kelle.de

I was at home at my parents’ house in Germany. I am not quite sure which season, but it looked dry outside, the weather not very hot or cold, it might have been autumn. I was in the middle of planning a trip to the US, maps spread out all over the place, working on a good itinerary to get around the country without spendig too many hours on the road while seeing many different cool places, though. My dad with whom I was going to take the trip together looked at my efforts in appreciation, but I could feel the lack of sleep crouching beyond, pulling me down without mercy. Before I could elaborate, I must have passed out on site. The next thing I could remember was waking up on the airplane shortly before landing in America. How could this be? I missed all the packing, saying goodbye to my mum and sister, checking through the airport control and boarding the flight? The thing, however, that bothered me most, was that I obviously had forfeit my chance to discuss the travel plan with my dad. He had made the decision about where to head first without consulting with me, but in good faith, so I quickly calmed. We were headed to Seattle/Tacoma airport which was an okay starting point. We would be able to start in the outer northwest to loop around, so no problem there. We had been to Seattle before, and our family had friends there. Rosemary and her family. We hired a van from one of the car rentals, and went on to pay them a visit – unfortunately, since this was not really planned for, we did not remember the exact location of their house, so it took us a while to find the right suburb village. And even after arriving at the house, we weren’t sure if it was the right place. So we sneaked up at the porch, worried about the “no trespassing” sign yarding the fence, and we couldn’t quite make up our minds while crouching in the high grass, lest anybody see us. Along came a cat, blue fur, and I asked the cat: Hey are we in the right place? The cat answered: Well, you guys look kind of familiar, I reckon you found the right place then. Who are you looking for? I answered we were looking for Rosemary. The cat went: OK, I don’t know really who you are talking about; why don’t you give it a shot anyway.
So we looked at each other in disbelief and reassurance at the same time, and knocked on the door, prepared to be shotgunned or welcomed. And indeed, things turned out fine, and in no time we found us at the dinner table together with Rosemary and her ones. The blue cat also had company by a purple one.

Rosemary later explained: Yeah, the blue one is really smart, much more than the purple one. The purple one doesn’t speak at all, but you never know what a cat is up to, do ya. Now have some of the pie.

Back in the dark and quiet Vienna, listening to the vibrations of the technocrat world bustling outside in the cold, I can still feel the searing sun, the dry gusts of wind and the “rrrrsssa” of the mint tea drunk from a small glass. It was only a short stay for a couple of days, but it offered all the good things you might want. Travelling to the high atlas, most interesting scientific cross-cultural insights presented at 9th IBIMA conference to which I was kindly invited, meeting up with a dear friend, precious days of joy altogether.

It is hard to describe the events just so recently passed. Like awakening from a dream of outworldish beauty only to find yourself back in the bleak machinery of the industrialised world where everything has to work as expected.

First day in Marrakech.. I just returned to the hotel after taking a
rather extensive stroll through the town. I only had a very rough idea
of the directions but this didn’t keep me from finding my way to the
the “Djemma el Fna” (the place of the beheaded), which is probably the
most well-known site in town. I managed to grab some food and tea, and
even found a post office which sold me some stamps. Observation:
Moroccans seem to be not too concerned about jumping the queue – so I
quickly adjusted to this custom, he he. Afterwards I decided to walk
back to the hotel, with the possibility in mind to catch a taxi on the
way to save some time and energy. So I turned to head into the way I
had come from but somehow everything started to look different almost
an instant after I had left the open place. Tiny shops and strange
looking cloths, spices and all kinds of things the purpose of which
you might only vaguely imagine, gloomy and very narrow allies, often
roofed by canvas or wooden planks or other types of canopy. And in all
of this, crowds and crowds of a crawling combination of tourists,
merchants, mules, beggars, stray cats and motorcycle children who make
it a sport to almost run into you, avoiding a crash in the last
moment, speeding off with lots of honking and laughter.
Before I knew it, I was completely lost, flattered with the huge
variety of the souqs, new surprises behind every corner. For example,
a motorcycle garage completely smeared in motor oil, size of a shower
cabin, right next to a stand selling the finest fabrics.
After one hour of being lost, roughly orienting with the help of sky
patches visible through the canopy every now and then, I happened onto
a street, with some taxis. The ride was not so very long, which shows
I must have walked into a good direction, and so I got back to the
hotel. Now is the time for a good sip of Johnny, relaxing, writing this
piece of random text, and heading out again later.
By the way: It is begin of January, and the weather was pretty hot
today, well above 20 degrees centigrade I would say, only in the
afternoon it started to cool down a bit and got more windy. Somehow
there seems to be desert sand in the air, my eyes are all grained… funny.

