Live from Granada, Andalusia: ChrisIs In Spain

2006-02-23T14:18:00.000+01:00

Icarus & Chris

2006-02-23T14:16:00.000+01:00

Horses in Our Garden

2006-02-23T14:14:00.000+01:00

Dana Dancing @ Club Granada 10

2006-02-23T14:12:00.000+01:00

Bob (for my Brother)

2006-02-23T14:07:00.000+01:00

Dana knows what it feels like to walk in my shoes (well, walk...)

End of Days

2006-02-23T13:19:00.000+01:00

I know I haven't updated for a while, but that is mainly because I am trying to enjoy my last weeks in Granada as much as possible. I am still having great fun over here with Dana. We kind of created a routine that never seems to become boring... We eat lots of tapas, enjoy every ray of sun, walk a lot, go shopping, etc., etc. Tonight we are going to see a Flamenco show, something that I've been wanting to do for a long time. Only 5 days to go and then it is time to pack our bags and go back to Holland... I'll definitely miss this place a lot. Life here is so relaxing, the weather is usually wonderful and the city is still as entertaining and gorgeous as the first time I came here... I really hope I can return here one day and live in Andalusia for a longer period of time. I am in love with this place... To all you people who checked this website regularly: thanks! I know I'll see some of you guys very soon in Groningen/Amsterdam/Sneek... To the international visitors: I am not sure, but I am thinking about starting a new website when I am back in Groningen.. You will hear more about it soon! Until then: Buen Suerte y Buenos Noches!

A Nice Compromise

2006-02-12T17:27:00.000+01:00

I love hiking. Dana doesn't. Well, at least not as much as me. So it takes some effort to make her climb hills every day. It turned out to be easier than I thought to convince her. Now we climb for an hour and then, on top of a hill, we sit down on a blanket, open a pack of wine, lay down in the sun and play poker. Me happy because we climbed, Dana happy because she gets a nice tan. Perfect... ;)

2006-02-12T17:25:00.000+01:00

Our Spot on Top of the Hill (With the Sierra Nevada in the Background)

2006-02-12T17:20:00.000+01:00

Pokerface

Conquering Alhambra (a.k.a. King For A Day...)

2006-02-09T21:55:00.000+01:00

Partners in Crime

2006-02-09T21:53:00.000+01:00

Granada (As Seen From Our Castle)

2006-02-09T21:52:00.001+01:00

The Queen Acting Cool

2006-02-09T21:52:00.000+01:00

The King Inspects the Halls

2006-02-09T21:50:00.000+01:00

Reflections (and Gold Fish)

2006-02-09T21:49:00.000+01:00

"I Won't Come Down if You Don't Bring Out the Red Carpet First!"

2006-02-09T21:48:00.000+01:00

"Who Do We Have To Kill Next?"

2006-02-09T21:45:00.000+01:00

Looking Up At the Queen

2006-02-09T21:44:00.001+01:00

No Curtains, No Glass? Get Me Another Palace!

2006-02-09T21:44:00.000+01:00

I Guess I Shouldn't Have Touched That Slave Girl in Front of the Queen...

2006-02-05T16:37:00.000+01:00

Me posing outside my house.. But WTF am I doing? Did I just grab my crotch when Dana pushed the button? We cannot show that picture to our parents!!! Another try...

2006-02-05T16:35:00.000+01:00

Better...;)

2006-02-05T16:34:00.000+01:00

Dana checks out my house when we arrive in Granada and seems to be impressed. "It's that big!" Or does she think she can fly?

2006-02-05T16:30:00.000+01:00

Find Dana in Dali's weird work of art....

2006-02-05T16:24:00.000+01:00

Me on top of one the towers of the Sagrada Familia. Contemplating? If I don't smile I always seem to be in deep thoughts... ;)

2006-02-05T16:20:00.000+01:00

Sagrada Dana in front of Sagrada Familia. What an amazing building...

2006-02-05T16:16:00.000+01:00

Instead of going straight to Granada, we decided to fly through Barcelona and pay our good friend Montse a visit. She was very busy with her exams, but it wasn't hard to convince her to party with us! After all, she is a MOAH girl... She showed us some beautiful places in Barcelona and took us to some nice bars and restaurants. Like this one on the picture: a Kebab restaurant were we had to take our shoes off and sit on the floor...

