Month: December 2022
Real epic Black Forest ham from the Black Forest region.
A nice chunk to bring home for bedtime or shower snacking.
Crispy white bread, thinly sliced ham and pickles would make an awesome dinner…..maybe thickly sliced German butter (you can buy it a Janet…best butter ever…tastes almost like icecream).
When in Rome…….just had to….RICOLAAAAAAAAAA.
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Super not being a drinker in 2022…
Almost no booze this year outside of the “stint” in Vietnam…and yesterday’s 200ml of mulled wine was the 1st drink since Asia….crazy..
Today I got 4 tiny liquors. I’ll have one of the sour ones now…..sooooo excited…weeee..
You gotta play to play. My hands are orange from my constant onslaught of Christmas manadarines. YOLO.
One hour train to Germany’s famous Black Forest.
I’ve always wanted to visit. The plan is to walk around the actual super pretty forest, eat some Black Forest cake, eat a slice of Black Forest ham and visit the cuckoo clock factory.
Maybe a coocookoocooo is in my future.
Cash only on the bus….like Winnipeg in the 80s.
Masks compulsory…..
I, as is morning tradition in these parts, am building a whurstwagen.
It obviously needs a lot of work.
I’ll say this is probably the best place I’ve ever stayed at…the opulence is insane.
Staying another night, of course….I’m not crazy…(this time room with balcony).
It’s soooooo cozy and warm and kind and Christmasy here………not in Eastern Europe anymore….sigh..
Someone has to pick up the Christmas glitter.
I’ve never actually “lived like a king” until today.
The Baden Baden markets are the most busy “anything” I’ve ever seen in my life.
This is my hotel and my hotel restaurant.
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2 very weird bus and train legs from airport to Baden Baden old town. You almost have to go backwards.
Over Stuttgart.
Everything fits. I can’t believe it. The comfort and convenience is revolutionary.
This is the “attachment” bag to my big Thule backpack, it’s 20L. Everything fits just perfectly, I even brought my MacBook (I never bring my laptop with me). I have all my clothes (including 2 jackets inside now) all the charging bullshit (I actually use the laptop as a powerbank) and 3 phones. Fantastic.
Go go go go……spa and shopping await.
I should book a hotel…
This espresso at Varna airport costs 11x more (yes 11) than an espresso in Sunny Beach. No lie.
Don’t ask about the juice…..freshly squeezed grapefruit…tastes like sucking on Jesus himself. Trip is absolute butter so far and Varna airport is super clean and cozy. I magically fly away in exactly 2 hours.
I doubt this lady is very ‘career oriented’.
Compulsory cigarette stop.
This is it…but..
I’m bringing 2 jackets….it looks like it will rain at my destination.
So…the moment I’m leaving is the exact moment my super fancy jacket arrives in Burgas from Romania. I should expect an email any moment now. I’ll pick it up the moment I’m back….it will be perfect for UK hikes in a couple of weeks.
The cheap 40 Euro down jacket I’m wearing now is already 6000000000x warmer and more comfy than any of the other shit currently in my closet. I’ll return it….it will be frivolous.
I appreciate you taking the time to read my jacket story…
Why didn’t I think of this 20 years ago?
The Sunny Beach bus shelter is the best.
But to its credit…it’s open, it doesn’t smell like poverty and garbage and it’s super warm. 9/10.
I made my own BBQ peppercorn sauce.
This was weirdly unplanned, I didn’t even want to eat anything before departure…but I got fucking hungry.
This was the fastest dinner I have ever put together…I have no idea why…boiled the potatoes then put them into the air fryer for a moment. Shallots with butter and I found some weird BBQ powder stuff and added a teaspoon (it made everything jelly), added peppercorns (I love how they get crunchy soft after a while) then grilled the steak on my hot little Japanese non stick for just a few minutes…one flip….buttered both sides….paradise.
Here is the kicker…feel free to murder me. Not only is cooking a steak like this far easier with a lot less effort and cleanup and nonsense than BBQ…I think it’s tastes better.
I SAID IT……
The steak was butter (and it’s just the standard steak from LIDL which is fucking awesome)….yes, again, it melts in your mouth.
Still feels like summer.
This is, by far, the best Bulgarian snacking saugage…….it’s gooey and fantastic. At Janet, but way in the back. I’ll eat a meyer weekly.
Laundry day. I leave tomorrow.
Max is taking care of the apartment and the cats and my XBOX and everything else. He’s pure gold!
Sorry I’ve turned this blog in a roll of cat photos….but fun stuff coming soon…REALLY FUN STUFF.
Burgas…
Shopping was super fun but a bit of a bust. My jacket shipped but didn’t arrive in time so I bought a cheap (but still perfect) jacket for my trip….the dude said I can I just return it later when I pick up the new one…nobody cares..
Or maybe I’ll keep it….life is complicated.
Mall was so busy they main streets were literally stopped and the parking lot had cones….you could not enter the grounds of the mall….never seen anything like it.
I had my bike so I snuck through and parked on the sidewalk….but still…fucking zoo…and very fun and festive..
Christmas shopping day…wooohoohoo.
BUT..I won’t have my new coat in time for next trip. I’ve been crying all morning.