On holiday

*Posting from Starbucks in Frankfurt:
*This weekend, I got a taste of what it’s like when Germans go ‘on holiday.’ That’s where most of them are right now, particularly many of the sources I’m trying to contact for stories. And of course for many of them the holidays last three or four weeks. I met fellow Burns fellows Sabra and Alex in Friedrichschafen, one of many resort towns ringing the Bodensee, also known as Lake Constance, which touches southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Sabra, normally in Moscow for Cox Newspapers, is working for the paper in Stuttgart, and Alex normally with Dow Jones in New York, is working for the AP in Berlin.

*The trip started a bit ominously Saturday morning. Sabra and Alex had problems catching a train and ran late, once they arrived the weather was gloomy, there were gnats swarming everywhere and we took a somewhat intimidating walk to a shop where we wanted to rent bicycles.

*But once we got on the bikes and started exploring, everything got more fun. The weather improved. We ended up biking more than 25 km along the lake to the town of Lindau, which overlooks Austria. We had a leisurely lunch at café – my order was a Bavarian dish that turned out to be a gigantic dumpling with bacon in it, perched on top of sauerkraut. Normally it would not have thrilled me, but I was so hungry I devoured it happily. (I have not yet had a spectacular restaurant meal on this trip). I finished off with an iced coffee with ice cream and whipped cream, evidently one of the local specialties as I saw several restaurants serving it and many people partaking. At one point a costumed brass band whose members appeared to be drunk marched by.

*We took a quick walk to a lighthouse that frames the town’s picturesque harbor along with a giant lion statue – I wish I’d gotten a chance to find out its story. Then we loaded our bikes onto a ferry and took it back to Friedrichschafen. That ride was my favorite part of the day – the weather was beautiful, the water was calm and we could enjoy the scenery.

*We took a train about 18 km to Ravensburg, where our hotel was perched beside a medieval tower dating back to the 13th or 14th centuries. (The town is known for having seven towers). The town of about 50,000 was cute, with pedestrian-friendly streets filled with shops, and a long avenue of cafes where we had our dinner. We chose a Mexican restaurant and discovered the food was not particularly Mexican, but was palatable.

*The weekend’s other notable experience has been the Frankfurt film festival. Friday night I saw what is very likely the first-ever German martial arts/sci-fi film. It was so ludicrously bad it was kind of….well, I won’t say good, but it managed to be entertaining. I could see 12-year-old boys loving it, but it won’t make it further than a possible DVD release or possibly limited Asian release, as it was reportedly a hit at the Shanghai film festival. But anyway, you gotta love a filmfest where you can see a guy who looks like James Van Der Beek of “Dawson’s Creek” busting out kung-fu on bad guys.

*Tonight after returning by train, I caught “The Big White,” Robin Williams’ latest film, also with Holly Hunter, Giovanni Rabisi, Woody Harrelson, Alison Lohman and Tim Blake Nelson. Great cast, offbeat story along the lines of “Fargo” and “A Simple Plan,” but with more broadly comic moments. I was oddly disappointed by it, though – the characters were quirky because the script required it, and it didn’t fit together. Too bad.