2006-02-05T16:10:00.000+01:00

Dana in front of the Monument on the Dam (with our hotel in the back)

2006-02-05T16:07:00.000+01:00

Me in the Winter Garden in Krasnapolsky. This is were they serve breakfast. Best I ever had in my life. Yes, we spoiled ourselves to death for two days! (Thanks Melina!)

2006-02-05T16:04:00.000+01:00

Yes! I am back! After spending Christmas and New Year in my hometown in Frisia (and in Groningen), I finally started travelling again. It still took a while before I updated this website, mainly because the last two weeks have been crazy. First I got invited for a job interview right before I planned to go back to Spain. Then two days later I picked up Dana from Schiphol Airport. Only 24 hours later I was on my way to Groningen again for my second interview, this time with the Chairman of the Board of the Hanze University. To cut a long story short: I got the job! Soon I'll be the Main Editor of 'de Hanze', the student paper of the Hanze University... Sweet. That same night me and Dana celebrated in style: We booked a hotelroom in Krasnapolsky, a five star hotel on the Dam in Amsterdam. My friend Thijs provided the Champagne, Krasnapolsky provided the rest of the luxury. The day Dana arrived, we met up with my parents in Hotel Americain and had a great diner. For those of you who didnt know: the people on this picture are my mom and dad!

Almost Back

2006-01-12T23:42:00.000+01:00

Be patient, I am still in Holland 'enjoying' the great weather. I will go back to Spain though, don't you worry! Somewhere at the end of January you should start paying attention to my website again. I might have some company with me then, who knows...

Pictures of My Trip, Pt 2: Sevilla

2005-12-12T15:46:00.001+01:00

Drinking Gluhwein and pulling weird faces. I tried to stay serious, probably because I realized that this picture would be published on the web...;)

2005-12-12T15:46:00.000+01:00

Shadows (and Shit) in Sevilla

2005-12-12T15:42:00.000+01:00

The weather might be much better here than in Holland, but sitting outside after dark can be 'un poquito frio'!

2005-12-12T15:41:00.000+01:00

Drinking Coffee with Marcella and Chiqui

2005-12-12T15:40:00.000+01:00

We always eat Italian icecream, but in Spain they seem to think we are the experts... Or is it just because Holland is so damn cold?

2005-12-12T15:34:00.000+01:00

The Dutch Consulate in Sevilla

2005-12-12T15:31:00.000+01:00

Tower of San Cristobal

2005-12-12T15:30:00.000+01:00

Amor en Sevilla

Pictures of My Trip, Pt 1

2005-12-09T14:02:00.000+01:00

It's been a while, but I am back in Granada! My trip was exhausting, but great. We travelled almost every day. From Granada to Jerez, from Jerez to Puerto de Santa Maria, from Puerto back to Jerez, then back to Puerto again, and then from Puerto to Sevilla! I had a chance to see some great people again that I met two years ago. Talk about music with cousin 'Epitafio', sing with Titanic's Crew, play videogames with Manolito, and finally speak a few words with Alfredo's family! Two years ago I enjoyed their great hospitality during Christmas, they talked to me a lot, but all I could say was 'si' and 'gracias'. Now I could finally understand a little bit of what they told me. I am slowly learning... Going back to all the places that I visited then with Dana brought back a lot of memories. Not much had changed.

Sevilla was a different story. It was one of the places on my list to visit two years ago, but we didn't find time to fit that into our schedule back then. This time I had a second change and it was definitely worth it! We stayed with Alfredo's friend Antonio a.k.a. Chiqui (everybody has a nickname here, probably because a lot of people have the same name and this is the way to distinguish between one Antonio and the others). We walked through the city, saw most of the famous sites, and went out at night. Good times!

So here is a first selection of pictures I took in the past 6 days. Enjoy!

ChrisisinSevilla

2005-12-09T14:01:00.000+01:00

San Cristobal, Sevilla

2005-12-09T14:00:00.000+01:00

Alfredo in front of San Cristobal

2005-12-09T13:59:00.000+01:00

Chiqui Hendrix y Alfredo Bonham

2005-12-09T13:57:00.000+01:00

The Watchtower

2005-12-09T13:56:00.000+01:00

Chica Guapa!

