The horridays are OVER

Thank goodness. In order to celebrate, we went out for lunch and I didn't have to cook. We found an Indian restaurant---as in India Indian. Ganesha. I was wondering which God that one was, not being too familiar with the Hindu religion. Here is what Wikipedia says:

"Ganesha (Sanskrit: गणेश Gaṇeśa [gʌˈɳeːɕʌ]? /Info/IPA) (Gana: ' Gruppe' , ' Heerscharen' , Isha, name of Shiva, therefore " Commander of the army Shivas" [1]) one of the most popular forms of the divine one in Hinduismus. A further popular name is Ganapati (Pati: ' Herr' , Gana: ' Heerscharen' "). Each Puja (hinduistischer service) begins with a prayer to it. It worshipped, if one needs luck for the way or an enterprise, it stands for beginning and change, connected with protection and leaving, it embodies wisdom and intelligence. To its concers belong poetry, music and dance and is patron over the sciences. Most businesspeople regard it as their protector. For many pious Hindus first, which comes into a new house, is a statue of the Ganesha. This blesses the house and promises luck. For many hinduistische currents Ganesha means a subordinated manifestation of the divine one, the master of all beginning. Others against it, particularly in the Indian Federal State Maharashtra or in some areas of south India, see the most important embodiment of the informal highest one, the Brahman in it."

Ok, it is a Babelfish translation, but you get the idea....

In my cooking journeys through many cuisines, the only thing I would ever make was a passable chicken Tandoori, which is very good. But never pursued it much further, as it was difficult to get the spices needed.

Whatever, have always heard that the cuisine is good, so I said, 'let's go and try it out, they have a mid-day special for only 5,70 Euros.' Turns out it is a buffet, and you can pick what you wish. So I took a bit of pita bread, and put little spoonfuls of the garnishes on it, then chose a pork dish instead of the lentil stew, and a curry rice.

Well the owner comes out. (We were eating outdoors, as the weather was lovely...) And said, 'Oh, you took all the sharp stuff!' And I said no, just a taste of this and that. And yes, some of it was sharp and sort of 'hot', other stuff was mild and lovely, but it was a new world of tastes and impressions, and all of it excellent. Peter had a very sharp soup, with a top note of lemon grass, a mild cucumber and tomato salad in joghurt, and vegetable balls in an excellent sauce where no one spice dominated.

Gawwd, he skoffed it up. Und 'Ummmh!' So he enjoyed it.

Then.... it wouldn't be us if a sudden shower came up, and we were stuck there for some minutes and a cold wind came up. What to do.

There is a bus stop next to the restaurant. The busses are supposed to be equipped for the handicapped. I saw one of them, and beneath the middle door is a platform set into the floor that the bus driver can let down, and then pushes the wheelchair person up, and there is a free space for them. The drive from that stop is under five minutes, and I would have needed half an hour to push him home. So he decided to try it. The bus came, the middle door opened, no platform. So I said, 'Oh, this isn't a handicapped' bus, and started to push him forward. And the driver yelled, 'Stay where you are!'

Imagine my astonishment when from under the middle door, a hydraulic lift slid out, automatically landed on the sidewalk, I rolled him up, into the crip space, secured the brakes, and the ramp was already in and we were off. Not even one minute. That was really really cool. Went up front, got Peter a ticket, (I have a weekly ticket), and the driver asked where we were getting off. Said Lilac Street. We got there, the ramp went down, and off we went.

It was just amazing.

Peter was impressed. Said, 'Hey, we can even go downtown in bad weather now.' Which was even more remarkable. He has always despised public transportation. So that is good news....

And a hell of a lot better than battling the way too high curbstones all over the place....

So. Was impressed with all of it.