a new view...

It's Groundhog Day!

2009-02-02T07:05:00.006Z

"Ok, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties, 'cause it's cooold out there today! - It's cold out there every day..." That's what Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray, hears first thing in the morning in the movie Groundhog Day. The film was released in 1993 and quickly became THE classic flick to watch on February 2nd.

Groundhog Day, of course, is real: it's the day the "prognosticator of prognosticators", the groundhog, tells us how much more winter we're saddled with. If the groundhog sees his shadow and retreats into his burrow, we can expect six more weeks of freezing cold. As I hear, Punxsutawny Phil did indeed see his shadow this year. Don't put away those hats and gloves yet!

Punxsutawny, by the way, is a real place in Pennsylvania. Funnily enough, I know someone who grew up there. It doesn't look anything like the movie version, though. Especially charming Gobbler's Knob is, in real life, rather unspectacular.

Phil is real, too. During the year, the groundhog lives in the Punxsutawny library, or at least he used to.

Groundhog Day is, however, also known by less mundane names and in a religious content. The Catholic church celebrates Candlemas or Lichtmess on this day. Forty days after Mary gave birth to Jesus, she presented him at the temple and was purified, therefore this day is also known as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin. Some interesting lore about Candlemas can be found here.

But as with so many Christianized holidays, this one, too, started out as a Pagan festival. My Gaelic is not so up to snuff, so I can't vouch for the popular translations of Oimelc and Imbolc. The first denotes the time of being "in milk", meaning the ewes who are now bearing lambs. The latter, meaning "in the belly", points us towards the fact that deep inside the Earth, things are indeed beginning to stir after a long sleep. If December 1st is the first real day of winter, this is the halfway point on the way to spring. From this springs the lovely tradition of the festivals of light, of which nearly every culture has one. Now is the time to coax the sun back up into the heavens. In my house, I do this with a very simple, brief ritual: for a few minutes after I get up, I turn on all the lights in house (yes, even now that my electricity bill has gone up). While all around, it is still dark and quiet, it is an incredibly uplifting and joyful experience to be so bathed in light. And to me, it is also a harbinger of better times to come.

Absolut privat ?!

2009-01-13T11:46:00.002Z

Das Nürnberger Museum für Kommunikation beherbergt noch bis 15. Februar die Wechselausstellung "Absolut privat?! - Vom Tagebuch zum Weblog".
Ich selbst habe sie am vergangenen Wochenende besucht und kann sie empfehlen. Neben verschiedenen Blogs werden vor allem die verschiedenen Arten des Tagebuchführens an teilweise sehr umfangreichen, vor allem aber interessanten Beispielen dargestellt. Die Ausstellung regt Interessierte (und natürlich Blogger ) dazu an, über eigene Gewohnheiten nachzudenken. Sind nicht unsere verschiedensten Angewohnheiten des Alltags in vielerlei Hinsicht ein Tagebuch?

http://www.museumsstiftung.de/nuernberg/d441_ausstellungen.asp

Here comes Halloween!

2008-10-29T14:49:00.002Z

The end of October is almost here, and with it comes that spooky-ooky time of year, Halloween. I use it as my excuse to dress my house with witches and fall leaves and pumpkins, and if I had children, I'd make them make me some chestnut-and-matchstick animals, too! But I won't dress up and I won't give out candy (I admit it, it's because I'm cheap and don't see why I need to stuff kids I see once a year with chocolade I might as well enjoy myself); instead, I will light a candle, play some soft music and listen to the ghosts outside the door.

There are two things one needs to know about me to understand why I love Halloween as a spiritual holiday: one, I am not a party animal, not even when dressed up as Miz Kitty, and two, I am a neo-pagan. Coincidentally, I was raised in Germany, where November 1 is also a religious holiday, All Souls' Day, the Christian church's concession to those pesky pagans who wouldn't be deterred from celebrating the night when the veil between the worlds is thinnest and the dead may well walk the earth.

Depending on whom you read, we're told this used to be the old Celtic New Year, another turn of the wheel. Certainly other cultures have their new year's night associated with ghosts and goblins, perhaps as a chance for a last goodbye or last words of wisdom from a long dead relative, as fortune-telling and communing with the dead are two typical activities. One very nice tradition in a circle I used to go to for a while was the Silent Supper, a ceremony held in total silence, from blessing and invocation to feasting and farewelling. A plate was set aside to remember those who have passed on. The entire event was very touching and peaceful.

My candle, wine and music is the mini version of this ritual that helps me ease into the season of darkness, a kickstart to contemplation, if you will. This year, I will remember my grandparents and great-grandparents whom I was fortunate enough to grow up with, my favorite uncle who always supported my love of books, my younger cousin whom I never got to know well, my aunt's son whom I never even got to meet, Jeremy Brett, one of my favorite actors who brought so much life to the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes, as well as my assorted pets who allowed me to spend time with them for a while. I will express my gratitude for another year without a death in the family. And I will go to sleep knowing that on this special night, we got to share one of the great mysteries of the universe: we are all one.

