Gruorn revisited

Today, we went to a splendid breakfast in the old schoolhouse in Gruorn (“The little village that was” in my earlier blog article).

I stand corrected on what I wrote about the recent history of the place. The houses were not razed in the 1930′s, after the villagers were forced out to make room for the expansion of the military training grounds. The houses were merely left to decay.

Skiing Perversions

German news broadcaster B5 aktuell reported today about advances in snow making, which the Alpine tourist industry hopes will counter the effects of climate change.

Gruorn: the little village that was

Old road from Gruorn towards Zainingen

Truppenübungsplatz Münsingen had been a military training ground since 1895. Significantly enlarged in 1937, it finally encompassed 6700 hectares of farming and grazing lands on top of the Swabian Jura. Administered by the French army after World War II and until 1992, it was finally abandoned by the military in 2005.

Today, it is accessible to the public, albeit with severe restrictions, and provides an excellent impression of what the Swabian Jura looked like in the 19^th century. Its wide-open spaces are particularly impressive on a cold, snow-covered winter day.

A Stillness in Algiers

The ferry crashed broadside into the pier with a mighty thump. We arrived in Algiers, LA, just across the Mississippi from downtown New Orleans, and yet a world away from the city. This is a, admittedly somewhat troubled, small town America.

This hotel makes me feel young (New Orleans, Sunday Morning)

Canal Street from Harrah's Casino looking North

My last time in New Orleans was in 1988. Strangely, I am staying in the same place – or maybe not so strangely, as it is a very large hotel. It makes me feel young — I doubt that they changed much since the 80′s. Well, the TV set is from the 90′s, but with a 70′s picture quality, and the air conditioning has a very recent control head, but a 60′s noise level – on average, it is so 1980′s …

On the road to New Orleans

January 9, 2010 – 14:10
Winter has Europe in its icy grip. While in the South of Germany, it was nowhere nearly as bad as what we see reported on the news from the UK, or France, or the northern parts of Germany, it was enough to seriously impact the beginning of my trip to New Orleans. Upon arrival at the airport, the announced delay was already 1:30 – late arrival of the aircraft. We boarded at around 11:30, as indicated, but then – nothing. Pushback was delayed, and then delayed again, until finally at 12:30 we left the gate, only to go to deicing – of course. The deicing fluid left the wings with the distinct color of oxidized copper – rather pretty, actually. And then finally take-off – at 13:40 (CET).

Estimated time of arrival in Atlanta: 5:03 pm. Our connecting flight leaves 5:50 – no chance. Let’s see what the day brings.