tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-307728482024-03-23T18:55:39.815+01:00Someday you will find me in Saxony/aus dem Sinn in Sachsenre-inventing a diary in a world without context...die Neuerfindung eines Tagebuches in einer kontextlosen Welt...Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.comBlogger151125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-18893226158420728612011-11-13T18:17:00.003+01:002011-11-13T18:39:12.940+01:00The View When Lying on the Ground<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6MRhQiA8B9kCu8lfroXUggOZ_v_iWybqEcre1t54Rh5m6KiJImoMCis2SV0-LbUlUztbtoG-xlLPq8QuXgx2pNrrRHLpcVTJT2Cid8KA2fAPMPLnReFAsTJpA_RfrBX7KLNW/s1600/PIC_0165.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6MRhQiA8B9kCu8lfroXUggOZ_v_iWybqEcre1t54Rh5m6KiJImoMCis2SV0-LbUlUztbtoG-xlLPq8QuXgx2pNrrRHLpcVTJT2Cid8KA2fAPMPLnReFAsTJpA_RfrBX7KLNW/s400/PIC_0165.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674535725639278866" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>I closed my eyes on the couch, so tired and wondering what would face me after my next arrival at home in Texas. Just a short nap, as my lids shut on the blanched wine-red walls of the living room... <div><br /></div><div>And suddenly I saw green. I had opened my eyes, looking straight-ahead into lush grass - I was lying not on the couch but on the ground... at the family cemetary at the very spot where I will someday join my family. Yet to reflect on this new view, I saw two sets of legs moving in my direction; one set in business grey slacks and dress black shoes, the other in a smart black skirt and black high heels. This young couple leaned down directly in front of me and cradled my head in their arms together. My mother and father had come to help me, now eternally young and strong, and resolved as masters of this whole situation. I felt their smiles and joy. </div><div><br /></div><div>"You can get up and take care of all of this - it is not yet your time to be here. And we are always with you supporting you, as we always told you all your life." </div><div><br /></div><div>I saw wine-red again and remained frozen on the couch, trying to return to that reunion cut so short. Yet they were still with me - and still are - as I drink the red wine and look forward to the lush green grass of eternal strength in the source of all life. </div>Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-51369569526858688372011-07-09T21:16:00.003+02:002011-07-09T21:27:39.867+02:00Busy? Who isn't....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIFTqW3NlWAQ131kR-RYFRGYJDRUPsN52oUUg05mznEj9b5zvCIBll-sPTShgEGkdnfDO1xsdF51hZFOTrhxIvYUqzwPYVTnZxorjCBgqKo3PH0LotYU-7wfva2z0-mlbZ8yu/s1600/100_1603.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIFTqW3NlWAQ131kR-RYFRGYJDRUPsN52oUUg05mznEj9b5zvCIBll-sPTShgEGkdnfDO1xsdF51hZFOTrhxIvYUqzwPYVTnZxorjCBgqKo3PH0LotYU-7wfva2z0-mlbZ8yu/s400/100_1603.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627436171586157506" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">The famous Astronomical Clock in the main square in Prague, Czech Republic. I took this foto because I took the time to travel to Prague a week ago.</span></i> <div><br />The past hundred years have seen the invention and implimentation of many labour-saving appliances and devices. Cars speed our journeys, kitchen appliances making cooking really fast, washing machines and dryers make doing the wash a marginal activity, and computers and the internet make communication virtually effortless. <div>So what do we do with all this spare time? Perhaps I ask the wrong question. Why do we forget what we originally wanted to do with more time? Time is the most precious commodity, because we only have it once. We can make more money, but once a day is gone, it never comes back. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've entered a phase of life in which I remain lastingly disappointed with how most of us deal with time. How many emails can you respond to, how many text messages, how many mobile phone calls that bombard you hourly? Looking back over the past few years, do you simply see a goulash of time diced up into tiny pieces for so many different people/causes, that there is no pattern or common thread to the whole matter? You can replace all material things, but time never returns, and often you have one opportunity to help someone at one specific time. If you let the time slip, you've lost that one chance. