Steve, the Norwegians were drinking in Germany at the local Bavarian Gasthof’s and Gasthausen. It was very much cheaper there than back home, for them. Cosequently they drank as if Prohibition was going to happen every day. Some of those Bavarian pubs were small, one-owner places which either brewed their own beer and distilled their own Schnapps, or were sharing costs with others. One in particular made his own Obstler: http://tinyurl.com/obkc26v (scroll down to Fruit.)
That stuff is lethal if you are not used to it: because it is distilled from fruit, it tastes great and is a bit “More-ish”. Hangovers are accompanied by an acid stomach, it is best to just have one or two. First time I drank it, was at a tiny Gasthaus with an owner who had been a POW in Nottinghamshire, my birth county. By one of those crazy coincidences, the camp he was held at, was later my Technical School. When we both discovered that, I never paid for a drink. The guy had worked on Notts farms and said he had been treated very well by the locals. My hangover next day was legendary, I could hardly open my eyes and the snowfields hurt my brain. The landlord’s wife also made some home made Oxtail soup with button mushrooms which was very, very good. If ever you want a good snack in Germany, ask for “Ochsenschwanzsuppe mit Champignons”. Lovely!
Yes, Langlauf is hard. I was used to distance running, especially cross country, thought I was fit until the first time I tried Langlauf: thought I was going to collapse after a couple of Km. After I had been doing it a while, it really improved my running. The altitude improved my breathing and together with leg muscle development I felt that I could run all day.
The wreck sat in front of the PC bears no relation to what it was then.
When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.
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