Archive for January, 2008

Swans on a Ferry

Published on January 27, 2008 in On location. 0 Comments

I didn’t intend on this becoming a running blog, but since it’s one of the few things I do other than work and surf the net, I guess it only makes sense that I’d write about it. And if I’m going to write about it, I might as well make that writing useful. So, for instance, by mentioning here that I’m planning on running the Potsdam Castles Marathon (sorry, the site is only in German) on June 1 I have publicly committed myself to it. Which should hopefully increase the odds of it actually happening.

So in preparation I’ve already begun to build up mileage. Because–let’s be honest–I don’t only want to finish, I want a decent time. Ideally, 4 hours.

Anyway, with that preparation in mind I ran 18 miles on Saturday morning. Slow, but decent; I was looking for endurance, not speed. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I actually turned around at the border of the next state south, which is amusing because my favorite thing about my run back in Berlin (its own state) is that it takes me into Brandenburg.

But the point of me writing all of this wasn’t to brag about running to another state, or to announce my marathon intentions, but rather to report on the strange sight I witnessed on my way back: swans, standing in line after a few pedestrians, apparently waiting for a ferry to come back across the Rhine. And when I say swans, I mean giant swans.

Though I did not actually see them get on the ferry, I can only assume they thought the water too cold for a swim across. Or perhaps they were hoping to become the stars of a sequel to that instant classic, Snakes on a Plane.

Categorization

Published on January 20, 2008 in In Brief. 0 Comments

I have two categories of underwear: underwear I will go running in and underwear I won’t go running in. The latter is made up of the pairs I bought here. Something about the material and the cut just doesn’t work for me.

I have three categories of runs: short, medium, and long. I don’t like going on short runs, which these days are anything under four or five miles.  Why bother? Long runs are anything over ten miles; I try to do one of those a week. Yesterday’s was fifteen miles. In running underwear of course. Medium are, as you may have guessed, somewhere in between.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Published on January 14, 2008 in In Brief. 0 Comments

I just wanted to wish my dad a happy birthday! I would call him, but given the time zone thing and his insistence on going to work on his birthday, it just won’t work.

I hope it’s a good one (despite going to work)!

"I have had a peanut butter problem since as far back as my memory can go"

Published on January 13, 2008 in Noted. 0 Comments

"I have had a peanut butter problem since as far back as my memory can go"

Might have to try this stuff if I can find it when I get home

Half Marathon

Published on January 12, 2008 in On location. 0 Comments

Normally I don’t set goals when I go running.

Well, that’s half true. I plan how far I’m going to run, and how fast I’d like to run, but that’s different. That process is more vague. Today, however, I set a goal for my run: half a marathon (13.1 miles) in under two hours.

And I did it. In fact, I finished in just a little over 1:50. Which gives me hope that when I finally do run a marathon, I might be in a position to do it in around four hours. I’m not there yet, of course, but I think I will be.

Today isn’t the first time I’ve run 13.1 miles: I’ve run that far several times, I’ve even done 20 miles once or twice. But today was the fastest. I think part of the reason is that I’m at a place now where running ten miles (my normal run) at 9 minutes per mile is not that hard a thing to do.

On a related note: found a Chinese restaurant with a buffet for lunch. Worth every euro cent.

Life in Bonn

Published on January 6, 2008 in On location. 0 Comments

So, it’s not quite been a week here in Bonn, but I’ve had plenty of time to gather some impressions of the city. Though I don’t feel quite as displaced as I did when I first arrived, Bonn is significantly different from Berlin, or even Magdeburg. It’s hard to explain, though. Though Bonn is the city located in the former West Germany, Berlin and Magdeburg feel more familiar, more… “American”, maybe. The layout of the city here, the architecture (old and new) and culture of pedestrianism all seem to set Bonn apart from the German cities I’ve spent significant amounts of time in, and reminds me more of other German cities I’ve only visited.

This has brought me to a startling conclusion: though I’ve spent plenty of time in Berlin and Magdeburg, maybe I haven’t really spent as much time in Germany as I though I had.

My own personal slice of Bonn has required some adjustment on my part as well. A bare room, a cold bathroom, a microwave and a fridge were here; clothes, an air mattress, bedding and various electronics are what I brought. My own impatience with the internet situation led me to go out and get a 5 gigabyte internet plan for my cell phone that I can use with my laptop, too, but now it turns out that starting tomorrow or Tuesday I will probably be able to share the landlord’s internet. Not the end of the world, the mobile internet will still be handy in the archives I’m visiting, which tend to have limited internet access (no wifi, only certain computers). But it will teach me not to be in such a hurry.

Besides a lack of shelves, drawers, and closets for my clothes, though, I think I have everything situated. Found a laundromat, found the good supermarket–it’s a little further away, but worth it–and so on. Learning the maze of streets that make up downtown will take a little more time, of course, but I’m sure by the time I head back to Berlin I’ll have it down.

New Year, New Look, New City

Published on January 2, 2008 in On location. 0 Comments

Ah, New Year’s Eve with a million of our closest… well, I dunno if I’d say they were friends, but we were certainly close, packed in as we were to watch the fireworks the other night. A late start New Year’s Day brought with it a surprise, as well: snow!

Snow in Berlin

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