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-76751513188722013392010-12-11T18:05:00.002+01:002010-12-11T18:18:18.519+01:00The Religious Right is left (out)Random thoughts cross through the mind. As anything "right" (meaning a percieved political, social, or religious slant) seems to gain ground in north America, I am astounded at how such groups so thoroughly exclude people. They often have a very narrow tolerance zone of convictions in their respective fields, and they quickly alienate those who think or act differently. They become the arbiter or defender of truth, and they may even claim a divine sanction for their convictions. Whole groups may be dismissed, but when individuals are approached as individuals and put under pressure to conform (either you do it my/our way, or you are wrong/evil/an outcast), I am reminded of totalitarian regimes in the 20th century in Europe, and perhaps even in the largest eastern "people's republic" that now exists. <div><br /></div><div>But perhaps the best solution to this dilemma is to let such groups simply continue down their road. As they define and delineate themselves, they will exclude more and more people, until they loose any impact they might have had. At some point they will have left themselves out of life all together. </div>Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-80909643545153137042010-12-04T17:57:00.002+01:002010-12-04T18:09:25.618+01:00Wild WeatherMy fears have been confirmed - winter has returned to Middle Europe with great force. The transportation lines for almost all forms of motion have been severly effected. And daily I scorn the inability of our ultra-modern high-tech public transportation to deal with these normal weather events. People spend the night on trains stranded in the countryside while motorists wonder if they will also overnight on the Autobahn. <div><br /></div><div>Back in April, I believe, we had an ash cloud from a volcano in Iceland that brought most of air travel to a standstill. Once again, all the advances, technology, and power of our society were powerless and at the mercy of something totally outside of our inventions: nature. </div><div><br /></div><div>We still cannot control nature. It does what it wants when it wants, and all our plans may be changed or cancelled as a result. Or perhaps we should include nature in our plans. It's a good idea for me. I see here a reminder - we - humans - did not create everything around us. We live the delusion that we can control and use it as if it belonged to us. But such weather events remind us that we belong to it and not it to us. But what is "it"? </div><div><br /></div><div>I have a very specific answer to that question. </div>Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-49353141248814815352010-11-28T12:38:00.003+01:002010-11-28T13:06:52.485+01:00Is there no choice between sentiment, kitsch, or exaggeration?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCk9ZKw7zKi11CDYtZWEWX20ecyRqfsLIOJV3lYpY_JhNdnTUDNSPSvnI3OlUv6PmmocJDudO6eriDkhlDIdJPXL7xHTB6cqQaZJush-Vp_Ibt5lC4IBQQgehFq3oqWYM-PbG6/s1600/100_0936.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCk9ZKw7zKi11CDYtZWEWX20ecyRqfsLIOJV3lYpY_JhNdnTUDNSPSvnI3OlUv6PmmocJDudO6eriDkhlDIdJPXL7xHTB6cqQaZJush-Vp_Ibt5lC4IBQQgehFq3oqWYM-PbG6/s400/100_0936.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544570320860977474" /></a><br />Germany's economy is supposedly improving fast. I don't see where this is really happening. Compared to my home in Texas, people here are not buying new big expensive things, they're not building new houses, and among those I know here, the job situation hasn't changed. I wonder if this is a ploy - act like you are doing well, and you will do well. <div>When are we "acting" and when is it genuine? Especially in December the decorations go up to pep up the spirits. It really helps on this dreary latitude - so dark and cold, so drink hot mulled wine and look at the bright lights and you'll be bright and happy. </div><div>But one can't deny or disguise that life has rough edges and aspects we at best wish were different and at worst can't bear to think about. Kitsch, I think, involves denying these facts and forcing a surface happiness, which is what makes some people loathe the Christmas season. But true art looks at these situations and might seek to understand, to fix, or simply to present these apparant contradictions. </div><div>A week ago a friend on FB said, looking for confirmation, that this season makes everyone