The babes – that would be Hannah and myself (major babes, you must admit) , the tubes- big black rubber tubes zipping down icy slopes at record speed at the Nashoba Valley Ski Area (http://www.skinashoba.com/photo_uploads/14/new_lanes.jpg ) – tremendous fun!! I had been a little hesitant at first to go – at first sight the pictures on the web site did not look too exciting, the lanes a little too flat, but boy was I wrong. Up close and personal the lanes looked much steeper, and with the chilly winds swirling about, there was some good speed going on. I was a little miffed initially, since I prefer to use the tubes on my stomach, grab the two handles for steering and then use the feet for brakes. Alas, the Nashoba folks do not allow belly surfing, so one has to sit in the tube upright – which means that the first two runs you are pretty much swirled about and go down the hill backwards and at any given moment are in danger to become airborne. By about 3 PM Hannah and I had perfected the art of going down the slope facing forward and using our innovative leaning technique to give quite a graceful performance. Nashoba Valley, if you must know, is the ski area closest to Boston, just about a 30 minute drive, and just a wee bit outside of Concord.
I am enjoying this long weekend (Monday is President’s Day and we are off work) - so nice to be able to sleep in on Monday. It has been a busy week, with many culinary excursions, due to birthdays, V-Day and much-needed quality time with friends. This week of food commenced on Tuesday with a birthday lunch for both Darrell and Susan (my lab colleagues) at Artu, an Italian eatery in Boston’s Beacon Hill. One of Charles Streets’ cozy downstairs establishments, it provides Italian cuisine at a reasonable price. Next time though, I should not order a dish with an Italian name I don’t recognize and where I have no idea of what I just ordered. Inadvertently I had ordered in a wine sauce mussels (shellfish is a no-no these days), but the wait staff was nice enough to bring a replacement dish.
Tuesday night was the culinary highlight of the week, I must say – dinner at Eastern Standard - http://www.easternstandardboston.com/ - quite a classy establishment located at Kenmore Square immediately adjacent to the very posh Hotel Commonwealth. It certainly is a wonderful experience to dine there. Accompanied by a little bubbly named Cristalino Brut Cava from Penedes, Spain, I chose the Tuesday night special “Veal Schnitzel with Spaetzle, Artichockes and Spinach” (the Spaetzle may have swayed my decision a bit there….) and ended the evening with a “Washington Style Toddy”. Apparently this particular style toddy was cherished by none other than our friend George Washington and I have to give the man credit! Very tasty stuff!! For my EU friends, here is how a toddy is made: a hot beverage, such as tea, coffee, or cocoa (in this case hot apple cider) is mixed with alcohol (brandy, rum or whiskey) plus some sugar, honey or syrup. Some people go as far as to add cinnamon, cloves, lemon, butter, or as Wikipedia states, pain killers. The web site also says that “hot toddies are traditionally drunk before going to bed, or in wet and cold weather. They were believed to help cure the cold and flu, but the American Lung Association now recommends avoiding treating the common cold with alcoholic beverages as they have no curative effect and cause dehydration.” Darn!
Well Thursday was V-Day, and my friend Andrew and I decided to do something very un-sappy and go see a horror movie. I had gotten free passes to an advance screening of a flick called “The Signal” – easy plot – secret signals are coming through the TV, radio and God knows what, and all of a sudden people start killing each other. Anyway, as tempting as that sounded, we did not get to see the free movie, since the snow storm the day before delayed the shipment of the print. We decided to watch a movie anyway and opted for the critically praised “In Bruges”. This movie is outrageous – completely surreal, absolutely politically incorrect (everybody gets it), a bit violent on occasion, but hysterically funny. If you liked Pulp Fiction, you are going to love this one. And in plays in Belgium!! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Bruges) Dinner that night was consumed at the Cambridge Brewing Company (http://www.cambrew.com/) which was very delicious and mercifully un-valentine-y.
The weekend started off with a visit to the New England Aquarium at Boston Harbor yesterday, which I thought may have not been the best idea on a holiday weekend preceding a school-free week, and to be honest, it was a tad crowded, but I think I picked a decent time to attend and actually enjoyed myself quite nicely there despite six million kids. I was absolutely mesmerized by the penguins and would have been quite happy just hanging out there for a couple of hours. (http://www.neaq.org/)
The afternoon was spent at home cooking up a storm with the ingredients of my veggie box, and in the evening I joined the German language group at the Irish pub Asgard on Mass Ave (http://www.classicirish.com/asgard_about.html), always a nice outing.
All that tubing today made me pleasantly tired, and so I will now head over to my couch, attempting to make a dent in the pile of 20 movies I have not yet watched. The Third Season of MI-5 awaits!! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spooks ) .
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Pet
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
#36 Boston - No Cuddling with Strangers Feb 10 2008
My friends - I am on the mend, at least from the flu, and as my energy is slowly being restored to normal levels, the social calendar is starting to fill up a wee bit. Thursday night was the first outing for the week – meeting up with my delightful friends Hannah and Holly for a nice bite to eat and some spirited conversation at The Paramount (http://www.paramountboston.com/pages/home.html) – one of my favorite eateries on Charles Street in Beacon Hill. Their grilled steak salad was quite phenom, and I did not hear any complaints from my two friends about their dinner choices either. The most interesting topic of discussion for the evening circled around a new fad that is apparently spreading like wild fire on the West Coast - “cuddle parties” (http://www.cuddleparty.com /). Labeled by the organizers as a “structured, safe workshop on boundaries, communication, intimacy and affection”, I am not quite sure what to think of it. Actually, it kind of weirds me out. Now, believe you me - I am a very huggy, touchy-feely kind of person, most of you know that – but cuddling with strangers – I DON’T THINK SO!
Now, going to the Boston Wine Expo yesterday (http://www.wine-expos.com/) at the Seaport World Trade Center (http://www.seaportboston.com/) was as close to cuddling as I was going to get this weekend. I made the mistake of heading first through the food isle upon entering the exhibit hall, and I was honestly starting to feel the beginnings of a bout of agoraphobia coming on. I quickly zipped over to the other end of the exhibit to see my friend Holly who had a stand there (her Chinese pearls are phenomenal and guess who went shopping for some pearly bling?). I then got into the swing of things, and initially by myself and later accompanied by my vivacious friend Hannah, enjoyed sampling wines from all over the world. Since winter had commenced again when we emerged from the World Trade Center, Hannah and I decided to first go for a bite to eat (my favorite neighborhood restaurant, The East Side Bar and Grille on Cambridge Street) and then head down to Flat Top Johnny’s (http://flattopjohnnys.com/) to shoot us some pool. This was a perfect thing to do – first of all FTJ’s is a phat place, 12 pool tables, hip music, good beer, and cool people just like us. Hannah and I had a grand old time – I am not the world’s best pool player by a long shot, and for some reason, the more I played the worse I got. I started out pretty decent, but I don’t think I hit any of the balls into a pocket during the last 30 minutes of our play (maybe except for the Eight Ball which delighted Hannah to no end.).
Friday night I was out too - a whole gang of us went to the North End to Café Pompei to celebrate my lab colleague and friend Susan Boisvert’s birthday. There were fifteen of us, and we had ourselves a lovely table in the downstairs section. The piano man sat right next to us regaling us with some pleasant and relaxing tunes, and the food was fantastic. Mike’s Pastry (http://www.mikespastry.com/) in the North End provided the chocolate mousse cake for desert, and the evening ended pleasantly with everyone crowding into Susan and Ann’s cozy living room playing a round of “Apple to Apples”.
The weather here in good old Cambridge has been a bit moody these days, and the past week snow, flurries, rain, sleet have been alternating happily and put on quite a display. You may go into a building and the sun is shining, and when you emerge an hour later, it looks as if Boston has changed its season in just that hour. Last night as Hannah and I walked home from our outing to Flat Top Johnny’s, snow was coming down heavily. This morning the sun was shining for just a wee bit, and of course as bad timing and my luck would have it, the minute I was off to Petco to get Oscar supplies it started raining buckets!!! There I was loaded with plastic bags, trying to prevent my loot from Borders (yes, I stopped at the book store) from getting completely soaked – it was not pretty. My hair now has turned into its Don King version of a do, some hair product may be needed to tame the beast that resides on top of my skull. Actually as a I am writing this to you, the weather has changed completely yet again, and now some kind of rain, no make that snow (changes by the minute), is being blown around at wind gusts of 30 mph. Fun!
