Mit 66 Jahren

Garret turns 66 years old today.

Happy Birthday, Garret!

Here’s a birthday song for you: Life Begins at Sixty-Six

It’s the English version of a famous song by Austrian composer and musician Udo Jürgens called Mit 66 Jahren. The lyrics are in German, of course, but here’s a translation:

“You’ll be amazed when I retire!
As soon as the stress is over, I’ll just go, oh-ho, oh-ho, oh-ho.
Then I’ll casually blow-dry the hair I have left.
I suck in my stomach and act like a ‘hot guy,’ oh-ho, oh-ho, oh-ho.
And when people look at me indignantly and sternly,
Then I say: “My dears, you’re looking at it way too narrowly!”

I’m buying myself a motorcycle and a leather suit
And tearing around with 110 horsepower, oh-ho, oh-ho, oh-ho.
I sing songs in the city park that amaze everyone,
And I play guitar with a crazy sound, o-ho, o-ho, o-ho.
And with the other friends from the pensioners’ association,
I’ll start a band, and we’ll jam all day long.

And in the evenings, I head out with Grandma,
Because we’re going to rock out at a club, o-ho, o-ho, o-ho.
In the summer, I tie flowers around my lofty brow
And hitchhike to San Francisco to cure my rheumatism, o-ho, o-ho, o-ho.
And my grandson Waldemar proudly announces:
“That crazy old man, that’s my grandpa!”

At 66, life begins!
At 66, you have fun.
At 66, you really get into shape!
At 66, life is far from over!

Chris de Burgh performed the English version on Udo Jürgens’s 80th birthday.

Wichtige Wasserstraße

Die Zeit: Der Rhein fließt auf den Burnout zu. “Sinkende Pegel, wärmeres Wasser, sterbende Arten: Der Rhein ist extrem unter Stress. Der mächtige Fluss wird zunehmend unberechenbar – für Mensch, Natur und Industrie.” Von Alina Hüsemann und Anton Preuss, 20. September 2025, 11:00 Uhr.

Wir wohnen nicht weit vom Rhein entfernt. Zwischen uns und dem Fluss liegt ein Naturschutzgebiet, das zu einem großen Überflutungsgebiet für 100-jährige Hochwasser umgestaltet werden soll, um die flussabwärts gelegenen Gebiete zu schützen. Bis dieses fertig ist, könnte es also sein, dass es gar nicht mehr gebraucht wird…

God tur!

BBC World’s Table: The controversial sweet that fuels Norwegians.

“Kvikk Lunsj is a four-fingered chocolate bar that’s beloved across Norway and synonymous with outdoor exploration. The snack’s slogan is “tursjokoladen” (“the trip chocolate”), and ads for the wafers often depict hikers spinning a compass, skiers summiting frosty peaks and people drinking water from rushing rivers. Today, roughly 60 million Kvikk Lunsj bars are produced each year – about 11 for every Norwegian – and whether you’re skipping across mountain brooks or striking out in a kayak, no journey into the Norwegian wilderness is complete without one. That’s because Kvikk Lunsj isn’t just a sweet treat; it’s part of our national heritage.”

We spent three weeks in Norway last summer, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only tourist enjoying Kvikk Lunsj. It had been a while since I had a Kitkat, but I have to agree with this article from the Guardian that Kvikk Lunsj tastes much better!

The Guardian: KitKat v Kvikk Lunsj: which four-fingered chocolate bar tastes best? “Nestlé has been trying to trademark KitKat’s shape – but is its taste equally distinctive? We put it and its doppelganger to the test.” (Article published on 19 March 2017.)

Link via MetaFilter.