New views on (partly) old things in a new context

2008-09-22T19:23:00.013+01:00

On thursday last week I've been to the 'Neues Museum' ('New Museum') or shortly 'nm' in Nuremberg. There is an exhibition about German design, called "design deutschland. case study 08" ("german design. case study 08") which will be displayed there until 5th October 2008. Now I, personally, think that this regional fixation sounds a little odd at the first moment. The guide (a guidance through the exhibition was included in the visit) told us that he also finds this name a little distracting for the visistor in first place. Thing is: There is no such thing as 'typical German design'. The curator's idea was to find objects and goods from our day to day life, which are designed by people living in Germany or are being produced by German companies. Another criteria the specific objects had to fulfil to get enlisted was that they are still being produced and
sold.

Start of the tour was at about 6:30 PM. First there were some words about the 'nm' itself, the building being designed by architect Volker Staab and built in 1999, so it is a fairly new building as ist the design. Our guide explained some facts about the building, like how it acutally was designed and that the basic geometrical element the architect used are two cubes, one up in the air and a second one going down into the ground, resulting in the building being as tall as deep. One thing I relly like about the architecture of the 'nm' are its really big front windows. The front of the entire building is fully transparent glass, allowing passing pedestrians to take a peak inside the museum from the outside. At the moment there is also a really big picture (about three or four meters high) of a girl by Julian Opie in the second floor window looking outside at you! Quite impressive. Pictures of the great architecture can be found on the museums website.

Once you entere the exhibition you find out that the name 'case study' is a wordplay. The different objects displayed are being presented in big wooden cases, each about six or seven meters long and about 3 meters in width. The exhibition contains a total of five of these cases, each one displaying different objects from certain parts of our daily life. The five different cases are divided in 'tools', 'position', 'function', 'material' and 'system'. Sadly you were not allowed to take pictures.

There were products of all kinds, chairs, lamps, a table, a hammer, a wineshelf and so on. I really enjoyed these random looking arangements of objects. Another thing that surprised me, that there were designs from really different epochs. There was a brand new chair, it's design is from 2008 sitting next to a salt & pepper shaker set by WMF which dates back to 1953 (remember this ist still being sold!). There also were really artistic designs, like a chair by Konstantin Grcic, letting the product look more like a piece of art whether a day to day furniture and other designs being not artistic at all, but were included into the collection because they integrated themselves so perfectly into the daily vocabulary. One good example for this is the high-pressure steam cleaner by the German company 'Kärcher'. It's design is nothing special, actually it is just a boxy thing, but its presence is so pmnipresent, that the company name has become a synonym for high-pressure steam cleaners.

Of couse the visitors' impressions where quite different. Some praised the objects displayed and said how much they liked the look of them. Others said things like "well this is no really well designed thing" or "this is no art", immediately leading to a discussion about the difference between design and art, but that is another story. I really enjoyed the exhibition and I also collected all of the leaflets with the manufacturers' homepages. I'm afraid thogh, they are all in German only, but maybe you can find something about it here. This page is credit of the German Design Council, who is responsible for the exhibition and already has an entry for case study 08, just the link is offline at the moment I am writring this.

Well, I'll check a few prices of these highly regarded peaces, maybe I will furnish up my flat with some famous designer objects shown in the museum.

Photos Uploaded - Hungary

2008-09-20T15:14:00.000+01:00

Photos of Hungary trip are available in my Travelogue.

Another year, another Ganesh festival

2008-09-15T16:24:00.008+01:00

Yesterday, we celebrated the last day of the 10 day Ganesh festival. There were the usual celebrations, sweets, bands playing drums. And it was also raining!

My friend has taken some nice pictures this year

The Ganpati at 'Hanuman Galli

The famous 'Nashik Band'

At 'Khetwadi'

At 'Khattar Galli'. The idol is known for its beautiful eyes

The crowd waiting in the rain for the famous Ganpati at 'Lalbag'

The 'Lalbag' ganpati

the grand set-up at 'Ganesh galli'

The idol in my friend's house

TOTAL ENLIGHTENMENT

2008-09-09T19:08:00.001+01:00

I visited an exhibition on Sunday:
TOTAL ENLIGHTENMENT-MOSCOW CONCEPTUAL ART 1960–1990
The exhibition offers a comprehensive survey of conceptual art in late and post-Soviet Russia for the first time which is still only little known in the West. Moscow Conceptualism already emerged in the Soviet underground in the late 1960s, its performances, installations, and texts reflecting the existential experience of being part of a political concept. Since the world of art was subject to strict ideological censorship in the Soviet Union, the Moscow Conceptualists’ activities turned political and critical because they claimed the privilege of interpretation reserved to the Communist Party alone. Presenting artists like Erik Bulatov, Ilya Kabakov, Komar/Melamid, Alexander Kosolapov, Igor Makarevich/Jelena Jelagina, Andrej Monastyrskij, Boris Mikhailov, Dmitri Prigov, Leonid Sokov, and Vadim Zakharov, the exhibition connects with the Schirn’s show “Dream Factory Communism” dedicated to the world of Soviet art under Stalin’s regime.
It is shown in Frankfurt until Sep 14th and will then be at Madrid from Oct 10th to Jan 11th.

Cultural Differences...

2008-08-30T20:31:00.006+01:00

Thank you, Maike, for inviting me to participate in "A New View".

As a North American, the differences between the hundreds of cultures in the world sometimes takes me by surprise. But then there are other times that we are so similar that it's hard to tell the two apart.