Well, this Friday I got yet another cortisone shot for my right heel, and the ever-present plantar fasciitis. The X-ray revealed that I do have a ginormous bone spur, however that is not the cause of my pain, but inflammation in the plantar fascia is. The options are not many, except for a lot of patience, since many of these cases resolved eventually on their own. It may take 18 months though, and I am currently only going on month #7.
I have to say a big thank you today also to my friend Stephanie who I forgot to thank last week (when I was so dreadfully sick) for the delivery of a most delicious smoothie the size of a V8 engine. I thanked her by breaking the Nalgene bottle it was delivered in. I am that kind of a person.
Friends, time to go back to the living room, Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles are waiting. You must see the version with Jeremy Brett - he is devious, with a hint of arrogance and wicked smaaaht!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
PetJ
Now, going to the Boston Wine Expo yesterday (http://www.wine-expos.com/) at the Seaport World Trade Center (http://www.seaportboston.com/) was as close to cuddling as I was going to get this weekend. I made the mistake of heading first through the food isle upon entering the exhibit hall, and I was honestly starting to feel the beginnings of a bout of agoraphobia coming on. I quickly zipped over to the other end of the exhibit to see my friend Holly who had a stand there (her Chinese pearls are phenomenal and guess who went shopping for some pearly bling?). I then got into the swing of things, and initially by myself and later accompanied by my vivacious friend Hannah, enjoyed sampling wines from all over the world. Since winter had commenced again when we emerged from the World Trade Center, Hannah and I decided to first go for a bite to eat (my favorite neighborhood restaurant, The East Side Bar and Grille on Cambridge Street) and then head down to Flat Top Johnny’s (http://flattopjohnnys.com/) to shoot us some pool. This was a perfect thing to do – first of all FTJ’s is a phat place, 12 pool tables, hip music, good beer, and cool people just like us. Hannah and I had a grand old time – I am not the world’s best pool player by a long shot, and for some reason, the more I played the worse I got. I started out pretty decent, but I don’t think I hit any of the balls into a pocket during the last 30 minutes of our play (maybe except for the Eight Ball which delighted Hannah to no end.).
Friday night I was out too - a whole gang of us went to the North End to Café Pompei to celebrate my lab colleague and friend Susan Boisvert’s birthday. There were fifteen of us, and we had ourselves a lovely table in the downstairs section. The piano man sat right next to us regaling us with some pleasant and relaxing tunes, and the food was fantastic. Mike’s Pastry (http://www.mikespastry.com/) in the North End provided the chocolate mousse cake for desert, and the evening ended pleasantly with everyone crowding into Susan and Ann’s cozy living room playing a round of “Apple to Apples”.
The weather here in good old Cambridge has been a bit moody these days, and the past week snow, flurries, rain, sleet have been alternating happily and put on quite a display. You may go into a building and the sun is shining, and when you emerge an hour later, it looks as if Boston has changed its season in just that hour. Last night as Hannah and I walked home from our outing to Flat Top Johnny’s, snow was coming down heavily. This morning the sun was shining for just a wee bit, and of course as bad timing and my luck would have it, the minute I was off to Petco to get Oscar supplies it started raining buckets!!! There I was loaded with plastic bags, trying to prevent my loot from Borders (yes, I stopped at the book store) from getting completely soaked – it was not pretty. My hair now has turned into its Don King version of a do, some hair product may be needed to tame the beast that resides on top of my skull. Actually as a I am writing this to you, the weather has changed completely yet again, and now some kind of rain, no make that snow (changes by the minute), is being blown around at wind gusts of 30 mph. Fun!
Well, this Friday I got yet another cortisone shot for my right heel, and the ever-present plantar fasciitis. The X-ray revealed that I do have a ginormous bone spur, however that is not the cause of my pain, but inflammation in the plantar fascia is. The options are not many, except for a lot of patience, since many of these cases resolved eventually on their own. It may take 18 months though, and I am currently only going on month #7.
I have to say a big thank you today also to my friend Stephanie who I forgot to thank last week (when I was so dreadfully sick) for the delivery of a most delicious smoothie the size of a V8 engine. I thanked her by breaking the Nalgene bottle it was delivered in. I am that kind of a person.
Friends, time to go back to the living room, Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles are waiting. You must see the version with Jeremy Brett - he is devious, with a hint of arrogance and wicked smaaaht!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
PetJ
Sunday, February 3, 2008
#35 Boston - SuperBowl! February 3, 2008
The blessed day has arrived – SuperBowl Sunday – the holiest of holidays in American sports and the advertising industry’s hall of fame-worthy display of one-upmanship. Actually, I am admitting publicly here that the commercials have actually been the main draw for me in most years, and this is based on the fact that for those many many years (aside from the heydays of the 49ers dynasty in the early 90s) I lived in an area where the football teams did not stand a chance to even think about the SuperBowl.
But now I live in Pats Country!! Our beloved New England Patriots (http://www.newenglandpatriots.com/) are on a quest to end their season 19:0, a feat previously unaccomplished in football land. I will be heading this afternoon to a SuperBowl party at my friends Amy and Dana’s, who are big-time Pats fans, and I would not be surprised if the resident canine, The Peanut himself, would be decked out in Pats garb. The Litmans live out in Malden, a stone’s throw away from Boston. Malden, if you must know is named after Maldon in England (Blackwater Estuary – Essex), was purchased by some Puritans in 1629 from the Pawtucket Indians and was initially part of Charlestown. Its claim to fame, other than that the Litmans live there, is that it apparently was the first community to petition the colonial government to sever its ties with Britain. Rebel rousers they are, those Maldeners! You know, my favorite part of Wikipedia is to look up local cities, and then read the “Notable Residents” section – first prize in Malden goes to Joshua Titcom, ventriloquist and army general, closely followed by Fred Leuchter, an execution technician featured in a documentary called “Dr Death”. People you may actually know from Malden are Norman Greenbaum (he wrote and sang the one-hit wonder “Spirit in the Sky”), Ed Ames and Erle Stanley Gardner (he wrote the Perry Mason mysteries).
The other good news is that after ten days of being abominably sick, I seem to be on the mend. The dreaded lurgy struck me down with a vengeance and I still have to regain the full use of my vocal cords. Being that sick is no fun; many thanks to those of you who came to the rescue with phone calls, emails, visits etc. The biggest thank you goes out to Hillary and PeeWee Holloway, who came by with a load of goodies, including an impressive selection of chicken soups. Thanks to my friend Andrew who came by for a nice cup of tea and made me forget a bit that I was miserable. I have watched movie after movie after movie this week, and they all have become one big blur. Highlights include the second season of Foyle’s War (you must watch this, it is wonderful) and the first season of Heroes (Yattaa!!!). Save the cheerleader, save the world!!
Thursday night was my first outing for the week (except for two days where I actually dragged myself to work for a couple of events and doctor’s appointments). My Barcelonan friend Jordi Barretina, who forgave me for being horrendously late, met up with me for a delicious cup of hot cocoa at Panificio on Charles Street (http://www.panificiobackbay.com/). Panificio is one of my favorite places in Beacon Hill, they have these wonderful countertop tables at the window and you can drink a lovely cup of tea or a glass of wine in the evening and do some nice people watching. Their food is excellent as well, in particular their salads can be recommended.