2005-12-09T13:55:00.000+01:00

Lunch with Alfredo's Family in Jerez de la Frontera

2005-12-09T13:54:00.000+01:00

Mr. Pinteño and the Ocean

2005-12-09T13:51:00.000+01:00

Warm nights in Puerto de Santa Maria

My First Video Blog Entry!

2005-11-30T20:13:00.000+01:00

To my surprise I finally made it work: it took Google three days to check the content of my little homevideo, but they finally approved! Check it out, it ain't much, just a first try to see how it works (both my camera and uploading the video with Google). More to come soon!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=228532570601315064&q=%22A+Quick+Tour%22+playable%3Atrue

Now ain't that a nice little appartment?

"Just to keep you satisfieeeeed!" (M. Gaye)

2005-11-30T19:42:00.000+01:00

I am slowly beginning to feel less like a tourist and more like a 'Granadian'. This also means that the level of excitement is going down slowly. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, but I did not encounter any horses, Japanese filmcrews, or German hippies for over a week now. I am just working, like all of you. I don't mind that things are becoming more normal these days, but it's not good for my weblog! That's why I decided to do a little travelling. I am not sure about it yet, but you will find out in a couple of days... Until then, here's some pictures I took a while ago while I was exploring the hills...

I always pass this empty cavehouse when I go hiking... It's incredibly big on the inside. I should try to find out if it is for sale. It needs a lot of renovation though. But if I ever fail to pay the rent, I know where to go...

2005-11-30T19:38:00.000+01:00

You see the snow on top of the mountains? If you climb the hills behind my house, you have an amazing view of the Sierra Nevada...

Horse Power

2005-11-26T05:08:00.000+01:00

"Who's got more horse power now, b#&*h?"

The Desert...

2005-11-26T04:54:00.000+01:00

Most of the nature around my house reminds me of Arizona: very dry and a lot of rocks. Quite desert-like. But if you look 30 feet further, things can be completely different...

...and the Oasis

2005-11-26T04:50:00.000+01:00

To the right of the rocks on the picture above there's a river. Eso es el rio Darro. Since it has been very dry here for years, the river hardly contains any water, but look at the effect it still has on the surrounding nature. Beautiful.

Surplus Adventure

2005-11-25T11:23:00.000+01:00

As you all know: I like adventure. But sometimes you get adventure when you didn't ask for it at all. Last night I was not in the mood for any adventure, but adventure was definitely in the mood for me. After I finished my work, I decided to smoke one last cigarette on the roof terrace. I walk out of my studio, take two steps outside and hear the door close behind me. Wait a second! Do I have my key with me? Too late... Door is locked, key is inside, and no way I'm ever gonna get in... Fuck, fuck, FUCK! Any other time of the day this would be a minor inconvenience. I would take the bus or walk to the center, get a spare key at my landlord's office and everything would be fine. But what the hell are you gonna do at 2 in the morning? I try to contact my friends in Granada. No answer. Probably sleeping. Thank God my neighbor just had a little party and she's still up... She tells me we have a cave in our garden (weird that I never noticed before,I think) and some of her friends are already sleeping in there, but there's plenty of space left. She also has a sleeping bag I can borrow. I figure it ain't perfect, but I don't have any other options. The cave smells horrible. I figure it's either the natural smell of the cave or the smell of my neighbor's hippie friends. My guess is the latter. Luckily I fall asleep quite fast.

Early in the morning, the sun is burning its way through the open window of the cave. I decide to get up. This is not a place to sleep late. I want to get in to my warm and comfortable room as soon as possible. I have to anyway. My TV, my computer, my lights and my electric heater: they are all still on. My heater only cost 17 euro and I'm afraid it might explode after 20 hours of non-stop heating. But first I gotta get me a key. I have no money on me. Actually, I have nothing on me, except my cellphone. That means I gotta walk all the way to the center...

The rest is history. I walked to the center, got me a spare key, walked all the way back, and now I'm in my room, with a hot coffee in one hand, a cigarette in the other (and I'm still able to type this story!). Sometimes you get more adventure than you asked for. I think I'll take a little nap now. Good night....

