-- Bookfair is over! Holiday is go! Hey, everybody, let's get sick! Dang it. I still headed into Mainz today for a nice walk around and a look at the shops. I need more money, is what I've decided. I don't know why Rob won't play the lottery with me (now you have to imagine me with a jabby stick, with which to further annoy Rob).

-- I had this Apfel Kolatsche for my afternoon snack, and it was a bit decadent, if you ask me. But why come to Germany if you're going to agonize over every pile of sugar and butter you put into your body, right? The base wasn't really sweet, and it had apples on it, so it was pretty much fruit on toast. And I hear streusel is packed with vitamins. You might remember that I'm particular about plates and dishes (but not in an obnoxious way -- oh no!), and while the tea cup I've been supplied with is rather nice, the one water glass in the cupboard seems a bit dodgy. So I've been drinking water from a newly-empty yogurt jar. Bonus -- just add the lid, and it becomes a travel mug!

-- Speaking of yogurt, I became overwhelmed with choice at the Biomarkt this afternoon. I finally settled on date+nuts (I can't remember what kind of nut, and I'm sick, so I can't be bothered to get up and walk fifteen feet to the kitchen). A special flavour for autumn! I also grabbed some veggie Schnitzel and veggie Frankfurters, the latter of which tastes almost exactly like a tofu-dog, except with a different sort of smokiness. Not bad.

-- The unfortunate thing about being in Germany is that I become an idiot. My grasp of the language is so poor-to-mediocre that even when I can stumble my way through the first two-thirds of a conversation, I wind up completely bombing after thirty seconds and have to end with a wide-eyed, confused (and mostly terrified) look. And, of course, everything I do manage to say doesn't make me sound like a genius, either. I get a little better every year, but spending only 1/26 of my time in Germany (and a good portion of THAT in an English-speaking fair hall) doesn't exactly keep me sharp.

-- And since I mentioned the fair, I might as well say that it went alright. It was very slow, but I met some new folks and had a few good walk-by's (people stopping at the stand without a meeting). But mainly I thought Big Thoughts and learned a lot that I wouldn't have otherwise done had I not gone. And, I hate to say it, but I might have had a bit of useful networking after-hours (I have traditionally not been a schmoozer). One big do was up the top of a posh hotel, and I remembered to bring my camera this year. Not a bad view, eh?

-- I expanded my group of Frankfurt friends this year when I got invited along to dinner with several people who work for various image libraries. I know, right: what are the odds of me getting along with men and women who've chosen to work with photos for a living? But they were indeed a lovely bunch of people. I also spent time with friends from previous years, including Gwyn, whom I never once made a sandwich for, despite his inviting me along to various enjoyable dinners. To make up for my lack of gratitude, you should visit the very best open access picture library and engage in some image-based commerce.

-- Time now to make myself a cup of tea and focus on killing germs (whilst lounging in a suitably on-holiday manner). To the kettle!

It really is both a blessing and a tragedy that we don't have the same bakery culture in America as exists in Germany. Tragedy because, my God, the amazing, carby goodness that you can pick up on your way to the train! And there's always somebody within line of sight who's holding a paper bag, nibbling whatever they picked up on their way to the train. So it's not indulgence; it's just fitting in. It's a blessing, however, because we don't walk anywhere in America. I mean, I do my fair share of getting around on foot, but it's nothing compared to what I manage when I'm here. So you earn that sneaky shortbread posing innocently on the bread roll.

Today was the first day of the book fair. It's noticeably quieter this year, even compared to 2008, which was already markedly less busy than previous years. I actually had to leave in the early afternoon, as terrible as I felt about it (it's the entire reason I come over here, after all), because I slept only three hours last night, bringing my total sleep-time to nine hours since I woke up Sunday morning (as I've been telling everybody). I knew that if I didn't try to fit in a nap today, there'd be no correcting the cycle, and I'd be utterly useless for the rest of the fair. So tonight, with the help of medicine, I'm hoping to finally get more than a handful of consecutive hours of sleep. Finger crossed.

When I woke up from my late-afternoon nap today, I made dinner, which consisted of organic mushroom soup -- made from a packet of powder that was surprisingly good! And I had a Brezel I picked up from the bakery on my walked back from the train station. It was a good post-nap, chilly-weather meal.

I've uploaded some photos of my visit to the Palmengarten, which you can see in my Frankfurt 2009 set. I had a really nice visit this year; the colours aren't as amazing as last October, but there was still so much to look at. And I was able to climb around a bit more this year, whereas I'd sort of crippled myself last year.

And now, to bed.

Oh, boy. Long story short, I'm in Frankfurt now (well, a couple towns outside Frankfurt, to be more precise). For a couple of weeks. Long story slightly less short, I've been awake for over 29 hours, and they have not been gentle and soothing hours, either. Long story long... well, click on the 'continue' link at the bottom of the post.

My flights went really well, actually. I would have picked somebody different to sit next to me on the Detroit to Frankfurt leg, but other than that, I can't really complain (oh wait, yes I can -- just a sec). The only real problem was that I got into Frankfurt at 7:00am, local time, which was only just creeping up on my usual bedtime at home. So I didn't sleep at all on the flight. The airline also refuses to UNDO my meal preference settings (I erase it every time I fly, but they're stuck with thinking I want something dairy-free), so I missed out on a brownie with my dinner and the little egg+cheese+biscuit sandwich for breakfast. By the time that trolley starts coming down the aisle, there's nothing I want more than a crappy egg+cheese+biscuit sandwich, but I'm denied it, more often than not. The substitute is a plain, packaged bagel, untoasted. Like I'm going to eat that when I'm headed to Germany! I will take this banana, and that is all.

I'd decided (on the plane, when I was shooting eye-lasers of hate at that bagel) that I wanted Rosinenbrötchen for breakfast, because what's not to love? Raisins and bread! The particular bakery/cafe I went to had a sort of 'icing' baked on. If I were to guess, I'd say it was a dough made from flour, sugar, and butter, which had been rolled and cut out, and a thin piece had been placed on each Brötchen before it went into the oven. Basically, it was like a layer of shortbread BAKED ON to the bread. This is one of the many reasons I love Germany. I also had a black, black, strong cup of coffee.

Lunch was soft cheese on a hard roll with two tiny slices of tomato and one piece of lettuce -- a bit lacking in that department, but it was still sooo good. I also had a second cup of black, black, strong coffee. Maybe that's my new thing for Germany (I usually take cream).

And after I finally got settled into my little 'flat' (in has its own kitchen and everything), I went to the supermarket for some fixin's. The photo above isn't everything I got, of course, but it's some of the stuff I'm most excited about. I decided to go all out at get full-fat vanilla yogurt, so I had to get 'fancy' muesli to go with it (it's still the store brand, but whatever). I also found a persimmon -- which, if you're reading this, Ai, I was surprised to see called 'kaki' on the label. And after carefully considering the half-aisle's worth of pickled items in jars (another of my German pleasures), I picked mixed vegetables. I had some for dinner tonight, along with tiny potatoes that I cooked and then tossed with herbed quark -- and some broccoli, since I needed a short of green.

The strangest thing, considering how long I've been awake, is that I'm not feeling THAT tired right now. I think I went beyond the point where my body was hoping for sleep, and now it's just trying to keep me going. I'm betting that I'll sleep like a dead rock in a log tonight. I'm looking forward to it!