Friday night was dinner club, and this time Irene and Dave hosted us in Melrose, where Patrick, Ellen and I arrived after quite an odyssey, which involved my getting car sick in the end. Melrose, also in the burbs, and also originally part of Charlestown (interestingly enough it was in the “Malden” neighborhood of C-Town), is named after the burgh of Melrose in Scotland and located about 7 miles north of Boston. You wouldn’t know because it took us forever to get there (Thanks Google Maps!). Famous residents, other than Irene, include Supreme Court Justice David Souter, and (this tops it) American painter Will Cotton (Wikipedia Entry: “His primary subjects are candy and naked women, often in combination. Will's paintings often feature baked goods such as a gingerbread house or a mobile home made of waffles. He has a professional oven in his studio and makes all of these himself. Then uses them as models for the paintings.”) (http://www.willcotton.com/) . Only in America.
The evening was lovely, the food delish, the conversation spirited, even though my participation was limited as my poor little voice struggled to be heard. By the next dinner group I should be recovered fully and be able to speak up.
My friends, I have to do a little more cooking for the SuperBowl party, and then will head out to Malden for the big event.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
PetJ
But now I live in Pats Country!! Our beloved New England Patriots (http://www.newenglandpatriots.com/) are on a quest to end their season 19:0, a feat previously unaccomplished in football land. I will be heading this afternoon to a SuperBowl party at my friends Amy and Dana’s, who are big-time Pats fans, and I would not be surprised if the resident canine, The Peanut himself, would be decked out in Pats garb. The Litmans live out in Malden, a stone’s throw away from Boston. Malden, if you must know is named after Maldon in England (Blackwater Estuary – Essex), was purchased by some Puritans in 1629 from the Pawtucket Indians and was initially part of Charlestown. Its claim to fame, other than that the Litmans live there, is that it apparently was the first community to petition the colonial government to sever its ties with Britain. Rebel rousers they are, those Maldeners! You know, my favorite part of Wikipedia is to look up local cities, and then read the “Notable Residents” section – first prize in Malden goes to Joshua Titcom, ventriloquist and army general, closely followed by Fred Leuchter, an execution technician featured in a documentary called “Dr Death”. People you may actually know from Malden are Norman Greenbaum (he wrote and sang the one-hit wonder “Spirit in the Sky”), Ed Ames and Erle Stanley Gardner (he wrote the Perry Mason mysteries).
The other good news is that after ten days of being abominably sick, I seem to be on the mend. The dreaded lurgy struck me down with a vengeance and I still have to regain the full use of my vocal cords. Being that sick is no fun; many thanks to those of you who came to the rescue with phone calls, emails, visits etc. The biggest thank you goes out to Hillary and PeeWee Holloway, who came by with a load of goodies, including an impressive selection of chicken soups. Thanks to my friend Andrew who came by for a nice cup of tea and made me forget a bit that I was miserable. I have watched movie after movie after movie this week, and they all have become one big blur. Highlights include the second season of Foyle’s War (you must watch this, it is wonderful) and the first season of Heroes (Yattaa!!!). Save the cheerleader, save the world!!
Thursday night was my first outing for the week (except for two days where I actually dragged myself to work for a couple of events and doctor’s appointments). My Barcelonan friend Jordi Barretina, who forgave me for being horrendously late, met up with me for a delicious cup of hot cocoa at Panificio on Charles Street (http://www.panificiobackbay.com/). Panificio is one of my favorite places in Beacon Hill, they have these wonderful countertop tables at the window and you can drink a lovely cup of tea or a glass of wine in the evening and do some nice people watching. Their food is excellent as well, in particular their salads can be recommended.
Friday night was dinner club, and this time Irene and Dave hosted us in Melrose, where Patrick, Ellen and I arrived after quite an odyssey, which involved my getting car sick in the end. Melrose, also in the burbs, and also originally part of Charlestown (interestingly enough it was in the “Malden” neighborhood of C-Town), is named after the burgh of Melrose in Scotland and located about 7 miles north of Boston. You wouldn’t know because it took us forever to get there (Thanks Google Maps!). Famous residents, other than Irene, include Supreme Court Justice David Souter, and (this tops it) American painter Will Cotton (Wikipedia Entry: “His primary subjects are candy and naked women, often in combination. Will's paintings often feature baked goods such as a gingerbread house or a mobile home made of waffles. He has a professional oven in his studio and makes all of these himself. Then uses them as models for the paintings.”) (http://www.willcotton.com/) . Only in America.
The evening was lovely, the food delish, the conversation spirited, even though my participation was limited as my poor little voice struggled to be heard. By the next dinner group I should be recovered fully and be able to speak up.
My friends, I have to do a little more cooking for the SuperBowl party, and then will head out to Malden for the big event.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
PetJ
#34 Boston - Amy and I - January 27, 2008
Yes folks, Amy and I are now officially an item. Three dates in one week, and we even shared popcorn!!! She may have to explain that to her husband Dana, who has been very accommodating in letting his lovely wife be out on the town with me for one chick flick after another. I think I owe him something nice, a good bottle of Scotch would be appreciated I am sure.
The whole dating thing started on Sunday with a chaperoned outing (the lovely Miss Ellen Esslinger Cooley and the equally charming Paula Meleis accompanied the fledgling couple) – t’was a holiday, t’was cold, so we headed for the cinemaaaah. First chick flick of the week was “27 Dresses” featuring Katherine Heigl in a reasonably funny and delightful role and a very yummy looking James Marsden as her counterpart. The movie is entertaining enough for a nice cold winter day, and we rewarded ourselves with a little visit to Boston’s prime desert only spot, Finale (www.finaledesserts.com ). Each Finale dessert is like a piece of art and the crème brulee on my plate certainly did qualify. Add a little retail therapy post sugar rush and we had ourselves a grand day.
Movie date Number two happened on Wednesday night – I had scored two passes for an advance screening of a new movie called “Unleashed” with Diane Lane. This one, definitely not a chick flick, was the story of a lunatic who starts messing with the FBI’s cyber crime division. On his website he tortures people and the more visitors log in, the quicker and the more violently the victim dies. Not for the faint of heart I must say, and suspenseful at times but it peters off a bit in the second half and for my taste, ends a bit too quickly.
Number 3 took us to Revere this time for a showing “ PS I Love You” – category tear jerker chick flick, again reasonably entertaining, not Hillary Swank’s best role, but Gerard Butler is a tasty bit to watch. The Revere movie theater is an experience in itself, there was actually a piano bar in there! A little bit odd to have the Steinway right next to the popcorn machine, but whoever said that Revere was not worldly enough?
I had plans to go skiing this weekend, but I have been out of commission since Friday with a UTI/ maybe kidney infection – so there is not much to tell. I have been watching movie after movie, including the entire second set of Foyle’s War (great series about a police detective in a small town in England during WW II). It snowed a bit over night, and now has started to come down a bit more heavy. Looks lovely out there and Oscar and I are having a comfy day with lots of cranberry juice. Some supernatural thriller with Michael Keaton is currently playing at the Loesch Cinemas on 5th Street, and maybe later we’ll bundle up nicely and take a little walk in the snow for some nice fresh winter air.
Talk to you soon, stay warm!! Enjoy the snow and if you feel like calling me today, please do! A little diversion other than moives might be nice.
PetJ
The whole dating thing started on Sunday with a chaperoned outing (the lovely Miss Ellen Esslinger Cooley and the equally charming Paula Meleis accompanied the fledgling couple) – t’was a holiday, t’was cold, so we headed for the cinemaaaah. First chick flick of the week was “27 Dresses” featuring Katherine Heigl in a reasonably funny and delightful role and a very yummy looking James Marsden as her counterpart. The movie is entertaining enough for a nice cold winter day, and we rewarded ourselves with a little visit to Boston’s prime desert only spot, Finale (www.finaledesserts.com ). Each Finale dessert is like a piece of art and the crème brulee on my plate certainly did qualify. Add a little retail therapy post sugar rush and we had ourselves a grand day.
Movie date Number two happened on Wednesday night – I had scored two passes for an advance screening of a new movie called “Unleashed” with Diane Lane. This one, definitely not a chick flick, was the story of a lunatic who starts messing with the FBI’s cyber crime division. On his website he tortures people and the more visitors log in, the quicker and the more violently the victim dies. Not for the faint of heart I must say, and suspenseful at times but it peters off a bit in the second half and for my taste, ends a bit too quickly.
