By Andrea Scarpino
(Who is somewhere we’re told…)
Grain-filled bread with butter, cheese. Radishes cut in long curls and salted, held between fingertips. A kitchen tool that only cuts radishes into curls. White asparagus. A special technique for eating white asparagus. Beer served in tall, thin glasses. Beer served in special steins. Biergartens covered in fall leaves. Parks that go on for miles. Running paths. Bicycles. Cobblestone. Tramways. Trains. Medieval walls. Gothic Churches. Rococo paintings. Children who stare at you on the bus. Adults who stare on the train. Chocolate. Beechnuts to pick from the ground and eat. Plum trees, fallen plums. Racism. “Problems” with Islam. “Problems” talking about race. Torture museums. Nazi museums. Diesel cars. Open windows, fall breeze. Thick children’s stockings. Teenage boys with spiky gelled hair, tight jeans, ponytails. Old people walking together in the park, grocery shopping with their own carts. Regional sausage specialties. Regional pastries. Regional dress. Soccer scarves. American pop music from the 80’s. Discos. Graffiti. Greek food. Cathedral bells. Organ music. Small dogs. Wood furniture. Practical coats, practical shoes. Brightly colored scarves. Cigarette billboards. Sandman cartoons for children to watch every night before bed. Ice cream shaped like spaghetti, lasagna noodles. Neighborhood schools. Swimming pools. Outdoor trampolines. Long Sunday walks in the woods. Stopping for snacks at a local biergarten. Swans. Canadian geese. Coffee and cake each afternoon.
Andrea Scarpino is the west coast Bureau Chief of POTB. You can visit her at:
Planet of the Blind 
You just swept me back 20 years on a mind journey. Your words came back as images from when I lived in Germany. Thank you, Andrea.
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