allen in europa

Happy New Year 2010!

2010-01-04T20:08:00.003+01:00

I wish everyone a very Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year...We look forward to continuing the Journey. Hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday, I will post some photos of friends and family in the coming days. The best gift received this year was that Gisi got her Green Card! The story continues.....

Writers Block

2009-11-06T19:34:00.002+01:00

For some reason, I have no motivation to write when I'm back here in NY. That sucks. But that's where it's at right now. Maybe with work, and life and all..time is definitely tighter. Guess I need me a Lotto winner, so I can write more, and play music all the time.
I guess the other thing is I set this up as a blog to write and document my travels abroad, and I just ain't doin' that right now. Certainly not going to write about my day to day, I'm getting close to that now. So before I go any further..maybe I'll try scheduling some time to finish my journals of the last trip. And continue to post some photos from our local trips in the area.
Happy Autumn..enjoy the Holidays...Peace, Love and Understanding!

I shall return.....

2009-10-15T04:14:00.002+02:00

More to come...I need to finish writing about our trip, I know.
As soon as I settle in here...almost...some pix meanwhile here...and here. Enjoy!

Road Trip Through Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France 2009, Part 1

2009-09-23T16:16:00.005+02:00

So about the trip we took..here are some recollections to go along with the photos...
We started out travelling to Gisi's home town of Ehingen, a Schwäbian town about 3 hours from here in Freiburg. It is on the left bank of the Donau river, which further east becomes the Danube. She had to arrange for the local florist gardener to maintain her parents grave, go see her banker at the Sparkässe, and see her car dealer to see if he would be interested in selling her Barchetta. We also visited the Cemetary to say goodbye for now. After completeing these tasks, we set out for the Bodensee, to the town of Unteruhldingen on the main body of the lake. It is a busy resort area in the summer and quite a beautiful lake. We stayed at an older hotel, the Seerose, just across the street from the lakeshore. We were in walking distance of the marina and lake front park, and there are plenty of hotels and restaurants nearby. It was very relaxing, and after a local seafood dinner, we watched the sunset over the lake. We could see the Swiss Alps in the distance to the south, and were excited knowing we were going to be in the midst of them in the coming days. The folowing day we rented bikes and first rode to the famous church at Birnau, and then to the town of Meersburg. It was a gorgeous morning and we really enjoyed the ride in the bright sunshine. Later that day we went to Steißlingen to visit with some of Gisi's relatives. First we went to see Tante Irmgard who is in her 70's, and is Gisi's aunt. She was really lovely, we had coffee and cakes at her house. She was very happy that we were married, and I think she liked me. Of course, most of the older folks don't speak English, so I have to trust Gisi's interpratation ;-). After an emotional farewell, we went to see her godmother, also Gisi, and her family. They wanted to take us out to dinner to celebrate our marriage. We went to a lovely Italian resturant on the shore of the lake and had a great time and dinner. In addition to Gisi and her husband Franz, we were joined by another cousin Berthold, and godmother Gisi's son Ralf, along with his daughter and step daughter. It was really great to meet Gisi's family and everyone was to nice..they seemed really happy to see Gisi and were excited for her new plans. Of course we invited them to come visit New York, and I hope they do. Not many of them have been to the states, so it would be fun and I would love to give them a tour of our home town.

The next morning we started out for Lake Como...about a 4 hour drive. We took some time longer as we were in no rush and the journey itself was so beautiful and part of the reason we chose our route. The plan was to drive through some of the highest Alp regions in Switzerland, Italy and France. It's a fairly easy route, and it took us through so many spectacular vistas...so the drive was really part of the fun. Especially with the great weather and the top down! Just perfect.
We started out along the lake, a chilly morning. Soon we were in Bavaria for a short while, around Lindau. We were then in Austria, again for a short while. We stopped in Bregenz for a break and a snack. We got back on the Autobahn and were quickly in Switzerland. Now we started to really see the Alps ahead. After a while we took an exit to see the town of Vaduz in Lichtenstein. Well it was right there, so I had to go see it! We didn't really stay long, took a few pictures and got back on the road. Our next stop was Heidiland, in Switzerland. We stopped here to buy some lunch supplies in anticipation of getting up on the San Bernadino Pass, a good rest point to take in the beauty of the high peaks. Ok, so thats four countries we were in, and it wasn't quite noon yet.
We drove on in the foothills and valleys of the Swiss Alps, noticing it was quite industrial, and not very pretty. That soon changed as we got up higher in altitude and approached the Entrance to the San Bernadino tunnell, a quicker way to get to Italy, as opposed to climbing over the pass. We were going over the pass. The route from there on was a small two lane road, not very wide, and really steep with many switchback turns..and awesome views. There was hardly any other traffic which really made it enjoyable and we were able to enjoy the road at our own pace. Mostly we encountered motercycles, that is a big thing here. Bikers every weekend set out to cross mountain passes, just for the thrill of the ride.
We made it to San Bernadino about 1pm, so we stopped and had lunch in the sunshine and clear air, at about 7000ft above sea level. We hung out for about an hour, walked around a bit, checked out the sights...then for the ride downhill...towards Lugano, and eventually Lake Como. It was a long descent, but going down is always faster. We passed through some gorgeous valleys and the afternoon light looked so pretty on the mountainside. As we got towards Lugano, traffic increased and we could see we were heading back into populated areas, suburbs and towns. It wouldn't be long before we were in Como. So although we were still in Switzerland, it was very Italian sounding..the names of the towns (Bellinzona, Cadenazzo) and such. We've been to several areas in Switzerland and it amazes me how different they are. In the western part, next to France..it is French speaking..north, east and central are German speaking, or at least a dialect of German. And at the Italian border areas (Ticino) in the south, an Italian dialect is spoken. It is a really beautiful country, and it's been so much fun visiting the different parts of it. But is tends to be very expensive (except for gasoline, go figure)..restaurants are exorbitant in my experiance. And they don't use the Euro. So we end up with Swiss Francs in our pocket. But now we are quickly approaching the Italian border. Next stop..Lago di Como. See the photos here.

Back from our road trip..and the eating was fine!

2009-09-16T20:33:00.007+02:00

Food..That's what's on my mind right now. Why? Because we just got back from 8 days travelling through some of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, with fantastic weather, and we had such amazing food along the way. And since I no longer drink or smoke, I need to obsess about something! Gimme a break here.
OK, we are back, but that didn't stop us from still continuing to enjoy our trip. We just had dinner..4 cheeses from France, 2 from Italy, some Pate´, Saucisson l'ail, Chorizo..all from France...a baguette, a cereal batard and a Savoyard tart with potato, onions, cheese and lardon. Yes from France. And Mustard...from France. See where this is going?
The French have amazing food. Like you didn't already know that. But I mean really..we didn't have a thing I wouldn't have again or highly recommend. The variety and quality of all their products is just astounding. Simple things..like onions, bread, butter. Here's what we had tonight.....
A Bleu de Bresse, a Goat cheese with olive, an unpastureised Brie, and another Goat (not sure of the type, could be a St Marcellin goat?), from the Alain Hess shop in Beaune, and a Fontina d'aosta and a Stavechhia from Aosta, Italy (see photo). Each one a wonder of flavor and scent..just out of this world. And the sausages and pate, not expensive or fancy, just solid, good, quality food. I love this stuff.
And the Savoy tart..here's what we learned in the Haute-Savoie...they meld potato, cheese (Reblochon), onions and Smoked ham or lardon together really well. The invented a dish with it 25 years or so ago, Tartiflette...., it's served throughout the region. And then they also put it on some dough and bake it altogether, so you can eat it anytime..hot or cold..just heaven! Say whatever you want about the French, and they are rude drivers from my experiance (but that's another story) (Hmmm, maybe it was the German liscense plate!).. they have some of the best food in the world and you can't take that away from them. I could go on..but you get the idea...

As for the Italians..well another awesome foodscape..especially if you're fortunate enough to eat home cooked, locally sourced foods, as we were able to do at the Agriturismo we stayed at. Along the way, we bought some great cheeses, and local hams..Jamon de Bosses from the Alps, Parma Prociutto of course, Smoked speck from Aosta, mortadella. Mmmmmm!! We had some wonderful roadside lunches along the way in the mountains. Actually they could have been better...if we had some REAL BREAD!! What the fuck's up with that? I was in northern Italy before, in the same Aosta valley almost 20 years ago, skiing. And the one thing I remember is how the bread sucked. And apparently it hasn't changed. I totally don't understand this. The bread is white as could be, soft, pillowy..the crust is not dense or chewy...just really bad. In France you can't get bad bread if you tried, the lowliest super marche has awesome baguettes. In Germany, the whole grain breads are unequalled. I've not been to southern Italy, but I can only assume from my Sicilian heritage and neighborhood bakeries in NYC that they know how to make bread. But why not the north??...I want answers!!! (Christian De Matteo..help me here)

Ok Back to the Agriturismo...in Lago di Como. Al Marnich, up in the hills of Schignano..a few kilometers from the lake. Now this is a great idea. I know ..I'm slow..but this is the way to vacation. It was secluded, quiet..nature all around. And they grow the food you eat there on the property. Or at least most of it. It is all local. We ate in small dining rooms, family style, met some great people that way too. Check this out..over the course of two nights this is what we ate....Bresaola with Radicchio and shaved Parmigiano, and olive oil (spectacular olive oil)...Farm made goat and cow cheese plate with incredible honey, raspberry jam and walnuts....Gnocchi wih tomato, zuchhini, pepper and eggplant....Pizza with rucola, onion, goat cheese....Tagliatelle con ragu di mano....Greek salad....Involtini di mano, a beef roulade stuffed with egg, stewed in tomatoes and vegtables...panna cotta with berries...all fatta in casa, home made. And get this..two apps, two entree, 2 espresso, a bottle of mineral water, Gisi had wine and a dessert for me..40€.. under $60.00 US. I was blown away by the quality of the food and service.

Dinners in France? Yes, we had a few. Again, inexpensive bistro menus..but real good stuff. How 'bout this...Tete de Veau (veal head, look it up..classic, and very good)..Bresse chicken...Charollais cote de bouef with frites..salade with Bresse Jambon, lardon, eggs, tomato...Charcoutrie Savoyard...Saucisson Beaujolais...Salade with Steak and Crevette (surf n turf!), escargots, creme caramel...oohhhh! So good. We had a small bistro near us in Bresse, Le Cochon Rouge, that had 3 course menu under 20€! Or a brasserie in Annemasse, in Haute-Savoie..same deal. Oh and the onions in the salad..like you never had. We were surrounded by onion and leek fields in Bresse, so that must be why. Real oniony flavor but no bite or acidity..mellow and good. And the salad dressings..perfection. I know it sound so simple, but you really notice the difference. At least we did. And I haven't covered dessert and pastry!!!!!! Oh my. And the best pears we ever had at a roadside stand near Martigny, Switzerland....and on and on....

I will be back for more. This has been a wonderful week. And it can be done very inexpensively. I'll explain that and write about some of our other experiances later. Getting tired. Photos to come. Meanwhile, we will remember some great food and sleep with dreams of days to come.
Au revoir!

Here In Germany...still Lovely!

