Books and Training

18 Sept 24

08:00 hrs

     With our youngest Loin Fruit soon to be heading of on his new career path I was think of all the times I had headed out the door for a training course or some other kind of TD (temporary duty) trip, be it an exercise or an actual mission, and the one thing I always brought was a nice book to read if there was any down time. Now, the choice of the book was dependent on several factors.

     1) What is the duration of the TD? Will I need just one thick book or two thinner ones?

     2) Where is the exercise taking place? It would be very unwise to be caught with reading material that is politically or culturally sensitive that could either land me behind bars or cause an international incident.

     3) Can I afford to lose the book? As much as I am a bookworm I would very rarely take a brand new book - one I haven't read - on an away trip. Used books I can afford to lose.

     4) Books that I have read before are more preferable simply due to the fact that I can pick up the storyline even if I misplace the bookmark. 

     5) I also like to choose a book that may elicit a question from someone who sees the title. I was reading Alive while crossing the Andes to Santiago, Chile. The lead navigator saw me reading it and had the student nav plot the crash site on the map from information found in the text. I have owned a copy and have read that book since I was in Grade 7. I've also owned a copy of Jaws since then too. And, that is definitely a book that will open the eyes of a 12 or 13 year old boy! In fact my teacher, Dave B. questioned my parents as to whether I should be reading Jaws. As long as I was reading they had no issues.

      Quite often the books that I choose to take on a trip have been read so many times that I have had to replace the copy several times. Not because they are the only ones that I read but because they, in my opinion, are well written and relate a story that is important in some way to me. With that in mind here is my list of books that I enjoyed reading and continue to re-read as required. 

1) Shogun

2) Alive

3) Books from the Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy but before he started to write them with a co-author. After the book "The Bear and the Dragon" I found glaring discrepancies in the basic storyline which Clancy didn't pick up on so I'm done with reading the collaborative books. For me, it's like finding a toenail in my pasta. 

4) A Bridge Too Far, by Cornelius Ryan, is the story of Operation Market Garden - the last Allied forces push to get troops over the Rhine to end WWII. The true jewel of this book is the research done by the author and presumably a staff as well, that corroborates all the various facets of both Allied and Axis movements and view points. This month marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Market Garden. 

6) On the Rock is another great book that I have taken with me on an away trip. It is the true account of the only Canadian to be named Public Enemy #1 by the FBI and who spent thirty plus years locked up in Alcatraz prison. Born Albin Karpowicz, Alvin Karpis was known as "Old Creepy" had repeatedly shaved off his fingerprints to the point that they no longer existed in an attempt to prevent the Feds from linking him to unsolved crimes.

     Our Jr Couch Monkey will be departing next weekend. His Basic Recruit Training will take place at CFB BOREDOM in Ontari-ari-ari-oh.  I think it's about 10 weeks or so in duration. We had all thought that his Trades Training would be in the same location but he has been informed that it will take place in New Bee. Exactly where is anyone's guess. But, he is packed and is waiting to go. Is he scared? Maybe a little. Will we miss him? We do already.

Final Observances

02 Sep 24

18:00 hrs

     My Better Half and I are now in Cowtown with a couple of hours to decompress before the final leg of our journey home to the Wayward Inn. And eventhough I doubt if they're ever going to read this, I would like to thank all of the people, from our travel agent to the trip coordinator to our coach driver and all the site guides, who made this trip happen, your work was much appreciated. 

     Our journey home started at 05:00L in Munchen. A shower, a quick coffee, a last chance check and then off to the Flugplatz where our departure was delayed partially due to a large thunderstorm and from the lack of an aircraft at our departure gate. 

     We boarded forty mikes late which meant we had forty mikes less time to get to an unknown departure gate at the massive Charles De Gaulle  airport (32 sq km and 67.1 million pax annually). It took an hour for us to declare, identify our gate, double check our gate and note a gate change, go through customs, have our passport and boarding pass inspected thrice more, wait for a shuttle bus and then get shuttled across the complex only to have our ID checked twice more before boarding the WS flight. It was packed. In fact it was overbooked and before we could depart the luggage belonging to the individuals not on board had to be located and removed. For obvious security reasons unaccompanied luggage is not allowed. That delayed our departure to Cowtown by at least twenty mikes. No big deal as we have plenty of time at this end.

