Yesterday evening we had a spontaneous dinner with good friends in Bremen where we had swordfish, salmon and sugar beans which came with the last qince of the season here – havested in their backyard . . . → Read More: Quince discovery]]> I had to be 52 years old to learn how a quince (german: Quitte, french: coing) looks like:

Yesterday evening we had a spontaneous dinner with good friends in Bremen where we had swordfish, salmon and sugar beans which came with the last qince of the season here – havested in their backyard garden! As starter a piece of delicious quince cake with a thick meringue-cover, hmmm! Until now I only knew quince-jelly as a bread spread coming from the shelves in good organized supermarkets.

Thank you very much for that new experience of this big yellow, firm fruit and the dinner yesterday, Jutta and Mark!

Posted from Bremen, Bremen, Germany.

on the second day of a kindergarten outing, two fathers wander through the woods and fields of Lower Saxony. Suddenly we stand under the gigantic rotor blades of one of wind turbines you can see everywhere here in the . . . → Read More: Abyss of a cultivated landscape]]> Making a little stroll through the fields on the countryside to one of the windmills…

on the second day of a kindergarten outing, two fathers wander through the woods and fields of Lower Saxony. Suddenly we stand under the gigantic rotor blades of one of wind turbines you can see everywhere here in the region. Note how the blades are bent at the end by the wind (there were roughly 20 knots wind).

The view wanders over the shadow of the wind turbine and the fields to one the the numerous long, red, solar panel covered buildings between the fields:

Meat factory - sterile

and it is only then, when we realize that we are in the middle of several large-scale livestock farming buildings. It looks like a science fiction setting: the buildings are behind a fence and look extremely clean. Everything: the outside walls, the paved outside of the building, it looks almost sterile.

Then we discover the trace of little pebble-stones that cover supposedly the trench where they put the high-power line of the wind-turbine into the ground and we realize that the trace leads towards the red red buildings of the meat factory.

We decide to stop immediately that habit of eating unconsciously meat and sausage from the super market,  to reduce the amount of ‘unconsciously swallowed factory meat’. Instead we will buy from the organic butcher from now on. Even if that means that we’ll have meat only once a week or even less.

Walking back a green colored structure draws our attention. Clean, 6 feet high, with an attached mailbox on the side. We get closer, see there is a not secured top lid of the perhaps 4 x 5 ft. wide box we can open: inside clean again, refrigerated, a shiny stainless steel cart and we assume it might be something for dung or dirt or??? But why should it make sense to refrigerate manure? A look-up on my iPhone enlightens us:  Euratainer – oh fuck! A refrigeration box for carcasses!

Modern life on the countryside.

Posted from Groß Ippener, Niedersachsen, Germany.

Wednesday I made a trip to Berlin for two days. Unbelievable how this city still is full of contradictiions, wit, fascination, thrill, horror – everything next to one another. Beauty and history, urbanity and park landscapes co-existing.

That is the reason why Berlin still is

The Brandenburg Gate

Posted from Bremen, Bremen, Germany.

After so many times freezing in the north of Germany it is the other way around for once.

Here’s the proof: Petra on our terrace at 9 p.m. calling with Santa Barbara with pleasant 80 degrees F. in Bremen, while it’s in the lower sixties in California.

The story behind the song, the lyrics are here:It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward . . . → Read More: Barak Obama]]> Since long we didn’t post anything, but this one seems to be worth it…

The story behind the song, the lyrics are here:
It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality.

Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.

Yes we can heal this nation.

Yes we can repair this world.

Yes we can.

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics…they will only grow louder and more dissonant ……….. We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check. We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea –

Yes. We. Can.

…here’s a night out at Nike and Alvin’s place – a whole lot of interesting, great people, incredibly delicious food and good discussions until 4 in the morning.

The Berlitz clip: . . . → Read More: Something different]]> Just for a change, something different today: some of my favorite video clips available on the net:
There are three really funny ads of Volkwagen USA. “Un-pimp your car!”: Video.
Don’t forget to also check the two other versions which you can find on the navigation bar on the right of that webpage!

The Berlitz clip: Video.

And then about flying! Here’s a compilation of probably the most impressive landings you can imagine. The first part seems to come from a company video of Boeing, testing their big iron somewhere in the desert (might be Edwards Air Force Base in California). Also some nice takes from pretty impressive approaches into the old airport of Hong Kong. Check it out: Video.