2009-09-04T09:26:00.010+02:00

We are here two weeks already, and theres been a lot of work done and more to go. This is certainly not like my other times here. It is emotionally draining at times for both of us, more so for Gisi. Anyone who has moved from their home..apartment, state, city, country..knows the feeling. I can't imagine what it would like to be leaving the country I was born in. It takes a lot of courage, and I give Gisi a lot of credit to be able to do this. But we will get through this, and we will return to visit, of course. Meanwhile, some prayers would be good. I am doing a lot of that these days. But on to the fun bits....
We have done some local exploring which has been a lot of fun. Several trips into the Black Forest, we explored some areas we had not been to before and revisited some we had. We had some great days on the Kandel, driving through Freiamt (photos), Waldkirch and St. Peter. We hung out with Gisi's friend Brigitte, she Paraglides and introduced us to some other gliders and took us to the top of a mountain where they fly from (photos here). We drove south through the Markgräflerland, rolling hills and farms along the Rhine valley, to Weil am Rhein. This is at the border of France, Switzerland and Germany. We had a great picnic on the Batzenberg, a small mount cultivated with vineyards. We went grocery shopping in Alsace. (photos) Last night we went to a Straussi, which is a small restaurant on a farm. There are many around the area. They usually have a small, local menu of regional dishes, and local wines...as most are vineyards also. Amazingly inexpensive, and lovely in a farm setting. Real homecooked food, simple and unpretentious. And of course we spent some time walking around the city of Freiburg, going to the market (photos) and running errands in preparation of the move.
We are planning a small road trip now. On Monday we will be going to Ehingen, Gisi's home town, to visit her parents grave and make arrangements for someone to take care of it. The cemetaries and graves here are very well taken care of, and never overgrown or neglected. They are quite beutiful, and I'll have photos from this trip. After that, we go to Seißlingen (That is not a B, it is a double s, scharfes s, as in Steisslingen), to visit Gisi's godmother Gisi, her cousin Berthold, and her Tant Irmgard. They live near the Lake of Constance, or Bodensee, so we will spend some time checking out that area. It is quite beautiful, at the southern border with Switzerland..we spent a few days there last summer. After that, we drive through Switzerland and Lichtenstein, to the north of Italy and Lago di Como, just north of Milan. I've heard from many sources how spectacular the beauty of nature is there, and can't wait to be there ourselves. Our friends Wallis and Christian were there in July and gave us a great reccomendation of a restaurant in Bellaggio. We are staying on an agriturismo farm 8km from the lake in the hills. We spend 2 nights there and hen move on to the Aosta valley at the base of some of the highest mountains in the Alps. We will be close by the Matterhorn in Switzerland and Mount Blanc in France. In 1990, I skied at Breuil Cervina near the Maatterhorn...it will be interesting to revisit. And I look forward to maybe being able to go up Mt. Blanc this time (if the cable cars are running, of course). We just make a pit stop there for a night before driving into France, into the foothills of the Alps around Annecy. There is a beautiful lake there and it's an area we've not seen. We will then move into Burgundy for a trip up the Route du Vin, through all the major Burgundy wine growing appelations. We drove through last summer and it was gorgeous, hope to visit some areas we missed. From there, we head a lttle further north to Dijon where we will buy all the moutarde we can! Back to Freiburg after that for the final 2 weeks, and finishing up the packing, etc. Check out some more photos here. And here's a link to a Straussi.
Will try to post from our trip, but not sure about connections and such...Tschuss!

Our First Day Back

2009-08-26T21:22:00.002+02:00

After sleeping off some jet lag yesterday, we went and visited some of Gisi's freinds last night. We had a nice dinner at a local kneipe (pub), some inexpensive, home cooked local food. As we ate, many of Gisi's freinds came by to welcome her back and congratulate us on our wedding. It was a very nice way to start off our stay here.
Today we went to take care of some legal stuff, name change, address change, re-register the car...Gisi is officially Mrs. Vella here in Germany (and the US). She now needs to get a new passport too. The car battery had died, so we got a jump from her friend Klaus this afternoon, then went for a ride on the Autobahn to recharge it, as the sun was setting. The weather here is so nice. Warm, 80's during the days, and dropping into the 60's at night.
Tomorrow we have to go see the movers-shippers, and find out about sending some stuff back to the states. After that we need to get boxes and start packing up things..thats always fun! Hopefully we can get to the market at the Münsterplatz for some fresh vegtebles and fruits. And then we have to drive to France, Alsace is only 30 mins away..we are low on mustard. I love this place.
Of course I took some photos today...right here.

Back to Der Vaterland!

2009-08-24T23:09:00.002+02:00

Heading back to Freiburg tonight. We are very excited to be going back...I'll tell you all about it and the past 6 months in the coming days.

Tate, March 24,2004- March 07, 2009: A Loving Friend

2009-03-07T22:50:00.004+01:00

Tate, a miniature Schnauzer that my ex wife Claudia and I had, was put to sleep this morning. We got him and his sister Nellie in the spring of 2004. We found the breeder through the internet, in Prince Edward Island, Canada. They were born on March 24, and we got them here in NY sometime in May. Just before they arrived, the breeder called to tell us that Tate had a heart problem, and if we didn't want him, that would be ok. She also said if we did, she wouldn't charge us. Of course we took them both. We figured no matter what, at least he would spend his life with his sister. She said she didn't know if he would last 3 months or 3 years, but he certainly wouldn't live to his life expectancy. It didn't matter to us, we wanted them to be together. Well he almost lived for 5 years. He started to exhibit more acute symtoms of his illness in the past 8 months or so. He got to a point where more medical procedures just would prolong the inevitable, and he was not able to be his normal self anymore. He does not suffer anymore.

Tate was the runt of the litter, and Nellie was the first born. Normally males are somewhat larger than females, but in his case he was the little one. He was very lithe, and had so much energy, you would never know he had an illness. He loved playing with his lazier sister, and would sit next to her and lick her ears til they were soaked. They really had a wonderful time together. We took them camping in the woods, and they loved being outdoors. They were always in the back yard during the warmer months and we had many wonderful days enjoying thier companionship.They slept in our bed and we treated them with love and affection always. A lot of people knew the both of them, and I know Tate especially made his impression on many.

When Claudia and I separated, I had them both with me for a few months, along with Savannah, a Maltese we got recently. We spent a lot of time together here in my apartment, and they helped me get through some really hard times. It was a pleasure knowing I always had them to care for, and that they relied on me for thier needs and love. Eventually, Claudia took them both with her, and I kept Savannah. But I was able to have them over a few times and that was really nice. I went to see Tate last night and spend some final moments with him. It was so very nice.

Nellie is now alone with Claudia, and I'm sure she will be fine, I'm sure she will adjust to being the Queen of the house now. Of course I will have her over here, and Savannah will spend time with her at Claudia's too. It would be a good excuse for Claudia to get another dog, I never met anyone who loves dogs as much as her, and she is so good with them. Do it!!

Pets, and dogs for me, are wonderful companions in our lives. They can calm you down, lower your blood pressure, and give unconditional love always. They have become additions to our families, and rightfully treated as such. But we almost always have to deal with the pain of them leaving our lives. To me, it is worth it, because they bring so much to my life and give such happiness. Sometimes Gisi and I just sit and watch Savannah as she does her little routines, like finding a comfortable spot on her bed, or the way when she eats, she takes the food from her bowl and brings it to another place to eat it. Or when she runs circles in the yard and appears as a white blur. She is so funny sometimes. I have had the pleasure of having many dogs over the years and they were all so wonderful and loving. ( I'm allergic to cats, it would be nice to experiance them one day too).

So hug your pet today, if you don't have one, go pet someone elses. It will do you good.

Goodbye Little Man Tate. You were a great friend and a real joy. I'm gonna miss you dearly.

Snooks Eaglin R.I.P.

2009-02-18T22:45:00.003+01:00

Snooks eaglin passed today. I'm really sad about that. He was one of the first guys I saw 20 years ago on my first trip to New Orleans. He always represented, to me, the soul of New Orleans. Blind since childhood, he usually played solo, and could, and would play any song that struck his fancy. There was a time when Jon Clearys band backed him up, and that was really great. He was a regular at the Rock n bowl, and I don't think I ever saw a jazzfest when he wasn't playing. Listen to him, and read more here. Another great musician has died.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Eim1_3DA9o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xA4wc3OKrM

Back to New York....

2009-01-05T09:41:00.006+01:00

Tomorrow I go back home. This has been quite a trip, I have experianced so much. I am going to miss being here, but I know I have a lot to do back home. Like get a job !...that will be interseting in this market. And it will be great to see my family and freinds again. Gisi will be coming to Astoria, on my Birthday, that's going to be exciting. She only spent a few days in NYC in the spring. We have a lot to see and do.
One of the things I will miss the most is the walks we take every weekend throughout the region. Nature is so close to you here, it's so easy to be in the mountains in minutes, or in France! Yesterday we spent some hours in the village of Staufen, we visited the castle ruins. Photos here. It was really beautiful. I know I will be back to Germany, so I know I will see these places again. It has been so much fun photographing all these places.
See you in New York. Tschuss!

New Years Day

2009-01-01T09:55:00.004+01:00

January 1, 2009 Freiburg, Gemany 10:00 am

Photo's from later in the day here.

New Years Eve 2008-09

2008-12-31T09:17:00.007+01:00

Awoke to a lovely sunrise this morning. As it is the last day of the year, I thought of the analogy of the sunrise and the new year. I posted a series of photos of the sunrise, basically all the same scene. Just as life is in a way, the same scene played out daily, but as with the sunrise, it changes constantly and can be so beautiful....or not. But that's the beauty of life, we get to make a choice how we are going to live it every day.
I'm usually not one for end of year resolutions, but I will make some this year...to be true to myself, trust my instincts, live one day at a time and allow love to conquer fear.
Happy New Year!

I added photos of the fire works at midnite....and " Dinner for One"

Christmas Day

2008-12-25T21:32:00.003+01:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.....

More photos here...

Happy Christmas 2008

2008-12-23T15:52:00.004+01:00

It's in the 50's this week..so much for a white Christmas. But that's ok. We had the snow scenes the last weeks. Doesn't look like a white Christmas back home either..I just hope it's a good one for everyone. From what I've been reading in the news, I know it won't be for some. I guess the best thing is we can say goodbye to this crazy year soon, and hope for a better one in 2009.
I am very thankful for the year I had, even though it started really lousy. It's been quite amazing!

This weekend was spent around town. My big project was making Sauerbraten, started marinating on Thursday and made it for Sunday dinner. It was so good, see the pix here. Earlier Sunday we went for a walk in the old Freiburg cemetery, which I had not seen. And then we went up to the Schlossberg, the mountain we look out at every day from the balcony. On Monday, since it was so warm, I went back and walked up to the lookout tower, great 360 degree views of the Black Forest and the Rhine valley.
Today I just finished shopping for Christmas dinner. The town was crazy! Lines everywhere..last minute shoppers and because the day after Christmas is also a national holiday, the food stores were jammin'.
Christmas Eve and Day will be spent here by ourselves. Thanks to Claudia, Gisi will get to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas! Thank you Claudia, it arrived today. This weekend we will go to the Bodensee to visit some of Gisi's relatives.
I wish everyone a Happy Christmas and New Year....healthy, safe and peaceful.
Frohe Weihnachten!!!

A week before Christmas....

2008-12-17T11:34:00.006+01:00

One week til Christmas! I hope you've been good. And I guess it's a four day wekend for most people, that's great! Enjoy!!
It's snowing here again this Wednesday morning. Gisi told me when I first got here "it hardly ever snows in town". Well this must be the fourth or fifth time. She said this morning "the city is trying to show it's prettiest side to me". Well that's nice. It's better than just grey clouds, makes everything look so nice.
We took a drive up through the Vosges Mountains in Alsace this weekend. Saturday was a sunny, blue sky day, so we headed to the hills. We ended up going to an old silver mining town, St. Marie aux Mines, in the Val D'Argent. ( I didn't realise the Amish movement was started here) It was so pretty, the woods in the mountains were frosted with snow as we got up higher elevations. We saw a Poitou, so cute. Some beautiful photos here.
Sunday we awoke to a cloudy, foggy day. But it had snowed again the night before, so we took a walk through the cemetary down the street. So quiet and peaceful there. In the naked trees you can see Mistletoe growing. I never saw it in it's natural habitat. Apparently, it was a good year for mistletoe and you can see it all over town in the trees.
Also, I posted some pictures of the Weihnachtsmarkt, the local Christmas market that is so popular throughout Germany. This is in Freiburg. It's a good place to get some local handcrafted gifts and products. They have food stalls and Glüwein is very popular this time of year. My favorite are the Marroni stands, small roasted chestnuts.
Three weeks from today I will be on a plane heading back to New York. This time has gone by quickly, yet I feel like I've been here forever....strange. I've really gotten used to the pace here, and it should be interesting to see how I reacclimate to NY. Well, we'll think about that later. Now I'm going to enjoy the last weeks and Christmas and New Year here. I hope you enjoy them wherever you are. I will write again before Christmas...Tschüss!!!!

Early December....photos and food

2008-12-09T15:34:00.005+01:00

Hallo, wie geht's dir? All is well here. Funny, I'm just now really getting comfortable being here, and I have to leave in less than a month. Ain't that always the way?
The Christmas season is full on here, lights are up, the Christmas markets are going on all over the region. There's a nice one here in Freiburg (photos later this week), and we were in some towns in Alsace and in the Black Forest this weekend that had them. As a matter of fact, we wanted to see a beautiful village in Alsace, Riquewihr, but when we got there, it was overrun with hundreds of people..tour buses and cars lined the road into town. So we didn't get to spend any time there, just too many people! We did see some other intersesting things though..the town of Neuf-Breisach and it's walled fortifications, and a tiny village called Zellenberg, in the heart of the Alsace wine growing region.
It was a rainy weekend here in the Rhine valley, and we didn't realise how different the weather would be 20 minutes away. Sunday we drove up the mountains to St. Peter, and it was a winter wonderland. We went to a small Weihnachtmarkt in the village platz. We also re-visited the church of St. Peter, which was the first church we visited when I first came here in the summer. Something called me back there this weekend, and it was nice to sit there for a while, and give thanks for all that has happened in this past year.
We have been making some nice dinners at home, some local specialties, with all the great local ingredients available here. I've included a bunch of photos of our recent dinners, and how they were made. Winter is a great time to eat here, the cool weather is conducive to some of the heartier dishes. Being in the south, there are a lot of regional dishes that are not so prevalent in the northern areas. The area we're in features both Badisch and Swabisch cuisine, and Gisi has been going back to some of the food her mother used to make..Spätzle, Schupfnudeln, raw sauerkraut (so good!). And Feldsalat is in season, I could eat that every day. I made a great roast cod dish (!), and some of my favorite Italian pasta dishes, and tonight I'm making Shepherds Pie for the first time. Fortunately, Gisi likes to cook and we cook very differently. She makes more vegetarian dishes, and uses very little fat. Most of you know how I like to cook! So I have definately been eating better (= heathier), and have probably lost a few pounds. Walking and biking every day helps too! Luckily, the weather has been relatively mild, 52 today, with a few days in the upper thirties and low forties, but comfortable enough to be able to get outside every day.
Check out the photos from the past week or so here.
Hope you all have a good week...Ciao!