     With all of this travelling something has come to mind and that is the small almost imperceptible differences a person might observe between different countries. I'm not talking about the obvious things like driving on the left or right side of the road. That's too easy. How about having no ventilation fans in a bathroom? Throughout our trip I saw not one in any hotel room, restaurant or home WC. My Better Half, who had been overseas numerous times before, warned me that there would be no air conditioning and for the most part there wasn't except for some hotels. Most notably, private residences in Germany didn't even have ceiling fans nor screens on windows which, if combined, would have provided cooling air circulation free of intrusive insects.  

     One would think that urinals, regardless of size or type would be set at roughly the same height from the ground up ax to accommodate men of average stature with one or two set lower to the ground for individuals, children and others, who are shorter in stature. Nope. I found heights of the rim to be six or more inches above or below a suspected average requiring a person of average stature to attempt to urinate on tip toes or use a stall. 

      During our travels in Europe we noted, that despite moving through heavy traffic at high speeds on narrow roadways, there was a distinct lack of honking horns and aggressive driving. Something totally unheard (sic) of in the majority of North American cities. Everyone seemed to give way to keep the flow of traffic moving. Despite the extreme speed it didn't seem as if anyone was racing to be ahead of everyone else, which I think is a driving rule for all members of the Lonestar Province whenever they encounter another vehicle ahead of their own.

     Are we thinking about another trip? We are but the destination depends on our health and the overall costs. Our work load is going to start to scale back so our option may change. 

     Stay tuned. 

Hops

01 Sep 24

08:30 hrs

     Breakfast was the standard German breakfast fare. Cold cuts, cheese, brotchen and coffee. 

     And meds. Lots meds. My back was a bit better this morning which is good because we are heading off to visit a relative who lives in the town where The Oma-nator grew up. It will be interesting. More Weisswurst and cake.

20:45 hrs

     We are finally back at my Lobster's Cuz'n's place. My back is feeling a bit better and most of the packing has been already done. We are just kicking back and unwinding from all of the people-ing. We're going to be up bright and early tomorrow for the long journey home.

     

Munchen

29 Aug 24

18:30 hrs

     We've been at my Better Half's Cuz'n's place. We're occupying the top floor of a three story house. The middle floor would be cooler but there is a Ukrainian refugee renting the suite. From what I was told she speaks only her native language so conversation between tenat and landlord is all done through the Google Machine. So far we have done some touristy stuff - the Hofbraeuhaus for beir and Weiswurst and Pretzen, meeting relatives and seeing museums. All great. Last night I cooked a modified California Roast with a layer of minced chanterelle mushroom, roasted red peppers, tomato paste and garlic between the butterflies chicken breast which was wrapped around the pork tenderloin. 

30 AUG 24

13:00 hrs

     My back is killing me. Between all the sitting, visiting, walking and rinse repeating it is screwed. Tight, aching, stiff. I need meds and a Chiropractor. Today we visited more relatives which was nice. I've heard about them but had never met them. 

     Our guide, a relative, drove us to see this massive edifice that commented the union of the German states and the defeat of Napoleon. The place was huge. After viewing all of the 30+ statues we headed for the oldest monestary operated brewery in the world. Great beer. On the way home we saw a horrific traffic accident on the opposite side of the freeway. A Tesla, a Porsche and at least one other vehicle. One of the three was flipped. There were at least two individuals laying on top of the Five foot high raised boulevard between the lanes. Four emergency vehicles were in attendance with six or more screaming out of Munchen to the accident site.

31 Aug 2024

08:30 hrs

     The plan was to go to an air museum but my back is seriously hooped. My Lobster and her Cuz'n headed out for components for supper growlies and back meds. I stayed home with Ericht and suffered. To pass the time I taught him how to play cribbage. Despite the language barrier it was a pretty good go. The rest of the day was spent wincing, medicating and imbibing. Oh, we had taught our guests how to play Screw Your Neighbour. We played two games after supper before climbing two floors to the hot box that was our bedroom. The fan was set on high and sleep arrived after midnight. Tomorrow will be our last adventure day.