Crazy Horses

2005-11-23T20:13:00.000+01:00

I usually don't take my camera with me when I go hiking, because I'm afraid I might drop it from a rock or something. For some reason I decided otherwise yesterday and took it with me on my quest through the hills. I just finished climbing the first hill when, from out of nowhere, two horses show up from behind a rock! There I was, face to face with them, on a little path that was already quite narrow for one person. I stopped walking, but they didn't. They kept running towards me and I had nowhere to go. To the left was a wall of rock, to the right a deep deep abyss. I turned around and started running back. I ran like hell until I found a place where it was possible to climb up. Using my hands and feet I managed to crawl up the hill just enough to be out of their reach. My heart was pounding like crazy, but I still managed to use my 'horse sense': I grabbed my camera and took this shot.

Marcella Roasting Chestnuts!

2005-11-23T19:52:00.000+01:00

Good Stuff...

Panorama de Granada

2005-11-21T18:10:00.000+01:00

The Answer My Friend, Is....

2005-11-21T18:08:00.000+01:00

Blowin' in the Wind

Real Madrid 0 - Barcelona 3

2005-11-21T17:26:00.000+01:00

Nostradamus has nothing on me! Yes, Barcelona kicked Madrid's ass. Yes, they humiliated them. And yes, Ronaldinho is the best player in the world right now, easily. I watched the game with about 50 Spanish in an underground bar. Here's sort of an impression of what it looked like. Unfortunately, the pics didn't turn out as well as the game did!

Mi Primero Clasico

2005-11-19T00:23:00.000+01:00

I cannot say I miss Dutch football. Ajax has not played one decent game this whole season. AZ plays good, but will ultimately fall short. And so PSV will easily become the champions again this year. Exactly, not much different from last season's story...
Here in Spain I am honored to watch a Barcelona that plays its best football in years. Lately, they play like they did in the beginning of the 90s or like Ajax did around '95. Combinations that make your mouth water, individual actions that make you agape with surprise. Eto'o,Deco, Messi: they all show things that are out of this world. But the man that sets a new standard in football skills is Ronaldinho. Watching him reminds me of seeing Bergkamp play in his best days. He does things that until now were thought of as being impossible. You think I am exaggerating? Look at this little video then. It start off like a Maradona imitation, but look what happens when he starts shooting. Count the amount of times he hits the crossbar, seemingly without effort.
'That is not football, that is magic, my friend':

http://www.dumpalink.com/media/1131971862/Ronaldinho_Shows_Extreme_FootballSoccer_Skills

Today Barca plays against Real Madrid in Bernabeu. El Clasico. I have been looking forward to this game for weeks. Mi primero clasico en Espana. And not just that. Everybody here expects a clasico we will remember for a while. Madrid plays like shit lately, but that hardly says anything about what they will do against Barca. That is why it's the best game in the world: it is a competition within a competition. A glorious victory against the arch enemy is as precious as becoming Spain's national champion. Barcelona and all its fans do not dare to speak it out loud, but they know this is a chance to give the people from Madrid something they will remember for years. Complete humiliation. I am all ready for it. I hope Ronaldinho too.

2005-11-18T14:59:00.000+01:00

This one's for you Justin ;)

Little Things I Like About Spain, Part I

2005-11-16T14:20:00.000+01:00

Looks like Nesquick, but it's much better! You put a glass of milk in the microwave for a minute, add the magic powder and voila!

I recently bought a heater, but before that it could be damn cold in my room... I made a hot chocolate every time I couldn't take it anymore. Cola Cao tastes like hot chocolate, but it gives you the energy of a cup of coffee. They also have a new thing, Cola Cao Complet, which includes all the fibres and vitamines you need in a day. In one hot chocolate! Hostia!

Alfredo told me I am not the first 'extranjero' that is crazy about this stuff. He met an English guy who still buys dozens of packs of Cola Cao every time he visits Spain.

(This sure looks like my blog is sponsored... I should contact the Cola Cao Company, I might make some extra bucks ;)

2005-11-14T09:04:00.000+01:00

When I came back from the bars last weekend, all was quiet... But my neighbor Donkey was up! He refused to pose for the picture though, stubborn bastard...

2005-11-14T09:02:00.000+01:00

Out with Antonio and his friends, Friday Night, Planta Baja

2005-11-14T08:58:00.000+01:00

Friday Night @ Planta Baja, Granada

Descending Sacromonte...

2005-11-13T22:44:00.000+01:00

I mentioned before how much I enjoy walking down Sacromonte every morning, but you might want to see what I am talking about. Here is a little photo impression of the first 20 minutes of my day...

