new pics published

finally back home, with a fast internet connection, I uploaded the rest of my july blogs and some photos. scroll back if you are interested...

Geocaching - Weserwehr, Mein 180. Cache

Weserwehr ..das war mal ein lustiger Micro. An den Koordinaten gab es ziemlich viele Versteckmöglichkeiten und wir haben zu dritt alles abgesucht. Oben, unten, im Gras, an Steinen...nix! Fast wollten wir nach 15 minuten wieder abziehen, als ich mal eben einen genaueren Blick nach oben an das Bauwerk richtete...und...bingo!!!! Das Heben und wieder verstecken gestaltete sich dann nicht nur wegen meines (fast zu) kurzen Armes als schwierig. Es war auch sowas von vermuggelt an diesem Tag. Eine absolute Radler Rennstrecke hier.

Reha, the last day - the end of independance

Today is the day. I have read through 3 books and 1500 pages, I drove nearly 450 kilometres by bike, I enjoyed heavy storm and rain as well as sunny days on the beach....seems as if I know every tree and every sandkorn over here now. I met good and bad people, I received lots of smiles and one person wanted to give even more to me (;-))...what else could I ask for??

And yes-it is high time to leave and say goodbye to the good time that I had over here. I enjoyed it. Never got homesick and soaked up every moment. But as always, I am beginning to get restless again. So, I don't regret the time over here but I need to leave to open another chapter in life. I feel curious, powerfull, restless again...even though I know that this will be the end of 3 weeks of independance where I was able to do whatever I wanted during my freetime.

Since many of the readers of this blog were asking me about the beautiful photos from my Reha (they aren't really that good...taken with my mobile-phone cam only, but thanks for being polite), I published them all in a web album.

Reha, day 15 - Entertainer

Today I joined a lecture concerning the right usage of programs against back pain. The lecture was held by a doctor. An impressive appearance. A coloured man, appr. 200 cm tall with a weight of maybe 150kg. He came in as if he was listening to some good music and if there would have been some burning trash bins around, the clichee would have been perfect.

He told us some exciting “news”, such as: If you would not have a spine, you wouldn’t be able to stand upright.

Or: Find a balance if you have to carry heavy things. Don’t carry a crate of beer in one hand and only a cigarette in the other hand. Better carry a crate of beer in every hand and keep the cigarette in your mouth.

Or: Grannies shouldn’t carry any heavy load at all. They should wait until their grandchildren come for the Sunday visit to take money, and let them care for the heavy goods.

Really, this doc was funny….a talented entertainer

This days kilometres: 34,65

Overall kilometres: 335,42

Why is Friday 13th Considered to be Unlucky?

Why is Friday 13th Considered to be Unlucky?

No one knows for sure what's up with our odd fear of Friday the 13th, so ingrained in pop culture that it has a movie series and one mouthful of a phobia—paraskavedekatriaphobia—in its honor.

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Folklorists think the dread goes back at least a few centuries, and may well trace its roots all the way to Biblical times, when the 13th guest at the Last Supper betrayed Jesus and caused his Crucifixion, which was held on a Friday. Whatever the origin, by the late Middle Ages both Friday and the number 13 were considered bearers of misfortune. That potent combo, more than any specific association with the date, is what has deemed Friday the 13th unlucky.

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Today it's dismissed as an old superstition but—if given a choice—how many of us would eschew getting married, flying or giving birth on a Friday the 13th? Superstition, indeed.

Reha, day 14 - Relaxation and pirates

Today was a relaxing day again. To give you an idea of how such a relaxing day looks over here, here is my schedule for today:

9.00 Uhr Muskelentspannung / Muscle Relaxation

about 15 people sitting together in a circle, closing their eyes and listening to a psychologist who is telling them of how to consciously strain and relax their muscles.very effective way of exploring your body.

10.30 Uhr Rückenschule / Learning of how to use exercises for back problems

nothing but another lecture from a therapeut. This time about the correct way of sleeping/lying, matrazes, pillows etc.

11.30 Uhr Fango

heating up before massage

12.00 Uhr Full-body massage

with my favourite Masseuse....hmmmm

15.00 Uhr Gesprächsgruppe Schmerzpatient / Focus Group for pain patients

Together with a psychologist we tried to find about the mysery of a „vicious circle“ of pain – psychology – physiology. Now we know that this vicious circle exists and hopefully next week we will find a way to break out of it.

