22 Dezember 2007
Merry Christmas ...
... to all of you !
And that's where we will spend it: In Silves in Southern Portugal.
See you in a week!
And that's where we will spend it: In Silves in Southern Portugal.
See you in a week!
20 Dezember 2007
Skyward
Airplane taking-off from Frankfurt, seen from my desk at the institute.17 Dezember 2007
Due to global warming?
Ring-necked Parakeet group in a tree close to the city center of Cologne (in german: Halsbandsittich). I read that meanwhile tens of thousands of these originally tropical birds live freely in Europe.
This group of gulls (kamome) on the other side of the street seemed to be bewildered by the intruders!
Trip to Cologne
Yesterday, a very quick (200 km in just one hour) and very punctual train (it arrived at destination ten minutes earlier than scheduled) brought us to Cologne, where we met the Terai couple, friends from Japan who are in Germany for some days.
Of course, we took some minutes to visit the giant Kölner Dom and the big christmas market at its feet.
Wow!
But a sudden emergency at the dome entrance involving lots of fire engines was far more interesting.
We had coffee somewhere in the countryside outside Cologne, and a relaxing (well, for some who had the chance to be carried) walk at dawn, before taking our (punctual) train back home.
PS: I hereby apologize to the german railway Deutsche Bahn for always complaining about slow and delayed trains!
15 Dezember 2007
Meersburg beach
Winter's never too cold to have fun with water - luckily Jakob didn't insist to walk barefoot, since it was a really cold day.
13 Dezember 2007
Meersburg Christmas market
We have been at my parent's place two weeks ago, and by chance there happened to be this very small, non-commercial, only two days lasting Christmas market. With lots of Glüwein, live music and hot waffles.
Winter in Germany is nice!
Steinbach station
Railway romanticism in our living room - old Märklin set, dating back from Thomas' youth.
Japanese patisserie Iimori
Some weeks ago, we discovered, in the very heart of Frankfurt, a japanese patisserie, with a surprising interior: imitating an old fashioned german café - a very nice mix! Which seems to be a succes formula, it was crowded on that cold sunday afternoon.
And we nostalgically ate kare-pan, melon-pan and fluffy japanese shinamon-roru, things we never touched in Japan (where "Sunday" ment going to the french patisserie and eat french cake and croissants). Yes, the grass always seems greener on the other side.
After coffee, we came just in time to see the big christmas tree at the town hall place (Römer) being decorated. Jakob was delighted to see that there where cranes involved - we had to stay a long time and watch them.
09 Dezember 2007
Advent calendar
These days, Jakob gets up quickly in the morning, very eager to open another small present on his advent calendar - and usually, there is trouble and lots of discussions, because he hates to have to follow the correct order, and sometimes doesn't want the things he gets, like this morning a few "Marzipankartoffeln", typical german almond paste sweets which he never ate before - but which he finally liked.
06 Dezember 2007
