Stennweiler - A beautiful place and home of 'the Sven'
It is always a fear as a guest in someone elses home that you may overstay your welcome. Trouble with my Belarussian visa meant that I had to spend a few days longer with the Guthor family than planned. At no point during my stay did I ever feel remotely unwelcome, quite the opposite - the welcoming smiles that I encountered every day made me feel just like part of the family. For that hospitality I will be eternally grateful and only hope to be in a position to return the favour someday.
Stennweiler is home to Daniel, my homeboy from back in the Dublin Microsoft days. Spending over 2 weeks in his home before taking the more adventurous step of heading east was a great way to start my travels. it afforded me the time to reset my internal clock. Waking when I felt like it and being given the space to do my own thing. I'd hoped for such an opportunity before facing more alien lands as the personal baggage I had left over from my days in London needed to be put to rest.
Whilst in Stennweiler i had the chance to cycle in the local countryside, an experience that re-established my love of nature. Waking daily and conversing with his mother in a combination of broken english and german was the first taste of how things are going to be in the coming months. I can only hope that the surroundings are as comfortable and the company so kind. in return I owe Marlene(Daniels mum) a copy of our dialogues in German/English - I'll get this finished off asap I promise!!!) Prior to leaving the UK I had noticed a slight loss of weight, possibly due to the stress of the change ahead. On mentioning this to Daniel he promptly sprung into action and placed me on what we were to refer to as the Wurst diet. Offered something to eat at every possible opportunity my slight weight grew by a few kilos. Now fattened like a little piggy Richard was equipped to tackle the world ( or russia/Mongolia atleast).
Day to day life with the Guthors involved me eating breakfast with Marlene, "boiled egs?", "Yes please!". Then maybe checking my mail, trying to sort out visa hassles and getting the blog tidied up. Here and there Marlene needed a hand with the garden, something I was delighted to help with. Mam and Dad have given me the gift of the joy in gardening. Whilst I may never reach their levels of expertise i know its a love that will always bring me closer to them. Mowing the Guthors lawn was fun and I even got to leave my very own mowing mark on the grass. Some might refer to it as a scutching, i prefer to call it a healthy and artistic 'styling'.
Daniel and I made a few trips into Saarbrucken and on one occasion had the pleasure of enjoying an 'Apartment concert' in Michaelas place. 2 musicians played on that particular night. A guy whose name I forget and a girl named Caro Sreck. the first guy was good and the fact that he sang in english was nice. Caro was pretty amazing. Also singing in english she demonstrated a knowledge of the language that was vast and amusing. Her lyrics were very cute and surprisingly honest. One of those singers whom when they sang you wished the lyrics were about you. Who knows were her music will take her, but I hope its to every place she could wish for. The general vibe at the gig was laid back and cool. People milling about chatting. Hats off to Michaela for organising a great night. I will of course be organising tour buses in future, for aextortionate nominal fee :)
It was really a great experience staying in Germany for such a decent length of time. It afforded me the time to evaluate it as a place to live. Prior to that I was 50:50 between living in France or Germany. France being marginally ahead due to my meagre grasp of the language. I can now say that Germany attracts me more. It strikes me as a place where things get done ( no jokes about the war please....okay, just one!) "Alles ist in ordnung" as they say. Also, the idea of learning a totally new language appeals to me. Only time will tell.
I was sad and nervous on my final day in Stennweiler. Sad to be leaving such a wonderful environment and nervous as hell about the road ahead. Thankfully it passed in a bit of a blur and no sooner had Hannah( Daniels youngest sis) dropped me off at the trainstation than I was standing at my stop listening to american tourists offer their opinions on the world. Ahhh - sweet familiarity! .
Top reasons to visit Stennweiler
Stennweiler is home to Daniel, my homeboy from back in the Dublin Microsoft days. Spending over 2 weeks in his home before taking the more adventurous step of heading east was a great way to start my travels. it afforded me the time to reset my internal clock. Waking when I felt like it and being given the space to do my own thing. I'd hoped for such an opportunity before facing more alien lands as the personal baggage I had left over from my days in London needed to be put to rest.
Whilst in Stennweiler i had the chance to cycle in the local countryside, an experience that re-established my love of nature. Waking daily and conversing with his mother in a combination of broken english and german was the first taste of how things are going to be in the coming months. I can only hope that the surroundings are as comfortable and the company so kind. in return I owe Marlene(Daniels mum) a copy of our dialogues in German/English - I'll get this finished off asap I promise!!!) Prior to leaving the UK I had noticed a slight loss of weight, possibly due to the stress of the change ahead. On mentioning this to Daniel he promptly sprung into action and placed me on what we were to refer to as the Wurst diet. Offered something to eat at every possible opportunity my slight weight grew by a few kilos. Now fattened like a little piggy Richard was equipped to tackle the world ( or russia/Mongolia atleast).
Day to day life with the Guthors involved me eating breakfast with Marlene, "boiled egs?", "Yes please!". Then maybe checking my mail, trying to sort out visa hassles and getting the blog tidied up. Here and there Marlene needed a hand with the garden, something I was delighted to help with. Mam and Dad have given me the gift of the joy in gardening. Whilst I may never reach their levels of expertise i know its a love that will always bring me closer to them. Mowing the Guthors lawn was fun and I even got to leave my very own mowing mark on the grass. Some might refer to it as a scutching, i prefer to call it a healthy and artistic 'styling'.
Daniel and I made a few trips into Saarbrucken and on one occasion had the pleasure of enjoying an 'Apartment concert' in Michaelas place. 2 musicians played on that particular night. A guy whose name I forget and a girl named Caro Sreck. the first guy was good and the fact that he sang in english was nice. Caro was pretty amazing. Also singing in english she demonstrated a knowledge of the language that was vast and amusing. Her lyrics were very cute and surprisingly honest. One of those singers whom when they sang you wished the lyrics were about you. Who knows were her music will take her, but I hope its to every place she could wish for. The general vibe at the gig was laid back and cool. People milling about chatting. Hats off to Michaela for organising a great night. I will of course be organising tour buses in future, for a
It was really a great experience staying in Germany for such a decent length of time. It afforded me the time to evaluate it as a place to live. Prior to that I was 50:50 between living in France or Germany. France being marginally ahead due to my meagre grasp of the language. I can now say that Germany attracts me more. It strikes me as a place where things get done ( no jokes about the war please....okay, just one!) "Alles ist in ordnung" as they say. Also, the idea of learning a totally new language appeals to me. Only time will tell.
I was sad and nervous on my final day in Stennweiler. Sad to be leaving such a wonderful environment and nervous as hell about the road ahead. Thankfully it passed in a bit of a blur and no sooner had Hannah( Daniels youngest sis) dropped me off at the trainstation than I was standing at my stop listening to american tourists offer their opinions on the world. Ahhh - sweet familiarity! .
Top reasons to visit Stennweiler
- Its a beautiful part of the world, green, lush and peaceful.
- Because the locals might invite you into the local tavern for a staring contest
- The local teens throw a pretty mean techno party in the local forest.
- So Daniel can get the chance to demonstrate his green fists of fury.
- Because Sven lives there!!
[I've just been listening to: Great DJ - The Ting Tings - Great DJ]
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