Clik here to view.
Photos: Friesland and the North Sea Coast
As promised, here are some photos from our Ascension Day outing to the North Sea Coast. Among other things, there are views of the town of Jever, the perpetually troubled JadeWeser Port, the Wadden Sea...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Photos: Lüneburger Heide
Yesterday was the Day of German Unity, i.e. the anniversary of the unification of East and West Germany on October 3, 1990, which is a public holiday in Germany. The official celebrations have become...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Scotland Photos Part 3 – Pubs and Bars
Britain in general has a great range of interesting pubs with interesting interiors in interesting locations, whereas German bars tend to be quite samey. But on this trip, I came across a few really...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gendering and Kinder Surprise Eggs
Tonight, I went grocery shopping. Among other things, I also bought a pallet of twenty Kinder Surpise Eggs, because St. Nicholas Day is coming up and Kinder Surpise eggs are ideal for handing out. For...
View ArticleSnowy Day Linkdump
We had more snow last night and this time around, the snow even stayed, because the temperatures hovered around zero all day long. And because the weather was so conductive to the holiday spirit, I...
View ArticleJolly Old St. Nicholas
December 6th is St. Nicholas Day in Germany and the Netherlands. The weather was pleasantly Christmassy, cold with a light dusting of snow, and I celebrated in style by baking yet more Christmas...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Christmas 2012
Our Christmas was wet, mild and quiet. My uncle came for lunch on Christmas Day, otherwise we were among ourselves. We had a minor uproar, when my Dad incinerated a mincemeat tart. My parents had...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Year’s Night 2012/2013
The new year started here in Western and central Europe a couple of hours ago. I no longer do the party thing or the standing around on the market square watching fireworks thing (been there, done...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Year’s Day 2013 and a Mad Santa House
The new year started with rain and truly miserable weather. Like every year, we visited some friends of my parents who live in Teufelsmoor (devil’s moor), a bog region north of Bremen. We had lunch at...
View ArticleFebruary Flurry Linkdump
Yes, it’s another linkdump today, because I’m not feeling all that great. I’ve got a nasty cluster of three aphthous ulcers on the inside of my upper lip. I have been struggling with aphthous ulcers...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Birthday on a Snowy Holy Thursday
Today was Holy Thursday. It was also, coincidentally, my Mom’s birthday. And, as the weather forecast had foretold, it was snowing intermittently, though the snow didn’t stick until temperatures...
View ArticleClik here to view.
More grimdark fantasy, boring literary fiction, the truth about the...
We’re actually having snow for Easter this year, though at least the cold means that there’s no need to open the windows and that I’ll be spared the smoke from the annual Easter fire, a tradition I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hugo – The Devolution of a Trend Cocktail
I first came across the fashionable cocktail called Hugo in one of the trendier restaurants in town* (not my preferred hangout at all – I was there at the request of someone else) when I spotted what...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vechta Photos and the Best Bakeries in Northwest Germany
I’ve been keeping this under wraps until all the papers have been signed, but in the fall semester I will be teaching English at the University of Vechta again. I already taught English at Vechta a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Good Cause, Women in SF, the Nobel Prize for Literature and Lost Doctor Who...
I’m a bit tired today, because a quick excursion to pick up a WiFi repeater and some other stuff turned into an extended odyssey thanks to a traffic jam on the highway that forced me into the East...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Halloween and American Traditions in Germany
First of all, here is a plug: The cross publisher bundle of horror and dark fantasy fiction that Julie of Bards & Sages Publishing has set up at DriveThruFiction for Halloween is still available....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Freimarkt 2013
Yesterday, on the last day before closing, I finally got the chance to visit our annual autumn fair, the Freimarkt, held in Bremen since 1035 AD, which makes this year’s Freimarkt the 778th...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Posting from the University
Just testing whether I can post from the university, now my office computer is actually online (WiFi reception is crappy in my office). Anyway, I already had a class this morning and I have another...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Storm Xaver Update
We’re still getting wind surges, but in general it is getting more quiet outside. But then, the biggest danger of the massive winter storm Xaver is not the wind (though that’s bad enough) but the flood...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pre-Christmas Update
I’m at my parents’ at the moment and have been since the weekend. On Sunday evening, I decorated the Christmas tree, which isn’t all that pleasant, since I am mildly allergic to fir trees, which means...
View Article