For instance, recently while watching the Olympics a commentator mentioned that the Romanian Gymnast team are very different then they used to be. Between events you could find any of them text messaging their friends and using their cell phones. Very western-ized (for lack of a better word) says the commentator.

I would have to agree. Seems a bit odd to me that Romania of all places is that western-ized. I was in Romania in 1994 and that comment just really seemed out of place.

But why is that?

Maybe because I just don't see the rapid growth of technology over there as it is here. Or maybe because I think the U.S.A. to be far more advanced then the rest of the world?

Ha! I know that is not true. Boy, are we behind in the organic sense. I think the U.S.A. wants to kill off some of its people with the over processing of foods and chemicals they are putting in everything... But that is another post all together.

Anyhow, off of that whole bunny trail. I actually started this post to talk about the differences or similiarities in advertising in other countries.

Yesterday, at the Colorado Mills Mall in Denver, CO I noticed a vast amount of advertising circled around lust.

Oh yes, I said it... lust.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not just talking about sexual lust here... I am talking about human lust of everything. Maybe a better term would be greed... but I call it lust.

We, as American's, lust after the bigger, the better... the best! All the advertising in the mall screamed, "YOU ARE NOT WORTHY unless you have this fabulous item in question... it won't due to have LAST YEARS model... you must have this one."

Give me a break.

When did this happen? When did we become a country that needs it all? When did we allow Baal to step into our lives and claim our worship (if you know what I mean)? How come we are not satisfied with having our needs met?

This country is in such an economical crisis because everyone wants better then they have. And are willing to go into debt to get it.

Sometimes, I wish that I lived in another country to escape this marketing plot that is being shoved down my children's throats. "You must have more!"

It's similar insanity.

When will American's be happy with what they have? Probably never.

I love my country very much, but I wonder when will enough be enough?

So in this regard, I hope none of the other cultures try to western-ize like the American's have. It is claimed that they all want to be like American's. Does that mean they want to be greedy and lustful too?

Lord, I hope not.

So speak up, what is going on in your culture and country? Is America the only culture who is advertising to have the best at any cost? And do you see it effecting your life, your children, the way you live, etc?

Curious.

"dutch" sunset pictures

2008-08-25T11:43:00.002+01:00

Zeeland, the Netherlands

Vacation

2008-08-19T08:41:00.005+01:00

Mumbai (Bombay) is a small, congested, polluted, tiring place. People need a break. Consequently, holiday destinations near Mumbai make big bucks :)

People usually go out during summer and the monsoons, since its the most unpleasant time to be in Mumbai. I went to Mahableshwar and Lonavala last week. It rains a lot there, and its quite pleasant. The area is practically barren during other times of the year, but its completely green in the monsoon.

(December)

(August)

Its not the same place, but thats the general view during these 2 months. Its amazing how much the landscape can change in a single year!

Photos Uploaded – Italy & Vatican City

2008-05-09T22:26:00.000+01:00

The photos of this trip have been uploaded to my Travelogue. I'm not really satisfied with these photos… I'm sure I will dispose my Sony F717 soon and look for a new camera.

Mangoes!!

2008-05-08T12:37:00.004+01:00

People in India love to freak out and go crazy during festivals. They also love to do the same during other times. In fact, they just need an excuse to freak out, go crazy and celebrate...And mango season is one such time of the year.

Mango season generally starts in April, and lasts until June, until the rains begin. We get raw mangoes since late February, and people use it in cooking. Once the actual ripe mangoes come in, I get sick of them within a week or two. But people never seem to get tired of them. You see mangoes wherever you go. Old shops that have been closed down since ages suddenly open up and start stocking mangoes. (And no one seems to rent these shops during other times of the year)...

Summer vacations also coincide with mango season. People go to their native villages, where they own farms, and get their very own mangoes. I don't know why, but these mangoes are much sweeter than the ones we usually get. I guess they know how to pick them.

"If you don't like mangoes, you are strange. You are supposed to like mangoes. Mangoes are good."

-Anonymous mango fanatic

Its hard to describe the mango mania, you have to live here during mango season to find out. But seriously, I've had enough mangoes this season :)

(PS: the word mango(es) occurs 17 times in this post)

October in India

2007-10-20T13:02:00.000+01:00

Eid and Navratri, (which literally means nine nights) were the two main festivals in India this month. They simply happened to fall in October this year, but they're actually based on Lunar calendars.

During navratri, the nine forms of the goddess Durga are worshipped. The festival signifies the conquest of good over evil. It is believed that the goddess Durga had slain the demon Mahishasura on the last(tenth) day, which is celebrated as Dussera.

Garba, which is a a form of group dance is performed during the nights. People just need an excuse to dress up well and dance, and they get just that during this time of the year :)

The more "hardcore" religious Hindus give great importance to navratri. They fast and meditate, since the spiritual energy is believed to be very high during this time.

October in Germany!

2007-10-18T15:33:00.000+01:00

October starts with a holiday in Germany: October 3rd is the day of German reunification. For many people it is a nice day off from work. TV repeats the old news and many documentaries are shown.

October is also the month when geese and cranes fly over Germany on their way to Africa for the winter. All of a sudden you can hear them above you and it is the most beautiful thing to watch. If you drive through a village and you see people on the street staring into the sky it is the right moment to stop because the birds will be right above you. I feel very privileged to live in an area where I can watch this.

