One week after our Manchester trip, we again fled Sheffield, this time to Stratford-upon-Avon, better known as the great William Shakespeare's place of birth. We were joined on the trip by Nick's mum and two German girls we met in Sheffield, Julia and Eleonora.

The presence of a grown-up as well as two people we didn't know that well yet didn't keep us from

doing all kinds of schabernack and kokolores - at least the four brave soldiers who had to endure whole days of solid shit talk in Mallorca know exactly what we're talking about here.

However, Nick's mum hasn't disinherited him yet, and the girls still spend time with us, and, above all, you guys are still our friends - provided you haven't found cooler people in Giessen in the meantime, but, I mean, haha, please...!? - so we can't have been all that bad after all:-P

In Stratford as well as during our own little after-trip party at The Old House, an amazing bar in Sheffield (music like at Ulen on Mondays, but more varied), there were things that...

1) ...we didn't understand

2) ...we would never have thought

3) ...had to be done

Starting with 1), can someone please explain to us why

smoking should be prohibited in a gift shop?

Moving on to category no. 2), Things We Would Never Have Thought, please have a close look at the following picture:

We still haven't figured out how this, we're sure, extremely interesting and varied game works. That must be due to a lack of imaginative power, for we also found something else hard to do that the Brits had no trouble doing whatsoever, namely trusting that the flutist on the next picture did already play the flute outside that window on the day little baby William was born.

Another thing we wouldn't have thought is the fact that the pun on the following picture was actually made in the master's hometown:

(Note Mike's smashing performance as the leading role of The Barkeeper in Shakespeare's most famous play, "As You Shake It".)

The last entry in category no. 2) is a contribution by Nick's mum, for until that day we had kind of thought there was a certain age people stopped imitating statues at. Will wonders never cease!

Proceeding to category no. 3), Things That Had to Be Done, her full reintegration into youth and folly followed later that day at The Old House and has been documented by means of a Bravo Photo Story:

Nick teaches his Mum

the most important

gesture in popular

culture: the high-five.

Mike is angry

because his beanie

was nicked

by Nick!

All is well again.