16th January 2009, 11:58
| #196 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: BOM, PNQ, DXB
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17th January 2009, 14:08
| #197 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: MH42
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19th January 2009, 13:08
| #198 |
| Distinguished - BHPian   | YetiBlog® - The concert in Aschaffenburg I've been warned. I've been made to understand. This is going to be a funnnn evening. Tickets were purchased earlier, we're going to see Boppin'B!! www.boppinb.com/cms/  The 75 km drive to Aschaffenburg is quick and fairly eventful. Carsten drives the Touareg and explains more about Boppin'B to me on the way. The temperature has dropped to -6 and the car heater is keeping us nice and cosy.  Aschaffenburg is hip. It's definitely not like the other old-world charming little towns I've been travelling to (and live in!) - no, Aschaffenburg is full of young, trendy and happening people. I wonder if there is some kind of multi-cultural universoty here. Even the shops feature african curios and oriental stores, people walk around, many tattoos, piercings and even a few dreads. Nice. We slip into a hip mexican bar where we enjoy a wonderful evening with some great chili, enchiladas and a nice big general tex-mex-mess and some nice drinks. Boppin'B is a mad, bad, spoofy and goofy Rockabilly/ Good old Rock N Roll/ Punk and fun band. I just know it is going to be crazy. I have now heard some of their stuff and honestly I can hardly wait. We quickly get to the wardrobe, getting rid of our jackets and caps and enter the performance zone in the club. Talk about an intimate performance arena! Not more than 600 people are expected tonight and the stage is in my face and larger than life! We find a little bar table and huddle around it waiting for the show to begin. Boppin'B are from Aschaffenburg and have been playing for well over 10 years around europe and other parts of the world. Every Xmas they return home to play one or two intimate concerts in their hometown. I am at one of them. The opening band is annoying. I can think of no kinder word for them. Their name is Tanz-Kinder (Dance-Children) and they could have been fun for 5 songs tops. They have stretched a lacklustre performance for far too long. 2 boys bop up and down with their funky guitars while a talented child bangs on the drums. The singer is desperately trying to make some Jamiroquaiesque moves and is repeating them often. Too often. We say Tanz and you say Kinder. Tanz! Kinder! Tanz! Kinder! All 3 of them are shouting the chorus line and 2 and a half people from the audience (who I am suspecting are their pals). We start booing and shouting unmentionables (in German) to them. it is great fun! The tension builds as soon as they leave. Apparently Boppin'B have a funny tradition. Everytime they shout DO YOU FEEL ALRIGHT?? the crowd (us) are supposed to shout back SCHEIß-KAPELLE! (pronounced as Shaiss-Kapell-uh) and it literally means Sh*t-Band! I find this howlarious! The lights break! The anouncer yells out his German welcomes and then he says it. BAWPIN BEEEEE!!! and they come running out. The crowd goes wild. They are not fun, they are bloody mad with sideburns from HELL! Each one os hugely talented and incredibly funny. The drummer plays standing up for the entire duration of the show. The singer is dressed in suspenders like a prom band and has poofy hair like elvis. He keeps pulling out a comb and makes the most ridiculously funny faces and says funny things. Mostly all the songs are completely in English and MAD MAD MAD!! They sing Rock N roll, Rock and we roll, they sing Elvis, they sound like the sex pistols on steroids, they sing originals, they sing covers, they sing pop songs like Rockabilly songs. The Bass player stands on his bass, he lies down on it, he bags his head on it - it is the maddest thing I have seen. DO YOU FEEL ALRIGHT!!??? SCHEIß-KAPELLE!!!!!!!! You can see them singing those were the days here. The crowd goes completely wild when he does a full elvis and then swinging to perfect rockabilly he goes: I kissed a girl and I liked it!! and then the band goes on to create an entire 60's version of the track! haha. here's a another video by Boppin'B to share what I mean, sorry - I could carry no camera there. and It's been a great evening and we get home tired and happy. Goodnight all! |
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19th January 2009, 13:53
| #199 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | We wake up bright and early - we're going to Winterburg today!! Since we're taking the kids, we will not be able to manage with the Touareg alone, we must take the little Corsa as well. Jenny is still tired and sleepy from last night, so I will drive to Winterburg today.  The temperature has dropped terribly and this morning our winter clothes are insufficient and we have to borrow more winter gear from Jenny's sister.    Before we leave, I have to prepare the car, scraping the ice formation from the window. We leave 5 minutes late. Before I leave I take a picture of the car's temperature display.  Yes, it reads as minus 9. This has been my coldest morning in German yet and the lowest temperature I have encountered on this trip. Or so I think. The drive is quiet, Jenny is sleepy and I follow the other car through ups and downs (mostly ups) and through sleepy little towns and more.    The sun is bright and hot but as we climb higher, the temperature keeps dropping. I swear under my breath as I peek at the display.  Now this is the lowest temperature I will face on my entire trip. Finally we reach Winterburg and step out of the car into the bitter cold, gearing up as quickly as we can.    |