In October the leaves change colours and by the end of the month they fall down. It is nice to watch and it is also nice to take a walk through the forest. The sun shines through the leaves and the light seams to be as golden and sugarsweet as honey. Mushrooms can be seen everywhere and people go and collect chestnuts to decorate with.
As it is getting cold soon October is the best month to start preparing your yard for next spring. e.g. tulips need to be planted now to bloom next March.
Old pear and apple trees can be found everywhere on the fields and in the woods and it is fun to hike and pick some.
Local firestations or farmers arrange little get-togethers for their village like "potatoe day", where you can eat the traditional potatoe dishes or "pumpkin day".
The days get shorter and people start to turn the heating on, to sit in front of the fireplace at night and to enjoy the cosy atmosphere.

Halloween is no big deal in Germany. It has become a little more popular within the last years but it concerns only a little decoration like a jack-o' lanterns (If you see more than three in one street you can regard it as a record) or sweets like bat-shaped candy. We do not have the whole trick-and-treat-thing, neither the parties. Some Irish Pubs celebrate Halloween Parties though.

October!

2007-10-12T16:14:00.000+01:00

In the U.S., October is all about Halloween (unless you are shopping and then half the stores are already putting stuff out for Christmas)! People spend the entire month getting ready for the last day. At work we've been making decorations since September (but everything is homemade, which is not usual, so we had to start early.) Neighbors already have fake tombstones and spiderwebs streaked across the lawn and window clings of pumpkins and spiders and vampires decorating the windows. Orange strings of lights are hung in trees or along sidewalks, and the newest decorating craze (not just for Halloween) is the inflatable objects. There's a house on the street where I work with an inflatable death coach. There are also pumpkins and witches and vampires that are blown up in the evening and light the way to a house that will probably have good candy.

At the beginning of October tons of haunted houses open their doors to those seeking a thrill. Most of the time these are basically dark rooms decorated with flashing lights and fake monsters, where people jump out to scare passer-bye, but some of them have wavers for patrons to sign before entering, because of the danger involved. The Haunted houses aren't always in houses. There are variations such as haunted trails and haunted river boats and haunted hospitals... the list could go on forever.

One of my favorite things to do during October is the hayride and grill out at my Granny and Papaw's farm. We ride through the fields on a trailer with church friends and hay bails and sing songs and tell stories and just enjoy each other's company. Then we grill hot dogs and hamburgers and play games and things like that. It's a nice tradition.

A non-Halloween event that many in my area part take in is traveling through the Smokey Mountains to see the trees changing color. The reds and golds and oranges on the hillside is breath-taking and really helps you to appreciate the world's natural beauty.

When Halloween finally arrives, there are many celebrations. Children go Trick-or-Treating house to house asking for candy while dressed in costumes. Most Schools have costume parties in the classroom and other organizations might get into the spirit and have parties as well. Games might include a costume contest, bobbing for apples, or guessing what you're feeling while blind folded (you have to feel things like peeled grapes and are told they are eyeballs). Treats usually include popped corn and candy and cookies shaped like bats or pumpkins.

Older kids might feel a little more mischievous and celebrate the night before Halloween (sometimes referred to as "Cabbage Night") by playing pranks like egging or toilet papering houses or putting flaming dog poo on a neighbor's porch. I've seen older photos of cabbage night escapades such as putting a tractor on a barn roof. Sometimes Cabbage night activities carry over to the night of Halloween and the tricksters go around smashing jack-o-lanterns in the street.

Adults enjoy either taking their children Trick-or-Treating or attending grown-up costume parties. Some parties have themes and others all costumes are welcome. Many adult parties also have contests, and especially at bars or dance clubs, the prizes can be very nice. The trend for adults in recent years has been to dress as scantily as possible. There have been news reports of about how younger adults and teenagers are wearing costumes cut short with low necklines and midriffs showing.

Scary movies are a big part of the holiday. Many TV shows have Halloween specials and some channels show a mostly Halloween related line up. (The History Channel has shows about where vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein and other Halloween traditions originated.)

I should also mention that a large number of Americans don't like to celebrate Halloween at all, seeing it as the Devil's Holiday. I don't have much to say about them, except that Halloween's origins are Pagan, but religious, and it's mostly good clean fun.

de molen van kinderdijk

2007-10-03T17:42:00.000+01:00

The windmills of Kinderdijk are situated close to Rotterdam, NL. In 1740 19 windmills where built at this place and are still in a very good condition. Some of them were destroyed by fires but rebuilt by using the original materials as far as possible. The windmills drained the water from the polder that is below sealevel (in our days this is done by a modern water screw pumping station - one of the biggest in Europe).

A windmill can be for only one purpose, if it is built to drain water it cannot be used for any other purpose.

The different positions of the windmills were in former days a sign for family situations like moaning or weddings.

http://www.kinderdijk.nl/

Ganesh Festival

2007-09-28T13:20:00.000+01:00

Last Tuesday, we celebrated the last day of the Ganesh festival. Its a 10 day festival, and one of the (many) important Hindu festivals in India, and also one of the most famous ones. People keep idols of Lord Ganesh (or Ganpati) in their house and worship it. At the end of 10 days, the idol is immersed in the sea. Some prefer to keep the idol for a shorter period, like 2 days or 5 days.

