Free wheels and Feuchtigkeitableitend

Entry from Monday, June 20 (with a little backdating magic)

It has been quite a week.  Tobi and I have been camping in the woods near the school since Thursday, as a fun excursion, and some well-needed space from a few of the housemates.  We took some backpacks and groceries and found a tiny clearing in the dense bushes at the base of the mountain next to the school.  In the mornings, I have breakfast (banana and PB or granola made into oatmeal, and coffee) walk to the studio (about 10 min.) come back to the tent for lunch (brown bread with sun-dried tomato paste, sauteed spinach, avocado slices and melted cumin gouda cheese - go, go mini campstove!) back to the studio, then go hiking if it's nice weather, or if it's raining, hang out in the tent and learn German. I now know how to conjugate "to be," "to have," "to eat," "to speak," and "to go" and such useful expressions as "where are you from" (von wo kommst du), "what time is it" (wie spät ist es), "you're one to talk" (das sagt der richtigen), "now we're even" (das ist auf gleichinder gerechtigkeit), "I speak no German" (ich spreche kein Deutsch), and "moisture-wicking" (Feuchtigkeitableitend).  In the evening we go for dinner and pints at one of the many pubs in town.  It's pretty ideal - even the extremely intrusive thorn bushes and stinging nettle patches serve the useful purpose of keeping wandering hikers out of our little camp.  

This is it, as seen from the "path" coming in.  Can you spot the tent?

Here it is again, from the other side, once inside the clearing.

And here is a demonstration of how to get around when you have horrible blisters from running 4 miles barefoot on gravel roads, by our resident German:

Saturday was the AnPost Tour de Burren 160km bicycle race.  Ever so cruelly, my knees and shins were so bad from running that I could barely walk, let alone ride a hundred miles.  Have you ever seen the heartbreaking combination of incontinent excitement and intense desperation that possesses a golden retriever on a leash when someone throw a tennis ball just out of reach?  After watching 2500 cyclists flood the streets of our town of 250 and not being one of them, I have a deep and personal understanding of exactly what that golden retriever feels like.  

I managed to keep the wailing and gnashing of teeth to a minimum long enough to take a few pictures.  

In any case, Tobi left this morning to go on a canoe trip through the fjords and lakes in Sweden.  As it happens, he gets back to Munich 2-ish days after I leave the country.  Unfortunate timing, but I'm still way excited to see Germany on my own!  

In any case, today marks the first day of the last week of the first month of my trip (aka, I only have 4 days left of school).  I'm a bit shocked at how quickly it's gone by, but then again, I'm only halfway through my travels!