Thanksgiving in Germany

2008-11-30T10:42:00.007+01:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. I had ribs and fries at a local Irish type pub, and they were showing NFL football, so I did have a small taste of home on Thursday evening.

We had our Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday. We had four of Gisi's friends (Angela, Christian, Klaus and Martin) over for a traditional Turkey dinner, which none of them ever had. The menu was Roast Turkey Breast, Mashed potato, Curried sweet potato, Green Beans in Olive oil and Garlic, Mixed Mushrooms with Shallots in Butter and Wine. And I made a Pumpkin Pie, of course.
After searching all the butchers in town and market, we could find no turkey. We finally located a Turkey farm (Truthahnhof) in Ihringen. Having placed our order on Wednesday, we drove out to pick up the breast on Friday evening. The farm, Martinshof, was located at the edge of town and we got to see all the large white domestic turkeys as they were put back into the turkey house for the evening feeding. They run around freely in fields on the property, and they were quite large. We went in with the owner to get the breast, which weighed 3 kilos, about 7 pounds. I was excited.
As you can see, the kitchen is tiny. So I really planned out the sequence of prep and cooking carefully and I prepped a few dishes the day before. It actually went very well. I started Saturday cooking about 3pm and by 8 we were sitting down to eat.
The Turkey looked fantastic as I removed it from the small oven, at just about 158 degrees. I let it rest while I finished the beans, mushrooms and sweet potatoes.
The result was great. Everyone loved all the dishes. The Turkey was super moist with crispy skin, this is the way to go for ease and tenderness. The curried sweet potato was a big hit, savory and not too sweet. Klaus said my mashed potatos were as good as his mothers, so I took that as a huge compliment. Everyone had at least 2 helpings, so in the end there was only about a pound of turkey left, we'll finish that with a salad tonight. We finished with espresso and pumpkin pie, which was delicious. You can see the photos here.
We sat around talking, and in some instances me listening to German conversation, for several hours. By midnite, everyone left. It was a great experiance, and I was happy to cook for Gisi's freinds and share our Thanksgiving tradition. Sunday will be a day of rest. Now, onto Christmas!!!!!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T09:46:00.004+01:00

Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S. Not here, it's just another day. It seems strange not to be getting ready to spend the day with family and freinds, eating massive amounts of food. It is the first time I've not been in the states, and only the second time not being in New York on this day.
The sky is cloudless and blue today. A beautiful but chilly morning. A good day for a parade!
We will go for a walk in a few minutes, stop at a church and give thanks for all the beauty in our lives. I have a lot to be thankful for this year, even though it has been one of the most stressful year of changes. But all is good.
I will be making a Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday for some freinds, so I will join the festivities then. Today I will have all of my freinds and family in my thoughts.
I wish all of you a happy and safe Thanksgiving day!
Peace and Love

First Snow in Town, and Käsespätzle

2008-11-24T11:55:00.011+01:00

We had our first snow here in town on Saturday evening. It was real pretty, and a bit of a surprise. We spent part of the day in Colmar, Alsace, France. A very picturesque old town, it is the capital of Alsace. As we left Freiburg at noon, it was quite cloudy, with a forecast for snow flurries, but when we got to Colmar, it was sunshine and blue skies. And cold. Friday was the last of the 50 degree days I think. It dropped down to the low 30's overnite. As we drove back, the clouds moved in again. We went out for dinner at 8, and the snow had already started. By the time we got back there were a few inches on the ground. See the photos here.
Sunday was cold and we stayed in for the day. Gisi made Käsespätzle, it was really good on a cold Sunday afternoon. It reminded me of when my mother would make Pirogies in the middle of January.
This week I will prepare to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for us and some freinds. If I can find Turkey. It's hard to find whole turkey or even whole breasts, but I think I have a lead! Rumour has it there's a turkey farm in Ihringen. We will have our Thanksgiving on Saturday as everyone is working Thursday. Gonna make a Pumpkin Pie too, from scratch (thanks to a fellow expat's recipe). And I need to find some cranberries to make a spicy cran relish my friend Donna told me about. Along with the usual array of side dishes, we'll show them how it's done in the states! This should be fun.
I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be thankful for this year. Enjoy.
Or as my mother used to say...Happy Bird Day!!!!

Some Sunshine for a Cloudy Day

2008-11-19T14:01:00.002+01:00

Here's a great bit of New Orleans. Clint Maedgen and the Preservation Hall Band...this should brighten your day! A cover of The Kinks' , "Complicated Life"......

James Booker

2008-11-17T14:17:00.003+01:00

I got this from a freind of mine..Here is one of the all time great New Orleans piano players. If you dig New Orleans piano, find everything you can by him. Here's some info on Booker. His left hand is legendary.

Nathaniel Mayer

2008-11-14T19:15:00.004+01:00

While talking to a friend here today, I found out Nathaniel Mayer passed away on November 1. I was turned on to him in New Orleans at the Ponderosa Stomp, where he did some killer shows. Mayer was a great soul singer who had a regional hit when he was 18, in Detroit. Then faded into obscurity for the next 35 years or so. If you like old school soul, check out his music here.
When I saw him in New Orleans at the Stomp, he was dressed as a true soul man..white pants, white shoes, red satin shirt, a girl on each arm. He was powerful and energetic, and it seemed he was relishing the his time back in the spotlight, on stage. I'm glad he was able to have that time. I'm glad I got to enjoy his music and see him sweat, and entertain a roomfull of new and old fans.

Here's a site I found with music and video.

Mitch Mitchell-9 July 1947 – 12 November 2008

2008-11-13T15:19:00.007+01:00

Well now the band is united once more. Mitch Mitchell left this world yesterday, to join Noel and Jimi. And I was thinking about all the great music he created with Noel Redding and Jimi Hendrix, who is my favorite musician of all. Mitch was on par with Jimi in his musicianship and creativeness. A perfect combination.

As my friend Joe F. commented, "Those Hendrix Experience albums are a cornerstone of my musical consciousness". They are for me too. I was 12 years old when I first heard "Are You Experienced", it made such an impression on me. "Axis: Bold as Love" really blew my mind. I had never heard anything like that before. I was converted to the religion of Jimi forever. "Bold as Love" is tattooed on my arm. I remember when "Electric Ladyland" came out. A double album! It was so special. And listening to Jimi on acid could just send you to the next universe!!

Listen to the drums on "Love or Confusion", or "Waterfall", or "Manic Depression", "Crosstown Traffic", "Bold as Love", "Voodoo Child" or dozens of other songs they created....no one played like that in the rock world. My friend Martin, here in Germany, put it right, "the experience played with a lightness and swing like a jazz combo". That was Mitch who added that touch. His cymbal flourishes and syncopation were unique in rock and roll. He obviously listened to the great jazz drummers, and found a way to fuse that with rock.

I had the oppurtunity to see Mitch along with Billy Cox, on tour last year with the "Experience Hendrix" show. It was the only time I ever saw any of the original band, and Mitch was as good as ever.

As I sit here listening to his music, I'm very happy I was lucky enough to grow up during the period that produced such fine music, and such dynamic musicians. No one ever broke ground like the Experience did, and I believe no one ever will...

Here is another comment by Martin, "it's a pity, that so many younger people (starting beeing as old as Gisi...) learned to hate or to disrespect Jimi Hendrix. they are notable to see what he and the members of his groups did to music, and Jimi especially to guitar playing. Before him People just played an amplified loud guitar. He invented a complete new instrument and a complete new way of orchestral playing". Ja, genau.

And he couldn't have done that without Mitch. Thank you Jimi, Noel and Mitch..you continue to inspire and awe me, and will forever.

"have you ever been experienced?...not nessicarily stoned, but beautiful."

An Interview with Mitch here.

The Jura, Neuchatel, Montreux, Chamonix, Hochblauen..a weekend in the mountains

2008-11-12T15:26:00.006+01:00

Greetings...This past weekend we went to Switzerland and France. We originally were going to go north, but the weather seemed right and we thought it may be a good time to explore some of the mountain regions we have not seen yet. So we decided to go to the Jura mountains, from there head south to see the town of Gruyere and onto Montreux and Lake Geneva. The Jura seperates France and Switzerland, running north-south for about 150 miles. It's northern end is only about an hour + from here. It really seems like an extension of France, it is totally french speaking...and they have many farms, tons of cows and, therefore, great cheeses too. We looked to see which city/town we could stay overnight in and it seemed Neuchatel would make a good point to explore from. This is the traditional center of Swiss clock making, and Neuchatel is on a lake of the same name. Read here to find out more. And here. Since it is not exactly tourist season, we were able to score a room in a hotel right on the lake, very cheaply. Photo. And there was no traffic to speak of on the roads. We checked out the Old Town, then found a place for dinner. Fondue rules!

In the morning, after exploring the town some more, and going to the weekly market, went on to drive through some of the mountains and towns nearby, with Ste. Croix as our destination before heading to Montreux. As you can see from the photo's, it is a very beautiful area indeed.
After leaving Ste. Croix, we headed south east towards Lake Geneva. As we drove on, we came to a spot where we could see the Alps clearly, it was getting near dusk and and we were getting excited to get closer. Something about really big mountains is very enticing. We knew Mont Blanc, in France, was not very far away. It is the highest mountain in Europe. I had seen it before. In 1990, I went on a ski trip with some freinds, to the Italian side of the Alps, at Breuil-Cervinia. Cervinia is the Italian name for the Matterhorn. From the top we could see many peaks including Mont Blanc, just a few kilometers away. It felt like being on top of the world. Look here.
We arrived at Lake Geneva just in time for a brilliant sunset. In the hills above Vevey, on terraced vinyards, we stopped and took in the view. Montreux was only another fifteen minutes. We arrived at the hotel, again right on the lake. We had booked a cheaper land-side room, with the hope that they may upgrade us to a lake side room, gratis. They did! Look here.

"We all came out to montreux
On the lake geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile
We didnt have much time"

Remember that song? "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple. One of the first riffs any guitar player learns. I must have heard it a million times, now I was standing on the spot where it happened. It's a great story. Read about it here. See a video concert version here. ( I just discovered how to do this link thing, and I love it!)

We walked around town that evening, had some dinner and made a plan for the next day. We were going to go to Gruyere, but the mountain bug got us. We figured we weren't that far away from Mont Blanc, so we thought we would drive a little further south, up a mountain pass, and we could get a good view. So the next morning we went down to the lake front for a walk, and came across a statue of Freddie Mercury. Seems he had a studio in town, and stayed there frequently..after his death, a memorial was installed. We then went to tour Castle Chillon, on the shore of the lake down the road a bit. Like 1,000 years old. Pretty awesome.

We mapped out a route to a 1500 meter high pass, figuring we would see Mont Blanc from there. Well we didn't. Too late to turn back now. We headed to Chamonix in France. Up some spectacular mountain roads, we were there shortly. But as it can be in this season, the fog had settled over all the really high peaks. So we got to see some of it, and some glaciers and a lot of lesser snow capped mountains. All very impressive and beautiful. We strolled around Chamonix, bought some super chocolates and had coffee before heading back. Needless to say, we never made it to Gruyere. Another weekend for that. Great trip, beautiful sights, a lot of history, and some really good food. I must say though, Switzerland is an expensive place, compared to some of the other countries we've been in. Except for gas. Much cheaper than Germany, go figure. See the photo album and all the pix here.

On Monday, Gisi had the day off so we went to the last of the three major peaks here in the southern Black Forest, the Hochblauen, or just Blauen. We were able to see the Swiss Alps from here too, and a 360degree panorama of the Rhine valley, south to Switzerland, west to France and north and east over the Schwarzwald. A gorgeous day, in the hi 60's, but windy on the mountain. Luftig!!! Check out the pix here. Here's the Feldberg, and the Belchen.

