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Old Crank

Old Crank's Journal
Old Crank's Journal
May 25, 2026

Relaxing on Whit Montag

White Monday falls on Memorial Day this year. I'm just relaxing on our balcony. We pedalled out to the Isar and Biergarten there for a late lunch. Enjoyed listening to a brass band before riding home.
Reading a lot of nice bitter sweet posts about parents serving in the wars. Noth GPs were on the war to end all wars. My father was in the big one after that. Being in the Canadian AF he missed Korea. I went into the USAF and was too late for Viet Nam. Everyone survived. Even my mothers father who had 2 dud 20 lb bombs straddle him in a trench. My first Father in law was a Sea B. In the Pacific. He learned some Japanese while guarding prisoners on Schimya.
Nothing else to do on that Rock in the Aleutians.
Best wishes and remembrances for any of your family members who didn't make it. And those that did but returned damaged.
The sun is heading down on pur day here. The moon is up already.
My best to all of you.

May 23, 2026

Schloss Neuschwanstein

We got the earlier time frame for the castle tour. I skipped it and walked around instead.

This is the first good view on the path to the castle from the shuttle bus stop.


This view is from the foot bridge over the creek.


The waterfall under the bridge


The trail away from the bridge


The bridge. Quiet now. Gets packed later in the day and year.


From the higher lookout. About a 75 mm equivalent focal length


Two closer looks.


May 23, 2026

The family ballots are in the mail.

Now we wait until June 2, for the CA vote day.

One more adulting action put to bed.

May 22, 2026

Declare victory and walk away.

Seems that Trump is going to surrender. Why the sudden interest in Cuba again.

From the Atlantic.
The outlines of President Trump’s endgame in the Iran war are now emerging. In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, Trump reportedly explained that the United States was negotiating a “letter of intent” with Iran that would “formally end the war and launch a 30-day period of negotiations” on Iran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The purpose and effect of such an agreement should be clear: The United States is walking away from the crisis. Trump may launch another limited strike to look tough and satisfy the demands of the war’s supporters, but it would be a performative gesture. Endgame in this case is a euphemism for “surrender.”

Trump has blinked many times in the confrontation with Iran—ever since March 18, when Israel attacked the Pars gas field and Iran retaliated with a strike against Qatar’s most important natural-gas-production facility. Trump then called for a halt on U.S. and Israeli targeting of Iran’s energy infrastructure, and the war effectively ended.

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/2026/05/trump-surrender-iran-endgame/687252/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK3z7P5ziNahM4p4Y6XS3ozvg&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share&fbclid=IwY2xjawR9SYhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEefwkLuNCyoGYVLMRka3JgSgQGycesKhTP0EHDpGFse9t04Rqh4LylPDdlPyI_aem_NzYE7UmX-Hg1Ut0X0VHDkA

May 20, 2026

See your dentist regularly

Finally went to the dentist after about 8 years. Not my favorite thing to do so I keep putting it off.
I know I have 2 damaged fillings plus a dire cleaning need.
He found a loose crown and under it was an infection.
Bummer. Out with most of the remaining tooth but ended up at an oral surgeon to get a root piece he couldn't get to.
No I have a raft of dental appointments. I will be getting an implant for the now missing tooth. Nothing but fun.

Get your regular check ups.

May 19, 2026

Alpsee, Bavaria

Near some castle that Disney used for inspiration



[

King Ludwig II lived in that center castle as a child


May 18, 2026

Re-awakening

New growth from a little walk I took while the rest of the party was getting the castle tour. Schloss Neuschwanstein there will be a picture or two later,









May 16, 2026

My funny mind.

We bought a flat in Munich and have been in it since September. We have a parking spot but the garage is being renovated until the end of this year. No big issue as we don't have a car except for the noise.

Our complex is currently repainting and sealing the outside walls of our building. That is a good thing. There is a schedule. Germany after all, there is always a schedule... The painters are doing our wing a week or so before the listed schedule. The walls have been done but they haven't as yet finished the panels separating our balcony from the neighbours yet.

So they are a WEEK AHEAD of schedule for my section and I'm chomping on the bit to have them finish up. I keep looking out the windows and wonder why they haven't gotten to my place yet. How sad is that?

May 16, 2026

My blooming neighbourhood

A couple of quick pics while walking to the grocery store before the hail came.









May 15, 2026

Trump's popularity is in the dumper in Europe

Are we surprised?

YouGov European tracker series looks at Donald Trump's popularity in Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain

Where I live.

Germany

April’s tracker poll found that 8% of Germans had a favourable opinion of Donald Trump and 87% had an unfavourable opinion.

These scores are within the margin of error of those for March’s survey, and therefore represent little change.



https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/54666-how-popular-is-donald-trump-in-europe-april-2026

Profile Information

Name: Ralph
Gender: Male
Current location: München, DE
Member since: Tue Nov 14, 2017, 07:17 AM
Number of posts: 7,312

About Old Crank

Currently living in Germany, enjoying the culture, enjoying the food, enjoying the travel. Not enjoying the winters, or the Deutsches lernen... Now on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ralphingermany.bsky.social
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