Number 3 took us to Revere this time for a showing “ PS I Love You” – category tear jerker chick flick, again reasonably entertaining, not Hillary Swank’s best role, but Gerard Butler is a tasty bit to watch. The Revere movie theater is an experience in itself, there was actually a piano bar in there! A little bit odd to have the Steinway right next to the popcorn machine, but whoever said that Revere was not worldly enough?
I had plans to go skiing this weekend, but I have been out of commission since Friday with a UTI/ maybe kidney infection – so there is not much to tell. I have been watching movie after movie, including the entire second set of Foyle’s War (great series about a police detective in a small town in England during WW II). It snowed a bit over night, and now has started to come down a bit more heavy. Looks lovely out there and Oscar and I are having a comfy day with lots of cranberry juice. Some supernatural thriller with Michael Keaton is currently playing at the Loesch Cinemas on 5th Street, and maybe later we’ll bundle up nicely and take a little walk in the snow for some nice fresh winter air.
Talk to you soon, stay warm!! Enjoy the snow and if you feel like calling me today, please do! A little diversion other than moives might be nice.
PetJ
Sunday, January 20, 2008
#33 Boston - We are Not Meditators - January 20 2008
I had brunch with my friend Hannah last week at the delectable buffet provided by The Blue Room in Cambridge (http://theblueroom.net/main.html). "You know", Hannah said, "I need a new hobby. How about world domination?" "Hmmmh", I responded, "how about I teach you knitting instead?" Maybe a hobby was not exactly what we were looking for at the time either, more something that would add a little balance to our lives, which for no apparent reason seem to spin out of control on occasion. "Maybe I should take up meditation" Hannah mumbled in between taking bites out of a plate-size egg-white omelet. Now, if there is one truth in the world at large, it is that Hannah and I are not the meditating kind. No sir. There are meditators, and then there is us. We need to move, think, do. The thought of sitting quietly somewhere, doing the "om", it won't work. I have tried, and while my body might be negotiated into sitting still for a reasonable amount of time (say 3 minutes), my mind would be going in six million directions at the same time, like a slinky on steroids.
That's why I miss running so much, perfect for non-meditators like Hannah and myself. You run a few miles, exhaust your body and clear your mind. A whopping six months of being injured and giving in to a certain amount of sloth is not good for the mind either. Enter New Year's Resolution, the Vegetable with Vegetable Diet and a solid promise to go and work out. I did make it to the gym once this week, spending one hour on the exercise bike, not because I was motivated, but because I got sucked into watching a special episode of MTV Cribs featuring the most expensive "pads" money can buy. First place went to billionaire Richard Branson, who lives on an island and hides Maria Carey in his guest house (where else would you keep her?), and second place to my old favorite Wayne Newton. I have to say though I was appalled how messy the playboy mansion was (the man is a pack rat)!!!, even though there is a certain outmoded charm to Hugh Heffner.
This weekend I squeezed most of my plans in one day, and pulled myself out of bed at 5 AM yesterday morning in order to go skiing in New Hampshire. Since there was no one on the road but myself and a few other crazies, I made it up there in 2 hours flat, and was on the slopes before 9 AM. It was a beautiful day to ski - moderately cold, the sun came out for a little while, and only on the quad lift did it get a little nippy. Skiers were out in full force, and by the afternoon the slopes were filled to the brim. My friend Rick, his sister Sally and I skied up a storm, had lunch at the Sunnyside Lodge, and later on retreated to the Simmons condo in Waterville, where the rest of the family slowly trudged in after their day of fun in the snow. Rick's nieces Emily, Michaela, Caroline, Lucy and Clara, and his nephew Henry were also on the slopes with us, and let me tell you, those youngsters can ski!! I would not dare to go anywhere near the trails they hang out on. I did decent in the morning except for one incident where one of those little ski camp brats nailed me and send me flying into the snow ("Very graceful", Rick said). By early afternoon though my legs were sore and tired, and I tumbled all over the place. Time to pack it up.
After a little social time with the Simmonses in Waterville, I headed back to Boston in order to attend Burns Night (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_Night) at my Scottish friends and running mates Mike and Vivienne's place. Their place was hoppin' with Scots and Scottish wannabes, whisky aficionados and other hangers-on. You may know Robbie Burns, as he is affectionately called by his countrymen and women, from our favorite New Year's eve song "Auld Lang Syne" and of course his stellar poetry. There are certain traditions that need to be upheld during a Burns supper - In our case we started with a good old party, mix and mingle, during which the hosts served the strangely named but most stellar tasting smoked fish chowder Cullen Skink (Mike, this soup rocked!) (http://littlefancies.blogspot.com/2006/01/cullen-skink-or-smoked-fish-chowder.html) . This was followed by a musical interlude featuring first two Scottish lasses named Lindsay playing Jazz music and then Vivienne, hostess extraordinaire, who played a rousing round of the bag pipes. The traditional part started off with the official blessing poem (also known as the Selkirk grace) "Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit. " Now, in comes the Haggis, the centerpiece of the night. Haggis, how to describe it - tastes much better than it sounds for starters. A cornucopia of a sheep's inner organs (heart, liver. lungs, whatever else they can find) is minced with spices, onions, oatmeal, fat and boiled in either a sheep's stomach or some kind of a casing for three hours. Traditionally it is served with "neeps and tatties" (turnips and potatoes, mashed separately).
Next step is to put the Haggis on the center table, and the host (Mike) reads the Burns Poem "Ode Tae a Haggis" - a ten verse homage to the blessed food. In verse one the Haggis is adored ("Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!, Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy o' a grace As lang's my arm."), in verse 3, it is cut ("His knife see rustic Labour dicht, An' cut you up wi' ready slicht, Trenching your gushing entrails bricht, Like ony ditch; And then, O what a glorious sicht, Warm-reekin, rich!"), and verse 4 describes how everyone rushes to the table to eat it. Mike bravely read 4 verses in both Scottish and English, and segued nicely to the traditional whisky toast. I did like the Haggis very much and actually went for seconds. I am not going to tell you it tastes like chicken, because that is definitely not the case. Find our yourself, will ya?
What else happened this week? Monday night I volunteered at the running club for track bingo (nice to be the person with the stop watch) and Thursday night I joined fellow Community Runners Brian, Hillary, Joao, and new friend Elena for Trivia Night at the Newtowne Grille at Porter Square. This is pretty cool (http://www.trailsideentertainment.com/stump_howtoplay.asp). Dozens of teams sit around tables, and answer questions posed by the hostess with the annoying voice. Who knew that Grandmaster Flash was born on Barbados, the Island of Flying Fish? My life is so much richer for knowing just that. We did have a good time, and came in better than average. Life was good.
It is Sunday, I just finished my citizenship application, which I will send off this week, and now it is time to go load up some photos. Tomorrow is a holiday here in the US of A and I will meet up with some girl friends to do girly things. There you have it.
Ciao for now,
pet:)
That's why I miss running so much, perfect for non-meditators like Hannah and myself. You run a few miles, exhaust your body and clear your mind. A whopping six months of being injured and giving in to a certain amount of sloth is not good for the mind either. Enter New Year's Resolution, the Vegetable with Vegetable Diet and a solid promise to go and work out. I did make it to the gym once this week, spending one hour on the exercise bike, not because I was motivated, but because I got sucked into watching a special episode of MTV Cribs featuring the most expensive "pads" money can buy. First place went to billionaire Richard Branson, who lives on an island and hides Maria Carey in his guest house (where else would you keep her?), and second place to my old favorite Wayne Newton. I have to say though I was appalled how messy the playboy mansion was (the man is a pack rat)!!!, even though there is a certain outmoded charm to Hugh Heffner.