Wednesday now, back to the normal routine. You know, house cleaning, going to the market, preparing dinner. The weather continues to be somewhat cloudy, patches of sun...sometimes..but not too cold yet. They're starting to put up the Weihnacht (Christmas) decorations and stalls, they sell Christmas items and Glühwein and all that good stuff. Should be fun to see. Hope all is well with everyone. I read some of the news , mostly about our declining economy. Not good. Better days are on thier way, they always are. Auf Wiedersehen for now!

President Obama.

2008-11-05T05:22:00.002+01:00

What an historic moment. I am so proud to be an American, more than ever. Thank God. Thank the American electorate. Hopefully, we can look forward to a deep and meaningful change that this country so desperately needs. I only hope all citizens rally behind our new president to support and work towards an even better future. Amazing. I'm speechless. God bless President Barrack Obama.

Election Day....Finally!

2008-11-04T15:56:00.006+01:00

Well here we go folks. Today is the day of reckoning. I hope it turns out good. I cast my vote a few weeks ago. Guess who I voted for. I will be up late tonight and early tomorrow..I'm not sure when we'll see the results here...but I'll be watching CNN International and checking online.

We had an absolutely gorgeous day here yesterday. (photo on right, above) The sun was out all day...it seems like it hasn't been for weeks. Today is back to heavy fog, real damp. This past weekend was ok, but what was interesting was how when we went up to the mountains on Sunday, it was warm and sunny. More so than here in the valley. We were on the Belchen, the third highest peak (1414meters) in the Black Forest and at the soutern end. Check out the pictures. We saw the Swiss Alps, the Jura and the Vogessen mountain ranges, it was quite beautiful. It was about 5-10 degrees warmer up in the mountains and the air was so clear. There was still snow around from earlier in the week. You can see the low layer of clouds hanging over the surrounding valleys...it looked like the sea.(photo left, above)

This weekend, if the weather is decent, we are going to drive up the Rhine river valley to Saarland, and over to Nancy, France. Nancy was a center of the Art Noveau movement, and the capital of old Lorraine, so it should be interesting. We may even get up to Luxembourg.

I'm going to go watch history being made. One way or another......

http://picasaweb.google.de/allenineuropa/Belchen11208#

Happy Haloween

2008-10-31T10:29:00.005+01:00

Hallo Welt! Another week in Freiburg, mostly rainy and cold...we had snow in the mountains yesterday! Too soon for me.
I have some new photos from last weekend..it was really nice weather and we travelled to Gisi's hometown of Ehingen, to prepare her parents grave for All Saints/Souls Day, which is a national holiday here. We drove through some beautiful areas, the Donau Valley in particular. The Donau is the German name for the Danube river, and it starts in the Black Forest and heads east. There are some great cliffs, and we saw climbers scaling the vertical face walls of some of these. Out that way is mostly farming villages, and they were preparing the fields for the winter (plowing and spraying pig manure, not a nice odor!). We saw some new crops coming up, and wondered what grows during this time. Winter wheat maybe? As we headed east, we came across a lot of fog, as it was a somewhat warm day after a very cool evening..it made the light very eerie..see in the pix.
On Sunday, we stayed a bit closer to home, and went to the town of St. Ulrich in the Schwarzwald, about 15 minutes from here. It is so nice to be able to travel such a short distance and be transported to a completely different enviroment. All mountains and pastures, cows, goats...there are some nice photos from the day posted.
We attempted to go to dinner at a Straussen..which is a seasonal type of restaurant that farmers do during the spring and fall harvest time. You know where they are by the straw brooms hung outside. They are usually in an older building or farmhouse, and not really a professional restaurant..seems like the whole family helps out cooking and serving. They tend to have a limited menu, featuring regional specialties, or possibly thier own livestock and game, vegetables from the harvest. Apparently they are very popular, as we could not find a seat at several during the time we went, about 7pm. We will try again this weekend, a little earlier.
We did have a nice game dinner though at an old Restaurant in Kirchhofen, The Krone. I had Hase (rabbitt) and Gisi had Hirsch (deer), and it was really good on a cold night. There were only about 5 tables occupied, so we had great service and we were offered second helpings if we wanted (we didn't accept!), they feed you well in most restaurants here.
I was able to borrow a guitar finally, it's nice to be able to play a little and keep in practise. (check out the picture of the mystery Telecaster) I miss playing with the boys in the band. Hopefully I will write some new songs while I'm here.
Well I need to do some grocery shoping today, since tomorrow is a national holiday and everything will be closed. And everything is closed every Sunday...no mall cruising here!
I just hope it stops raining for a while, not really fun riding a bike with bags of groceries in the rain!
By the way, how's the election campaigning going? I bet it's getting crazy...I have only limited access to TV coverage here. I think that may be a good thing. I voted last week, hope you do too. I will be looking forward to the outcome, it will be 3 in the morning when they probably will call the results...I may have to stay up. Bye for now.....

Happy Birthday to my sister Laura today!!!!!! Many, Many More!!!!

http://picasaweb.google.de/allenineuropa

Freitag in Freiburg

2008-10-24T10:22:00.006+02:00

It's Friday and I'm sick. I caught the flu, my first european cold. So I made some chicken soup last night. And the weather isn't helping. Yesterday was beautiful but today and earlier in the week, it's been very cloudy, grey, and sometimes raining. Last night Ani Difranco said they do grey very well over here..I know what she means.

Oh yea, We saw Ani here in Freiburg last night. I mean she played a show...really. Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, London and....Freiburg! Well isn't that great? Yes it was. She is on tour with some of her Righteous Babe lablemates, and they played the Jazzhaus, a wonderful venue here in town. Not very big, so we got to see her up close. She played with her band (Drums, Acoustic bass, vibes/percussionist), and they were really super...she is such an awesome writer, and I love her guitar playing. They played a comprehensive set, from early stuff to her new record. Gisi and her freind Chris had never seen her, and they really enjoyed it. Unfortunately I couldn't take any photo's, verboten!

Have a nice weekend, and here's to sunny days!

Rome Photo's

2008-10-21T20:25:00.007+02:00

ok, I finally edited and captioned the photo's from Rome. There are a lot of pictures...over 300! But that's edited from 750...so I tried to choose what I think are essential to give a overview of what we saw. With attention paid to some of the details, and the overall beauty and feeling of the city, it was't easy. I thought about putting them in seperate albums for easier viewing but....I didn't. Take a look, I think they came out good. Sorry for some of the unclear, fuzzy shots, I didn't use a flash at anytime, I wanted to capture the natural lighting and sometimes it was a bit low...so there it is. I hope you enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.de/allenineuropa

Rome....a Preview

2008-10-20T10:08:00.004+02:00

Got back from Rome saturday evening, and it was a great trip. The weather was beautiful, high 70's...cool at night. I am in the process of editing and organizing the photos I took, should have them posted by Wednesday. I will write a little about our days there, but really the photo's will tell the story. It is a magnificent, inspirational place...I will say this now: St. Peter's Basillica and the Vatican are beyond description. Truly breathtaking, I was speechless and dumbfounded by the beauty and majesty, the sheer scale. Pictures will not do it justice, but for those who have not been there, I hope they convey at least a sense of the beauty I saw.

Roma

2008-10-14T13:44:00.002+02:00

Off to Roma today! i will not have a computer so i will post about this trip next week. Be back on Saturday evening. Arrivederci!!!!!

The Kaiserstuhl

2008-10-13T07:23:00.006+02:00

Saturday we took a ride over to an area called the Kaiserstuhl, a wine region here. Some of the finest red wines in Germany come from here due to its warm climate and soil conditions. An old volcano cone, the mineral soil is perfect for the vines. Seen from afar, the area rises from the flatlands and terraces have been created on its slopes. As you drive through the area, you notice how the roads have been carved into the landscape, with banks of earth rising around you, and come upon deep bowls of the former volcano that have been terraced and planted with acres of vines. It is really special, and much different than the Burgundy terrain of rolling hills and gentle slopes.
The harvest has just started, it's been a warm autumn and the winemakers are waiting til the last right moment to pick the grapes, to acheive the maximum sugar content. We came upon a winemaker in the vines and he was taking samples of grapes, crushing them and putting them in a device that measures the sugar content. He was very happy that the grapes were achieving high sugar content, which makes for a better wine. He said it should be a very good vintage if it contiues this way until harvest. They may wait another week or two before picking, if the weather cooperates.
The day was really beautiful, but hazy, due to the warm air flowing in over the cool mountains. The fall colors are well on thier way. It should be another good week.
Check out the photos from the day..there are also some new ones from a park nearby, and all the fall flowers, and some of the market in the Münsterplatz.
Tomorrow we are going to Rome for 4 days. Great weather is forecasted. It should be awesome, I've never been before and look forward to seeing all the great sights and art. And eat really well! Arreviderci!

http://picasaweb.google.de/allenineuropa

Photo link

2008-10-10T10:49:00.003+02:00

http://picasaweb.google.de/allenineuropa/FreiburgFirstWeekAutumnOct792008#

new photos...click on link

2008-10-10T09:31:00.000+02:00

Back in Freiburg, Germany.....first week

2008-10-10T08:43:00.004+02:00

hello friends...it's friday morning in Freiburg. i have been back here since tuesday morning and i think my biological clock is finally adjusting to the change. i had a really good sleep last night for the first time. being here now is different from the last time, Gisi is working and school's back, vacations over. i am trying to establish a routine here, so i don't feel like i'm just slumming. still feeling my way araound.

i've been getting up at 7am with Gisi, and we have coffee as she gets ready for work. she's usually gone by 8am..then i clean up the apartment, shower, do emails and such personal business. i've taken a walk around town and to the daily market, yesterday was overcast and i took a bunch of photos i will post. everything looks much different than it did in the summer. i am going to look into taking a german language course, there is a american-german cultural center in town. of course i hope to take a lot of photos through the seasons here, and capture the holidays. it should be beautiful.

Gisi is off next week. she is starting a new job on the 20th. so as this will be the only time we can get away other than weekends, we are going to Rome. we got a great deal on Ryan air, and found an inexpensive hotel right in the middle of Rome. it will cost a little over 500€ for both of us, 4 nights and airfare...that is cheap! i am really looking for ward to this trip. any reccomendations on what to see would be appreciated. obviously, we wil go to the big spots...the colloseum, the vatican, etc. i've heard the food is amazing there also ;-) i look forward especially to taking a lot of photos.

as for weekend trips, we are going to explore the areas in alsace, lorraine and switzerland, the jura mountains and some other German, Swiss and French cities all easily accessible by car. and of course we have the black forest literally at our doorstep. (the photo below is a panorama of the veiw of the Schlossberg from the apartment).

also keeping an eye on the elections and the economic crisis, although not too closely. it's nice to be able to escape the hysteria and drama. i'll have to face that when i get back in january, so for now we will enjoy the more sane aspects of life in europe.

it is really great being here with Gisi. she is a wonderful person, and we are enjoying a new dimension in our relationship. i hope you can meet her. she will be coming to the states in jan. for six months. i have a lot to show her back home...so we'll be around.

i miss my dog, Savannah, but i know she's in good hands with Claudia and hanging out with Nellie and Tate. I get to talk to Aidan via skype, which is great. free internet phone calls, in case you've not heard of it. if any of you have it downloaded, you can search my skype name, alithang, and send im's or call.

tomorrow we are going to drive to france to do some grocery shopping. we're running low on mustard! i will post photos today from the past few days. and i hope you have a great weekend! Tschuss!

Veiw from our apartment of the Schlossberg, Black Forest

2008-10-10T08:42:00.002+02:00

click on photo to enlarge

Bye Bye New York, Hello Freiburg!

2008-10-06T04:49:00.002+02:00

Monday is finally here! The day we've been waiting for, talking about for some weeks now. By 6pm i will be in the sky, on my way back to freiburg and Gisi. I am very excited. This is a whole new trip. Not so much going for vacation as much as going to live life, a new life in a new land. With someone very special to me. I'm scared, nervous...and exhilarated! I am blessed.
I had a wonderful dinner with my family today, and in general, a very emotional weekend. This will be the first time in my life i will not be in nyc for the holidays. Crazy, right? So there was some sadness mixed with a lot of happiness, but i know all will be well once i get back to Germany and Gisi.
Check out the photos from today, I had to post these pictures of Joel. Too freakin' cute!
http://picasaweb.google.com/allenineuropa/BabyJoel#

New Photos..the last of the summer trip..in France

2008-09-27T05:26:00.002+02:00

i've posted the last of the 35mm photos, taken in south france. sunset picnic in collias, market in remoulins and gordes in provence. take a look....
http://picasaweb.google.com/allenineuropa

9 days til my return to Freiburg, Germany...and more photos of fall in the Black Forest. We will probably hit a bunch of places in Alsace, Switzerland, maybe Dijon and a lot of places in South Germany I haven't seen yet. Tchuss!