Right now I am in London Heathrow. I have several hours of time to kill, so I spent 5 quid for a wireless login, managed to tap into the power of a x-mas tree and there we go. I was pondering whether it would be a worth to briefly visit London Centre, but when I saw the massive queues at the security check, I ditched that plan. The security check itself is really very strict in London. After all the terrorist nignag that happened, it is relatively understandable. However, I really don’t get this STUPID regulation with the “no more than 100ml of fluid, and even then only in a sealed plastic bag”.

There are several points that illustrate the complete pointlessness of this regulation.

• Liquid explosives such as TNT/ or C4 derivates, have enough firepower to kill even if there is only a fraction of 100ml. C4 also could be camouflaged as bracelets or anything else. The particular regulation will certainly not stop a serious terrorist.
• Fluids are taken away regardless of what is the content. To find standard explosives it would suffice to smell the fluid. C4 smells like motor oil and TNT smells like strong solvent. It gets more difficult for nuclear fluids like heavy water, though, but even here a brief sweep with a geiger counter would do the job.
• The regulation is impractical and causes distress. If you are traveling long distances, you simply NEED to have some kind of food/drink provision you carry with you. The regulation causes distress to both security personnel and travellers. Getting taken away a completely untouched bottle of souvenir wine or even a bottle that OBVIOUSLY contains water brings nothing but utter protest. The security personnel on the other hand are obliged to follow their protocol strictly, if they don’t, loosing their job is only the least severe consequence.
• Thirsty travellers are deprived of their provision, so all that remains is buying drinks from the ridiculously expensive airport gastronomy. I think with some million passengers passing through larger airports every day, the revenue plus must be quite substantial. Instead of simply CHECKING on substances, the customer is made pay. As usual.
• Well. But all of this is not so bad. Why so? Because there are exceptions to the rule. You CAN take up to 100ml of fluid with you, so why the moaning! Ah, well. They have to be in a sealed plastic bag! Hmm. Ever sealed a plastic bag? Ever seen a “sealed plastic bag” dispenser? Ever seen any such thing at an AIRPORT? No? Ah, come on, go play.

Thanks to “Overdalton” I had a great time celebrating Nu Years Eve at the northern rim of Freiburg (the city I am from). Overdalton is the name for a musical experiment resulting from the mixture of an acoustic guitar, a piano, many bottles and glasses used for percussion, some musicians, a fair quantity of beer and champaign, and many many new year explosives.
Another experiment featured a combination of a silvester rocket and a class A explosive. Here is the link to a youtube video showing the experiment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6smBdDbVIdg

So, how about that so-called “city that does not exist”. What’s the point anyway? Why bother about something that is obviously not present… Well, in fact, there are many good things about this city. And believe it or not, while reading these lines, you have just entered it. Unlike normal cities, once entered, it is not possible to leave by walking away, no matter how hard you try. In a way the city has to leave you. However, there is no point in trying to leave, because this city happens to be mostly a nice place.

Here some facts and figures:

• Location: nowhere
• Capital of no nation, state or province
• Permanent residents: none
• Ethnicity: unknown
• Rank:0th biggest city in the world
• Highest building: A large nameless tower close to the centre. Its height is generally regarded as infinite but there has never been proof. The purpose of the building is unknown, but it’s a good landmark for orientation.