Boeblingen itself

Boeblingen is a suburb outside of Stuttgart proper, just down one of the valleys. It's not your everyday place to don a uniform, if you ask me. This is the view from my former hotel room, which is no longer mine because I've been booted across the street into a more residential apartment to make room for hordes of partygoers attending the city's Cannstadter Volksfest (Germany's 2nd largest beer festival). In fact, packs of them are returning for the night right now, as I sit in the little lobby typing this... Wait, why the hell am I sitting here typing this??

I took probably 3 dozen photos of that church while staying here because the sky behind it would change so drastically. This region's weather likes to do that. Here's another, and another... I can't help myself with a camera and a purdy sky, I guess.So, speaking of beer fests... In case you think they invented the father and sons from the parody movie, think again. This is an actual billboard in town. I love walking by this each day on my hike to work (and yes, it's a no-schizer hike).
I simply had to take one of the hotel itself. Where I am writing this, AT THIS VERY MOMENT. Weird, huh? (Note to self: stop sleep-depriving) It's a quaint Swabian (that's the regionality) hotel, with lovely staff and more pork-related essen (food) items than the big bad wolf himself could dream up.

I'll leave this post with another sunset photo, since I'm such an aww-shucks kind of sucker for such scenes. This was taken a few blocks down, where the town centers around a large pair of manicured ponds. Naturally, there are numerous beer gardens around them. If the photo appears fuzzy, blame it on the pils!

Boeblingen blues

...Blues only because of how ridiculously long it's been since I've blogged. I remember making promises to re-visit the AfghaniDan blog, I recall creating blogs in New York and not writing a word, and I had every intention of journaling my deployment to South America - but for a lack of access and bandwidth that made the 'stan feel like a Starbucks.

So I'll not attempt to play catch-up with lost time, and instead bring you up to speed on this European Adventure. Work everyday with a bunch of other jarheads isn't exactly an "adventure" most of the time...in the office environment, anyway (the brau haus tells a different story). But the easy train routes and short drives to countless destinations make even buttoned-up Stuttgart an idyllic place for a wanderer to be for awhile.

The caption for this photo would read, "Yes I like to strike cheesy poses with giant anchors. Why do you ask?" My dad did something like this with a huge anchor in the Philippines when I was a kid, and it formed some kind of strong image in my head of what you do when you spy a large land anchor. So I went on a rampage imitating it the past couple of years. Incidentally, see that Chile-in-May weather? Just like Stuttgart in late summer - chilly and foggy. At least the seasons are reversed in the southern hemisphere... I don't know what Germany's excuse is for this unsatisfactory early end of season!

OK, I had to put up just ONE of the Machu Picchu collection. That one I must write more on...it was truly breathtaking in every sense. Especially after clambering up Wayna Picchu to take in the most majestic views. And especially after the side trip was never supposed to happen in the first place (my entire Peruvian experience up 'til then was spent on a run-down coast outside of hazy Lima).

So without further ado, feel free to join the Wandering Deuce as I crack wise about my new experiences in old Europe...or at least show a pretty picture or two. Tschuss!