Strange to be eating at a burrito place and see our SF street and neighborhood printed on a map on the wall. They may have the map (and Anchor Steam too) but it's not nearly as good as the burritos back home.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
On the map
Strange to be eating at a burrito place and see our SF street and neighborhood printed on a map on the wall. They may have the map (and Anchor Steam too) but it's not nearly as good as the burritos back home.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Scoot about town
House doesn't feel the same without John here. I miss hanging out with him.
Looking to scooter some places in the hopes it will cheer me up. Tonight we went to a restaurant further away from the usual neighborhood places.
Oh. And scooter means no wine at all. Strange but surprisingly good to mix it up.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
German UFO?
The last night in Berlin with John. Sad for the month to end.
The Reichstag and a leisurely dinner at Paris Moskow punctuate his trip.
Stinging rain
It's scooter time. John and I head north out of Berlin and into the forest. We get a sense of how different the German countryside is and what a bastion of international hipsters Berlin really is compared to the population of the neighboring townships. We stop in Zerpenschleuse which John decided needs to be pronounced "Slurpen juice".
Heavy rains dampen the ride but not our spirits. It's good to get out of the city and explore.
Because of the rain we only get one scooter. John offers to ride his bike wherever we go. I have a new appreciation for his biking prowess. He beat us to the movie theater 7 miles away. (Batman - good times...)
With our new wheels we ventured even further afield. Savignyplatz. In the west side. Beginning to really appreciate the differences between our area and this more established, traditional area. We decided to keep the scooter for a few weeks rather than just the weekend as we planned. Expensive, but it will be nice to expand our range of exploration. Everyday adventuring has a price.
Combat Girls
The weather has been perfect here in Berlin. It seems as though the summer is being compressed into one week. Hot days in the week push us out of our home and outdoors. Tonight we found hamburgers in Berlin and then on a whim sought out one of the many open air Kinos here.
The movie playing was Combat Girls. An intense movie about German girls growing up as white supremacists. Interesting and troubling movie.
Better together
Immersed with my peers for the next 48 hours.
Nice venue at the Soho house. We thought we were going to join here before we moved, but now that we're here, the Berlin we like has nothing to do with private clubs.
Beer again
July 23, 2012
Summer is here. A perfect night for a visit to the neighborhood beer garden. Sausage, corn on the cob and beer make for a simple dinner.
Oversalted
July 22, 2012
German beef tastes different. Not good different. Looking forward to some USDA prime in August.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Cool and underground
July 20, 2012
Last few hours in Istanbul. Scorching hot today. Finding relief in the cistern.
Unexpected upgrade made the ride home a joy!
Good to be back "home"
Mmmm. Grape.
John - "Don't tell my mom about the stuff I told you."
Dad - "Funny you say that with a beer in one hand and a hookah in the other."
Folk in Istanbul
Istabbul. Good day. Hagia Sofia. Street food. A cool breeze.
The folk dance competition did not turn out to be a highlight.
European Playboy
Transforming John. Wearing his new Persol shades and Replay espadrilles.
Hard to hand down my sense of style as a part time dad. This trip is proving a huge boost to John's confidence and appreciation of fashion. I can't think of anywhere better to learn than Italy. The Replay outlet we found in the middle of nowhere proved an excellent and affordable place to start.
He is looking quite the part as we taxi around the canals of Venice.
Second cousins
July 15, 2012
The highlight of Italy is the day spent having lunch with my newly discovered second cousins.
Tiziana, and her husband Dino (the winemaker) wanted me to see their wine cellar. All homemade. Wine seems to run in my blood.
They were dismissive of the bottle of Amarone I brought as a gift, but were visibly excited for the oilve oil I gave them from the same producer. Guess the lesson here is not to give wine to a winemaker?
Crashing the family reunion
If it seems they are all staring at us, it's because they are.
The facebook posting of the whole story is here.
Cliff dwelling
Relaxing at Lake Garda, Italy. Beautiful views of the Italian Alps from on the lake.
Amarone tour
Verona - the home of the most expensive bottle of wine I have ever owned -- and dropped on the garage floor.
We toured Tommasi winery. Fun time. John seemed to enjoy it the most. The Tomassi Ripasso may become my new house wine. A rich red wine at a good price point made with left over amarone grapes.
The fall of Radamès
Off for 10 days with John and Marianna. It's nice to be able to take off to Verona for under 100 euro a ticket.
First stop, Aida at the outdoor arena in Verona. The 100 degree temperatures from the day translated to a beautiful evening outdoors.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Abandoned adventures
We found a blog called Abandoned Berlin. We thought it would make for some good father and son adventures. Here we're in the abandoned Spree park. Creepy that there's an abandoned amusement park in the middle of Berlin.
Pickles for breakfast
Saturday brunch German style. Cold meats, herring, salmon, several breads and pretty much the works.
Pin was here?
The maps team wanted to do some "gorilla marketing". They printed stickers which they were going to discretely place around the globe. What that has meant in practice is that these end up as an insiders joke. This one was the first I've spotted in 'the wild' on the bike path in Mauerpark.
Today John and I went and bought a bike for him to use while he's here. 50 euro. He's happy since it's purple with chrome fenders!
Larger than life
July 3, 2012
John is here now. I'm so excited! (More excited than he looks in this photo.) He's spending the month with us. I wish I could take the whole month off but will have to settle for 8 days off. Meanwhile he and Marianna are having a great time exploring Berlin together.
I met them at one of the few English theaters for an evening of Spiderman and popcorn.
A Berlin Dozen?
Eggs from the farmers market. Strange that they sell them in packs of 10. Or is it strange that we have 12? Seems the logic of the metric system has spread to other units as well? So is ten the metric dozen?
Italian massacre
It's a disappointment to be here with Germany the supposed favorite and watch the Italians play Spain. The city watches now with indifference. It's a double disappointment for Marianna. Today was the first day she would have been well enough to work as a Red Cross volunteer at the fanmeila outdoor soccer festival.
We plant ourselves at the local sushi restaurant and watch Italy get pummeled.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Dragon water
Along Kastanienallee there are old water pumps every few blocks. They still provide a trickle of water. Berlin seems intent to preserve the old and let it intertwine with the progress.
Football malfunction
Watching Germany vs Italy in the semi finals at the neighborhood wine bar. The restaurant big screen malfunctions and chaos ensues. The TV eventually recovered. Not so for the German team.
Work Dinner
Chinese food. A backdrop with a giant painting of rotting garbage bags makes an unusual style statement.
Square Air
Last day in Stockholm. Nice tour of the Royal Palace and the crown jewels. But I was most intrigued by the public bike pump in the middle of the downtown square.
Social savings
Special savings at Peak Performance for Facebook fans. The line was two blocks long when the doors opened. Social marketing done well.
Meet the Baecklunds
Coffee and strawberry shortcake with Anders, Beatrice and his parents. Such a treat to spend the afternoon in the home where his Grandmother lived until she was 96.
Somehow in the deep recesses of my brain I remembered that when I was 5 years old we lived in Broma at "Orshavagan shugo". Which happened to be about a mile away. The owners I am sure were curious why we were in their driveway taking pictures of their home.
Dinner later with Lars an Mia. (Anders brother and sister in law.)
Football camp
A beautiful (but rainy) day in the Swedish countryside. Dinner in a boathouse.
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