Today we’re playing the next session in our D&D campaign. We’ve always had a plan of rotating Dungeon Masters throughout, and @instKamra did a great job getting us started with Keep on the Shadowfell. He also talked me into D&D, for which I’m really grateful- I like to take the ole’ imagination out for a spin from time to time.
AK’s taking over as Dungeon Master, so I wrote a little something to mark the milestone. Seamus McMutton is my Elf Paladin character.
And, Mom, before you call with questions: it’s just a game, trust me. Still call, of course, but I wanted you to know. 
As our adventurers begin to wear out their Hero’s Welcome in Wintervale, Seamus adjusts slightly in his perch above the lake. The ale sits well in his belly but he hasn’t been able shake the notion that something out there… in the cosmos… is different. The feeling has been there for almost a fortnight, nagging at his soul, and finally the ritual prayers to Avandra have provided some insight. Through the twinkling hours of night and into this faerie dawn he sat, meditating, his lips uttering the holy rites almost without his knowing. Then, suddenly, the swirling thoughts of his mind begin to shape as he’s snapped from his trance by an approaching creature- a human, judging by the scent.
“Guthlac- I told you not to disturb me.”
“Yes, Seamus, but I too sense something strange, and you’ve been out here all night. Did you learn anything?”
“I saw… a marionette… leaping flames… and I heard- I heard cackling.”
“Hmm. And what does it mean?”
“The Puppet Master has changed.”
We landed yesterday evening, we’re back in the States. The trip was amazing! Yesterday we relaxed and spent time with the cat; today is unpacking, errands, chores, etc (and the first Redskins game!).
As I’ve mentioned, I also want to blog the trip and get photos up soon, before I get caught up in other To Do’s. In attempting to do so today, I’ve learned that when Gallery Remote asks for a caption it really wants a filename. So I’ve been putting lengthy “captions” into fields that are only sized to fit filenames, truncating a lot of the text in the photo album. I’m annoyed, so I thought I’d vent here. I’m going back to fix it, but it’ll take some time.
We ate a traditional Swiss meal tonight and then went bar-hopping/ sight-seeing along Zurich’s Niederdorfstrasse tonight. It’s almost 2am, we’re back at the hotel (we leave tomorrow), I can’t sleep, and I’m polishing off the last of a Doner Kebab. All of which makes it a good time to pontificate.
We’re on the juxtaposition of Days 10 & 11 of our 12-day Europe 2010 trip; I only have 5 days of the trip successfully blogged and 6 days cataloged via Photo Albums. The upside is that the reasons are 30% technical issues and 70% lack of time due to doing so many things in Europe. I hope to catch up on the long plane ride home, or within the next week. If I let it wait more than 2 weeks, it may not ever get done, which would really suck.
I could spend time now thumbing through photos and recounting days past of memories, but I really don’t want to. I’d rather fire off a Journal article about the trip in general, “pontificate” a little, and then do random internet things until I get sleepy. I must admit- the lacking availability of random internet things is definitely something I miss. There hasn’t been ONE single public wi-fi hotspot in Germany or Switzerland, despite > 3 dozen attempts over 9 days. I keep jokingly telling QT that “free public wi-fi could take this country by storm- BY STORM!” but I know the reasons are rooted in local culture as well as technical and legal limitations.
This trip to Europe has rekindled my interest and appreciation of… well, basic humanity. To continue to babble on about the trip has the potential to undermine it’s value, because it’s an experience, and not just some online blog article.
Gute Nacht.
I’m marking this post for future publishing because I need to catalog today’s events for posterity. Hopefully the timeline works out in the end.
Today was our prescheduled day for a day trip within decent range of Stuttgart. M33p suggested Garmisch, and after a little research I agreed- I’ve been hoping to see more of the mountains.
We left around 1000, went through München, and arrived on the outskirts of Garmisch around 1300. The drive was gorgeous, which is reflected in the photo album for Day 7.
Garmisch was impressively quaint yet accessible- we parked on one of the main streets, found a nice cafe for lunch, and walked around a bit before driving to Partnach gorge. The Gorge was amazing, and we took a cable car to an Alpine Hotel towards the top..
The trip home, topping out at 135mph thanks to M33p’s driving skills and bravado, was amazing. We ended up getting back later than expected, so M33p suggested Greek food and beer, and a good time was had by all. It’s after midnight and I still haven’t posted photos- time to sign off. Tomorrow is shopping + more of downtown Stuttgart, but M33p has to work so we’re on our own with our lacking German language skillz. Wish us luck.