This weekend I squeezed most of my plans in one day, and pulled myself out of bed at 5 AM yesterday morning in order to go skiing in New Hampshire. Since there was no one on the road but myself and a few other crazies, I made it up there in 2 hours flat, and was on the slopes before 9 AM. It was a beautiful day to ski - moderately cold, the sun came out for a little while, and only on the quad lift did it get a little nippy. Skiers were out in full force, and by the afternoon the slopes were filled to the brim. My friend Rick, his sister Sally and I skied up a storm, had lunch at the Sunnyside Lodge, and later on retreated to the Simmons condo in Waterville, where the rest of the family slowly trudged in after their day of fun in the snow. Rick's nieces Emily, Michaela, Caroline, Lucy and Clara, and his nephew Henry were also on the slopes with us, and let me tell you, those youngsters can ski!! I would not dare to go anywhere near the trails they hang out on. I did decent in the morning except for one incident where one of those little ski camp brats nailed me and send me flying into the snow ("Very graceful", Rick said). By early afternoon though my legs were sore and tired, and I tumbled all over the place. Time to pack it up.
After a little social time with the Simmonses in Waterville, I headed back to Boston in order to attend Burns Night (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_Night) at my Scottish friends and running mates Mike and Vivienne's place. Their place was hoppin' with Scots and Scottish wannabes, whisky aficionados and other hangers-on. You may know Robbie Burns, as he is affectionately called by his countrymen and women, from our favorite New Year's eve song "Auld Lang Syne" and of course his stellar poetry. There are certain traditions that need to be upheld during a Burns supper - In our case we started with a good old party, mix and mingle, during which the hosts served the strangely named but most stellar tasting smoked fish chowder Cullen Skink (Mike, this soup rocked!) (http://littlefancies.blogspot.com/2006/01/cullen-skink-or-smoked-fish-chowder.html) . This was followed by a musical interlude featuring first two Scottish lasses named Lindsay playing Jazz music and then Vivienne, hostess extraordinaire, who played a rousing round of the bag pipes. The traditional part started off with the official blessing poem (also known as the Selkirk grace) "Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit. " Now, in comes the Haggis, the centerpiece of the night. Haggis, how to describe it - tastes much better than it sounds for starters. A cornucopia of a sheep's inner organs (heart, liver. lungs, whatever else they can find) is minced with spices, onions, oatmeal, fat and boiled in either a sheep's stomach or some kind of a casing for three hours. Traditionally it is served with "neeps and tatties" (turnips and potatoes, mashed separately).
Next step is to put the Haggis on the center table, and the host (Mike) reads the Burns Poem "Ode Tae a Haggis" - a ten verse homage to the blessed food. In verse one the Haggis is adored ("Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!, Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy o' a grace As lang's my arm."), in verse 3, it is cut ("His knife see rustic Labour dicht, An' cut you up wi' ready slicht, Trenching your gushing entrails bricht, Like ony ditch; And then, O what a glorious sicht, Warm-reekin, rich!"), and verse 4 describes how everyone rushes to the table to eat it. Mike bravely read 4 verses in both Scottish and English, and segued nicely to the traditional whisky toast. I did like the Haggis very much and actually went for seconds. I am not going to tell you it tastes like chicken, because that is definitely not the case. Find our yourself, will ya?
What else happened this week? Monday night I volunteered at the running club for track bingo (nice to be the person with the stop watch) and Thursday night I joined fellow Community Runners Brian, Hillary, Joao, and new friend Elena for Trivia Night at the Newtowne Grille at Porter Square. This is pretty cool (http://www.trailsideentertainment.com/stump_howtoplay.asp). Dozens of teams sit around tables, and answer questions posed by the hostess with the annoying voice. Who knew that Grandmaster Flash was born on Barbados, the Island of Flying Fish? My life is so much richer for knowing just that. We did have a good time, and came in better than average. Life was good.
It is Sunday, I just finished my citizenship application, which I will send off this week, and now it is time to go load up some photos. Tomorrow is a holiday here in the US of A and I will meet up with some girl friends to do girly things. There you have it.
Ciao for now,
pet:)
Sunday, January 13, 2008
#32 Boston - The Aftermath of Gluttony- January 13th 08
Back in Boston and dealing with the aftermath of my gluttonous behavior over the month of December into the New Year. I have not touched a drink of alcohol since New Year’s Eve, and really don’t feel like it, and like so many others have embarked on a healthy eating spree, the so-called “Vegetable with Vegetable Sauce” diet. My good friend Stephanie actually came up with that one - and I for a moment may have considered it, but somehow “broccoli with broccoli sauce” is just not the world’s most enticing menu option.
Exercising is the key factor here, and for the past few days my wretched right heel has been feeling somewhat better following the purchase of some new sneakers and inserts, and maybe we - I are finally on the way to complete recovery. My friend Joo in New Zealand has invited me to run a Half Marathon later this year with her, and since it was my plan to visit New Zealand in the fall, this may just be the right goal to have in sight. For the near future a couple of skiing day trips will do the trick as I plan to head to New Hampshire next weekend for some downhill action.
So yes, I am back in the US, with a good dose of jet lag. I had spent a wonderful and relaxing two weeks in Germany and the weekend before my departure, Martin, Marion, Andrea and I decided to go for a little excursion. Our first stop was the Vitra Museum of Design in the city of Weil - http://www.design-museum.de/index.php. Sponsored by Swiss company Vitra, the museum was established in 1989 to host traveling exhibits showcasing major design and architectural trends. Pretty cool place, and on the day of our visit, the Vitra featured an extensive exhibit on Le Corbusier, the world-famous Swiss-born-turned French architect (http://www.fondationlecorbusier.asso.fr/) . His real name was Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, his face now graces the Swiss 10 Franc note - so we can safely assume that he did do well. He was quite the talent, aside from being a pioneer of modern architecture; he also was a painter with a noticeable love of Cubism, sculptor, and furniture designer. I first learned about Le Corbusier at my college friend Birgit’s home, where I had the pleasure to rest in his most famous furniture piece, the Chaise Longue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:LeCorbusierChaise.jpg). When it comes to my personal taste of décor, I am not that into modern design, but let me tell you that is the most comfortable piece of furniture ever. Ask my friend Birgit and her family – I did not want to leave the chair, and for several moments seriously contemplated asking them to bring the meals to me there. Le Corbusier was also a big shot urban planner with the goal of creating efficient housing for crowded cities; with the Unite d”Habitation in Marseille being the most recognizable example of his work. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit%C3%A9_d%27Habitation
Next on our tour for the day was the charming town of Bad Saeckingen at the Swiss border (http://www.badische-seiten.de/bilder/bad-saeckingen/) – founded in the 6th century it has several claims to fame. First, it features the longest covered wooden bridge in Europe (200 meters) (http://www.badische-seiten.de/bilder/bad-saeckingen/index.php?o=bad-saeckingen&n=5) - walking along it one crosses from Germany into Stein, Switzerland. Second is the famous story of the “Trumpeter of Saeckingen”, written in 1854 by Joseph Victor von Scheffel. A dramatic love story,of course, depicting the true tale of the romance between noble Maria Ursula von Schoenau and the castle trumpeter Franz Werner Kirchhofer. They married for love, and with their commitment broke the taboo of marrying only “within your station”. Trailblazers they were! As a result, the city is littered with references to trumpets, statues of trumpeters, trumpet repair shops, you name it.
The city itself is just wonderful – a spa town (hence the “Bad” aka “Bath” as the fist part of the name, only designated spa towns are allowed to carry this prefix)., located on the edge of the so-called Hotzenwald, it was once just a small island amidst the then-mightier Rhine River. It was first settled in the 5th century, but with the foundation of a church by Irish saint Fridolin started taking shape. Its name stems from the convent “Seckinga” established in the 9th century. The town dazzles with historic building after historic building, among them the St Fridolin’s Muenster (Dome of St Fridolin), a stunning example of gothic architecture (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Fridolingsmuenster_Saeckingen.jpg ) and Schoenau Caslte (Schloss Schoenau - http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Schloss_Schoenau_Bad_Saeckingen.jpg).