The physically hardest exercises were the meals today!! So, at 4.00 p.m. I jumped on my bike and drove into the wild forest for some activity and geocaching. There was a cache called “Strandpiraten (beach pirates)”. I needed a few days to solve the quests and find out about the coordinates of the cache box. Today I found it easily and the cachebox was hidden very nice. Under a tree with a fishermans net, under a plate…just like you would expect a real pirates treasure to be hidden. Fortunately Captain Black and his pirates were somewhere sailing the seven seas and I was able to log the cache alone and in silence

This days kilometres: 42,65

Overall kilometres: 300,77

Reha, day 10 - Geocaching

Today I wanted to do some geocaching again and drove about 20 kilometres by bike to the first location. That was easy but at the second location, I found out that this cache was not evenreachable by bike. So, I had to walk all the way to the cache. 3 kilometres to + 3 kilometres fro!!! That could have been a nice walk in a nature reservate, but it was sunday and many many people seemed to have a similar idea. So, the whole walk looked a bit like a Polonaise….that’s not what I like and after finding the cache hidden under a tree, I decided to not go on searching for today but to spend the rest of the day at the beach, listening to the waves and the wind, feeling the sun and salty air on my skin.

This days kilometres: 54,65 + 6 kilometres walking

Overall kilometres: 212,40

Reha, day 6 - eerily encounter

Today I was again to my cardio and weight training. While I was sitting on the ergometer for a warm-up, a man came in and I immediately thought that I know that guy from somewhere. All over sudden I realized where I knew this guy from. It was Egon Krenz, one of the last presidents of the GDR. Was not a 100% sure about him but when Franca said: “Are you getting along with your weights, Mr. Krenz?” I was sure. So I did some training with one of the last GDR presidents after Honecker. He is quite a normal guy, quiet but with a nice Lacoste Shirt and Reebok Shoes.

Later that evening I was to the Sauna and one woman living here said that Krenz has a huge Villa here nearby…he saved it from former socialistic GDR times. Because I have always lived in West Germany, I wanted to know what former GDR people think/thought about this man. There was only one comment: “We hated him so much!”

And b t w – my arm today looks purple with light yellow and brown shades…

Reha, day 5 - a blue day

My arm decided to “wear” blue today…nearly 30 cm in blue!!!

My days are getting more settled now. I know where all those places for exercises are and can concentrate now on my freetime in between. Usually I take the time in between exercises (usually 30-60 minutes) to lay down somewhere in the sun to read or listen to music. The weather is still too bad to go to the beach for alonger stay. For the weekend we are expecting sunny weather and on my bike-tours I have discovered a very peacefull piece of beach. I think I will spend my weekend there.

Today, after my last exercises at 3.00h p.m. I decided to go for another bike tour to the west-beach of this island. On my way back I was surprised by a very heavy rain and storm which caused me a delay of 45minutes and made me miss my supper. So, I took a snack on my way back and when I was back at the clinic, I only read for an hour and fell asleep with my book in my hands.

Is that total relaxation?? I guess it must be something similar…

This days kilometres: 46,82

Overall kilometres: 157,75

Geocaching - Mein 170. Cache

Darßer Schmuggler
Im Urlaub cachen war richtig Klasse. Unwahrscheinlich viele tolle Waldverstecke mit interessanten Aufgaben. Und immer wenn ich keine Lust mehr hatte, einfach 3 km nach Westen radeln und schon tut sich ein kilometerlanger weißer Sandstrand auf.
Ausgerechnet hier, in Prerow, ca. 300 km von zuhause entfernt haben übrigens direkt vor mit "TNT" geloggt...Zufälle gibts.
Darßer Schmuggler war mein 170. Cache

Reha, day 4 - Vampirella

Today it was the end of laziness. At 6.45h I had to appear at the nurses office to give blood. No big deal…normally. But the nurse (let’s call her…Vampirella) must have had a very bad weekend, lost her glasses somewhere or simply did not like me (maybe even all 3 reasons came together??). All 3 reasons would be understandable but does it really matter here??? To say it brief: she hit the needle in my arm and I was asking her if maybe she and not me needs a stay at a rehabilition centre. She did her job so badly that I am expecting my arm to change its colours day by day from blue to purple to green. That will be nice…like a surreal painting, but it will also hurt during my exercises. Anyway – Vampirella is not among my closest friends now.

I also had some Fango and massages, some cardio traning and muscle training today. But all that was nice and relaxing.