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19th January 2009, 14:46
| #200 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | YetiBlog® - 30th Dec 2008 - Winterburg Winterburg - here we come!!             I'm lost, but not confused. Everyone is busy having fun. First they give me one of kid's sleighs and then eventually get me a full on adult steer-free, brake-free sleigh. Then they forget to teach me to how steer and brake. I don't care. This is going into my list of things I have always-wanted-to-do and I am going to bloody do it. I tie my camera bag tight to my back and stop taking pictures and I start sleighing down the slope as fast as I can, rolling and falling all the time. My gloves are wool and have gotten soaking wet. Not good. I bought myself a pair of Timberland all-weather boots but perhaps haven't tied them tight enough, I now have snow inside my shoes too. Round 1 has not gone so well. Nevermind, we have day tickets to the lifts. We take a break in the Ski hut.  I take my shoes and gloves off and place it around the fireplace, letting them dry and mentally preparing myself for the next round. |
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19th January 2009, 15:03
| #201 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | YetiBlog® 30th Dec Continued We eat and drink at the hut.  After about 30 minutes we're all nice and toasty and my socks are completely dry at the fireplace. The inside is wonderful with long lines for french fries and sausages and various drinks. Everything is German, everyone is German and everyone assumes I must be either german, or mad to come here - therefore speaking to me in German and Jenny makes me go order more food and drinks and it is a funny time (for the people taking my order) at the bar. Now it's time to go outside again.  Outside the sun has come out in FULL force. Fantastic! I am all covered like an Arabian lady and I don't CARE! It feels wonderful and warm inside my many layers and I'm happy to see the myriad colours all around me.   The weather, the atomosphere and the energy are all electric. The air is cold and pure, full of oxygen, cold as it stings all the way down my throat, but refreshing like drinking an ice cold Thums Up. It stings, but feels great! I look around seeing this pure clean white ground all around me and these people, none of whom are like me, all dressed in their brightest colours. Some young, some old, some kids - those who smoke sit outside with a beer and bratwurst. Some take their hats off and soak in as much of the sun as they can. Kids play, hurling snowballs at each other, giggling and falling, rolling all over the place as their proud parents dressed in bright reds and yellows and greens sip on strong black coffee, talking quietly to each other, smiling and nodding.       In the midst of all this, an excited little Bandra boy looks left, right, up and down absorbing as much of this as he possibly can, his mind reminding him again how blessed he is to be here. Last edited by Sam Kapasi : 19th January 2009 at 15:17. |
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19th January 2009, 16:23
| #202 | |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Delhi
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19th January 2009, 19:09
| #203 | |
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20th January 2009, 15:19
| #204 | |||
| BHPian  Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mumbai, India
Posts: 217
Thanked: 82 Times
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We did not give him a kiddy sleigh. It is one used by adults and children, just beind very low so that you almost sit on the ground. We figured this would be best for Sam to practise in in the beginning. However, it was not sliding so well so we gave him another one after his first ride, not knowing we would turn him into a "Pistenschreck" (= slope scare) with this lol. Regarding steering and braking: there is not much to teach. You steer by shifting your body weight and you brake by using your feet. Everyone needs to figure this out by himself  We mostly learn all of this as children so I had a lot of fun watching Sam (and my sister as she had obviously forgotten everything herself haha). Sam did very well. Except for this one time... Quote:
We did competitions on who was down first a couple of times. Four teams in total: 1. Sam 2. Meli (my sister) 3. Carsten and Celia (BIL and niece) 4. Jenny and Robin (I and my nephew) This is our last round before going home. We come back to the top of the hill and my nephew is all excited, shouting "come Jenny, come on". We had won the first three rounds and he wouldn't go with anyone else, confiding in my abilities to make him win again. I don't know who was more crazy, him or me. Everyone takes their positions. One sleigh next to the other. Three... two... one.... and off we are. YEAH!!! Robin and I take first position very fast, followed by Sam and Meli who are head-to-head, and Carsten and Celia who are last as usual. I try my best to speed us up, leaving the others behind us, overtaking other sleighs from left and right. Whooosh... whooosh... whooosh... here we go. We can feel the wind on our faces, stirring up the snow all around us. My nephew is shouting YEAH YEAH YEAH and laughing loudly along with me, enjoying the ride to full extent. We quickly reach the last part of the slope. The steep part. I realise the slope has become icier now that it was used so often by so many people, the snow pressed down to an icy smooth something. "hold on tight, Robin" but it comes as it had to come... one nasty bump lifts us off our sleigh. Booommmm... here we fly. I try not to crush my nephew to death and let myself fall next to him as well as I can, breaking into laughter and making him laugh as well. No harm in falling into snow - that is the first lesson children need to learn lol. As we get back on our sleigh I turn around to see where the others are. I see Meli taking a careful turn to the left off the slope in order to avoid this last steep icy part, followed by Carsten and Celia. As I proudly tell Robin "Supercool darling, we made it again. We WON!!! We are the champions" and the little fellow is jumping with joy and hugging me I see, from the corner of my eye, something red rushing at us from the other side of the slope. And Oh God, here he comes - faster than a speeding bullet! I look into his face, which shines with joy and happiness. He is fully enjoying the moment. However, I also see from the expression on his face that he has no control whatsoever over his sleigh anymore and that he is fully aware of this but cannot change it. All he can do is focus on not falling off. I quickly check out the direction he has taken, afraid he will bump into us. As I realise his route will take him a few meters away from us I relax. "GO SAM, GO!!!" Robin and I are shouting to encourage him for this last part of the ride. He is coming down superfast, almost like flying. And now one of those slow motion moments begins. I see him coming closer and closer. His feet are trying to stop, without success. I see him look up and the expression on his face changes into a desperate look. I look into the same direction and see a man standing there in the middle of his way. I look back to Sam, expecting him to change the direction or to stop - no way, he has no control anymore and it looks like his mind has frozen! I look back at the man, the expression on his face changes as he realises the same thing as I. Too late... Whoooooom - Sam drives straight into him. The guy gets lifted up into the air, so high that it looks like he is flying on top of Sam for a moment, with a disbelieving expression on his face. Underneath Sam continues going forward, his momentum only slightly reduced by the accident, and the guy comes back down on the other side. Baaaaammm... he hits the ground hard with his stomach. I turn around to check on Sam and gape in wonder to see him continue his mad drive. Oh NO... Another man in his way!!! I cannot believe it and I pray that Sam will just let himself fall off the sleigh to prevent any further incidents. That is what we often do in those moments - as the snow is soft it doesn't hurt (at least in 99% of the cases lol). However, I realise Sam does not think that far, he is afraid he will break his bones. He continues his ride, his feet are almost kicking the ground. He manages to change the direction slightly but now the guy's ski rod that is plugged into the ground, is in his way. And it will hit him... hit him in some critical parts between his legs. The mere fact of this activates all his senses. I see him shake the sleigh, what exactly he does - God knows lol - but he succeeds: sleigh ride over!  He stops in front of the guy, looking up at him with relief! Then he turns back to the first guy and as he hears this man yelling and abusing him in German his expression turns into a guilty one... and into a surprised and unbelieving one as he looks at me. I know I should be worried, both about Sam and the man he almost killed, but watching all this I cannot control myself and burst into peals of loud laughter, holding my nephew in my arms who is also laughing and trying to understand what has just happened. I see my sister on the other side, behind Sam, doing exactly the same. Though I cannot hear her I see her holding her stomach that hurts from all the laughing. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA... I can just not stop it, I shout "Oh God honey, what was that?" and then quickly push my sleigh with my feet and drive over to him as the guy next to me is getting even more annoyed with my laughter. Danger!!! Lol. But, as we say in German: Ende gut, alles gut (meaning all's well that ends well). Of course, for the rest of the day Sam was the butt of all the jokes lol. Last edited by TheOne® : 20th January 2009 at 15:26. | |||
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20th January 2009, 15:34
