Willkommen, German Village

Mike struggles to kick off the week during a leisurely - if not disheveled - stroll in Columbus's German Village.

Good morning, this is Mike George coming at you live from Columbus, Ohio, on this beautiful and sunny Monday morning, 27 January 2025.

I’m down in a part of town I don’t visit often enough: German Village. It’s tucked away in the southern part of inner Columbus. It reminds me a bit of the Mile End in Montreal—the kind of place where people who live here tend to stay here.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t had enough caffeine yet, so this might just be some mindless rambling. The thick brickwork around here is definitely messing with the Wi-Fi signal, too. I’m currently at Wager and Third, right in front of Winans Chocolates and near Schiller Park. It’s funny—after all these years in Columbus, I’m still discovering its layers. People think it’s just a 'flat vanilla Midwestern city,' but it has real texture and depth.

I see Angela has joined the stream! Happy Monday, Angela. I was just joking that I’m doing this without gloves in the freezing cold just for the sake of the live video — it’s not exactly logical.

I know most of you are in 'emailing the boss' mode right now, trying to catch up on everything you promised to do last week. I’ve got my own pile of things to catch up on, but for now, I’m enjoying playing hooky on this sunny day. Ohio has been consistently below freezing for about a week now, which is more of a Montreal vibe than I’m used to for this area.

I’m going to go ahead and wrap this up before my hands freeze completely. May the sunshine today give you some inspiration to light a fire under your butt and get through your Monday to-do list. Take care of yourselves and somebody else! Happy Monday.