ulli goes montreal

… and then Ulli and all her friends from Montreal went to a casino in Las Vegas where everyone married everyone in a huge mass wedding. And they lived happily ever after.

It’s probably a good thing that, this time, I didn’t listen to my friend Jan who suggested to make the blog end in a mass wedding. First, I’m not really into weddings. (Well, weddings are probably alright - without the marriage afterwards. Actually, I already have plans for a wedding in the woods, provided that everyone involved agrees on my terms… but that’s leading too far.) Second… mmh… second… errmh. It’s just not my end. It sounds wrong. What’s Las Vegas doing here? And why should I marry all my friends? Happy end? Yeah, right. (more…)

On Monday, I cycled to Esslingen because I had to go to the bank. (No, there is no bank in Scharnhausen.) On my way there, I saw two goats mothers with their kids and some horses.

“Willkommen auf dem Lande”, I thought (more…)

“How many parts will there be?” Mo asked me on Skype last night.
I said “three”, more out of reflex and fairytale memories than out of consideration.

How many ends can there be? I don’t like films where the director doesn’t know when to stop, when half of the film seems to be the end, like the last part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy or that Québécois film Crazy. A blog isn’t a film, I know, but I still think it has to end, especially this one. Its destiny is matronymic, as it were. (more…)

28th of June. Written at the airport Dorval in Montreal.

Ich versuche, auf Deutsch zu denken, aber es gelingt mir nicht. If I write in English ça sera peut-être mieux qu’en français but not flowing either. Nothing is flowing right now. Not even tears. Even though I was close to crying as soon as Mélisse and James had turned their backs to me and vanished in the airport crowds. (more…)

It’s been a while that I have left the Îles de la Madeleine but I haven’t had time to post some photos until now. There you go:

This is a laughing dog I met on the Île-Grande-Entrée. It’s not the singing dog although he looks similar.

(more…)

I am back home in Montréal. Yesterday morning, while I was sitting over my breakfast and scribbling in my notebook I had - for the first time so clearly - the feeling of going home. I was looking forward to stroke the cats again, to see how the plants were doing and to sit simply in the kitchen in the afternoon when it’s inundated with golden light. (more…)

When the cruise ship entered port in Chandler on Wednesday morning, Charlotte and her friend Louis were already waiting for me. Her house is only ten minutes walk away from the harbour and I had told both of them that they needn’t pick me up, but I was secretly happy that they insisted. It gives me a nice and warm feeling to be welcomed back at a station, an airport or a seaport. Especially when its foggy and wet outside. And even more especially so, when the welcome committee consists of two people as charming as Charlotte and Louis. (more…)

On my left palm I have written Laura’s and Anna’s mobile phone numbers. But I won’t call them.

Three hours ago, we were all gathering underneath the big clock on the Place d’Youville. At first, there were only Laura, Anna, a friend of hers and me. Then some of Anna’s colleagues came. Mélisse joined us a little later with her French-Québécois gang. I reckon, we were over 25 people all together and surrounded by crazy folks wrapped in Québécois flags, honking horns and wearing fleur-de-lys patterns on their faces. One of Anna’s friends wore a blue helmet with two beer bottle holders on either side and a fleur-de-lys print on the front. (more…)

I take everything back: there are a lot of trees, you only have to look for them in the middle of the island. After the café, I found a little forest with real big trees. At one point, I stopped to compare the street sign with my map and a police car drove by very slowly. The police officer smiled at me through his open window. Then he stopped and came back just to ask if I was lost and needed help. I wasn’t but he helped me anyway. (more…)

The next morning is always an unpleasant surprise. I went to bed knowing I had a pretty bad sunburn but I also knew I’d had worse. My sleep was haunted with bizarre dreams - I blame the wind that was wisteling through the house - but nonetheless sound. So when I woke up and felt my face hot and swollen and burning I knew what to expect in the mirror. (more…)