The festival is celebrated on a grand scale. There are "community" Ganpatis as well, that are set up on the streets, or in buildings. These are generally very large, and decorated even with gold. People don't hesitate spending when it comes to this festival...

The visarjan is a grand event. Thousands of people gather at beaches to immerse their idols. Its quite a miracle that it happens without any major incident. I don't have pictures of this, but a google image search will give a good idea of what its like.

Here's a picture of an idol that was at my friend's place:

small town chat

2007-09-25T08:01:00.000+01:00

some like to call it gossip and are annoyed by it. yes, there is a lot of gossip in small towns. but there is also the enjoyable small town chat.

since june we feel very privileged to have a small store in our little village. it opens early enough to get a breadroll before work. so sometimes I stop. and whenever I do I will of course chat a little to Sandy, the owner. And most of the times I meet a friend or neighbor on the street or in the shop. Everybody is on the way to work and everybody is happy to see a face that you maybe haven't seen in a few weeks.

very often we meet people from our village or the places we have lived in when we were children on the road. and there is always time to stop, right in the middle of the road, and to chat a little.

this morning on my way to work I met a neighbor. He was driving right in front of me and two towns further he stopped to get the newspaper. So I stopped, too. Afterwards he was driving behind me for quite a while before our ways separated.

A 450-inhabitans village is surely no vibrant city, but live in a village like that can be very vibrant! :-)

Alaska Native Heritage Center

2007-09-16T14:17:00.000+01:00

At this point I would like to recommend a museum I have been to last month: The ALASKA NATIVE HERITAGE CENTER in Anchorage.
The museum offers not only many exhibitions but also a theater where you can listen to the native storyteller or watch movies and documentaries, a stage where natives show and teach their dances, music and games. You can walk through seven villages of native tribes (and you can take a guided tour if you want to) and many many more interesting things.

The Alaska Native Heritage Center is a non-profit organisation. If you would like to read more about it, please click on the logo.

A short thought...

2007-07-24T14:34:00.000+01:00

Isn't it odd that where ever we go, we see ourselves in others? Maybe we are just all looking for a connection to the rest of the human race. On vacation, where ever we went, someone in our group would pick out the family that had hats or jerseys for our home teams. We would strike up a conversation with them, and find out that they lived a few cities over from us. Here we were, three states away, and finding neighbors. I look for redheads. I think that I've already expressed my thoughts on that, so I won't go into them here, but it's funny how we all look for something. Maybe it's a clothing style, or a type of glasses or a way of walking, but sometimes even without knowing it, we look for people with whom we can identify. Maybe we are looking for a piece of home.

timber-framed beauties

2007-07-17T09:04:00.000+01:00

There are many many beautiful timber-framed houses in the area and I actually live in one myself. Reason enough to blog about it.

From the 12th century until the late 19th century timber-framing was the most common way of building in Central Europe. The main support of the building is a (most times) visible frame of timber. The spaces between the timber frames are filled with wooden stakes, straw and clay, in later times also with bricks. Nowadays homeowners of timber framed houses paint the timber in beautiful colors (mainly red, black and brown, but also blue) and put white stucco on the spaces in between the frames.
The different shapes of the timber are references to the epoch the house was build, profession of the former owners and many other things like denomination, etc.

Against harassments like fire, termites and mold, timber-framed homes have many advantages even in our times (e.g. insulation, energy effinciency, newer timber-framed constructions are very resistant to earthquakes,...).

The slideshow shows houses close to my home.

Better Late than Never, Introduction to 4th of July

2007-07-16T18:19:00.000+01:00

I'm sure that many of you have heard of Independence Day (otherwise known as "The Fourth of July" or "The Fourth"), but it's not likely that you are familiar with the holiday if you aren't from the states. So this is my little introduction to The Fourth.

Many believe that the fourth of July (1776) was the day that the US began its struggle for freedom from British rule, however the fighting for independence actually began earlier that year. It is also commonly assumed that the Declaration was signed by all of the Continental Congress on that day, but again this is incorrect, as the first published copy had only the signature of John Hancock (President of the Second Continental Congress). The Declaration was signed by all members on August 2nd. Thomas Jefferson thought that July 2nd would be the national holiday because that was the day that he wrote the Declaration of Independence, but it was rafitied on July 4th and for some reason that's the day that stuck with us.

Today the Independence Day is celebrated with picnics, parades and fireworks. Most cities have community events, but some people prefer to mark the occasion with a family gathering, which can result in a trip the the hospital with burns from amature firework displays.

l'atomium

2007-07-10T13:23:00.000+01:00

Situated on the northern outskirts of Brussels the beautiful atomium is probably one of the worlds most astonishing buildings.
The building was designed by André Waterkeyn for the EXPO 58. It symbolises a crystallised molecule of iron by the scale of its atoms, magnified 150 thousand million times. The nine large spheres have a diameter of 18 metres and can be visited or even rented for private events. You can move from one sphere to another through tubes on escalators or lifts. The atomium is made entirely of steel clad with aluminium, the structure has a hight of 102 metres. The atomium was not intended to stay in Brussels longer than the EXPO but its popularity and success ensured its place as a major landmark on the Brussels skyline.