The trip back to the US was uneventful, no 11 hour-layovers or other such nonsense this time. The week has gone by mercifully swift, and jet lag seems to have disappeared thanks to a few 9-hour sleep sessions. Monday night, I picked up that little housemate of mine, a yellow bird named Oscar, aka Banana Boy or Mr Meyer, and after an initial period to get reacquainted (it was pretty much him yelling at me all the way home), we are now comfortably back to our old habits (Oscar demanding food, me giving it to him just to shut him up, that sort of thing).
Tuesday night Steph and I went for a lovely dinner at Ma Soba on Cambridge Street (http://www.masobaboston.com/) for some tasty Bi Bim Bap. Wednesday, ha, following a hair cut I embarked on an involuntary two-hour odyssey hunting for my house keys all over Boston. This was Petra at her best – searching for the darn keys, making many friends along the way, including the owner of a lovely Japanese store on Charles Street. Eventually, but not before walking myself tired and almost jumping at the cabbie’s throat when he asked me “And how was your day?”, I learned of their location in the MGH Photolab, where I had deposited them mid-day for reasons yet to be explored.
I was rewarded for this obscure and tiresome experience with a lovely evening on Thursday – ushering at the Lyric State company for the off-Broadway premiere of the musical “Adrift in Macao” – written by funny man Christopher Durang, this was an absolutely histerical spoof on the Film Noir Genre (https://lyricstage.com/main_stage/adrift_in_macao/) – funny and spirited, and if you happen to have some time on you before the 3rd of February, go see it. Tons of fun!
Aside from that, I have been cooped up at home, watching episode after episode of the British spy series MI-5 (Season 2), interrupting this newfound addiction only to head out for a nice cup of hot cocoa with my good friend Elaine at Charlestown’s newest café, Zumes Coffee House on Main Street – a wonderful and cozy spot for a lazy Saturday afternoon.
I am now about to head out for brunch with my dynamic and gorgeous friend Hannah – to one of my favorite places in the Boston Area - The Blue Room (http://www.theblueroom.net/main.html). Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!!
Pet:)
Exercising is the key factor here, and for the past few days my wretched right heel has been feeling somewhat better following the purchase of some new sneakers and inserts, and maybe we - I are finally on the way to complete recovery. My friend Joo in New Zealand has invited me to run a Half Marathon later this year with her, and since it was my plan to visit New Zealand in the fall, this may just be the right goal to have in sight. For the near future a couple of skiing day trips will do the trick as I plan to head to New Hampshire next weekend for some downhill action.
So yes, I am back in the US, with a good dose of jet lag. I had spent a wonderful and relaxing two weeks in Germany and the weekend before my departure, Martin, Marion, Andrea and I decided to go for a little excursion. Our first stop was the Vitra Museum of Design in the city of Weil - http://www.design-museum.de/index.php. Sponsored by Swiss company Vitra, the museum was established in 1989 to host traveling exhibits showcasing major design and architectural trends. Pretty cool place, and on the day of our visit, the Vitra featured an extensive exhibit on Le Corbusier, the world-famous Swiss-born-turned French architect (http://www.fondationlecorbusier.asso.fr/) . His real name was Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, his face now graces the Swiss 10 Franc note - so we can safely assume that he did do well. He was quite the talent, aside from being a pioneer of modern architecture; he also was a painter with a noticeable love of Cubism, sculptor, and furniture designer. I first learned about Le Corbusier at my college friend Birgit’s home, where I had the pleasure to rest in his most famous furniture piece, the Chaise Longue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:LeCorbusierChaise.jpg). When it comes to my personal taste of décor, I am not that into modern design, but let me tell you that is the most comfortable piece of furniture ever. Ask my friend Birgit and her family – I did not want to leave the chair, and for several moments seriously contemplated asking them to bring the meals to me there. Le Corbusier was also a big shot urban planner with the goal of creating efficient housing for crowded cities; with the Unite d”Habitation in Marseille being the most recognizable example of his work. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit%C3%A9_d%27Habitation
Next on our tour for the day was the charming town of Bad Saeckingen at the Swiss border (http://www.badische-seiten.de/bilder/bad-saeckingen/) – founded in the 6th century it has several claims to fame. First, it features the longest covered wooden bridge in Europe (200 meters) (http://www.badische-seiten.de/bilder/bad-saeckingen/index.php?o=bad-saeckingen&n=5) - walking along it one crosses from Germany into Stein, Switzerland. Second is the famous story of the “Trumpeter of Saeckingen”, written in 1854 by Joseph Victor von Scheffel. A dramatic love story,of course, depicting the true tale of the romance between noble Maria Ursula von Schoenau and the castle trumpeter Franz Werner Kirchhofer. They married for love, and with their commitment broke the taboo of marrying only “within your station”. Trailblazers they were! As a result, the city is littered with references to trumpets, statues of trumpeters, trumpet repair shops, you name it.
The city itself is just wonderful – a spa town (hence the “Bad” aka “Bath” as the fist part of the name, only designated spa towns are allowed to carry this prefix)., located on the edge of the so-called Hotzenwald, it was once just a small island amidst the then-mightier Rhine River. It was first settled in the 5th century, but with the foundation of a church by Irish saint Fridolin started taking shape. Its name stems from the convent “Seckinga” established in the 9th century. The town dazzles with historic building after historic building, among them the St Fridolin’s Muenster (Dome of St Fridolin), a stunning example of gothic architecture (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Fridolingsmuenster_Saeckingen.jpg ) and Schoenau Caslte (Schloss Schoenau - http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Schloss_Schoenau_Bad_Saeckingen.jpg).
The trip back to the US was uneventful, no 11 hour-layovers or other such nonsense this time. The week has gone by mercifully swift, and jet lag seems to have disappeared thanks to a few 9-hour sleep sessions. Monday night, I picked up that little housemate of mine, a yellow bird named Oscar, aka Banana Boy or Mr Meyer, and after an initial period to get reacquainted (it was pretty much him yelling at me all the way home), we are now comfortably back to our old habits (Oscar demanding food, me giving it to him just to shut him up, that sort of thing).
Tuesday night Steph and I went for a lovely dinner at Ma Soba on Cambridge Street (http://www.masobaboston.com/) for some tasty Bi Bim Bap. Wednesday, ha, following a hair cut I embarked on an involuntary two-hour odyssey hunting for my house keys all over Boston. This was Petra at her best – searching for the darn keys, making many friends along the way, including the owner of a lovely Japanese store on Charles Street. Eventually, but not before walking myself tired and almost jumping at the cabbie’s throat when he asked me “And how was your day?”, I learned of their location in the MGH Photolab, where I had deposited them mid-day for reasons yet to be explored.
I was rewarded for this obscure and tiresome experience with a lovely evening on Thursday – ushering at the Lyric State company for the off-Broadway premiere of the musical “Adrift in Macao” – written by funny man Christopher Durang, this was an absolutely histerical spoof on the Film Noir Genre (https://lyricstage.com/main_stage/adrift_in_macao/) – funny and spirited, and if you happen to have some time on you before the 3rd of February, go see it. Tons of fun!
Aside from that, I have been cooped up at home, watching episode after episode of the British spy series MI-5 (Season 2), interrupting this newfound addiction only to head out for a nice cup of hot cocoa with my good friend Elaine at Charlestown’s newest café, Zumes Coffee House on Main Street – a wonderful and cozy spot for a lazy Saturday afternoon.
I am now about to head out for brunch with my dynamic and gorgeous friend Hannah – to one of my favorite places in the Boston Area - The Blue Room (http://www.theblueroom.net/main.html). Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!!
Pet:)
#31 Boston - German for Beginners, January 3, 2008
Greetings Earthlings from chilly Germany! First up, a lesson in that native tongue of mine. This may be slightly different lesson than you may be used to. This one may apply mostly to the Loesch household, and may not be used in Germany in public.
Satan (pronounce "suddun") has nothing to do with the dude with the horns and the red cape, but in my brother's house is a intentional mispronounciation of "Southern" as in "Southern Comfort", known as SoCo in my circle of friends. After my brother and his entourage discovered a somewhat abandoned bottle of the tasty stuff in my place in October, this has become one of their favorite libations to sample.