2008-09-22T05:19:00.001+02:00

the end of summer

2008-09-22T04:27:00.004+02:00

well, here we are on the last full day of summer. autumn arrives at 11:44am monday..and what a summer it has been! not just the fabulous experience of travelling in europe, there have been so many wonderful occurrences in my life.
and i guess they all started when i decided (not sure thats the right word!) to leave my job on march 14. after some deep soul searching i entered into a new phase of my life that i believed would never happen. after an initial introduction to a new way of living, courtesy of some fine fellows in ny, i went to new orleans for april and part of may and really got the ball rolling. i met some wonderful new friends in new orleans and had some great life enriching times, on a daily basis.
and then of course, i met gisi....wow, that came out of nowhere! we had a great time for the last three weeks of my stay in new orleans, then for a week in nyc. after gisi left nyc, i was again alone, and i used that time to further my spiritual education with some very special people, and i continue that process today. after seven weeks home and talking to gisi daily (thank god for skype!), we finally got to be together again. hence, this blog.
those six weeks were amazing on so many levels. it ended all too fast, and i soon found myself on a plane back to nyc, i think a different person. new york seemed strange to me, somehow something changed. of course, i was thrilled to be with my family and friends again. it was especially good to see my son, aidan and grandson. what a beautiful little boy joel is. pure joy that i haven't had since aidan was his age.
back here i resumed my program, helped along by loving people, prayer and meditation. i never would have thought myself capable of that nine months ago. and now, here i sit, last day of a glorious season, and two weeks from tomorrow i will leave for germany once more, this time for three months.
life can be an amazing experience if you get out of the way, and let it come on it's own terms. and accept what it is, live in the moment and with love and humility in your heart. i am truly blessed and full of humble gratitude for the things i have learned along the way. and of course all the wonderful people in my life. (danke meine geliebte!)
i hope to continue this blog in germany and fill in some of the missing stories from the summer, and share all the new ones to come. one day at a time.
be good to yourself, ciao.

hellloo ..what's goin on?

2008-09-18T03:52:00.003+02:00

seems i lost some momentum...finding it difficult to finish my travel entries..well, maybe i'll finish them in germany. in case anyone is reading this, i'm going back for three months, starting october 6. i think it's going to be a beautiful autumn.... i'm looking forward to seeing the season change in germany and elsewhere. and i won't have to hear all this election crap. really tired of the nonsense already. but i will send in my vote, for sure.
meanwhile, theres some new photos from burgundy, nuits st georges, and remoulins posted, taken with my 35mm cam. apparently, they got a bit damaged from the xray machine, but not to bad. i hate when that happens.

tomorrow is jimi hendrix's anniversary of his untimely passing, in 1970. he would have been 65! one can only imagine what might have been. so give props to the master. blast some stratocaster.

And now for something completely different...

2008-09-04T09:43:00.002+02:00

Music Heals…It’s Not Just a Rumour

I was feeling a bit lousy the past few days, for various reasons. Trying to think my way out of it wasn’t helping either. Unconsciously, on the way to an appointment today, I decided to take along the ipod, not something I usually do. I kind of like hearing what’s going on around me, whether in the subway or the park, or my own head. But today, in went the earplugs for the ride to midtown. And I rediscovered something I’ve always known, but sometimes slips away in the day to day routines of life in the big city. Music heals all wounds. Rapidly and profoundly. Well, at least for me. It always has, and I’ve turned to it to sooth my psyche and soul throughout my life.

As I hit shuffle, just to see what came up, a Graham Parker song came on. Now I absolutely love gp, I have since the first record, Howlin’ Wind , in 1976. This particular song was from his seminal record, Squeezing Out Sparks, from 1979. I decided to listen to the whole thing as it’s always been on of my favorites, not just of his music, but an all time, desert island disc.

From the first song to the last, this is such a great record, on so many levels. The playing, the production, the lyrics and music..gp’s soulful voice. From the twisted travelogue love song, “Discovering Japan”, the sad but snarky” Local Girls”, then “Nobody Hurts You”, a study in disillusionment with a killer guitar riff (a personal favorite), through “You Can’t Be Too Strong”, probably the most achingly beautiful song about abortion ever written and the truthful yet uneasy “Passion is No Ordinary Word”…haunting lyrics set to powerful, muscular music by the kick ass Rumour, who were at their musical peak, in my opinion. And it goes on for another five songs. Ok, I’ll admit, to me, “Waiting for the Ufos” could’ve been left off, but otherwise, a solid collection of amazing songs.
“Saturday Night is Dead” rocks about the emptiness of a drunken pub night, the utter reality of being in love in “Love Gets You Twisted”…I think we’ve all experienced that. “Protection” is one cynical tale of success and it’s pitfalls, it’s guitars chugging and screaming.” Don’t Get Excited” sounds like someone who’s seen it all and seen enough.

Now that’s what I take from it, but you may hear these songs differently. What I think we‘ll all agree on is this is a band and artist in top form. The production, by the late Jack Nitzsche, is so clean and clear, yet the rawness of the guitars shoots through, the bass and drums are solid and present. I love Bob Andrews’s keyboard parts. Brinsley Schwarz gets killer tone and monster riffs on lead guitars, and Martin Belmonts rythym playing is superb. The rhythm section of Stephen Goulding on drums and Andrew Bodnar on bass just nails it down deep.

Listening to a record like this reaffirms all my beliefs in the magic and mystery of rock n roll. It’s the reason I can’t stop listening, can’t stop searching for the next perfect song, the next must see band. Needless to say, the rest of my day was awesome…even as the doctor jabbed a two inch spike into my torn rotator cuff!

So drop a needle on some vinyl, pop a tape, slip a cd..listen to something you love and make your world a better day. It cures what ails ya.

labor day...welcome to september

2008-09-02T05:50:00.003+02:00

wow it's september 1..that was a quick summer.
thank god new orleans was spared a direct hit by gustav.
i've been to lazy this weekend to continue writing the rest of my travel journal, hopefully i will get back to it this week.
five more weeks, then back to germany..yay!
i have a lot to do here before then...i got someone to sublet my apartment for the duration, so i have to pack up a bunch of stuff and stash it, clean up the place, get the yard together for winter, take out the cold weather clothes..squeeze in some music with the boys, spend some time with family, doctors, dentists, ...well, it will make the month go quick, so that's good.....

2008-08-30T10:23:00.000+02:00

http://picasaweb.google.com/allenineuropa/AroundNewYork

new york

2008-08-30T10:14:00.003+02:00

busy week, lots of appointments and running around..hope to continue writing, still have reggio emilia, venice, bolzano and ulm to go, but not til the weekend is done. got some grilling and visiting to do. meanwhile i have some recent photos of places around nyc....see link above

say a prayer gustav misses new orleans..

verdon, en provence

2008-08-23T06:38:00.001+02:00

cannes and le verdon (provence), france

2008-08-22T16:57:00.004+02:00

we headed next to the riviera, cannes and the mountainous region called le verdon,in provence, north of cannes. i'll pick up on that later...done for now. here's where i left off..

we left remoulins to make our way to cannes. originally we were going to stay in nice, some of my friends had been there and loved it, but we couldn'
t find reasonable accommodations. so as we widened our search we found what seemed like a great guest house in cannes. we were not familiar with the area, other than what we've heard about the film festival, but it looked like a good location, and was on the Mediterranean, so...why not. we arrived about mid afternoon, and soon found our place. it really is a beautiful old, big house turned into guest quarters. very nice, not far from the beach..but kind of a strange neighbourhood. surrounded by a lot of modern apartment buildings and on a street that was a major route to somewhere...in the evening we heard a lot of cars and motorbikes make their way up the street next to us,,,there was a sign that pointed to "super cannes"...whatever that was, i didn't check that out yet. we weren't there much, so it didn't really matter.
we went down towards the sea after we settled in, by foot a 20 min walk through the city. and it is a city, not a quaint village. during our walk it kept getting denser and more commercial as we headed towards the fabled croisette, the beach and boulevard at the sea. when we finally arrived we were not exactly thrilled. noisy, crowded,luxury's shops and hotels, traffic. not exactly the peacefulness we were used to. i guess it was ok for a medium large city by the sea, but after some days where the only sounds we heard were cicadas, it was a little jarring. i was slowly morphing away from the city vibe. we took in the beach, got a sandwich and split back to our place.
we consulted our maps and decided to take a ride north, into the hills and mountains around grasse, which is the perfume center of france, and therefore i would say the world. the french make the best colognes and perfumes, i have a cabinet full of them, i'm a huge fan. as it was late afternoon, the tours of the perfumeries had closed, so we kept heading north. soon we were in the kind of country we like, winding mountain roads, small villages every 10km or so. we had to take a detour off the route Napoleon we are on , there was a festival going on in one of the towns. after deciding to continue, we were soon very high up in the mountains.after exploring the back roads and catching the sunset from on high, we came across a village, st valliers du theiy, and stopped for dinner. there were several choices, all looked good, but we opted for one with outdoor seating. next to a big green meadow, and looking up at mountains. it was very quiet and serene, as we ate our dinner...except for the little dutch kids with their parents, running around as bored kids are wont to do. did i tell you the dutch were everywhere? literally, there wasn't a town, or highway where we didn't see a car with nl plates, usually trailering a camper of some sort. after dinner is was completely dark, and it gets dark late there, 10pm or so...so we headed back to cannes and sleep. before going to bed we checked out the maps and decided we would go back in the general direction, only more east and see some lakes in the area.
the next morning we awoke to crisp sunshine, pure blue skies and great weather..as usual. we so lucked out on weather, we did not have one cloudy or rainy day in the two weeks we were on the road. after breakfast, we headed out to the mountains again. these areas, or departments (similar to parishes or counties)are part Provence, part alpes maritimes, part var...officially known as "Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur (P.A.C.A.), check out this link and map
...http://www.provenceweb.fr/cartes/ukindex.
we headed toward lac st croix, the largest of the verdon lakes in north var. http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/groupes/verdon/lac3.htm
driving through the countryside we again slowly rose in elevation and arrived at lac de Saint-Cassien. we stopped along the shore at a roadside stand and truck, the truck was selling snacks amercaine..hot dogs, fries, and such, and the stand had fresh fruit, vegetables and tiny saucisson. we bought some peaches, plums and suasages for the ride. the plums were out of this world, literally bursting with juice, running down our faces...so good. continuing on, with the top down and the sun beating down upon us, we enjoyed the scenery as we climbed ever higher. the light in Europe in general is remarkable. i don't know if it was because it was new to my eyes, but everything was just so crisp and clear.look at the photos and see if you agree.
eventually we were very high up and came across a small village,baudinard sur verdon. we almost drove past, but as we got to the end of town, we noticed a overlook parking area. we stopped and figured this would be a good place for lunch. there was a cafe/restaurant adjacent to the overlook where we had coffee after our alfresco lunch. we saw that we were only a few kilometers away from lac st croix, and we soon drove over a hill where the lake revealed itself to us. driving along the road that followed the contour of the lake, it was hard to keep my eyes on the road, it was so beautiful. we came to a parking area where we stopped and took some pictures, and scouted out a place to swim. we drove a few more kilometers and came upon a bunch of cars parked on the side of the road, so we figured this would be a good spot. there was no formal beach where we entered the lake shore, just small areas along the shore where people dropped their towels and swam. which is exactly what we did. it was a pretty hot day, and just about 2pm so the water was just what we needed. we hung out there for a few hours, pretty much by ourselves enjoying this impossibly gorgeous scene.
afterwards we stopped in the next seaside town, bauduen, and got some cold water and ice cream. we then set out to make our way back to cannes in the golden afternoon light, taking our time as we descended the hills, stopping at any and all overlooks to take in the countryside. it was one of our best days out and we savored every moment.
arriving back in cannes about 8pm, we were hungry but didn't want to go out, so we got some Chinese food and ate it at the hotel in the garden. Chinese food in Europe was not very good..we also had some in freiburg. they are very timid with the spices and seasoning...don't do it! the next day we were going to leave for italy..our next stop would be reggio nell emilia, just past parma and just before modena...looking forward to eating in italy!

2008-08-20T07:34:00.001+02:00

some of the places i missed writing about...