feel happier and in a better mood. Yet for many this holiday season painfully reminds them that important people are missing - the empty chairs at the dining table, fewer presents under the tree, or no invitations to Christmas events. Having grown up spending every Christmas with family and grandparents, now there are so many empty chairs at the dining table I sit at at Christmas, that I often would rather not eat there. But this is also Christmas, a normal part of the journey of life. The idea of unconditional love that stops short of no effort to love others. And ultimately for me, the notion - the conviction - that the ultimate gift - God's unconditional love and promise to be with him forever - can somehow make even difficult times somehow happy, when you know that many things in life could be easier and simpler. </div><div><br /></div><div>I hope we can remember those around us who might be spending their first Christmas season with acute sufferring because of the empty places at the table, since some they loved have passed on or cannot be there. These people might be too embarrassed to let you know of their situation and may hide it at all cost. Have open eyes not for Santa and Christmas treats, but for the smallest signs of need in others. </div>Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-60783937986802903532010-11-05T21:42:00.006+01:002010-11-05T22:14:03.277+01:00Half a Year Later<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE0gYps2KT3k64bzpKUBIIzt5SMVwp3y227VKASFPJiuRr7rr_SE-MS9LDZLBgBAo4QXaUQLA58pipxrQIwH_CntoeDUtB3RrC8eC4zuCgXAyG_7_BHAhB8uziYol6WPDHCXfR/s1600/100_1151.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE0gYps2KT3k64bzpKUBIIzt5SMVwp3y227VKASFPJiuRr7rr_SE-MS9LDZLBgBAo4QXaUQLA58pipxrQIwH_CntoeDUtB3RrC8eC4zuCgXAyG_7_BHAhB8uziYol6WPDHCXfR/s400/100_1151.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536171897660588642" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">Leipzig in late summer on a lazy afternoon</span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4gIb0fzQvhBudmePF7YGpbtiCbdmet7cHbcfJ24qIMOmXmwioTbuJxWwZrzVsPx_ttDhCQca9ukguix36-qI3M7ETLl2AgCmANWKYoO6uCBZOHFnXZWnxp6MR1fvMxJXS_XE/s1600/100_1138_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4gIb0fzQvhBudmePF7YGpbtiCbdmet7cHbcfJ24qIMOmXmwioTbuJxWwZrzVsPx_ttDhCQca9ukguix36-qI3M7ETLl2AgCmANWKYoO6uCBZOHFnXZWnxp6MR1fvMxJXS_XE/s400/100_1138_2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536171566638953650" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">Texas - near Fort Worth - in mid-summer after I mowed the lawn</span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp1q2la35RQmYd9-ymgurQztfPLG9Ze75NWBKD1aD0oX8rnjaxKUHlVyEroI5afVnA6XkLC4UE7IdoX7-Tn7d9Jxglj1BsR9Uxv8A7xfw0nVM-xXZ_pbhFgJKalrRLD4RdAGm3/s1600/100_1280.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp1q2la35RQmYd9-ymgurQztfPLG9Ze75NWBKD1aD0oX8rnjaxKUHlVyEroI5afVnA6XkLC4UE7IdoX7-Tn7d9Jxglj1BsR9Uxv8A7xfw0nVM-xXZ_pbhFgJKalrRLD4RdAGm3/s400/100_1280.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536171268892102562" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">York in England in October</span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GbIYSCuNC-r013eDPFJtoaX7_2vs2NabElVXHSaLJ4j_yU1okLxuZYQI6GmiIXfuHrRlJEgbU4zFo0Gi1nigbG-IQpF9og2rMwte4dPGSzNpWug4ix2y9sqr-msV8__dKNL5/s1600/100_1221.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GbIYSCuNC-r013eDPFJtoaX7_2vs2NabElVXHSaLJ4j_yU1okLxuZYQI6GmiIXfuHrRlJEgbU4zFo0Gi1nigbG-IQpF9og2rMwte4dPGSzNpWug4ix2y9sqr-msV8__dKNL5/s400/100_1221.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536170966271126530" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">Leeds in England in October</span></i><div><br /></div><div>I thought I'd report back. Since my last post a lot has happened - nothing negative. I've had the house in the USA worked on (and I visited it too), and I've gotten a new job in teaching. This led me to the UK in early October on a business trip for ten days. So many new duties and tasks, and so many new impressions, not the least of which is the outcome of the election for the yankees and the new situation there as a result. </div><div>I don't know what to think right now. I'm disappointed at the short collective memory among the voting population in the USA. The current administration did not create the crisis - it was plopped in their lap two years ago, and I think they've done a smart job dealing with it; there is indeed much more to do, for after only 24 months