After the convention ended, the con committee wanted to take the Bears and I to the Monument. I wasn’t that thrilled at the first mention. Monuments—when you travel, you see a bunch of them.  They’re…monuments. But when Thomas Braatz told me about this monument early in the week, he had trouble with the word.  (He practices his English, he says, once every two years [which makes it damn impressive, imho].)  He said he wanted to show us the Mountain. Now, I had just flown over Leipzig and I’m here to tell you that the Midwest has more mountains.  Not that the Midwest has any.  But Leipzig is flat.  It really does look like parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota, particularly with the farms nearby.  It’s lovely, but there are no mountains. So I said … Read entire article »

I wrote my last post on Elstercon in my last moment of free time on my trip.  On that last Saturday afternoon, I grabbed some lunch, did a few errands, and then wrote the blog post.  Afterwards, I headed back to the convention and didn’t leave until late. I spent the rest of the afternoon and the early evening talking with people.  I had the help of my wonderful translator, Britta C. Wilmsmeier.  (See why I didn’t trust myself to type this without her business card in front of me?) In addition to translating, Britta is a storyteller.  Not the kind that I am, but a verbal storyteller who stands in front of an audience and weaves tales.  She’s also a writer.  She put up with my quirks and foibles—as the … Read entire article »

Yes, I’m still traveling.  Yes, I should be home.  Yes, I do not talk about politics on my blog (note to commenters!) and I will not discuss them here. But President Obama had a major impact on my day yesterday.  Because of him, I am sitting at a gate in Philadelphia, sharing an electrical outlet with a nice man who moved some chairs to find it. Let me explain:  Our flight from Frankfurt arrived in Philly on time, maybe even a bit early.  Then we had to circle the airport for twenty minutes.  (And a big wide circle too)  Then we sat on the tarmac for an hour after we landed.  The flight attendants were getting frustrated and one of them finally snapped, “You all should know this has nothing to do … Read entire article »

Elstercon started last night, and was enjoyable from the start. This convention, which is small, limits attendance to 200 people.  That means the folks who come are very, very, very interested in sf. The con is held in the Haus de Buches, a lovely building that’s a conference center.  On the wall behind reception is made of books literally spray-painted gold.  It’s quite an effect. After opening ceremonies last night, we started with a panel on the history of sf, conducted in German, with me, Bernard Craw, Achim Schnurrer, and moderated by Stefan Lampadius.  The convention has assigned me a translator, whose name I’ll add later when I can check the spelling. She’s very good, but I found I didn’t need her much of the time. When people are speaking … Read entire article »

The wonderful room (suite, actually) that the convention has provided is cooling off with the afternoon breeze.  I came in after a day of roaming and opened the windows.  Windows here are a marvel. Someone should import them to the United States.  They have a handle that when turned 120 degrees opens the window only at the top. When turned 90 degrees, it opens the window at the side like most American windows.  The first time I opened one from the top, in Nuremberg, I thought I had broken the window.  I figured it out eventually—without asking anyone.  (A major victory for me.) Today I saw some more of Leipzig, more music items, and then the history of the city—first in the Old City Hall (which takes the history from founding … Read entire article »