2008-08-19T10:21:00.003+02:00

well that was a trip. back home reflecting on all, i realised there may be some changes a-coming. i really loved being in europe and visiting different cities and all. the food, the culture, art, lifestyle...all really appeal to me. not to mention i spent six weeks doing all these things with a wonderful woman. so upon returning i felt a bit depressed...and lonely. as much as i love ny, it is my home town, i'm not feeling it. you know, they say home is where the heart is, and my heart got stuck in freiburg. here in ny, i don't know how i fit in right now. it's great my family is here, and it was great to see my dad and aidan and his family, and of course savannah. but i really don't want to be here right now. and i have the oppurtunity not to, so i think i'll spend the fall back in germany.

my trip through france, germany, italy and switzerland was one of those life changing experiances. i want to write a bit more about some of the places that i couldn't while on the road...i'll do it in bits as the inspiration strikes me. right now i'm inspired by france..
paris was wonderful, and i need to spend more time there to see all the museums and art. seeing the physical city was very exciting and beautiful. we got to sample a good dose of parisian lifestyle, and staying in montmarte was a good place to do that. very funky neighborhood. unfortunately, very expensive...but i hope to go back and see more someday.

travelling south, from beaune to italy was so beautiful. each region had it's own distinct vibe. beaune and burgundy was amazing. the town of beaune itself was very charming...old and beautiful. but the surrounding areas of vinyards was really great. grapes as far as the eye could see. beautiful sloping hills, ancient walls and towns, great churches and cemetaries. and the light there was very special, especially in the late afternoon. in general, i found the light throughout europe so beautiful, and it opened my photographers eye again. i will never forget having a picnic dinner of local foods, on the slopes of pommard, overlooking the valley as dusk approached...sitting at a picnic table next to four local, older women doing the same thing. the decending sunlight on the grape vines is burned in my memory. and to be in a place that for centuries was and is the center of the the greatest wines in the world! very special indeed.

our next stop was in remoulins. we were going to go to avignon, but couldn't get a decent hotel rate...and i'm glad we ended up where we did. remoulins in a few miles west of avignon, and at the junction of the rhine river valley, provence and the languedoc region, another great wine region. a small old town, not spectacularly beautiful, but more rustic and rural. it was great to see the pont du gard aqueduct, and to ride thoruogh old orchards in the hills. the gardon river and gorges were also very pretty, and history permeated everything we saw. they are still living there and doing the same things that were done for hundres of years...farming, vinyards, etc. and we got to see le sanglier, the wild boar! another beautiful evening was spent eating is abandoned apple orchards above the city as the sun went down. the photos from there have not been posted yet, i will get them on this week. you'll see what i'm talking about. there are photos posted of the town, and the pont du gard...take a look. we used remoulins as our base for some travelling through provence also. remoulins is one of our favorite memories of the trip.

provence is gorgeous. rolling hills, towns built upon the hills overlooking the fields of sunflowers, lavender, grazing sheep and cows and goats, and vegetables. we missed the lavender by a week or so, the harvest in in mid july..but we found a few wild fields here and there. we picked wild herbs on the roadside...thyme, rosemary, anis all over the place. check out the views from gordes, a town built high in a hills overlooking the lavender fields. we almost drove right by the town, as it was on a spur from the road we were on, but as we topped a hill and started to descend, we saw the village above us and decided to backtrack...good move. we only saw a small portion of the provence region, but it was so beautiful. i could spend a summer there, no problem. look at the photos and you'll see what i mean.

we headed next to the riviera, cannes and the mountainous region called le verdon, north of cannes. i'll pick up on that later...done for now.

btw, i'm going to continue posting some photos, both of europe (i have a lot of 35mm pix not yet posted, and i really love the look of film vs. digital), and of new york city...i'm going to use my tourist eye here and see what happens.

saturday in new york

2008-08-17T03:17:00.001+02:00

http://picasaweb.google.com/allenvella

additional photo albums

home in nyc

2008-08-15T22:27:00.001+02:00

http://picasaweb.google.de/allenineuropa

to view all photo albums......

back home in astoria....wanna go back to germany!

last day in freiburg....

2008-08-13T19:29:00.003+02:00

last day in freiburg...bummer. as much as i look forward to going home and seeing family and friends, this has been an incredible time. i am going to miss gisi terribly, we just spent 6 weeks seeing some of the most beautiful sights, having a great time, one of the best experiances of my life. the time spent in freiburg was also very special. i feel at home here. gisi has been so kind and tolerant, put up with me moving in on her life, she is an amazing person...it's gonna be really hard leaving. tonight we are going to have dinner with some freinds to say goodbye, and then tomorrow we'll spend the day in frankfurt...friday is flight day.
i just want to say again how fortunate i am to have been able to do this...it's been a crazy 8 months, my life has changed as i never thought it would and the future is open ahead. life is good, and i look forward to where ever it takes me in the future. i have no idea what i will do when i get back...we'll see. but it will be good, i'm sure.
i will be writing some more about some of the places we visited, and didn't have a chance to write about..we got some good stories. and i will post the rest of the 35mm photos....today i will post the photos of our last day here, it was really beautiful..we went up to the feldberg in the black forest...a real pretty day.
love to all....peace...see you in new york

2008-08-12T19:53:00.001+02:00

back home in freiburg...

2008-08-12T09:57:00.003+02:00

http://picasaweb.google.de/allenineuropa

to view more photo albums, go to this site.

we are back in freiburg, the past two weeks have been awesome. thursday we will spend the day in frankfurt, and friday i fly home. it has been an incredible trip, and i am so fortunate to have had the oppurtunity to visit these cities and regions in europe. i want to give credit to gisi for a lot of the photos, most of the ones taken on the road while driving were taken by her, as i drove 80% of the time. driving was half the fun, i would never have dreamed 3 months ago that i would spend six weeks driving an italian sports car through europe!!! also for being such a great host and guide, and travelling companion. we really had a wonderful summer here, and i'm going to miss her and being here.
i want to write more about some of the regions we visited and will do so when i return home and have more time. meanwhile i will post the rest of the photos and i hope you enjoy them as much as i did taking them. i still have several hundred 35mm photos i have yet to develop, hopefully by the end of the week i will post them.

ulm, germany

2008-08-11T01:28:00.001+02:00

back to freiburg tomorrow...a lot to write about during the coming week. more pix posted tonight.
great weekend....

bolzano, italy

2008-08-08T18:08:00.003+02:00

check out more venice photos and photos of the dolomite mountains, the italian alps...in bolzano italy now...and the room internet is not working, so i bought 30 mins to upload some photos...check them out...awesome
click on the slideshow and go to albums....

venice

2008-08-07T10:12:00.003+02:00

wow....venice is unbeleivably beautiful. it is a photographers dream...you could shoot here for days. check out the pix, only a few, most were shot on 35mm, need to get back to develop.
bad internet connection here...so ill write more about it tomorrow...we will be in the italian alps at bolzano...ciao

buon giorno from italia...

2008-08-05T10:06:00.003+02:00

tues am in reggio emilia...some random thoughts from the past week

beaune is most beautiful. the center of burgundy and ground zero for all things wine. the people, the food, the villages and the landscape were all just perfect. the wine? im sure it wqas great.... go if you can.

remoulin is a pretty, old village..very rustic and rural...it is far south, and like the states, things are different down south. some of the oldest architecture and monuments. the romans were all over the place. we had dinner one evening in an old orchard on top of some high hills..i have pix on the 35mm, will add later...it was so beautiful. the ground is full of herbs and flowers, the trees are so pretty...after dinner we were driving along the backroads and came to a field..it was dusk, almost dark. gisi spotted something at the edge of the field..we stopped and looked. bear, dog? ah, the ears..it was le grand sanglier...a big black wild boar! really....it looked at us for a minute, then ran into the woods...it was quite a sight.

provence...you could spend a month there...or a lifetime. just everything you ever read or
heard...the small villages in the hills, fields of flowers, grapevines, lavender, corn...stone walls, big skz...just look at the pix...i dont know what else i could add....ill get to some specific stories later.

the traffic on the autoroute in france was murder...apparentlz every frenchman went on vacation at the same time..from beaune to remoulin and from remoulin to cannes were both much longer trips then we anticipated. dont travel on august 1st or 2nd! from cannes to italy was great. the autostrada is very fast, not much traffic at all. we probably averaged 100 km hr compared to 50 or less in france.

cannes was not so good. the beach area, croisette, was like any other beach destination on the east coast...the sea is beautiful, but the surrounding area was dirty, crowded and too commercial..but i guess that is what it is supposed to be. the mountains to the north, the verdon area, on the other hand was reallz special. so glad we went there.

dinner last night in a local resto...gisi had pizza...very good as you would think...and i had rigatoni and veal, both excellent. prices in italy much more reasonable than france or germany....to the po river and bezond today...gonna get started...its 10>30am....later

good morning....

2008-08-04T09:59:00.002+02:00

more pix from this weekend posted...leaving cannes today, on our way to reggio emilia italy...dont know if we have intrnt there...hope all is well with you. this is fun!!!!!!!

sunday....more pix

2008-08-03T11:43:00.003+02:00

check out the photos from beaune...the weather has been great...and the vinyards spectacular..we are enjoying this immensely ..just dont have enough time to write. anyway..i will post more pix later, meanwhile we are off into the mountains around cannes.
ps cannes downtown, the croisette and the beach...ehhh...too many people, 5th ave shops, big city like..not our cup of tea.

click on the slide show and go to the new web album....

update

2008-08-02T23:31:00.001+02:00

hello....in cannes..didnt have any int access...awesome trip thru provence and languedoc...will post pix later...

photos...

2008-07-29T17:15:00.001+02:00

click on the slide show..that will bring you to a page where more photos are available for viewing.

weekend and monday, july28.....

2008-07-29T11:25:00.004+02:00

saturday we we're going to go to heidelburg, but we got a late start so we went to france instead (doesn't that sound crazy?) we headed toward colmar, on our way to munster and the vogessen mountains. it was a nice ride, and munster is a beautiful town, and the surrounding area. this is alsace wine country...vinyards abound, along with many farms. the storcks in munster are famous here, i'd never seen one before...you should have seen all the babies they were dropping on the ground! we stopped and bought some local food specialties and baked goods...blueberries in season, so they make great tarts and cakes. we had coffee in the local cafe, that was fun...see the pictures. then we rode up to gaschney, a ski village at the top of one of the mountains. the road up is also used as a racecourse for cars and motorcycle races. at the top there was a farm along side the ski resort, some big cows hangin out...i don't know what kind they were...any cow id's? as you can see in the photos, again another beautiful scenic area...

on sunday we hung around town..went to a local park, the local airfield and just rode the bikes around town...got caught in some rain. it is always nice to bike around freiburg. later we went to one of gisi's best freinds place, chris. she lives in town, in a really cute small house that was a part of a larger old jouse. it was left intact after a new house was built in front of it, so it sits in a courtyard in the rear. very romantic, it reminded me of france or a slave quarter in new orleans. she has use of the courtyrard, which she decorated with many plants and an outdoor sitting area.
chris was very welcoming and very sweet...she speaks english very well, she is a nurse working in basel, and i immediately took a liking to her. we hung out for a while, then went to dinner at an italian restuarant down the bolck, michaelangelo. apparently it is one of the older italian places in town, and the food was fantastic. we had a mixed antipasti, gisi had penne arrabiata which was done perfectly, chris had veal milanese with spaghetti, and i had scallopine with funghi. the veal was some of the best i ever had, prepared perfectly..and very succulent for a this veal cutlet, plenty of flavor. really impressed. after espresso, we went back to chris' place, then home about 11.

monday we picked up some maps and assorted sundries for our trip on wednesday..rode around town a bit..stopped for some ice cream, was a gorgeous day. dinner was the charcroute we bought in munster..so good....

today we pack, do the laundry, clean up and we are off tomorrow morning...first stop...beaune france, in the heart of burgundy...i am so excited! we are bringing the laptop with us, so i will post some pix and hopefully have time to write some..ciao!

itinerary as of now: beaune, avignon, cannes-nice, reggio 'nell emilia, venice, bolzano, innsbruck, ulm germany...and home. 12 - 14 days......

Today....

2008-07-27T02:12:00.002+02:00

i posted new photos from yesterday, today and 35mm photos from bodensee (so much better looking)...

the schlossberg, bodensee and rhein...