you can't undone such dimensions of crisis. But let some adults done cheerleader- tactics and traverse the country with a message supposedly connected with the Boston tea party - calling it a message is already inaccurate, for it is more a burst of gut anger with little or no substance. And these people have made it into the nation's capital now. Suicides among teenagers are a problem, and those not towing the line in their social-sexual orientation are mobbed and bullied to the point of killing themselves to get away from the torture. Whatever one's conviction might be about same-sex orientation, it is never correct or "christian" to force those at least leaning toward same-sex choices with violence or psychological abuse. </div><div>And then I see unusual tenacious protests in Germany. In Stuttgart protesters show great strength in opposing renovations of the main station, and new protests are opposing the transport of nuclear waste to disposal sites. In comparison to these perhaps not so lucratively funded but cogently constructed protests in Germany, those tea parties in the US seem like a paroday of political activism - wind with no substance. Perhaps it would be the biggest blessing for the current administration, to have one of these party people running for President in two years. Time will tell what happens, so in the meantime we can "wait and drink tea" as the Germans say. </div>Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-38565319593365583422010-04-30T20:10:00.004+02:002010-04-30T20:19:06.454+02:00The old garage door opener finally turned up...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjajNpckAEcBnCT8xbuSSMo6ay24_9xmNe8nJIb4grnsyjp_xUgciCVoiLNSDcHn3da8SOdk5aybtI1GaPo9Y_ftdOSIoFL788nio3vmv1gk8wEczhy4giczMA_I1jVW3-o1qzG/s1600/PIC_0186.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjajNpckAEcBnCT8xbuSSMo6ay24_9xmNe8nJIb4grnsyjp_xUgciCVoiLNSDcHn3da8SOdk5aybtI1GaPo9Y_ftdOSIoFL788nio3vmv1gk8wEczhy4giczMA_I1jVW3-o1qzG/s400/PIC_0186.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465994935843111762" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">This garage door finally has its old opener back....</span></i><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFCC;">My brother went to the door last week. Wilma, who spent the last 13 hours of my mother's life with her, was there. Wilma wanted to give him something.<br /><br />When Wilma took my mother to the hospital for tests on March 29, 2008, mother took the garage door opener along - she would need it to get back in to gather her clothes to move to a nursing home. Not wanting to lose the door opener, mother carefully put it in Wilma's glove box on that Friday - in about 5 days she would be going back home to get ready to move to a care facility.<br /><br />Wilma was back at Baylor Grapevine about midnight that Sunday night - she knew my mother needed her. And about 13 hours later my mother left her broken down lungs behind for the real air of paradise and permanent rest from so much worry.<br /><br />But that garage door opener stayed in the glove box of Wilma's car waiting for those fingers to press it. And Wilma returned it to my brother last week, after finding it and figuring out where it came from. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFCC;"><br />I don't know if I can use that opener again. After two years of waiting, I wonder if it would be better for the opener to just keep on waiting. After all, it isn't waiting for my fingers to press it... as it is, it opens much more than a garage door right now.</span></span></span></span></div>Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-26504683290411926942010-02-07T15:08:00.004+01:002010-02-07T15:36:19.586+01:00Seven Years of Leipzig Today<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDbHC1UeJhgLTDddvX-zUKZstRCibXkbp0QD7zc_fXxlk_zJkNWg8bmjqRyIhj6qYMiQVhwq78U4UXUyIIsVQMI4jcvWdeW9rwDJCajIaSRzVAwuZBWcsY6TlfWdOlmXlNM3Y/s1600-h/100_0941.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDbHC1UeJhgLTDddvX-zUKZstRCibXkbp0QD7zc_fXxlk_zJkNWg8bmjqRyIhj6qYMiQVhwq78U4UXUyIIsVQMI4jcvWdeW9rwDJCajIaSRzVAwuZBWcsY6TlfWdOlmXlNM3Y/s400/100_0941.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435509071647405234" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">The view from my current living room in winter - here is my life right now</span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEntnmtIEyv883ciIBL8Qnw7xAPytBsEset1k2iWLb7fdec_Hp5QKLluhpzdasCSVGMCXLr-GWA7Ugr-HYZW-89XTBJVwwFMYYl3_9b7BCsoHM8cFBNbMTZpO5uBNIGWDwVjBc/s1600-h/PIC_0124.