Books – African Cultures

2007-07-01T13:34:00.000+01:00

Whoever is interested in genuine black African cultures and photographing, I would recommend the following books of Leni Riefenstahl, Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher. These ladies ventured into the mysterious continent in the last decades and documented the startling cultures. Respect!

Tribe

2007-06-27T19:57:00.001+01:00

I like these eye-opener documentaries - Tribe. Bruce Perry explored the lost world to film the diminishing precious cultures on earth. He lived with the tribes for a considerable period to experience their respective habit and culture.

With the major premise to attract the audience, it is comprehendible that only the most exotic aspect of culture is presented. Being a foreign white man in a local community, he is largely treated as a guest instead of as an ordinary member. I believe this is the closest a foreigner could do.

Series 1 and 2 comprise 6 and 3 tribal documentaries. Note, 3 out of 9 were filmed in Ethiopia (tribe Suri, Hamar and Dassanech). This fascinating country is great! Was so glad to visit Mursi, Hamar and Dassanech during my visit in 2005, though the short village tour didn't permit me to see such details.

As observed by Bruce Perry in general, the young generation is gradually renouncing their faith to their tradition. Modernisation entice the youngsters opt for better living.

throwing china

2007-06-27T11:58:00.000+01:00

A friends wedding is coming up. One of a tradition here in Germany is the so called "Polterabend". The night before the couple gets married their friends will come to the house of the bride's parents and through china into their front yard. Broken crockery brings you luck.

Nobody is invited to the party but everybody is welcome. Often there will be a little announcement in the regional newspaper to tell the date and the place, as it is held somewhere else than the bride's parents home. Friends, former classmates, neighbours, colleagues from work and more or less everybody you know our knew will be there at least to congratulate. There will be small snacks and beer and of course music.

Everybody is welcome to through and break china. Glass and mirrows are forbidden to through, of course, as that would be for bad luck. Wash bowls and toilet bowls (clean ones!!!) are also thrown very often as it is also china, it breaks and it seems funny. (and for those who throw it, it is an easy way to get rid of it...)

Bride and Groom have to clean up the mess of all the broken things together. In former times the party wouldn't start before they haven't cleaned up everything.

The origin of this tradition is unknown, probably Germanic or heathen.
Germany is, as far as I know, the only place where a "Polterabend" is held and this tradition is alive.

Cincinnati, OH Redheads

2007-06-25T13:01:00.000+01:00

It's not uncommon to see several redheads when walking around in Cincinnati, OH USA. Although redheads make up only 4 or 5% of the world's population, I have a feeling that the percentage in this Metro area is much higher. This is probably due to the fact that Cincinnati is home to many families of German origin. In modern times, I don't think that Germany has been known for it's redheads. Most of the time people think of Ireland or perhaps Scotland as the origins of the redhead gene, but Germans definately carry the recessive trait, and it shows up in Cincinnati!

Redheads aren't the only place Cincinnati shows it's roots. The first Mayor of Cincinnati was actually born in Heidelberg, Germany. Cincinnati is home to the second largest Oktoberfest in the world (The largest being in Munich). Residents of Cincinnati love Americanized versions of German dishes such as Goetta and Sauerkraut.

Growing up in the Cincinnati area I didn't really understand how unique it is to be a redhead. There was always another redhead in my class at school, and although people always commented on my hair, it wasn't as uncommon as in other parts of the US. This was never more clear to me that when I visited San Francisco, CA, where we saw one other family of redheads, who were also tourists! Even now, when I live just and hour and a half south of the city, there are significantly fewer redheads than in my home town. (There's also a lack of Goetta and Sauerkraut!)

midsummer

2007-06-19T10:20:00.000+01:00

The longest day of the year is coming up! I love sunshine and I love long summer nights, so of course midsummer is worth to write a post!

I checked the forecast for my home already: sunrise at 5.17 a.m. / sunset at 9.42 p.m. Wonderful- even if it sounds ridiculous compared to the town of Lulea in northern Sweden:
sunrise at 1.03 a.m. / sunset at 0.03 a.m. on June 22nd.

But still it is a very long day. It is light until late and people sit in their yards or on the balcony to barbeque, to visit or to watch some bats flying around in the late, light dusk light.
As I do not know too much about the traditions in Europe concerning this day, I tried to find out a little on the internet:

The dates of the festivities vary a little in the different regions. Some countries celebrate midsummer, some countries Saint John's Day.