2008-07-26T10:24:00.003+02:00

ooooh-ooooooo hallo! ya have to hear it to get it....
so, what the hell is goin on wit chu? i miss speaking newyorkese...fuhgeddaboudit!

we had dinner last night with some of gisi' s friends, martin and angela (with a hard G), and axel and maria...they are very nice and thankfully they all speak some english...axel doesn't talk much, maria talks enough for the both of them...she's very funny, we were talking about language and american pronunciations...ya gotta hear her say "tater". martin seems to know a lot of history of the region and expalining all sorts of esoteric things to me..we ate at a restaurant near the augistiner platz in town, sat outside next to a small canal...it was quite nice. zum rauhen Mann..the rough man...which martin explains, was the name of the house the restaurant was in, and was the description of the man who lived there...a lot of houses are named, it predates numbering system..so theres the house of blue star, etc.....angela's english is limited, but she is kind enough to try to speak to me as best she can, and it's really not bad..nice people!

i had a wonderful snail soup..a cream based stock with some a dollop of whipped cream on top...badisches Schneckensüpple...say it fast 3x...then i had a main course of schweinehaxe, a roasted pork shank, with sauerkraut and kartoffel knödel (a potato flour dumpling). it was delicious and the dumpling was surprisingly light...i remember the ones at the steinway brauhall were like paste balls. pork seems to be the prevalent meat here, which can be a little heavy in warm weather...but it is very good, i wanna meet these pigs. we then went to a biergarden...at the fierling brewery down the street a bit. no i didn't! i ordered a beer and gave it to axel..i drank shwarzwalder wasser. boy they can really knock them back here.

we then rode our bikes back home..as almost everyone does. we passed through the platz again, where all the kids hang..drinking beer and wine , sitting across the bächele, talking and doing things kids do. i wondered what happens to all the bottles when they're done. there must have been hundreds!

during the day we went up the schlossberg in the new tram they just installed (see pix). the schlossberg is the mountain that is directly across from us as we look out on the terrace. we walked up a bit to some viewing areas and took in the view of the city and the surrounding mountains. it was quite warm yesterday, like 83..so it was nice to be up in the hills and trees. whats really nice is that it is 10 minutes by bike from the apartment, and takes 10 mins to get up the mountain, very convenient. we had coffee in a cafe up the mountain, and there was a biergaten up there too.

the days before we were at the bodensee and the rhein river, where it starts out of the lake of konstanz. it is a beautiful area, farms and vinyards all around, the sea, and switzerland is across and up the river. there is one town (büslinger?) up river, completly surrounded by swiss territory, but is german..a little enclave that apparently was owned by a german count and when the borders were drawn, it remained german territory. martin said there is an area in the middle of basel that is the same way.
we stayed at a guesthouse on the water. look at the pix, you'll see how we found and booked it. very cool. we drove around the höri, the name for the penninsula we were on...named so because of a german phrase... as god made the earth, as was finishing, he said Jetzt Hör I uf! ..i am finished and i can't make it any better, it's just so beautiful. and it's true...
we ate some local plums that were amazing and had dinner at the guest house restaurant..i had two lovely poached trout with butter sauce...and then went down by the water to stargaze..we both saw the same shooting star as soon as we looked up!
the following morning we took a cruise on the local ferry, down the river to schaffhausen switzerland, where the rheinfall is located. the ferry ride was about 2 hours, so we got to see a lot of the surrounding countryside...then we took a shuttle bus to the falls. they are the largest in europe, and although they are not that high, the volume of water in tremendous. it is very pretty. after a few hours there, back on the ferry...we started at 11am and didn't get back til 5:30...so we then got into the car to head home. back home at 8:30, exhausted...had a pizza..was suprisingly good, i thought for sure the pizza here would be awful.

it is 11:30am saturday, and we may drive up to heidelburg today, about 2 hours. i hear it is a lovely town. no doubt. this country is full of lovely towns and villages.

ok, i am going to go pray now...and thank god for the good fortune i have been experiancing, and pray for all my freinds and loved ones, and be thankful and humble. and pray i can continue on a straight path...60 days today! yippee!!!!! tschuss!

rhein river

2008-07-25T10:41:00.002+02:00

what a beautiful place.....

bodden see pix

2008-07-25T02:15:00.003+02:00

i can't link the new pix...gotta figure this out tomorrow...try this...

http://picasaweb.google.com/allenvella

lake of konstanz photos

2008-07-25T01:51:00.003+02:00

check out the photos from the bodden see, lake of konstanz....description to follow
you can see all the photos by clicking on the slideshow...go to "my photos"

To Lake of Konstanz today......

2008-07-23T06:46:00.005+02:00

it's been cloudy and the past few days, a little rain yesterday, so we've been here in freiburg. it was about 45degrees f last night. really chilly in the evenings, mid to hi 60's during the day. today it's going to start to warm up..low 70's today into mid 80's by sunday.so today we are going to the lake of konstanz. only about 2hrs away, the ancestral home of gisi's parents, and a vacation destination. it borders on switzerland on the south. should be nice. gonna stay overnite and take in the sights and sounds.
i wanted to get to berlin but the rail ticket was like $300 + hotel, etc....so, no go. it would've been nice to be there when obama was in town. but we did book all our hotels for our trip to beaune, avignon, cannes- nice, reggio emilia, venice, bolzano in the alps, and ulm germany ...for under 800€! + gas and tolls, food...good deal...we will be leaving next wednesday and will spend about 12 days on the road. we'll be driving, no more than 4 hours between destinations. that will be the last trip. i wanted to get to austria and or czech republic, but it doesn't work out financially...next time.
i've posted additional pictures in a few albums, if you click on the slide show, you will be directed to the page. i put together a album of favorites from the trip to date.
i met a nice guy in a meeting the other night, he used to live in nyack but is back here, his home, to care for his mother. he was telling me about trying to get rid of his mothers furniture and possesions. apparently you can't even give this stuff away. the people here do not take well to used items. he said it would be a find, and cost good money if he was in the states. so if you want to start an antique shop, i think i found a good source of inventory!
be back on thursday evening with new photos...adieu!

paris slideshow

2008-07-21T13:38:00.002+02:00

click on the slideshow at right, and you can view more pix not posted.

louvre

2008-07-20T13:09:00.001+02:00

the louvre

2008-07-20T13:06:00.000+02:00

the louvre

2008-07-20T13:05:00.000+02:00

starting a tour of the icons of paris..

2008-07-20T07:21:00.000+02:00

Paris thoughts...

2008-07-20T06:18:00.002+02:00

the people:contrary to what i'd heard all my life, the french people were fine. we did witness any extrodinary rude behaviour. most people we dealt with were accomodating and pleasant. and i was super paranoid about that, it's very intimidating when everyone says "they hate americans". there was the usual odd a-hole, but not any more than usual. if you approach people with a smile, you usually get the same. i used whatever french language i know (very limited) and everything was cool.
in general, the women are very beautiful and the men very handsome....older people were as stylish as younger. it was great to sit and watch as people walked by about thier business. it was a positive expiriance all around.

our hotel room was so small, we had problems navigating around it unless some one was in bed. it was pretty funny to turn around and bump into each other. the bed was small, and the mattress worn, but housekeeping was good. the view out our window was a shaft, with a sliver of sky above. and it was up 2 flights of stairs, but we spent so little time there it really ws of no consequence.

oh yea, stairs....no one mentioned about all the stairs we came across. first of all we were in a very hilly neighborhood, we were always walking up some steep streets. then at the cathedral of sacre couer, there were hundreds of steps to reach the plaza...in the metro, when ever we changed lines, there were 6 to 10 staircase to climb or descend, stairs in the hotel and stairs in all the monuments if you want to go up to towers, domes, etc. stairs to the seine. just a lot of stairs, it was something we really noticed, especially in the metro. it was a running joke by the end of our trip.

the metro was great. very clean, and easy to navigate. the cars were smaller than what i'm used to, but ran much smoother on rubber wheels. they ran frequently, and there were signs in every station that let you know when the next 2 trains would arrive and they were accurate. you have to remember to open the door if your first to exit or enter, but they close automatically. no air conditioning in the trains, but lucky for us, it was never that hot. and like all subways, a good cross section of the citizens to see. and the sytem covers te whole city, very extensive. we were never more than 5-6 blocks away from a station.

it wasn't easy not drinking alcohol, in every cafe people were drinking wine. with lunch, dinner, after work...it all looked very tempting, especially if you, like me, love wine. gisi only had 2 glasses the time we were there, so that was helpful. but i made it through, and hey i'm still alive! (53 days!)

the boulangeries were awesome. fresh baguettes all day long, pastries of the highest quality, croissants that put all others to shame. wisely, they stick to what they do well...no bagels,or doughnuts, thankfully. there were several types of breads available, some with olives, cheese, lardon, chocholate, fruits, etc. all really good. i love the way they give you a baguette wrapped with a small paper in the niddle like a handle...no bags. people on the street or metro with thier baguettes on thier way home. usually they tear off a chunk as they walk . everyone eats breads, pastries...why so thin? must be all the stairs....

the french seem to be very nationalistic about thier cars. mostly peugots, renaults, citroens...some fiats, and mercedes... the citroens are great. check out the photos of the citroen showroom on the champs elysee...great design. a lot orf scooters, motobikes and motorcycles. not as many bikes as germany, but they are increasing daily. you can rent a bike on the street by the hour, via a automatic vending system. they just started installing these, and in tourist areas you can usually find tehm every few blocks...great idea. along with free public restrooms dotted around in strategic locations.

we were able to get to montmartre cemetary and pere lachaise...both very beautiful places. i did see jim morrisons grave at pere lachaise, and frecois truffauts in montmarte. we couldn't find adolph sax, the inventor of the saxaphone, or heinrich heine, a german poet. there are many famous or hisorically important people in both cemetaries, they are so beautiful and peaceful...a great place to walk for an hour or two.

next...the architecture and iconic monuments, the seine, aand more. going for a bike ride, get some breakfast...it's 7:15, i've been up since 5:30...

eiffel tower

2008-07-20T01:35:00.001+02:00

2008-07-20T01:25:00.000+02:00

2008-07-20T01:17:00.000+02:00

paradise!

2008-07-20T01:09:00.000+02:00

the chocolate tarte was sublime

paris, early morning 3 -6 am...

2008-07-20T00:47:00.001+02:00

couldn't sleep to well some nights, so i went out walking

2008-07-20T00:34:00.001+02:00

views in montmartre

2008-07-20T00:26:00.000+02:00

1st view of paris

2008-07-19T23:04:00.000+02:00

sacre couer cathedral

2008-07-19T19:43:00.001+02:00

leaving freiburg

Paris

2008-07-19T07:46:00.005+02:00

back from paris last night at 8pm....i took a hure amount of photos (800 plus!)..so i'm just gonna post a few here and then post the rest of the edited one on an offsite which i will include a link to. i'm sure some of you may have been here and know the things i'm talking about, they may be general knowledge even if you haven't been here..but i am a virgine de paris so i'm just gonna lay it all on ya. i'm not gonna do a day by day thing either, since we really packed a lot in...just some random observations...

so, what ever you heard about paris..it's not true. it's so much better!! awe inspiring. beautiful. fantastique. the weather was perfect the whole time, it never rained or got much above 80 degrees. the neighborhood we stayed in was perfect, and we chose it only because of the rate we got on the hotel. we stayed at a comfort hotel in montmartre, in the 18th arrondissment, north of the seine and the center of paris. we were on rue abesses, which was also the metro stop, a few blocks from the hotel. our hotel only cost 175€ for 3 nights! the room was tiny, but clean and convenient and we were barely there...so it was fine.
the paris subway, the metro, is a thing of beauty..quick, convenient, clean, quiet...it runs on rubber wheels. it is a large system and you can reach any part of the city on it. cost is about $2.00 a fare. after we arrived to the paris est station, via high speed tgv from karlsruhe germany ( 2 and a half hrs!), we got on the metro for the 10min ride to our hotel. we arrived about 4 or 5 in the afternoon. after checking in, we started to explore the neighborhood.
one of the famous attractions in paris, the cathedral of sacre couer, is only a short walk from the hotel..so we started walking towards it. it is on one of the highest hills in paris, and the views were some of the best in the city. montmarte is a very hilly area, also kind of bohemian, certainly not the chichi paris you may have typically seen or read about. more like a village than a city, but full of apartments...tiny, narrow cobble stone streets..there is no grid in paris, so having a good map at all times is a must. as we walked up higher through the streets, i started to take some photos, soon i realised i'd be doing that a lot. evreything is so picturesque. when we reached the cathedral, we were greeted by great views over the entire city...and a gorgeous cathedral...there were many tourists around. the first impression of paris while taking the view was the general color of the city...physically, as you look over the huge expanse of paris, you notice white..all the buildings, or at least it kind of all melds into a very bright, light hue. very few skyscrapers..all low buildings stretching for miles around. the photos wil really tell the story.

we explored all the famous attractions of paris over the next days. we did not go into any museums as the time was limited and we wanted to get a sense of the city and people. another time, i'm sure, we'll see the great paintings and art work the city contains. meanwhile the architecture, was just phenomonal. everywhere we went..literally everywhere. there wasn't a moment we were not captivated by the sheer beauty and history. again the pictures tell a far better story than i ever could.

here's a blanket statement...you can not eat a bad thing in paris. well i guess you can, but we didn't. we did not go to the epicurian temples, but small places and a lot of boulangeries and food shops. the bread and pasrty is everything you've ever heard..just incredible. it seems there is a bakery every block, and the cafes on every corner. one of the great pleasures was just sitting in a cafe on the street, people watching. the cofee was perfect everywhere...strong and delicious. there is no american coffee, all coffee is espresso or some variation of. every cup had a beautiful cap of crema, and we drank much! i usually got a double, about 4€ cup.
the bread was just awesome..we were lucky enough to have one of the best shops on our block (le grenier a´ pain, http://www.legrenierapain.com/ ), so we read, but i didn't see one mediocre bakery anywhere..and i sampled a lot.
i think i'll list some favorite things and the places we had them seperately.

we ate out at sit down restaurants only 4 times..3 for dinner and one lunch. our first night we went to a restaurant we had read about, severo ( http://www.paris-update.com/restaurants/severo.htm ), that apparently had some of the best steak frites in town. the restaurant only had 30 seats, so we called first at 8pm, and they had a few open, but would not hold them. so we took a chance and went over. it was on the other side of the city, it took about 50 minutes to get there...of course by that time there were no tables. the owner had another place down the block that he directed us to, so we ate there. i had to have the steak frites, so i ordered a steak pave´...a small cut, about three quarters inch thick, with perfect frites...gisi had a cold salmon dish that she loved.. we started with boudin noir, hot and cold with appples and a salad. the steak was perfectly seasoned and prepared rare, very flavorful...but this is not the meat we come to expect in the states. not huge slabs of well marbled beef, different but very good. of course the frites were hand cut, perfectly fried (2x?) and really excellent. dinner for 2, with bottled water was bout 60€...fairly expensive and typical. it's not cheap to eat out in paris, by any means. more on food later.

gonna go for now...some things to do this morning. i will write and post more later.

