We've had a snowy week here. That's not why I haven't been writing, I think I just have the winter blahs.

German class started last week. I went on Monday for a placement interview and test, and was placed in the highest level of the Grundstufe (the beginner's level). That's a couple of levels higher than the class I took last fall, and it's probably about right.

I'm taking the "Intensive" class this time rather than the "Super-Intensive" class. It's going pretty well so far. We meet from 1 to 6 pm, Monday through Thursday. There are about 13 people in my class, and one teacher. I don't feel like I'm making the kinds of strides I did in the Super-Intensive class in September, but I think the course is useful. I have three more weeks of it left.

There was a NATO meeting here in Munich this weekend. Rumsfeld was here along with a bunch of other important people, and thousands of extra police. Friday morning I watched out the window as fifty police vans passed my apartment building on their way downtown, lights flashing, sirens blaring. There've been a lot of protests. Germans are mostly very opposed to the war.

We had a good weekend. I cooked Katynka's pot roast and we went out last night to see "Bowling for Columbine," the new movie by Michael Moore. We both liked his show, "TV Nation," which used to come on in the mid-90s. I remember watching it when we lived in Pleasant Gap. We both enjoyed the movie last night. It was at a cinema about the size of someone's garage, with a screen just a little bigger than big-screen TVs I have seen. I am always surprised at how things are tucked away where I least expect them around here. A movie theater in an apartment building -- who would've thought?

Last Sunday we went to the BMW museum here in Munich. BMW is based here, and they have an interesting permanent display of old cars and engines, among other things. Did you know that BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke? The Bavarian motorworks. I didn't know that until I came here.

The picture above is a kite hanging in the Deutsches Museum. Have I mentioned how much I love my new camera?