed almost 2 hours late. So I had only 15 minutes in SF to get from one gate to the other. Unfortunately, to complicate things, I accidentally left the secure area, so I had to go back thru the screening. I ran the whole way. I made my plane with about 2 minutes to spare. My seatmate was nice, she slept the whole way, because she was going to a Salsa dancing convention. So that was okay until 3 hours into the flight when I began losing my field of vision, and ultimately passed out. I came too, and began blacking out again. I tried to put my head between my knees, but there was no room with the seat in front of me. I knew I should call for help, but couldn't figure out how to with no vision, and I couldn't sit up straight enough to reach for the call button without blacking out again. My in and out of consciousness lasted for about 30 minutes, and things gradually improved. Needless to say, I was pretty spooked by the whole experience, and I have no idea why it happened. I was hydrated and nourished and fairly well rested. I hope it never happens again!

Ladders

Yesterday we went to OBI, where we bought paint and brushes and rollers and a ladder so that I can paint a couple walls. Only in Germany would a ladder come with an owner's manual in not just German but 9 other languages too. So I thought, being a responsible ladder owner, I better read the English part. The first part read, "Before using the ladder, from a health aspect, are you able to use the ladder?" and I stopped there.