Monday evening

2008-07-14T21:20:00.003+02:00

research is done. dinner is eaten. sunset. moonrise. gisi in the left eye of the sculpture...
we're not bringing the laptop to paris..so full report on the weekend...have a wonderful week ;-)

Monday Morning 7.14.08

2008-07-14T14:36:00.005+02:00

the freiburg münster and greenmarket...the carving on the wall is the outline of the size of bread loaves. you would check your loaf agains the outline to make sure you got the proper size. the flowers are so beautiful, i can't help taking pix every time i'm there. we bought some just -picked strawberries, gooseberries and salad greens for dinner.
tickets for tgv did not arrive today. apparently they had the wrong zip code! we supposed to receive them by express mail before 9 tuesday. don't know why we even need them, why can't it be like the airlines? ahcchtolieber!

July 14, 2008

2008-07-14T09:39:00.002+02:00

Happy Bastille Day!!!! think i'll go get a croissant and celebrate!

aidans gig report

2008-07-14T00:23:00.002+02:00

Mary just emailed this to me. i thought i'd share it with y'all.

OUR SON NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE ME

He was a ball of energy/fire...hence the name, AIDAN.

Don Hill's asked them back to play in late August...people were screaming for them at the end. Even my friends who showed up were so amazed at the energy level of the band, They were very impressed at how professional they seemed to be.. About 40 people were there and the band after them loved them and they made friends with them, so that went over big with the kids. Jillian had a cute outfit on, all gothed out or something like that. Joey F , the guitarist from Aidan's very first band and his girlfriend Lily were there for Aidan once again. That touched my heart.AS I remember the two of them in Aidan's bedroom trying to put together a song back in high school. When they came outside, we heard Aidan say to the guys-"WE were the best yet." then they all hugged each other and started jumping up and down, sooooo adorable.

My friend Veronica brought her fiance who is in a professional Zeppelin tribute band. He thought they were great. He fell in love with Aidan's personality right away as most people do. He said the lead guitarist's guitar was out of tune on one song, but that was his only complaint. He thought they had a good chance at getting more gigs in the future for sure.

The band did a 30 minute set, launched right into the next song as it should be. They seemed well prepared and self confident. Jordan the lead singer was incredible. He has a very good range for metal, they did 2 cover songs, Crazy Train by Ozzie and an Iron Maiden song. Thier originals are really really good.

Did Aidan tell you that they may be doing a festival in Massachussetts in October???

GodSmack is the headliner and so this would be very exciting for them. I hope they can do it. They will need money to finance the weekend away. I told them that I would help them with gas money, if they come to my house over the next few months and do some yard work for me and stuff that I need help with. They thought that was a good plan. I hope they can have that fun experience for themselves.

Don Hill's is a cool venue, it is on Greenwich and Spring Streets. I was really proud of Aidan, he seems to be confident and was organized and professional with his eqiupment. Wow, when he was a baby, I prayed he would have some semblance of a good life. He really has one. He has a child, his own apartment, friends, a band, a girlfriend, a nice personality, integrity, good health, spirit, contagious energy and so much more. I was happy for him.

Allyson babysat for Joel. I saw him yesterday and he looked so cute as usual. Melissa was at the gig. Big doins are planned for next saturday afternoon for the BIRTHDAY WEENIE Roast in my backyard. Elmo is the theme for his big day. Thanks for the check to contribute. Pray for us to have pretty weather.

Oh, he got called on friday by the local 79 Union to do a day of Strike Duty on a picket line. He went to 10-63 Jackson Avenue in LIC. He said a guy called Bernard was there with the Giant Gray Rat blown up. He did his thing and went home. He said the guy Richie, from the Lenair job called him the day before to tell him to go there. He was glad to put his time in for his union. Sure hope they call him back one day. His dues are paid for the coming year again in full.

It is hot hot hot here...I hope your experience in Europe continues to be a sparkling one.

blessings, MDV

Sunday night...

2008-07-13T23:04:00.003+02:00

sunday eveing...after a day of rest, a few naps, watching the rain fall, we just came back from dinner with gisi and her freind jutta. jutta is an aid development worker, and is going to mozambique next week, for 3 years. that's quite a commitment. don't know if i'd be willing to take something like that on. i admire people who can.
went for a walk after dinner, then gisi and jutta went to have a drink at the egon, the local bar.

it's real intersesting meeting all these people over here. such a different culture. people tend to generalise about different nationalities, stereotype, and some of it is true, but what i've picked up is more subtle. when you live among the people day to day you get an deeper connection to the rythyms of other culture. i must admit, it taken a litle time to lose my stateside manner, especially the new york part. there's a laid back attitude that is very seductive, just the pace of life. and i know this in the south usa also, but it's a bit different. people are so calm here, no horns blaring, loud talking, noise....everything is softer.

looking forward to paris on tuesday, the train ride itself is going to be a blast. the weather forecast is for rain the days we're there ´but the weather changes every 15 min here.
doesn't matter, i'm sure paris will look wonderful in any light.
tomorrow is open, don't know what we'll do..pack at some point. we have to take a train from here to karlsrue to catch the tgv ( tay ja vay, as they say)..to paris. one hour from here. then 2 and a half to paris.

my son aidan, and his bandmates played a gig last night at don hills in the west village. i'm sorry i missed it, but i did get to see a clip on youtube a freind posted. it's so much fun watching him play, i'm so glad he loves music and playing. it's one of the proudest feelings i have about him.
baby joel will be one on the 18th, mary's gonna have a party for him. i hope someone shoots some video, please. for those of you who have not met him, he is one happy baby. always smiling. and so very cute. i know, i sound like a grandpa, and i guess thats true and it's a great blessing.

gonna wach some germantv now and see if i can understand what the hell thier saying.
see ya later.

aidan gig:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L911reozBM

Lazy Sunday

2008-07-13T14:24:00.006+02:00

went for a bike ride, out to the foothills of the mountains you see in the photos from the balcony. not even 2km away, just minutes by bike. along the way passed through some streets that were very pretty. check out the digital signs, they tell you how many parking spaces are available in the parking haus, they are all over town. the rail system going up the mountain (schlossberg) is brand new, not yet in operation. it brings you up to the dattler restaurant. the park at the base is really cute.
the building with the solar panels is part of the university. i don't know what the modern looking building is, but i love the stone they used for it. it is similar to the stone you find in the old buildins and churches. btw, all the church bells ring at 9:20am, to alert you to get ready for 10am mass.

Saturday

2008-07-13T08:54:00.005+02:00

saturday was supposed to be a trip to france to see a motorcycle race...but we didn't end up going. just as well...just hung around the apt, did some laundry, went to market. bought some chantarelle and lamb for dinner.....the goat cheese was bought in france earlier in the week, really creamy...and only 2euro.
nice sunset last night, rain and clouds this morning.

Panorama from balcony

2008-07-12T11:01:00.002+02:00

180 degree panorama of view from the balcony in the front and back.

Basel, Switzerland...

2008-07-12T04:16:00.004+02:00

These are all i could upload from the cd's of 35mm pix. If you want to see the others, you'll have to come to nyc and drop over. gimmee a call when you get there!

In the Black Forest

2008-07-12T02:57:00.014+02:00

after coming back from the market, we had no plans for friday. at least so i thought. we've been out every day, and i looked forward to doing nothing, maybe catch some naps. but gisi had other plans. she thought she would show me another area of the black forest, to a place called, in english, the witches hole. (hexenlochmühle)
it was forecast to be a mostly cloudy day, and it didn't look like that was going to be..it was sunny and cool. since the forest is literally only minutes away i agreed to the idea. gisi drove and we headed up the mountain roads. i dozed a bit in the car, and soon we were on top of the hills. as you can see, the skies were blue as we drove through the cow pastures on top of the mountains. we pulled over to a small stream and just listened to the water and the wind in the trees. the air was so fragrant with the scent of trees and cut grass. it was alsmost autumn like. gisi put her feet in the icy cold water for a minute. now this really looked like the forests i know in upstate ny. but the tree are much taller here, with a lot more fir stands. we then started to descend into a valley and we soon came upon the place called the witches hole, which is actually an old mill house where cuckoo clocks were made. it has been restored and made into a restaurant-gift shop. it seems to attaract a lot of motorcycle riders who ride with thier clubs through the mountains, and stop for lunch. in the shop we bought some fresh black forest ham, natarully, and some liver sausage to go alng with the bread and pate we brought along. i bought a speck knife, for cutting meat and bread on the road, kind of like the la golue knife my sister gave me a few years ago. gisi bought some tschochkas for home and we sat outside and ate beside the mill stream.
the mill water for the wheels actually comes from a spring just above the house, we filled empty coke bottles with water just out of the ground. it was ice cold, clear and delicious. we drove on after lunch and came upon a spectacular lookout over the valley and farms below. it was so gorgeous, even though there was a bit of haze evident and not as clear as a few days ago. after a while there, we then headed down into the valley and made our way back to freiburg. i fell asleep for some 20 minutes as we drove back. i must be tired!

when we left home earlier, gisi locked her house keys in the apartment, we picked p a spare set from her friend and figured we'd be able to get back in. well that didn't happen! apparently, when the key was left in the inside of the door lock, it prevented us from opening the lock from the outside. gisi had to go to a neighboring apartment and climb across the terrace and into a window to get the door open. good thing her neihgbor was home. plus i had a pint of ice cream in the bag and i might have had to eat it all on the spot as not to waste it!!!! check out the sign above gisi's door bell.

we later went to dinner at a traditional german restaurant, in the hotel löwen, that specialised in rösti potato..i had a wicked wiener schnitzel and gisi had a lamb salad....tomorrow we are going to france for a day of motorcycle races, in the mountain ski resort town of le gaschney, with some of gisi's friends. i hope to sleep all day sunday. au revoir...

Morning shopping in Freiburg

2008-07-11T20:13:00.008+02:00

this morning i went out on the bike to go to the bank, then do some shopping in the münsterplatz market. i always have the notion that these markets, that we see in travel articles, cater to the tourists. but in fact, many locals do thier shopping there. and i can see why..as with any urban greenmarket, you get the freshest local goods at a reasonable price. and it's beautiful. the chanterelles are 2.20euro for 100 grams, very reasonable.

Strasbourg to Freiburg

2008-07-11T17:36:00.004+02:00

this is on the way home from strasbourg. through the french farmland. the picture of the terraced slope is in germany just over the rhine, vinyards...

More Strasbourg..

2008-07-11T17:17:00.003+02:00

I'm having a problem uploading the 35mm photos, which i had put on a cd. these are the only ones so far that will load. Basel was all 35mm, so that's not working either right now. i'll try again later.
oh yea, i forgot tomention about the young girl who mooned us as we sailed by. funny how this one was able to uplpoad!

Strasbourg Photos 7.10.08

2008-07-11T06:57:00.015+02:00