Lok Man in Germany

The main ski season in Europe is more or less over now. (I say "main" because there are glaciers where one can ski the whole year). It has not actually been a particularly good season, in fact, the weather has been so warm that it raised people's attention about global warming again. So warm in fact, that there was virtually no ski season in Germany at all, other than on the Zugspitze, which is the highest peak of Germany. The ski world cup took place at Garmisch Partenkirchen, just south of Munich and at the base of the Zugspitze. The view was disheartening - the man-made track was the only patch of white in sight. It was still interesting to get to see a major slalom event, although I actually wanted to watch the more impressive and fast Downhill and Super-G races, which were on the previous day. The lack of snow in Germany (there was not even a white Christmas! How tragic for the Germans) meant that one must search for other skiing locations further afield. I ended up ...

On Carnival weekend (17th and 18th Feb), Renat, Satoko and I made our way to the Italian city of Verona. On Friday afternoon we packed our bags, loaded the trunk with beer (that was an order from our Italian friends!) and set off on our journey. After 5 hours of driving through southern Bavaria, Austria, the Alps, and South Tirol, and getting lost several times, we arrived safely. One can see one reason why the Germans have to pay high taxes. The German Autobahns are free, Austrian ones require some time pass, and the Italians charge for each km travelled. We stayed with our friend Debora and her boyfriend Markus, who have recently purchased a new apartment. I had to share a bed with Renat (another guy) but I managed. The Verona visit was mainly a relaxing tour - we were guided through the old city centre, before we hit the local mall. The most famous thing in Verona is the 'Arena', which is a Colosseum like open-air amphitheatre, which is still in use today for concerts. I vow...

So, what is it? It's a drink that my colleague promised to make on new year's eve, the right way. So, this is how it goes: 1. Make some sort of mulled wine in a pot. Note that the ingredients are somewhat different to the stuff that you get at the Christmas markets here (Gluehwine) 2. Put a specially made rack on top of the pot and place a specially made sugar cone on the rack 3. Pour rum on the sugar cone 4. Light the rum 5. Continue to add rum so the flame doesn't go out, until the sugar cone has all melted and dripped into the mulled wine 6. Admire the aftermath 7. Consume Afterwards we went and lit some fireworks in the town centre to celebrate the new year (not that there was really any count down) before escaping the chaos and into bed.