In France, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and the United Kingdom you celebrate the day with bonfires.
In Portugal the midsummer festivities also include "Santos Populares" (Popular Saints celebrations). Streets are decorated, there are dances and other festivities. The traditional food are cabbage and potato soup & grilled sardines.
In Denmark it has been celebrated since the times of the Vikings. They celebrate with bonfires and picnics at the beaches and shores.
Poland celebrate this day dressed up like dangerous pirates, girls throw wreaths into the sea/rivers and big cities have entertainments.
In Ireland the day is also celebrated with bonfires and with midsummer carnivals.
Midsummer fairs are held in Romania.
In Sweden Midsummer is one of the most important holidays of the year. People travel to their summer cottages on the countryside. Raising a maypole and dancing is a tradition.
In Finland houses get decorated with flowers and birch branches. People celebrate with bonfires along rivers and lakeshores. Traditional food for Juhannus: potatoes and fish

An Amazing Piece of History

2007-06-15T18:37:00.000+01:00

The Vasa (or Wasa) is a Swedish 64-gun ship, built in Sweden 1626-1628. She capsized in the first mile of her maiden voyage in August 1628. After many years she got more or less forgotton, but in 1961 after years of searching and preparation Vasa was salvaged with a largely intact hull on, and is now on display at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. She is now one of the last surviving ships of the line in the world and the museum (especially built to be fit a ship like the VASA in) is worth a visit. Light and temperature are special to protect VASA against decomposition. The museum does not only show an amazing ship but also all information related to the VASA that the visitor would like to know (life in the 17th century, why did the ship sink, how was the VASA build, etc...)

Clonmacnoise

2007-06-08T13:11:00.000+01:00

The monastery of Clonmacnoise is situated in the Irish County Offaly, on the Shannon River south of Athlone. Clonmacnoise (Cluain Mhic Nóis in Irish, meaning "Meadow of the Sons of Nós") was built in 545 by Saint Ciarán who died only few years later in his early thirties.

Clonmacnoise is a historic site of towers, temples and high crosses.

The position of Clonmacnoise is very beautiful but also the point where the major east-west land route crossed the River Shannon. Clonmacnoise became soon the theological centre of Ireland, also a centre of arts, crafts and poetry.

The Beauty of Irkutsk

2007-06-06T13:15:00.000+01:00

Irkutsk is also called "Paris of Siberia". It is a wonderful city with many old wooden houses. Even if a fire in 1879 destroyed most of them. Irkutsk is one of the largest cities in Siberia, situated on the river Angara only 70 km from Lake Baikal.

Many of the old wooden houses seem to lean a lot or they already sank pretty much into the ground.
The reason for this is permafrost.

Permafrost ground forms in areas where the temperature of the ground is less than the freezing point of water. Building a house on permafrost ground causes that the heat from the house melts the permafrost ground beneath it. The ground softens and the house starts to sink slowly into the ground. Some of Irkutsk's houses are already sank to the windowsills. People still live in these homes or you can find shops etc. in these houses.

travelling

2007-05-20T13:14:00.000+01:00

Two Japanese girls in London using the underground trip to rest their feet as well as to find out about the next sight to visit.

blue spring state park

2007-05-16T13:19:00.000+01:00

none of my florida travel guides serves any information about this place. unfortunately not.

but luckily i got the hint that it might be worth a visit.

i wished to see a manatee in wild, so of course i took the chance to go to a place like that.

the blue spring state park is only a few minutes north of orlando and really easy to find as there are already signs on the interstate.

this place is really unsual. the nature is marvellous, the water so clear.

you can spend your time watching the manatees and turtles, you can walk, rent a canoe or even swim.

for more information: Blue Spring State Park

Miami Beach...

2007-05-10T13:20:00.000+01:00

...what else would you espect? Probably the two most famous reasons for visiting Miami Beach are the beach and the art deco architecture. on this photo you can find both of it. The beach is nice but if you want some rest you will consider it as overcrowded. Miami Beach is a fun place. The wacko art deco buildings fit right into it.

hurry, hurry

2007-05-08T13:22:00.000+01:00

Novosibirsk, Russia

Ocean Drive

2007-04-24T13:12:00.000+01:00

okay, this picture is nothing compared to all the Miami Beach pictures of great photographers or of the pictures we know from the catalogues. It neither shows any of the magical atmosphere on Ocean Drive. the architecture is amazing, the colors at night are pretty.

left handed

2007-04-19T16:03:00.000+01:00

we were talking about shops that sell only stuff for left handed persons.
this reminded me of an elderly lady I met in a train from Irkutsk to Ulan Ude. She was very old and spoke only Russian. Her behavior was a mixture of acting shy and being curious. She didn't talk to me at all but watched me all the time.
when I started writing my diary she started smiling and touching my hand. first I was not sure why she acted like that but then I realised that she was astonished by the fact that I used my left hand to write.

Saint Basil's Cathedral

2007-04-16T11:37:00.000+01:00

Have you ever been to Moscow? It is an amazing city!

gossip

2007-04-11T13:17:00.000+01:00

I met these three ladies in a pub in Dinge, Ireland.
They meet here on a regular basis to chat and to have lunch together.

irish breakfast

2007-04-09T11:23:00.000+01:00

Even taking a look at this picture and I start to feel very hungry. I love the traditional Irish breakfast and of course I have it every day whenever I visit Ireland. This one was served at The Castle View House and was probably one of the best ones I've ever had!

Precious things.

2007-03-23T19:36:00.000Z

Friends and family who live all over the world provide us with precious things: Chocolates from Belgium, brownies, cookies and popcorn from the U.S., sausages from the Netherlands,…

Of course you can buy a lot of things in Germany that are supposed to be “original american” or “original dutch” for example, but they are not. That’s obvious. These things are made for German people and German taste is different to American, Dutch or Chinese taste.