2005-11-13T22:43:00.000+01:00

This is how I start my walk every morning: at the side of the road. Cars don't pay attention to you, you have to pay attention to them. Scooters are even worse. The road has lots of twist and turns and it is hard to see them coming. I am still a careful Dutchman, you know...

2005-11-13T22:39:00.000+01:00

The Catholic inside me always wakes up a little bit when I pass this sweet little church...

2005-11-13T22:36:00.000+01:00

After about 10 minutes I get a little closer to the 'civilized world'....

2005-11-13T22:33:00.000+01:00

I walk around the corner and catch a first glimpse of Granada and the Alhambra...

2005-11-13T22:31:00.000+01:00

After about 15 minutes walking I arrive at the place where you have an incredible view of the Alhambra. I always have to stop walking and look for at least a couple of seconds...

2005-11-13T22:29:00.000+01:00

This is the centre of Sacromonte and the place where all the tourist go to see traditional Flamenco shows. One more minute downhill and I am in the centre of Granada.

2005-11-10T19:08:00.000+01:00

This the 'cortijo' that I live in: El Hornillo. Yes, that is indeed a swimming pool, and yes, it is unfortunately empty! But...

2005-11-10T19:05:00.000+01:00

We have a very nice little courtyard. When you go into that little hall in the middle and walk 3 more steps, you enter....

2005-11-10T19:03:00.000+01:00

My humble but nice studio! In the morning when I wake up, I make breakfast and eat it in...

2005-11-10T19:01:00.000+01:00

The garden! It is insane how big it is. This is only part of it, there's different terraces that you can reach by climbing up or down different stairs. This picture only shows the right side, but if you would take a look at the other side, you would discover that...

2005-11-10T18:59:00.000+01:00

My neighbors are cavemen: Meet the Flintstones! Yeah, there is many great things to see around here... I also like to look around and drink a coffee on...

2005-11-10T18:58:00.000+01:00

The roof terrace. Nice place to sit and enjoy the morning sun. Plus it gives you a nice view of...

2005-11-10T18:57:00.000+01:00

The way down to the center of Granada...

Big In Japan!

2005-11-08T14:56:00.000+01:00

Every morning I descend Sacromonte. Usually to find the nearest internetcafe to get some work done. Sometimes just to do some groceries or get a cup of coffee, read a Spanish newspaper and sit in the sun on Plaza Nueva. The walk is always the same, but never boring. Autumn and winter here are completely different from the seasons in Holland. In Holland you do not want to leave your house after September, because it is so damn cold outside. Here I wake up and I have to go out as soon as possible, because my room is so damn cold. At night it gets pretty cold and only the rich have central heating here, so there is nothing you can do about it. But as soon as I leave my house, the sun warms me up within seconds. Walking here is a joy, every time. The sun is the central heater around here.

It takes me about 25 minutes to get to the center of Granada. The view I have while I walk is magnificent. The first 15 minutes I am surrounded by hills, little white houses, caves, fields and donkeys. When I get closer to the center, I enter the ´barrio´where you can find all the traditional Andalusian stuff that tourist dig: Flamenco bars, Spanish guitar schools, tapas bars and best of all: an incredible view of the Alhambra, which is on the hill opposite Sacromonte.

One morning, just doing the usual, I see a group of Japanese tourists in front of one of the Flamencobars. At least they look like tourists at first sight. When I get closer, I notice that the cameras they are carrying are very big and professional, even for Japanese standards. It seems to be a TV-crew. I happen to wear my Mucky Pup shirt with a large picture of Sonic the Hedgehog on it. They notice and start making weird Japanese sounds. Oooi, ieeee, aaii! I approach them.

¨Ello, is you Spanish?¨ one of them says.

¨No,¨ I say, ¨I am from Holland.¨

¨Aaaaaah, nice country, Holland, we like!¨ the guy who seems to be the head of the crew says. ¨But you live here? What you do?¨

¨I am trying to be a journalist,¨ I say, ¨and yeah, I live here, I just arrived two weeks ago¨

¨Aaaaaaah, is very beautiful here, is nit?¨ the crewleader says. Then he turns over to one of the cameramen and tells him something in Japanese. The cameraman nods and points his camera to me. The crewleader turns back to me again.

