There and Back Again

I just got back from my conference in San Francisco. On the way over, I did get to fly business class, but didn't have enough miles for the return trip, so ended up in economy "plus" (that's where you get 5 more inches of leg room). Anyway, business class on a 12 hour flight was lovely. Great service, but more than anything, the roominess!! I could stand up right in front of my seat and stretch, without disturbing anyone. Fantastic! The only down-side: the woman next to me was a total racist. I was shocked, because she was from SF, and I've never met anyone from there who wasn't totally tolerant of other cultures. SF is a huge melting pot, after all, which is why I love it! But this woman kept talking about horrible "foreigners" in the US, and how she like to go to Scandinavia because they were "uncontaminated". I was so disgusted. I managed to shut her up by mentioning my various non-caucasian former boyfriends, and the fact that I was half Jewish, etc...

Now I'm finally back in Germany, and am not going anywhere (thank goodness!) until New Years, when I shall go to Scotland again and brave driving on the left-hand side of the road. No real German news to speak of - Merkel seems to be handling life as chancellor well. It's cold, but then it's December, so one would expect that, wouldn't one? Ah, I have an issue...Heating!! See, I have these grate-type heaters in my apartment, which means that it takes forever to heat up the whole room. I seem to spend my life at home curled up around hot water bottles. Where is central heating in this country???

Well, central heating or no, Christmas time in Deutschland is very cool. You know, Christmas markets and all that. But I'll save that for the next blog, because I'm still massively jet lagged, and I'm going to sleep :-)