What's wrong with this picture?

As seen at the Brasserie Federal in Zurich's main station.

One last Gatlinburg t-shirt post

As you've already seen here and here, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is obviously one of the world's most thrilling t-shirt shopping destinations. Here are a couple more of the gems we found.

Poor guy must have a hell of a time getting through airport security.





OK, this isn't technically a t-shirt. But still, isn't it charming?










Somehow this shirt doesn't seem to fit in with the others.











Yes, sir.











I'm dying to know what I could learn about history from someone wearing this.

More signs you may be in the Bible Belt

The southeastern US is known for its militant vocal Christianity. This manifests itself in all sorts of signs and displays, some of which I shared here. Here are a few more I spotted on my recent trip:


This motel sign tells us not only whether they have vacancy, but when we should trust Jesus (only when the sign is lit up?).


All aboard the abstinence bus! The Bush administration has wasted millions of dollars promoting abstinence programs at home and overseas. These programs have been proven ineffective time and time again, but yet that doesn't seem to make anyone change their mind about using them.


Check this out! God speaks not only through t-shirts; he takes out billboards, too. What ad agency would God use?

There was so much more I wasn't able to catch on film, such as the "Christians never lose" bumper sticker. I'd like to ask some lions what they think about that one.

Food, Southern-style

And... I'm back in the southern US this week.


Do you think they use little tiny little milking machines to make the rat cheese?


Boiled peanuts (or berl'd p-nuts, spelled phonetically). They're boiled for a long, long time in brine, and are soft and salty.


Okra! Mmmmm. People from other parts of the US tend to be wary of this veggie, but it's actually quite delicious when it's not deep-fried.


They deep-fry everything down here - chicken, candy bars, twinkies, and even sushi. Dig in, y'all.

Signs you may be in the Bible Belt

This sticker was especially funny because it was on a box for a totally innocuous free women's newspaper. They don't mention what percent of murders are committed by happily married folks...

Related posts: More signs you may be in the Bible belt

As seen on the streets of Vienna

Back signs seem to be the preferred method of advertising in this city. They were all over the pedestrian zone. This guy wanted us to say rosaries to have our sins forgiven…

…while this one wanted us to go drink beer. Hmmm, which one do you think we listened to?

And, everywhere you turn in this city, Mozart is there beseeching you to try his balls.

Truth in advertising on Bourbon Street

I have no intention of even trying

Greetings from New Orleans.

In Amsterdam they sell Doritos that taste like me

Or maybe they taste like ranch dressing, like my friend Saron said. I didn't actually try them. I did experience some major super-market envy while walking through her local Albert Heijn, though. It was way bigger than my local Migros, and it offered a bunch of foods I've never seen here. And it stays open until 10 PM! Can you imagine? A world where it is possible to have a full-time job AND do your grocery shopping on a weekday. I'd forgotten places like those exist.

Not a good name for your travel agency

Crap skiing at Flims Laax

[For those of you who haven't been following along, we are in the midsts of the warmest and unsnowiest winter in the history of Switzerland (please note that this is just my own estimate, and that I am not a weatherman).]



Not being able to hold out any longer, we finally went skiing today for the first time this season. We knew conditions weren't going to be great, but we were confident we could handle it. After all, we've skied in New England before. How much worse could a Swiss ski resort be?

My wonderful husband did some research on the Swiss ski resorts with the best snow, and based on how long it would take to get to each of them, we decided on Flims Laax, home of the famous Craplift. (Just in case you're wondering, 'crap' is actually the word for 'peak' in the local dialect. The locals are well aware of its meaning in English and have learned how to make a buck off of giving us a sophomoric laugh. Also, please note that the title of this post is much cleverer than you originally gave it credit for.)

It was far from a day of perfect skiing. The prevailing snow conditions on the slopes could best be described as 'solid sheet of the hardest ice you've ever attempted to dig your skis into' alternating with 'slush up to your ankles'. A couple hours into our ski day it started snowing a little (good) combined with driving wind that closed several of the lifts (much less good). Still, we pressed on, determined to get our money's worth out of the price we paid for our train-bus-lift tickets. Luckily the crazy winds managed to blow a little powder onto the runs in spots, giving us little teeny tiny reminders of how good skiing can be.

We skied a full day and then retired to the Crap Bar (seriously, it was called that) for a beer before catching the bus/train connection back to Zurich (which takes a little under two hours for the whole trip). Despite the less-than-perfect conditions, skiing reminded me again why, deep down, I really do love Switzerland.

You have to admit, it's a good reason not to smoke.

Not sure how I managed to miss this sign in the entryway of the Zeughauskeller on our first three visits there.

So is that what this stuff (sitting below the sign) is?

Back from Stasiland

Did you miss me? I’ve been traveling through eastern Germany for the past week. It was a fabulous time, although I sure am glad to be back home recovering on my very own couch.

Having lived there for over three years, I have a particular affinity for the former GDR (aka East Germany). I am fascinated by this area's history as well as the journey of its people as they redefine their identity and adjust to their new country.

Details of the trip coming soon. Until then, enjoy these lovely signs from Berlin:

If there's one ski lift you want to avoid at all costs, it's that first one