| #205 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | YetiBlog® - The evening is over The wind is blowing and the sun is setting, causing the temperature to drop a few degrees. The snow is not quite as soft and these guys want to have a race. I suffer a little incident. Jenny has already told you all about it. lol. I dread to think the state of that man who I hit with my all-weather Timberlands. Awesome shoes, worth every cent. Some more photos from that beautiful day.           I used to be a Caterpillar boots fan (still am) - this is my first pair of Timbers and I'm converted.    What a great day! An experience to remember. I'm all smiles taking all the jokes they make about me, grinning. What a great day! We reach home and play some fun games after a light dinner, enjoying the warmth of the home. This is truly a simple, beautiful and warm family. I've been staying in this house for more than a week now and I still feel very welcome every morning when I wake up. Last edited by Sam Kapasi : 20th January 2009 at 15:41. |
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20th January 2009, 15:42
| #206 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Mumbai
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Sorry Sam, can't help it  | |
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20th January 2009, 16:28
| #207 |
| Senior - BHPian  | |
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20th January 2009, 19:10
| #208 |
| BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: India
Posts: 4,347
Thanked: 27 Times
| Oh my god! I cannot laugh anymore before my eyeballs fall off.  What if we couldn't reach Winterberg? The lovely couple has taken us their with that amazing narration. Keep it up! |
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21st January 2009, 13:52
| #209 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | YetiBlog® - 31st December 2008 The first half of the day is lazy and uneventful. Uneventful for all except the kids and I, lol.   Tonight we will celebrate New year's Eve with Angela (Jenny's younger sister) and her boyfriend Robert. They're having a party at their home and we're invited along with some of their friends. Looks like it is going to be fun. Once again, in true winter tradition, we're having Raclette. As soon we get in, it is time for dinner.     After a pleasant dinner, some retire to the smoking room and the other chat around for a bit. They are all very nice, making it a point to speak in English (those who can) so that I can be part of the conversation. of course there are times when they naturally lapse into german and I feel a bit left out, but I understand why that happens. You cannot expect a party of 20 people to all change their natural behaviour on my account. I am not the guest of honour, I am merely a part of the big celebration.  Pretty girls. The beverages menu is rather extensive tonight and it seems I am to sample everything!  Out comes the Wii along with the Guitar hero. We all play for a while, laughing, chatting and enjoying the party. This is a great way to break the ice, I must say. About an hour later the music is getting louder, the house is getting warmer and the bar is getting lighter. In goes the Wii and out comes the PS3. It's time for SingStar Karaoke!!    The party continues till about 11:30 when suddenly Robert taps me on the shoulder. Get dressed. Huh? Dressed. Get dressed. Get your hat and jacket on. What? Why? I envision cops coming down to close the party. Were we that loud? It's time to go to the top of the hill! What? He looks at my eyes, checking to see if I am drunk. He then speaks slower and a little bit testily. Sam we are going to climb the hill to see the fireworks. Get dressed. I get up and look at everyone else. They're all busy putting their winter clothing on. Not everyone is completely sober so it is quite funny to see some of them struggling with their shoes. You're serious? It's bloody (I didn't say bloody, use your imagination here) minus 10 degrees outside and we're partying here in this warm house with a great bar and we're supposed to go mountain climbing at this hour? NOW? Everyone giggles. Yes, this is what we do. You Germans are CRAZY! I yell, looking for my gloves. This is madness! I'm not entirely sober myself, having sampled various delicacies and sort (use your imagination again, Gentlemen, Team-BHP does not encourage drinking alcohol or the discussion of it) and now I have to go out in this hostile cold and climb a hill? Ah well, let me just add this to my list of life's experiences then. Jenny laughs at my confused look. Come on honey and try not to be last as usual. ME?? I am aghast she said that in front of everyone. That is only because I am always taking PHOTOS!! She's still laughing, that annoying but endearing laughter and everyone is rushing to get their winter things on. I do an internal check. Winter Jacket. Gloves. Scarf. Winter cap. Camera bag. That's heavy. Breath. Sanity. Let's go hill climbing on New Year's Eve!! to be continued... Last edited by Sam Kapasi : 21st January 2009 at 13:53. |
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21st January 2009, 16:31
| #210 |
| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 535
Thanked: 137 Times
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