Day 10 - A Fat Man on Roller Skates

Today was a banner day for us.  We finally got to see Cary in Bochum's production of Starlight Express.  The theatre is...in a word...amazing.  The industrious Germans got their act together and built the thing 1988 in only 3-4 months and it's seriously cool.  The ramps all move and there are multiple levels where the cast skates around the audience.  They have seat in the middle that rotate 360 degrees so you can spin your chair to see the entire show.  It's impossible to see it all, there's too much going on at once.  They fly around the stage down moving ramps and flying up the walls on their old school 4 wheeled roller skates.  Obviously the production was all in German, not that it mattered much.  It's a simple story and is more about the singing (excellent) and skating (really excellent), so we had no trouble keeping up.  

Cary was hysterical.  His garish makeup and wacky antics made me pee my pants.  His character was Dustin, the fat coal car (for those of you who don't know, the characters in the show are train engines and their associated cars).  They put the poor bastard in a fat suit costume that weighs a ton and he totally killed it.  The kids love him because, let's be honest, what kid doesn't love a fat man on roller skates?  Kierstie was both delighted and terrified.  I could tell when she was afraid Cary would hurt himself because she would grab my arm when he went flying down a ramp or up onto the halfpipe the have on the main part of the stage.  She screamed as loud as she could every time he went by and even ran down to the track with the kids near the end of the show to give Cary "five" as he skated by.  The rest of the cast was awesome as well, it was a great time had by all.  Special thanks to Cary for the great tickets.

Newsflash!  Cary lent me his spare skates from the show, expect pictures of me on wheels in the near future.  Whether the wheels are on the skates or on a gurney remain to be seen.

Our exposure to German culture was limited, since we took a cab to and from theatre, but I did take a walk to procure costume supplies earlier today and strolled through the city hitting Euro stores (dollar stores, duh!).  They are all over and are fun to browse through.  I grabbed a Starbucks (Kondense Milch, yech!) and hit the bricks with my iPod pumping.  Fun stuff, that.  I figured out that I look at least a little local today because I had quite a few people ask me things on the street.  My standard response is Sorry, I don't speak German, and then they just usually proceed in some form or other of English.  The couple next to us at the show were nice and spoke English perfectly.  I got back to Kierstie in a cleaning mood then we cleaned up, we had a coffee and hit the bricks for the show. 

We hit the Netto when we got back, to stock up for Sunday.  Yes, that's right, no Sunday shopping here.  Netto is one of the 3 grocery stores that I could hit with a rock from our roof.  Being honest, the first time I went in I thought I was going to starve to death.  When I saw a brand I recognized, which wasn't often, I wanted to buy it whether I needed it or not.  I calmed down and am now more familiar, but it's a work in progress.  It took me 10 minutes to find parmesan cheese earlier today.  I thought it might be interesting to share our shopping list so interested parties can compare (in Euros).

Sesame Snap treats (200g, addictive) - ε1.45
Large Ciabatta Loaf - ε0.75
Chicken Breast (400g) - ε2.69
Mozzarella Ball (200g) - ε0.49
Philadelphia Cream Cheese (175g x 2) ε1.29 each
Pesto Sauce (jar) - ε2.89
Lasagne Noodles (boxed) - ε1.79
Pepsi (can x 2) - ε0.39 each
Warsteiner Beer (half-litre x 2) ε0.63 each (yes, a half litre bottle for under a Euro)
Australian Cab/Shiraz (Bottle x 2) ε2.29 each (it's not Vintages, but it's still good)
Lindt Dark Chocolate (100g bar) ε1.45
Milka Chocolate Cookies (bag) - ε2.09
Butter Cheese (400g, sliced) - ε1.89
Hygienic Wipes (bag) - ε0.65
Deli Chicken Breast (100g) - ε0.89
A Bag - ε0.10

All that, totaling around 27 Euros, or $36 Canadian.  It's seriously cheap to live here.  A full access pass to all trains and buses within Bochum is ε47.00 per month, inclusive.  Trips outside the city can be purchased as add on's to your existing pass on an as need basis.  My only complaint is that the ticket machines don't have language options.  I guess it's just another reason to learn German quickly.  Below is a picture of the street taken from the window of our flat, facing north.  Netto is the yellow sign across the road.

 I think that's it for the evening, need to slurp some wine and read and I'm too comatose to proofread this entry right now.  I will be a good boy and fix any mistakes tomorrow.  Lesson for the day.  If it's your blog and you don't want to edit it, then don't.  Creative laziness, at it's best.  

Ian