Apparently Switzerland used to be Honalee
Little Jackie Paper, all grown up
With apologies to Peter, Paul, and Mary, it appears that the beautiful land in which I live is not Switzerland, but rather Honalee. Confused? (I venture those over 40 are not, those between 30 - 40 might be, under 30 I hold no hope for you and your generation with your nimble fingers for texting, and your ipods, and your online social networking sites...)
You see, for the last several days it has been raining nonstop...except it can be more aptly described as mist. And for the better part of the last thirty days or so it has been Autumn. In case you haven't been following we live by a lake, but due to the incessant fog and mist you would think that the lake does not end on the opposite shore because you can't see the shore (sometimes we can see the mountain peaks but that's it...honest).
Perhaps I'm stretching things a bit as I have yet to see a dragon, let alone a magic one. At this point the rest of the metaphor falls apart, I just wanted to complain that autumn here is basically cold, foggy, and rainy/misty. I'd go biking except I fear for hypothermia and www.WebMD.com seems to indicate that this is a serious condition that I should avoid. Maybe I'll get on a train one of these days and go somewhere exciting like Baden Baden (it's German for "Bathe Bathe"...you know, like Paw Paw in Michigan...so nice, they named it twice!).
Signs You've Been in Europe Too Long
You may be asking yourself what does Coke signify with respect to being in a foreign country too long? Well, I'll say that I drink a lot of it because it's tasty and refreshing. Please look closely at the picture. You'll notice that the bottle has some condensation (meaning it's cooler than the ambient environment...kind of like I am with respect to the citizens of Europe, Obama included). I'll also let you know that I just poured the Coke into the glass (meaning it hasn't been sitting there since yesterday). You may also like to know that I am currently enjoying this tasty beverage as I type (don't worry, I'm not violating any laws of surfing the internet while under the influence of Coke...although you have to wonder if intoxicated web surfing should be considered a misdemeanor. I mean, who would spend time actually making a MySpace or Facebook profile unless they were under the influence of some foreign substance, such as Nutella?).
Also notice what is missing.
That's right, no ice. I don't even miss it anymore, and I am also to the point where I would think it to be ludicrous to pollute my perfectly crafted boisson (that's French for something you want to drink, a beverage perhaps). Actually, I can go either way...ice is great because if you don't drink too fast the whole drink will stay cold, on the other hand ice seems to have this uncanny ability to melt leaving my Coke tainted with liquid water (as opposed to solid water...by the way, did you know that technically ice is a liquid? So is glass. Look it up.).
If you plan on visiting please understand the lack of ice in this part of the world. It's not that it is unavailable, they just don't believe it's necessary to the overall satisfaction of your boisson drinking experience.
