#32 Boston - The Aftermath of Gluttony- January 13th 08

Back in Boston and dealing with the aftermath of my gluttonous behavior over the month of December into the New Year. I have not touched a drink of alcohol since New Year’s Eve, and really don’t feel like it, and like so many others have embarked on a healthy eating spree, the so-called “Vegetable with Vegetable Sauce” diet. My good friend Stephanie actually came up with that one - and I for a moment may have considered it, but somehow “broccoli with broccoli sauce” is just not the world’s most enticing menu option.

Exercising is the key factor here, and for the past few days my wretched right heel has been feeling somewhat better following the purchase of some new sneakers and inserts, and maybe we - I are finally on the way to complete recovery. My friend Joo in New Zealand has invited me to run a Half Marathon later this year with her, and since it was my plan to visit New Zealand in the fall, this may just be the right goal to have in sight. For the near future a couple of skiing day trips will do the trick as I plan to head to New Hampshire next weekend for some downhill action.

So yes, I am back in the US, with a good dose of jet lag. I had spent a wonderful and relaxing two weeks in Germany and the weekend before my departure, Martin, Marion, Andrea and I decided to go for a little excursion. Our first stop was the Vitra Museum of Design in the city of Weil - http://www.design-museum.de/index.php. Sponsored by Swiss company Vitra, the museum was established in 1989 to host traveling exhibits showcasing major design and architectural trends. Pretty cool place, and on the day of our visit, the Vitra featured an extensive exhibit on Le Corbusier, the world-famous Swiss-born-turned French architect (http://www.fondationlecorbusier.asso.fr/) . His real name was Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, his face now graces the Swiss 10 Franc note - so we can safely assume that he did do well. He was quite the talent, aside from being a pioneer of modern architecture; he also was a painter with a noticeable love of Cubism, sculptor, and furniture designer. I first learned about Le Corbusier at my college friend Birgit’s home, where I had the pleasure to rest in his most famous furniture piece, the Chaise Longue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:LeCorbusierChaise.jpg). When it comes to my personal taste of décor, I am not that into modern design, but let me tell you that is the most comfortable piece of furniture ever. Ask my friend Birgit and her family – I did not want to leave the chair, and for several moments seriously contemplated asking them to bring the meals to me there. Le Corbusier was also a big shot urban planner with the goal of creating efficient housing for crowded cities; with the Unite d”Habitation in Marseille being the most recognizable example of his work. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit%C3%A9_d%27Habitation

Next on our tour for the day was the charming town of Bad Saeckingen at the Swiss border (http://www.badische-seiten.de/bilder/bad-saeckingen/) – founded in the 6th century it has several claims to fame. First, it features the longest covered wooden bridge in Europe (200 meters) (http://www.badische-seiten.de/bilder/bad-saeckingen/index.php?o=bad-saeckingen&n=5) - walking along it one crosses from Germany into Stein, Switzerland. Second is the famous story of the “Trumpeter of Saeckingen”, written in 1854 by Joseph Victor von Scheffel. A dramatic love story,of course, depicting the true tale of the romance between noble Maria Ursula von Schoenau and the castle trumpeter Franz Werner Kirchhofer. They married for love, and with their commitment broke the taboo of marrying only “within your station”. Trailblazers they were! As a result, the city is littered with references to trumpets, statues of trumpeters, trumpet repair shops, you name it.
The city itself is just wonderful – a spa town (hence the “Bad” aka “Bath” as the fist part of the name, only designated spa towns are allowed to carry this prefix)., located on the edge of the so-called Hotzenwald, it was once just a small island amidst the then-mightier Rhine River. It was first settled in the 5th century, but with the foundation of a church by Irish saint Fridolin started taking shape. Its name stems from the convent “Seckinga” established in the 9th century. The town dazzles with historic building after historic building, among them the St Fridolin’s Muenster (Dome of St Fridolin), a stunning example of gothic architecture (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Fridolingsmuenster_Saeckingen.jpg ) and Schoenau Caslte (Schloss Schoenau - http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Schloss_Schoenau_Bad_Saeckingen.jpg).

The trip back to the US was uneventful, no 11 hour-layovers or other such nonsense this time. The week has gone by mercifully swift, and jet lag seems to have disappeared thanks to a few 9-hour sleep sessions. Monday night, I picked up that little housemate of mine, a yellow bird named Oscar, aka Banana Boy or Mr Meyer, and after an initial period to get reacquainted (it was pretty much him yelling at me all the way home), we are now comfortably back to our old habits (Oscar demanding food, me giving it to him just to shut him up, that sort of thing).

Tuesday night Steph and I went for a lovely dinner at Ma Soba on Cambridge Street (http://www.masobaboston.com/) for some tasty Bi Bim Bap. Wednesday, ha, following a hair cut I embarked on an involuntary two-hour odyssey hunting for my house keys all over Boston. This was Petra at her best – searching for the darn keys, making many friends along the way, including the owner of a lovely Japanese store on Charles Street. Eventually, but not before walking myself tired and almost jumping at the cabbie’s throat when he asked me “And how was your day?”, I learned of their location in the MGH Photolab, where I had deposited them mid-day for reasons yet to be explored.

I was rewarded for this obscure and tiresome experience with a lovely evening on Thursday – ushering at the Lyric State company for the off-Broadway premiere of the musical “Adrift in Macao” – written by funny man Christopher Durang, this was an absolutely histerical spoof on the Film Noir Genre (https://lyricstage.com/main_stage/adrift_in_macao/) – funny and spirited, and if you happen to have some time on you before the 3rd of February, go see it. Tons of fun!

Aside from that, I have been cooped up at home, watching episode after episode of the British spy series MI-5 (Season 2), interrupting this newfound addiction only to head out for a nice cup of hot cocoa with my good friend Elaine at Charlestown’s newest café, Zumes Coffee House on Main Street – a wonderful and cozy spot for a lazy Saturday afternoon.

I am now about to head out for brunch with my dynamic and gorgeous friend Hannah – to one of my favorite places in the Boston Area - The Blue Room (http://www.theblueroom.net/main.html). Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!!

Pet:)