Ganesh Festival

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

...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

Novosibirsk, Russia

Ocean Drive

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

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

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

gossip

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

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.

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

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

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

Rome, Italy

lake baikal on the rocks

stonehenge

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

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

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

Stockholm, Sweden

daylight saving time

Frankfurt/Main, Germany

exotenwald weinheim

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

Calais, France

omul

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

Domburg, the Netherlands

it's getting dark...

Westerschelde, the Netherlands