A friend from Malaysia lived in Germany for a few weeks. He took us to a Asian take away restaurant, the owner actually came from his hometown. Co-incident. The food they sold was –like always- different from the origin taste, the food was prepared for European people. But the night he took us to this take away place, he ordered dishes that are typical for the area he grew up and the food was prepared in the original way (these dishes aren’t mentioned on the menu at all). We sat at a very small table with the stuff, as it is a take away restaurant there were no tables for guests. We drank tea and ate all evening and enjoyed the spontanious atmosphere. A precious moment and a wonderful memory.

curly

2007-03-05T13:25:00.000Z

A friend of mine has a head of curly hair. boy.
She went to Japan a few years ago. People kept staring at here because her hair was so special. She went to a football match with friends during her visit in Japan. When she was there she experienced that the japanese people sitting next to her wouldn't stop touching her curls whenever they felt unwatched.

metro station in moscow

2007-02-11T13:22:00.000Z

this was the first metro station in moscow i stepped into. i thought i might have been lucky and co-incidently stepped into the most beautiful one. so i took this picture. but after a while i realized that all the metro stations look as beautiful as this one. they are all different but all wonderful. it is amazing. i might plan a special "metro day" the next time i visit moscow just to travel arround and see the stations.

colosseo

2007-02-08T11:50:00.000Z

Rome, Italy

lake baikal on the rocks

2007-01-24T14:37:00.000Z

stonehenge

2007-01-16T13:25:00.000Z

what would be a better day to visit stonehenge than a rainy january day? i doubt that there is any weather that would emphasize the atmosphere better.

stonehenge is worth a visit. probably not only the weather but also the amount of tourists walking arount should be a good reason to do it in the winter time.

the size of stonehenge is amazing. there are many myths and legends about the way this prehistoric site might have been build. Merlin, the devil and many more among them.

Christmas Shopping

2006-12-15T19:37:00.000Z

I went christmas shopping today. It was not as bad as all the other years as I already knew what I wanted to buy for everybody.

Last year our friends from Florida invited us to spend christmas at their house and learn about their traditions and habits. Of course we said yes and took a trip over.

We have had a christmas with the whole family, including grandmothers, all sisters and brothers with their children and their parents. And everybody gave presents to everybody. Over here nobody could afford this, but they did it in a quite clever way: In the U.S. they have the garage sales and thrift stores, so this were the places where our friends bought the presents all over the year. Everytime they saw something special that would fit to another person they bought it and did some real bargains. This led to the fact, that everybody received a lot of presents that really fit. Another way was to make presents buy sewing or knitting.

Our friends showed us a christmas where gifts were not appraised by the amount of money they cost but by the thought the buyer had, when he or she purchased it.

Santa Claus

2006-12-06T19:31:00.000Z

I wonder where all the different traditions concerning Santa Claus and christmas gifts come from.
In the U.S. Santa Claus comes through the chimney and you will have your presents on the 25th’s morning.
In Germany Santa Claus comes on the sixth of December. He comes at night and when you wake up on the sixth he was already there and has left you a few chocolates in your boots. I can remember discussions at kindergarden when at some families’ Santa Claus already came on the evening of the fifth. But this is wrong, every calender shows the sixth as the day. But on the sixth you get only chocolates, the really big presents you will receive on the 24th, not from Santa, he is only in charge of the sixth of December – in Germany we have the Christkind for Christmas Day (December 24th) .
I learned from my husband that it is completely different in the Netherlands (and according to my cousins boyfriend from Antwerp it is in Belgium aswell). Santa Claus comes on the sixth on a ship from Spain, together with “Zwarte Piet” a black boy who helps him to give out the presents and who will give a little pack of salt to those who haven’t been good. On the 25th you will only receive chocolates.

sergels torg

2006-11-17T16:36:00.000Z

Stockholm, Sweden

daylight saving time

2006-10-30T15:13:00.000Z

Frankfurt/Main, Germany

exotenwald weinheim

2006-10-04T14:25:00.000+01:00

Gleich im gemütlichen Weinheim liegt der schöne Exotenwald. Ein Park, dessen Besuch nicht nur kostenfrei sondern absolut lohnenswert ist. Freiherr von Berckheim sammelte exotische Bäume aus aller Welt und pflanzte sie hier an.

Schön ist hierbei, dass nicht nur ein Exemplar von jedem Baum vorhanden ist. So spaziert man an einer ganzen Reihe Mammutbäume vorbei und kann im Herbst an einigen Stellen des Parks den
kanadischen Indian Summer nachempfinden.

Weiter Attraktionen sind die größte und älteste Libanonzeder Deutschlands und der gleich angrenzende Schlosspark.

Wer die Aussicht vom Exotenwald auf die schöne Altstadt genießen konnte, braucht nicht lange überzeugt werden um sich hier noch ein wenig umzusehen.

sunrise

2006-09-16T13:24:00.000+01:00

Calais, France

omul

2006-09-11T13:23:00.000+01:00

The Omul salmon-like fish found only in Siberia in Lake Baikal. Omul represents an important food fish for the Baikal region and smoked omul is one of the highlights for travellers on the Transsiberian Railway.
I tried Omul on the fish market in the little village of Listvjanka and it was really good!

ringsteken

2006-08-12T15:53:00.000+01:00

Domburg, the Netherlands

it's getting dark...

2006-07-28T15:22:00.000+01:00

Westerschelde, the Netherlands