¨We want to make film of you. You say same as before. You name, you live here, you like, everything for the Japanese people!¨

Well, how could I refuse that? So I stood in front of the camera, told them my name, why I was here and some other crap they seemed to think was very interesting. At least the interviewer kept nodding enthusiastically. But I have seen Japanese people do that before. It seems to be more a matter of politeness than anything else. I bet if I told him the same thing in Dutch, he would have nodded just as hard...

¨Thank you much, Chris, you do very good.¨I said it was nothing, shook their hands and continued my walk. While the sun warmed my face, I fantasized about being a TV star in Japan. I think I smiled all the way till Plaza Nueva.

Ever since then, I got this Tom Waits song in my head:

I got the style but not the grace
I got the clothes but not the face
I got the bread but not the butter
I got the winda but not the shutter

But hey I'm big in Japan I'm big in Japan But hey I'm big in Japan

Hey ho, they love the way I do it
Hey ho, there's really nothing to it

2005-10-31T22:09:00.000+01:00

Staring Into The Sun

2005-10-31T22:07:00.000+01:00

Sunset With Birds On University Building

2005-10-27T22:02:00.000+02:00

Birds On A Wire

Sacromonte

2005-10-27T13:36:00.000+02:00

Today I got up early to look at an appartment I found in the paper. ´Sacromonte, A studio for one person, including furniture and cable TV, 230 euros´. Sounded good to me. Alfredo told me Sacromonte was the hill opposite Alhambra. It is a long climb, I can tell you that. The studio turned out to be all the way on top of the mountain. Granada at your feet on one side, endless fields on the other. The house had a huge garden with a (non-working, but nonetheless) swimming pool. Even though it´s only 10 minutes from the city center, it feels like you are in the middle of nowhere. A donkey to the left, rocks to the right. I could see myself writing a lot there. Only one problem: no internet. If I can get a connection there, I´ll take the place. I love to live in the middle of nowhere, but I´m still a 21th Century Digital Boy. As long as the middle of nowhere is actually only a mile away from civilization and connected to the Digital World, I can live with it. I wanna feel connected and disconnected at the same time, or is that too much too ask for?

2005-10-25T16:56:00.000+02:00

View from Alfredo's House at Noon, Straight

2005-10-25T16:55:00.000+02:00

View from Alfredo's House at Noon, Left Side

2005-10-25T16:54:00.000+02:00

The Teeth of Hercules

2005-10-25T16:51:00.000+02:00

Alfredo y una Chica Wappa

2005-10-25T16:50:00.000+02:00

Antonio's Family

2005-10-25T16:45:00.000+02:00

Drinking Lots of Coffee With Tania at the Airport

Tania

2005-10-16T17:30:00.000+02:00

“There must be a reason why you missed your bus,” she said. “Like, you meet someone interesting or special. Maybe it just had to happen, you know.” I nod.

She just came back from living in a tree house for a week. The house moved when the tree moved, she said. Feeling one with nature. Moving with the trees. Before that she stayed with a community of people that lived in the middle of nowhere in tipis. There was a whole bunch of tipi villages like that in Andalusia, she said.

“How do they take showers?” I asked. I couldn’t help it, that was just the first thing that popped up in my head. When I think about a bunch of hippies living in a community in the middle of fuckin’ nowhere, I only think about the smell. The holes in the ground that replace the toilet. I remember the smell of people at a pop festival after three days. That didn’t give much hope for a community of people that lived there for years. “There is a well close by that they use to wash themselves. Everybody is just swimming around naked there.”

“And how do they make money?” I asked naively.

“They built stuff, like drums.” Isn’t it weird, I thought, that neo-hippies decide to escape the rules and regulations of modern capitalist society and then always create exactly the same ‘alternative’ society? Why do they all make drums?

If I would start an ‘alternative’ society, I would walk around in bright purple suits and sell riddles to people. That would really teach those ‘normal’ bastards!

Maybe she saw the hopelessness too. She left after two weeks because it did not work out with the boy she actually came to visit. That’s all she said about that. After she left the tipi town, she went to work at an organic farm in another middle of nowhere in Andalusia. The farm was owned by a German. He allowed people to stay for (almost) free and in return they had to work on his farm. Besides the food they were growing, they also made drums. This is where she lived in a tree house that moved when the tree moved. Her neck hurt from making all those drums.

Only a few hours to go and she would be back in Germany. She said she longed for a good shower. We had a short moment of complete understanding. Then I had to leave to catch my bus.