Season’s Greetings
Dear friends,
It came out of nowhere, the Advent season and will be gone just as quickly this year. High time to start slowing down and to reflect on the year past.
The beginning of year greeted Olaf and me in Vienna with empress Elisabeth, though only in the musical. We indulged in diverse cafes abundantly in the K&K art of baking as well as in the Waldviertler tradition at the sausage stands.
Erfurt
has offered me a second home this year. As I will be staying at the Alma mater Erfordensis
for the time being forever, I stacked my office at the uni with books and super chic sofas have been purchased for the corridor.
In the Holbeinstraße, or Hollow Bone Road, as we anglophiles like to call it – it sounds nicely like Harry Potter,
I subten a fine, nice room. Lest I was doing too well with so many amenities, I have been dubbed curriculum planner.
So if you think that English and American Studies at Erfurt should offer Elvish, Klingon or “English for handling maximally annoying people”,
just let me know.
My Godson is a young man now, who can read, but who much prefers being read to. This year he stayed overnight with uncle Frank several times. Apart from the compulsory lasagne assembly, also such traumatising, because strength-consuming and skill-demanding, activities as rowing on the Karl Heine Canal were undertaken. When the lady at the boat return exclaimed astonished that we could have rowed for another half hour, I had to vehemently answer in the negative. That the boys together with their parents now live in Berlin is downright mean, but as long as they do not become Berliners, we can manage.
The late summer was magnificent! Examinations far into August forced us to fashion finishing time with beer by the banks of the Gera and with wine at the summer Greek restaurant. In Ljubljana, I was able to see many dear acquaintances again at the international 3D convention and also make new ones. I am not terribly fond of nature, but Slovenia has really something to offer! The food was also good, although the deserts were clearly far too much based on apples, strudel or apple strudel.
In France we visited a new spot: Marseille. We liked the city quite much. We climbed up to Notre-Dame de la Garde by foot (it was hot and steep), visited the new MuCEM (outside it was beautiful) and went out to the island of If (Monte Christo was not in). Only driving should be avoided: in the outskirts, roads tend to go missing and at the third detour even the satnav had enough of it. At least five times, we went the wrong way, because the lady inside the satnav wanted to take left, but there were about four possibilities to do so. And finally the car parks were so narrow that I had to help Europcar find the insurance for of a slight dent, which they had lost in their computer.
What shall we do next year then? I will have to sort my work and make some space:
for writing a book (foundations of morphology and syntax
with my boss Beate), for amusing the godson brigade and to welcome you on a fine, sunny day in Leipzig.
I already put joyful anticipation in the fridge.
And to all that and more I shall toast with you, when I am going to be standing on the Charles Bridge in Prague at the beginning of a new year (mobile +49 163 777 3243).
Yours, Frank