Postcards from Tasma

… the cars park like this

or even better… like this

or better still…

… when the community of homeless and drunks, looks like a community of homeless and drunks BUT their dogs look like they’ve just won ‘Best in Show’ at Crofts…..

…. when the kiosk on the station platform doesn’t sell tickets, but does sell beer.

 

… when buying beer is cheaper than buying water.

It’s rare to get on the train in the morning and not see Germans drinking stubbies of beer. Think of it like a second breakfast.  The collective German ‘behaviour police’ willingly show outrage at eating on public transport, or picking your nose in public… but drinking beer on the 8.07am to Mehringdamm… seems reasonable.

German beer is subject to very strict laws. The Purity Law Reinheitsgebot which references back to before the 1500’s, states beer can include only; water, barley and hops.  Given how rubbish the Berlin water is… adding hops and barley could only improve it.

But then there’s all the other liquor… what I like most about this liquor is it’s packaging… they are very honest about how you will look or behave once you’ve consumed the contents.

… when the late night 7/11 doesn’t sell bread… but does sell beer.

… when they toss a barrow load of builder’s sand on the ground, unfold a deck chair, and declare it a “Beach”.

Lucinda just told that for the longest time, she was afraid of cutting bread, or fruit – because she was fearful of splitting an atom in doing so, and she had heard that this released a lot of energy. 
Having learned that this was not true, she decided to pass the paranoia on to Audrey, who then believed it true.

… don’t know if we’ll get off the ground 🙂

Moving home is always a big effort.
Moving to another country and putting 20+ years of detritus into storage is sobering.
Add into the mix; a quickly arranged wedding in the country, last gigs with the Prayerbabies and The Harmaniax, farewell parties and sleep overs for the kids, late night Skype calls with Germany re taxes and schools and opening the home to hundreds of prospective tenants… This goes beyond sobering to ‘quick pass the bottle now!’.

Then… once the last of 303 boxes was packed, the furniture all taken away and only our suitcases and sleeping bags remained… Lucinda broke her arm – badly. The break required surgery and a very long screw inserted above the elbow. On the positive side this ensured she at least had a comfortable bed, albeit in hospital, for the last few evenings in Australia.

What follows is a little pictorial of those last few days…

And finally…