Seckel, again an intentional mispronounciation, this time deriving from "Sekt" or "Prosecco", the bubbly stuff consumed in liberal quantities around the holidays. Seckel (also Seggel) in that undecipherable Southern German dialect of mine means Idiot or bonehead and is only used to insult males. (No need to worry, we do have words for the other gender as well, no shortage here).
This could go on quite a bit - to call the Southern German dialect colorful would be an understatement, and some of the phrases even my 72-year old aunt spits out over lunch are definitely not fit to be printed. Of course, every time that very social family of mine gets together, we create our own language (no matter if there is alcohol involved or not, and new words and phrases in the Loesch Dictionary now include "pasan" (parmesan cheese), the "five-course course", "tastewise it is tasty" and my favorite "I paid for it, I'll eat it." One phrase you might find useful, in particular if you do plan to drive on our suicidal roadway known as the Autobahn, is "Gib Gas!", which is the equivalent for "Step on It!" The Autobahn, contrary to everyone's notion, does have speed limits in quite a few areas, but where there is not, things get quite scary. There are only two options- in the right lane with all the other slowpokes and the trucks (they have a speed limit wherever they go) or in the left lane with the UFOs. I try to avoid driving on the Autobahn if possible, no need to get an ulcer now.
A couple of very positive developments here in good old Germany - first, in my home state of Baden Württemberg and a few other states, smoking has been outlawed in restaurants. How great is that! Eating out has become quite a different experience and I for one am quite happy about it. Secondly more and more stores here take credit cards (they used to take only EU credit cards for a while) - again very positive.
So, let's see. I left you last week Thursday and since then vacationing and visiting friends and family was the main agenda item for my visit. I did have a chance to see an aunt of mine, who has been ill for a while, and we did spent quite a nice afternoon. In the evening, Andrea, Marion and I headed into town for a nice meal at the Restaurant Salmen, a charming place owned by a friend of ours (this used to be a dark and dingy dive and hats off to Volker for restoring it to be a nice and decent place to have a meal and a good time).
Then this past Friday, as promised, it was time to head up into the Blackforest (http://images.google.de/images?hl=de&q=Schwarzwald&gbv=2) for some of the white stuff. "Dashing through the snow with a surgical boot on my foot, o'er the hills we go, Petra's heel still kaputt....". Accompanied by my friends Gitta, her husband Joachim and daughter Lucia, as well as my friends Gisela and Fritz, we headed up to the Wiedener Eck to see some nice snow(http://images.google.de/images?gbv=2&svnum=10&hl=de&q=Wiedener+Eck). While Joachim, Lucia and Fritz hoofed it along the cross-country trails (known as Loipen), the girls trudged alongside the trails, watched the skiers and knuckle draggers (snowboarders) and let the sun shine in our faces. A stylish plastic bag gave the surgical boot and my toes some protection from the snow, and all was well. A brief stop at the Wiedener Eck Restaurant for a "snack" turned into a full-fledged meal which included some decadent apple fritters with vanilla ice cream and everyone was ready for a digestive nap once we got home. (http:/)/www.wiedener-eck.de/
Saturday we stayed close to home, walked around the neighborhood a bit, and then decided to head over to Basel, Switzerland (http://images.google.de/images?gbv=2&svnum=10&hl=de&q=Basel), a mere 15-minute drive from home, to check out the Grand Casino (http://www.grandcasinobasel.com/). Pretty snazzy looking from the outside, very colorful, the inside is smoky, and quite a bit more drab than I had expected. Aside from a few others that just like our little posse wanted to just test the waters, this seemed to be the playground for the serious addiction gambler, and more than once we got elbowed away from the tables. While my brother tested his luck near the Roulette tables, Andrea, Marion and I headed for the slot machines, which proved to be quite the challenge. The language on the screens for the one-armed bandits were in both German and English, but did not really explain anything, and the language on the buttons to be pushed were in French. After a more than frustrating experience hopping from machine to machine, and not really accomplishing anything I turned in my jetons and headed to the bar for some wine. Overall one of those "been there, done it" kind of experiences.
Sunday again turned out quite quiet, with a nice walk and an afternoon visit to our friends Ralf and Margit, who live just across the creek, and whose sons Joshua and David provided the entertainment alongside a lovely Kaffeeklatsch. It was my first time meeting young David, who was born in early 2007 and who is quite a little flirt. Following the coffee and Applestrudel affair I got seriously beaten by Joshua in a game of "Apple Tree" - each player had a certain supply of apples, and had to get ten in a basket, however somehow all the other players ended up emptying my basket, and Joshua for one showed no mercy, not even a hint.
The evening was spent in Auggen, a community about 7 minutes south-east of Neuenburg with a visit to my friends Fritz and Gisela. Fritz, if you must know is the Mayor of Auggen - http://www.auggen.de/ .Aside from that, he is also a trained chef and for many years ran a winery, so dinners at the Deutschmanns are always a treat (and of course, Gisela is no distant second when it comes to cooking, I have no idea how she does it all - we even had homemade Bailey's Irish Cream!). We did have Raclette that night (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raclette), a traditional Swiss dish, where cheese is melted and browned in small little pans, and one adds all kinds of goodies such as ham, mushrooms, onions, veggies and of course, pickles. Yummm!!!!!
I thought Boston runners were tough,but the Southern German contingent are no wussies either. Monday, after shopping and first preparations for New Year's Eve (known as Silvester in these parts), Martin, Marion, Andrea and I headed to the tradi tional "Silvesterlauf" in Britzingen. This 10 K roadrace is held evey year; about 400 runners make their way through the foothills of the Blackforest, past vineyard after vineyard, and are welcomed by a very enthusiastic crowd. What I did find interesting was that not only the spectators, but also the runners stood in line to warm up with a glas of two of traditional Gluehwein (mulled wine= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluehwein). Red wine is the last thing I would drink right before a 10 K, but then again, pre-race warm up is different for everyone, eh?
New Year's Eve at my family's home is celebrated with a surprise dinner. Names are pulled out of a hat, three days prior, and each person is assigned either an appetizer, first course, main course or desert. You are not allowed to disclose which meal you are cooking and what you will prepare. This will ensure a pretty interesting combination of dishes, but you know what? We did pretty good. Aside from a snafu in the preparation of the desert (which included a couple of emergency trips to the store, involvement of a desert consultant, several exploding balloons, my brother screaming expletives and maybe a paint job in the kitchen) everything went smoothly. The menu included sesame chicken strip with a green pepper cocktail sauce (Petra), fresh pea soup (Marion), Coq au Vin (Andrea) and a Vanillamousse with Mango Purree in choclate bowls (Martin). There was lots of wine, champagne, a visit to the neighbors around 12:30 AM to ring in the New Year, card games until about 3 AM and other such things. Fireworks at midnight here are always a bit crazy, our street looked like a war zone, and it was a big surprise that the neighbor's mini van did stay intact and did not blow up.
Tuesday, the first day of the year, did start a little slow; all of use experienced some slight malaise on account of the fact that we did go to bed at 4 AM and maybe had just a wee bit too much to drink (and I have not touched anything since - time to take a break). A little fresh air and a nice stroll through the city of Muellheim and a visit to Erika (Marion and Andrea's mom) rounded out the day (http://www.muellheim.de/).
Yesterday we went to Freiburg, my old college town (http://images.google.de/images?gbv=2&svnum=10&um=1&hl=de&q=Freiburg), mainly for the purpose of retail therapy, we shopped til we dropped at a nice Italian restaurant, which did come highly recommended. While the food was definitely more than tasty, the wait staff of one was a wee bit overwhelmed, ran through the place like a tractor huffing and puffing, and I believe was pretty much ready to cry at a moment's notice.
My friends, time to go now, hope you rang in the New Year quite nicely! I will head back to Boston this Sunday, and hope to see many of you soon.
pet:)
Satan (pronounce "suddun") has nothing to do with the dude with the horns and the red cape, but in my brother's house is a intentional mispronounciation of "Southern" as in "Southern Comfort", known as SoCo in my circle of friends. After my brother and his entourage discovered a somewhat abandoned bottle of the tasty stuff in my place in October, this has become one of their favorite libations to sample.
