LDW-Gang

Last thursday people from twelve nations hang around in Mike's cellar (Matt, Nz, would have been thirteenth):



Just arriving from schnaps-tasting, Ushi tried to remember what he's behind the bar for ...



... while Bob (left) worked hard not to fall asleep, too. Last few days had been really tough at work!



Martin also being very exhausted enjoyed some good conversation though - before taking french leave.



All over the cellar they then started to discuss business and all the world.



Now leaning against the bar Ushi chatted with Silvi - not yet knowing he is going to be the one to turn out the light that night! Together with Günter.



More and more the evening became alive ...



... when Ushi Singh made Mike to become Mika Singh telling him now to behave like a Sikh for one hour, which ment not to smoke, not to drink alcohol, being open minded, treat people with respect ... wow!

Does anyone know if he succeeded? ;-)



If I take a look at the pictures I posted so far, it seemed having been a tired evening. But not at all!
(-->"Loch Lomond" song beneath!)



Then worst case happened: we run out of beer ... and had to go on with cuba libre ... puhh ...



"Gimmi yr haaand!!!"

"Show me yr luuuv!!!"



"See you again next july!!!"

The region between Herrenberg and Tübingen is well known for it's stunning cherry and ¬ apple blossom beginning of may.



Mönchberg, one of these little villages along the border of the Schönbuch forest, had been the location, where KKK-members burnt a ¬ quince-schnaps last thursday.



We met each other in the garage of "Brennmeister Schanz", where he proudly explained his ultra-modern destillery to the LDW-gang. Siggi did a good job in loose translating the detailed explanations.



Paying attention for some time was awarded by a homemade sausage salad in three versions, mmh!
"Let's go for the schnaps-tasting now!"



Cherry, quince, apple, plum, mirabelle or pear?



Another round ... and another one ... faces turned red, laugh became louder, ...



... people moved closer together ... what a pity we had to leave for KKK ;-)

Saving my words ;-)


Part 1 (1:03)

Just in case, someone doesn't know the lyrics
- or for those who would like to memorise them next time:

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond
Where me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.
------>
O ye’ll tak’ the high road and I’ll tak’ the low road
And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.

‘Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen
On the steep, steep side o’ Ben Lomond
Where in deep purple hue, the hieland hills we view
And the moon comin’ out in the gloamin’.

The wild flowers spring and wee birdies sing
And in sunshine the waters are sleeping
But the broken heart, it kens nae second spring again
Tho’ the waefu’ may cease from their greeting.


Part 2 (0:49)

... I'm going to tell it in images ;-)



You already know the players: Sarah, Ushi, Bob, Anja (behind Marius), Marius and me (behind the camara)



First we started with putting some "snacks" on the table,



which Anja answered by adding some chips.



Then Ushi explained Poker to Sarah ... and kept on explaining it ... and kept on ...



Finally we started to play very seriously ...



and for a long time Bob dreamt of winning the pot ...



when we started to double the blind each round ...



Sarah had a last look at the rules and decided to put all in ...



which made Marius to win and her to be second. They shared the pot ...



Ushi still had been quite enthusiastic after loosing his fortune ...
... begging for another Poker evening though. ;-)

Last friday Anja had organized a gaming night for playing Poker.
First of all I would like to introduce the players to you:



Anja (23), student of rhetoric and soziology, told us to bring sunglasses. She loves to play Poker and therefore bought a Poker Suitcase lately. Now she is short of money, so Ushi closed a contract with her about sharing prize money after paying a "fortune" into the pot for her.



Bob (?), from down under, took a seat in the shadow, hiding himself, his telling eyes and his cards behind a wall of gummi bears, chocolate cake and wheat beer. If he suceeded in playing this tactic I will tell later on.



Sarah (23), student of soziology and economics (!!), is a bloody beginner in playing Poker. No, was! She did so well in bluffing, even Ushi sometimes believed her. After playing for a while he offered her a contract too.



Marius (22), doing nothing all day long than watching Poker on TV, playing Poker on a PC and with friends, thought he wouldn't need sunglasses. Truly, Ushi should have been more interested in doing business with him though.



Ushi (Anja guessed 35), from Toronto, being a SPPP (semi-professional-poker-player), somehow acted desperately - ?? - in fear of loosing his fortune? May be Anjas poker-face and the dots on Sarah's sunglasses simply sometimes reduced him to despair.

Last but not least: me, collecting ladybirds all along. Aren't they supposed to bring good luck?

On Matt's last day in Herrenberg he quit work at 5 pm, reckonning to see each other for a short time to say good bye. I invited him, Bob and Martin to come along on short notice having a snack at my home. Then I rushed into town to get some food and fortunately managed it just in time.



Bringing some bottles of vine, talking a lot, enjoying "Maultaschen und Kartoffelsalat", their stay lasted a little longer than originally planned. Then, although being in a hurry, Matt made a big mistake in offering me to do the dishes - I agreed ;-)



... Finally all of us ended up in the bar of their hotel, where even Ushi joined us!

But that's another story and the week was not finished yet. Next post following soon ;-)

Am Mittwoch war mal wieder einiges geboten in Mike's Keller:



Der Abend begann bereits um 18 Uhr mit dem Besuch von Dr. Hundt. Der sprach ein wenig vom VfB Stuttgart und ein wenig mehr über Politik. Anschließend durften die KKKler und ihre Gäste noch Fragen stellen, was sich Margrit nicht zweimal sagen ließ. Um 20.30 eilte er, mit einer halben Stunde Verspätung, wieder in Richtung Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion und hinterließ einen überraschend positiven Eindruck bei allen Anwesenden.



Danach kam es zu "ernsthaften" Verhandlungsgesprächen zwischen Siggi, dem KKK-Präsidenten, und Matt (links), dem zukünftigen DDD-president. Im Beaujolais existiert ja bereits ein Ableger des KKK, nämlich der CCC (Club Culturel du Cave) auf dem Weingut von Michel, le président.

Da es aber in Neuseeland so gut wie keine Kellergewölbe gibt und man mehr auf dem "Deck" feiert, schlug Matt vor, in Wellington einen DDD zu gründen. Leider weiß er noch nicht so richtig wofür die restlichen 2 Ds stehen könnten. Wer weiß, vielleicht wird ja doch noch ein KKK draus, denn ein K=Kiwi hätten wir bereits gefunden.

Vorschläge sind herzlich willkommen.



Über Sinn und Zweck einer Verbreitung des KKK-Clubgedankens besteht allerdings kein Zweifel. Vermutlich freundet sich Bob (links) – nach seinem ersten KKK-Abend – ja bereits auch schon mit dem Gedanken an, in Sydney einen Ableger zu gründen.

Es ist ja erst ein paar Wochen her, als mich Matt zu einem Elton John-Konzert in Wellington mitnahm. Nun weilt er für ein paar Tage in Herrenberg, wo er sich tagsüber bei der IBM von einem Meeting ins nächste schleppt und danach "zum Entspannen" das Herrenberger Nachtleben genießt.



Gestern Abend stand das "Alt Herrenberg", Dolce und Lamm auf dem Programm, was er locker bis in die frühen Morgenstunden durchzog. Begleitet wurde er nicht nur von etlichen KKKlern, sondern auch von seinem Kollegen Bob, einem Aussie, der zum ersten mal Deutschland besucht.



Heute Abend geht's weiter in Mike's Keller. Ich bin sicher, dass sich Matt – zurück am andern Ende der Welt – zuerst einmal von der Herrenberger Gastfreundschaft erholen muss.