Category: Food

Dad’s German Trip

  • September 11, 2011

A couple of months ago Dad went on a length trip to his homeland of Germany. After he returned I asked for some photos to put on this blog. He sent them, but sadly the post was delayed due to recent events.

That delay is now over! I present to you:

Aloysius in Bergische Land

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This (and the next three) are where my dad was born and grew up. It’s almost alarmingly beautiful and pastoral. I wonder how much, if at all, it has changed since dad was born there last century.

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That’s dad next to a statue of a man that used to mint coins in Wipperfuerth (Dad’s home town). Even in this shot, the background looks very ‘German’ to me!

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Dad and three of his brothers playing cards. Did the eldest win I wonder?

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That’s Sonia, who I believe is a cousin of mine. The strangely small horses are hers as well, and apparently pull wagons for a living!

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A German breakfast as served by my aunt Brigitte.

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An early example of my or my brothers artistic skills. This is a home made Christmas decoration sent from the Australians to the Germans. I’m intrigued by what we’re playing with in the photograph. I wonder if my brother remembers.

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Dad’s comment to this one was:

A beautiful foal of a Clydesdale mother

And there we have it! Notable in their absence are photos of beer, sauerkraut or sausage. I see no shots of lederhosen, accordians or culturally embarrassing yet technically beautiful Nazi architecture. No shots of lindwurms, trolls or Elwetritsch. And – despite him claiming he visited Switzerland during his odyssey – not even a single glimpse of edelweiss.

Maybe a sequel post is forthcoming 🙂

San Diego

  • September 5, 2011

During my stay in San Diego, this was my hotel room:

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I spent a lot of time in there, working on the presentation (which went well) and the paper. The hotel itself was fancy and very, very large. Here’s a view from the 40th floor bar:

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That’s looking south, into San Diego harbour. The convention center is behind the Marriot hotel. Those boats look tiny, but they are not! I doubt anyone with a little fishing boat could ever afford the marina fees there. Here’s the view on the other side:

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Across the bay you can see an aircraft carrier. I forget the name, but that’s one of the current operational carriers of the US Navy. It’s stationed here in San Diego (along with 3 more I believe).

My room was on the 8th floor, looking toward the marina you can see in the above shot. Here’s a photo I took out at night:

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Someone said the fireworks (which were being launched from a barge) were for Seaworld. I have my doubts though, since Seaworld is a bit to the North of here. At any rate, they were fun to watch 🙂

On one of my days there this guy came into port:

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Although it serves a similar purpose it is not strictly an aircraft carrier. See the opening at the back? That’s to launch ships and amphibious vehicles. This carrier is specific to amphibious launches, and from the deck specializes in VTOL aircraft such as helicopters or harriers. The size was just incredible. Quite a spectacle to watch, and believe me the crowds had formed on the docks!

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Whever I may roam, I seem to always buy an instant lottery ticket. I only won once away from home, and that was in England. And I never cashed it in! (Florence has it now… I wonder if she can cash it?)

So, this interim San Diego post (the next one will be about boats!) ends on a highnote:

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Mouth-watering isn’t it? Well, it worked on me:

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  • Posted in Food
  • Robert