Seckel, again an intentional mispronounciation, this time deriving from "Sekt" or "Prosecco", the bubbly stuff consumed in liberal quantities around the holidays. Seckel (also Seggel) in that undecipherable Southern German dialect of mine means Idiot or bonehead and is only used to insult males. (No need to worry, we do have words for the other gender as well, no shortage here).
This could go on quite a bit - to call the Southern German dialect colorful would be an understatement, and some of the phrases even my 72-year old aunt spits out over lunch are definitely not fit to be printed. Of course, every time that very social family of mine gets together, we create our own language (no matter if there is alcohol involved or not, and new words and phrases in the Loesch Dictionary now include "pasan" (parmesan cheese), the "five-course course", "tastewise it is tasty" and my favorite "I paid for it, I'll eat it." One phrase you might find useful, in particular if you do plan to drive on our suicidal roadway known as the Autobahn, is "Gib Gas!", which is the equivalent for "Step on It!" The Autobahn, contrary to everyone's notion, does have speed limits in quite a few areas, but where there is not, things get quite scary. There are only two options- in the right lane with all the other slowpokes and the trucks (they have a speed limit wherever they go) or in the left lane with the UFOs. I try to avoid driving on the Autobahn if possible, no need to get an ulcer now.
A couple of very positive developments here in good old Germany - first, in my home state of Baden Württemberg and a few other states, smoking has been outlawed in restaurants. How great is that! Eating out has become quite a different experience and I for one am quite happy about it. Secondly more and more stores here take credit cards (they used to take only EU credit cards for a while) - again very positive.
So, let's see. I left you last week Thursday and since then vacationing and visiting friends and family was the main agenda item for my visit. I did have a chance to see an aunt of mine, who has been ill for a while, and we did spent quite a nice afternoon. In the evening, Andrea, Marion and I headed into town for a nice meal at the Restaurant Salmen, a charming place owned by a friend of ours (this used to be a dark and dingy dive and hats off to Volker for restoring it to be a nice and decent place to have a meal and a good time).
Then this past Friday, as promised, it was time to head up into the Blackforest (http://images.google.de/images?hl=de&q=Schwarzwald&gbv=2) for some of the white stuff. "Dashing through the snow with a surgical boot on my foot, o'er the hills we go, Petra's heel still kaputt....". Accompanied by my friends Gitta, her husband Joachim and daughter Lucia, as well as my friends Gisela and Fritz, we headed up to the Wiedener Eck to see some nice snow(http://images.google.de/images?gbv=2&svnum=10&hl=de&q=Wiedener+Eck). While Joachim, Lucia and Fritz hoofed it along the cross-country trails (known as Loipen), the girls trudged alongside the trails, watched the skiers and knuckle draggers (snowboarders) and let the sun shine in our faces. A stylish plastic bag gave the surgical boot and my toes some protection from the snow, and all was well. A brief stop at the Wiedener Eck Restaurant for a "snack" turned into a full-fledged meal which included some decadent apple fritters with vanilla ice cream and everyone was ready for a digestive nap once we got home. (http:/)/www.wiedener-eck.de/
Saturday we stayed close to home, walked around the neighborhood a bit, and then decided to head over to Basel, Switzerland (http://images.google.de/images?gbv=2&svnum=10&hl=de&q=Basel), a mere 15-minute drive from home, to check out the Grand Casino (http://www.grandcasinobasel.com/). Pretty snazzy looking from the outside, very colorful, the inside is smoky, and quite a bit more drab than I had expected. Aside from a few others that just like our little posse wanted to just test the waters, this seemed to be the playground for the serious addiction gambler, and more than once we got elbowed away from the tables. While my brother tested his luck near the Roulette tables, Andrea, Marion and I headed for the slot machines, which proved to be quite the challenge. The language on the screens for the one-armed bandits were in both German and English, but did not really explain anything, and the language on the buttons to be pushed were in French. After a more than frustrating experience hopping from machine to machine, and not really accomplishing anything I turned in my jetons and headed to the bar for some wine. Overall one of those "been there, done it" kind of experiences.
Sunday again turned out quite quiet, with a nice walk and an afternoon visit to our friends Ralf and Margit, who live just across the creek, and whose sons Joshua and David provided the entertainment alongside a lovely Kaffeeklatsch. It was my first time meeting young David, who was born in early 2007 and who is quite a little flirt. Following the coffee and Applestrudel affair I got seriously beaten by Joshua in a game of "Apple Tree" - each player had a certain supply of apples, and had to get ten in a basket, however somehow all the other players ended up emptying my basket, and Joshua for one showed no mercy, not even a hint.
The evening was spent in Auggen, a community about 7 minutes south-east of Neuenburg with a visit to my friends Fritz and Gisela. Fritz, if you must know is the Mayor of Auggen - http://www.auggen.de/ .Aside from that, he is also a trained chef and for many years ran a winery, so dinners at the Deutschmanns are always a treat (and of course, Gisela is no distant second when it comes to cooking, I have no idea how she does it all - we even had homemade Bailey's Irish Cream!). We did have Raclette that night (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raclette), a traditional Swiss dish, where cheese is melted and browned in small little pans, and one adds all kinds of goodies such as ham, mushrooms, onions, veggies and of course, pickles. Yummm!!!!!
I thought Boston runners were tough,but the Southern German contingent are no wussies either. Monday, after shopping and first preparations for New Year's Eve (known as Silvester in these parts), Martin, Marion, Andrea and I headed to the tradi tional "Silvesterlauf" in Britzingen. This 10 K roadrace is held evey year; about 400 runners make their way through the foothills of the Blackforest, past vineyard after vineyard, and are welcomed by a very enthusiastic crowd. What I did find interesting was that not only the spectators, but also the runners stood in line to warm up with a glas of two of traditional Gluehwein (mulled wine= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluehwein). Red wine is the last thing I would drink right before a 10 K, but then again, pre-race warm up is different for everyone, eh?
New Year's Eve at my family's home is celebrated with a surprise dinner. Names are pulled out of a hat, three days prior, and each person is assigned either an appetizer, first course, main course or desert. You are not allowed to disclose which meal you are cooking and what you will prepare. This will ensure a pretty interesting combination of dishes, but you know what? We did pretty good. Aside from a snafu in the preparation of the desert (which included a couple of emergency trips to the store, involvement of a desert consultant, several exploding balloons, my brother screaming expletives and maybe a paint job in the kitchen) everything went smoothly. The menu included sesame chicken strip with a green pepper cocktail sauce (Petra), fresh pea soup (Marion), Coq au Vin (Andrea) and a Vanillamousse with Mango Purree in choclate bowls (Martin). There was lots of wine, champagne, a visit to the neighbors around 12:30 AM to ring in the New Year, card games until about 3 AM and other such things. Fireworks at midnight here are always a bit crazy, our street looked like a war zone, and it was a big surprise that the neighbor's mini van did stay intact and did not blow up.
Tuesday, the first day of the year, did start a little slow; all of use experienced some slight malaise on account of the fact that we did go to bed at 4 AM and maybe had just a wee bit too much to drink (and I have not touched anything since - time to take a break). A little fresh air and a nice stroll through the city of Muellheim and a visit to Erika (Marion and Andrea's mom) rounded out the day (http://www.muellheim.de/).
Yesterday we went to Freiburg, my old college town (http://images.google.de/images?gbv=2&svnum=10&um=1&hl=de&q=Freiburg), mainly for the purpose of retail therapy, we shopped til we dropped at a nice Italian restaurant, which did come highly recommended. While the food was definitely more than tasty, the wait staff of one was a wee bit overwhelmed, ran through the place like a tractor huffing and puffing, and I believe was pretty much ready to cry at a moment's notice.
My friends, time to go now, hope you rang in the New Year quite nicely! I will head back to Boston this Sunday, and hope to see many of you soon.
pet:)
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