full circle - back in strasbourg

i am killing time at the internet cafe that i spent way too much time in last september while we waited to get hooked up at home. times have changed - it has moved into the new mall which means a whole new clientele. In other words, there are no dirty old men checking out dirty old porn, nor are there huge groups of teens playing online games (probably because the nez mall is far away from their school). but the french keyboard is still my enemy, as are the hardest chairs in the world.

I am in town for less than 8 hours to go to my doctor's appointment. It was pouring rain when i had to walk fifteen minutes there and fifteen minutes back, and as soon as i got on the tram, the sun came out. It is as if koeln (i am not even going to attept to find the umlaut) weather is following me.

Now that I have been here, had lunch with Caroline, and sat around a cafe, i can safely say that I miss Strasbourg. The feel of the city alongside the smells of the bakeries can't be beat. Nor can the friendliness of the french compared to the germans. I really didn't give the french much credit, but it is nice to walk into a store and be greeted by every sales person warmly! I was in Paris yesterday and realiwed that part of this french love is that i miss communicating properly. The grunts and pseudo german i have been speaking really doesn't warm the locals, so I know that this less friendly attitude is really my fault!

However, the challenge of not stepping in dog crap really does kill the mood.