     

The Last Day

26 Aug 24

16:30 hrs

     Today was our last day. We started off with the usual hotel breakfast and then off to the coach for a drive around town. Landmarwere pointed out and then we bailed off the coach and started walking. Parliament at Westminster, Big Ben, Canada House, St. Paul's Cathedral,  Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, and the Changing of the Horse and Palace Guards. That latter performance was a highlight for us. The pomp, the uniforms, the drill movements, the security. Loved it!

The You-Alls didn't understand and thought it was all done for the tourists. Nope. It's all done for a purpose. They also asked why they have an embassy, which is an armed guard fortress, and Canada  Australia and some others have a "House"? The tour guide simply stated that "those countries are our friends!" Love it!

     After the tour my Lobster and I went to see the British Museum. A huge complex with more visitors that we cared for. The museums collection was extensive and we did see a few thing that we really wanted to see including a pair of totem poles purloined from the Left Coast in the 1870's and The Rosetta Stone. We will be having a final dinner with the group at a posh restaurant and tomorrow at Oh-Dark-30 we depart for the airport for a quick jaunt to Munich.

The Adventures continue.

Time to get Educated

25 Aug 24

06:45 hrs

     We're up and starting our day. Showers, packing, catching the news, etc. We will be heading to Oxford for a brief tour and then on to London where we will hang our hats for a couple of days. Our guide will give us a walking tour tomorrow but then my Lobster and I will go to see the London Museum.

     There are thousands of neighborhood pubs in the UK many of which have an interesting name. There will always be a Red Lion bit we have seen a Dirty Badger, the Dirty Duck, the Dog and Pickle, Top and Tail and others. Coming into London we spotted numerous landmarks and tomorrow we're going for a walk about to get up close and personal with some of them.

Differences

23 Aug 24

08:45 hrs

     When you are on a journey that covers multiple locations and many stops you will soon notice differences especially in the places you lay your head at night. Sure, all are good hotels but the rooms will surely vary in size, the washroom will have various benefits such as towel warming racks, a shower and a tub, a tub so deep you need assistance to enter and exit, safety bars or not, bottled water or not, extra pillows or not, sound proof walls or not. All of which adds to your experience and often to your expenses. 

     Yesterday, we went from our hotel in Chester to visit Caenarfon in Wales. Lovely place with a gorgeous castle right on the waterfront. We had time to wander the town and listen to the Welsh. On the way back our guide, Andreea, and Steve-Oh, our coach driver, took us through the Welsh countryside. Wales is famous for its slate stone that was quarried and shipped globally for various purposes. What truly fascinated me was the miles of stone walls, made of both field stone and slate that defined and quartered the land up hill and down. And all by hand. Some of them nearly two centuries old as in the case of Hadrian's Wall, which is 73 miles long by 15 feet tall and 12 feet wide with encampment every 13 miles and multiple observation platform between them and was completed in seven years!

     We are on to Stratford upon Avon and then Oxford before hitting London in a day or so. My Lobster and I discussed what we would like to see in London and with both agreed on the British Museum. Just to be safe she went online and pre-booked free tickets. One of the You-Alls had said that she had seen it and the London Library where there were just so many books! Privately, I sent a text to my Better Half wondering if we would have to get tickets to see the book in the Lone Star State Liberry.

     Stratford was pretty interesting. It has a population of 30k but has 2.7m visitors annually. The Bard can really draw them in. We wandered about the town taking in where Willy was born and it was pointed out to us where he was buried. My Lobster and i snagged at lunch at a pub. Good burgers but in my opinion mine had double the amount of the Special House Secret Sauce. We visited a number of shops and purchased a few items. Books, mostly. One can never have too many books. Supper, which was impressive, was served at the Royal Shakespeare Theater. 

     I think, or rather thought, that our room was haunted. Earlier, we had been playing a game of cribbage - I've lost just about every game on this trip - and we heard this weird gurgling sound. It happened several times. But, according to our trip director the building is so old, the 1600's, that the renovations over the years that some of the pipes are likely to have some blockages which gurgle on occasion. But, that doesn't explain the rapping on the door with no one in the hall.