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEntnmtIEyv883ciIBL8Qnw7xAPytBsEset1k2iWLb7fdec_Hp5QKLluhpzdasCSVGMCXLr-GWA7Ugr-HYZW-89XTBJVwwFMYYl3_9b7BCsoHM8cFBNbMTZpO5uBNIGWDwVjBc/s400/PIC_0124.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435509067386069762" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">The home in Texas, where my life still somehow continues over there....</span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistL4LTWa1sU4zN3ehrU9EqwssXwPYLErWzYaNRmmTUdMVvDo3Huc3EW3vKZPxYGH2bNoywqYwXgUGJG1m-Su8A8rouLgWOrtvVIT2TePHAlBXhxdjfyHye3PtFwcuI3XzU3SW/s1600-h/Mark+obelisk.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistL4LTWa1sU4zN3ehrU9EqwssXwPYLErWzYaNRmmTUdMVvDo3Huc3EW3vKZPxYGH2bNoywqYwXgUGJG1m-Su8A8rouLgWOrtvVIT2TePHAlBXhxdjfyHye3PtFwcuI3XzU3SW/s400/Mark+obelisk.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435509057947253618" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">My permanent resting place someday just a few feet away from this obelisk where I will take my place next to my mother, just as we are standing here together, to join her to await the resurrection.</span></i> <div><br />This is a short post: today I have been in Leipzig for seven years. And when I got off the plane on that snowy day back then, I knew no one in this city, and I never would have imagined all the things that would happen in the next five years: church crises, new jobs, moving, and the sudden illness and death of my mother. <div><br /></div><div>Now I look back and have many friends in Leipzig and Germany. I feel very much at home here, despite the frigid weather. And I look with concern at my life in Texas. Seven years of continuous life in Leipzig, and no one from the states has visited me; no one from Texas - except my mother and brother - has even called me on the telephone one single time. I can count on one hand the number of people from the USA who keep any kind of regular email contact with me. My mother was my real connection to my life in Texas, and now she is gone. I've tried this blog, and then facebook, but I have slowly come to realize that nothing will change the saying "out of sight, out of mind", so for everybody over there I am "out of sight and out of mind". </div><div><br /></div><div>I don't know how much longer I will stay here. Yet I wonder what I have to return to in the USA. Most of my family I now visit at the cemetary, and as the years without ongoing communication go by, you grow apart from people you used to know so well. </div><div><br /></div><div>While I am thankful for these seven years, Life is very different now than it was then. Some of it changed because of my decisions, but much change was thrown upon me. Yet as the years go by, I realize more and more that our life is woven out of the connections to the people we get to know and even love. I am happy for this woven garment here in Europe, but sad to see the garment being neglected in the USA. </div></div>Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-28079028133113455762010-01-24T13:31:00.006+01:002010-01-24T14:05:20.445+01:00Twenty-Ten sounds like a football play<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNpkXyOdAmJQWBopK971yRQ4yiwhT0JvnqZrCD6bNvePYLFfw9nK7xtjwti-ODSg_p_NvmcpDVMEIlk5mw0z_C4bM1bc3orqEhKiwaxKMjbQAAUA2Vmur9tvJCMVAIU7a0S2s/s1600-h/IMG_0617.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNpkXyOdAmJQWBopK971yRQ4yiwhT0JvnqZrCD6bNvePYLFfw9nK7xtjwti-ODSg_p_NvmcpDVMEIlk5mw0z_C4bM1bc3orqEhKiwaxKMjbQAAUA2Vmur9tvJCMVAIU7a0S2s/s400/IMG_0617.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430290845338138546" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">This was one place where we rang in the new year - Roses in Berlin-Kreuzberg. What kitschy-cheesy decorations</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">!</span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltYVQ3b2RNr5PDBLOMN8ottWVGmGaECScLFyIjDiBhOqk9Vq0SWYzUkcuGpUBtjYHuXBEVYVbLzjKKJeXiCG9MQAMGUgBJEnYF8CW0qsEiFPzNzCXlGeT264uh9pqAUpxh3N8/s1600-h/IMG_0665.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltYVQ3b2RNr5PDBLOMN8ottWVGmGaECScLFyIjDiBhOqk9Vq0SWYzUkcuGpUBtjYHuXBEVYVbLzjKKJeXiCG9MQAMGUgBJEnYF8CW0qsEiFPzNzCXlGeT264uh9pqAUpxh3N8/s400/IMG_0665.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430287138536811522" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">The Moltke Bridge in Berlin at new years. </span></i><br /><div>The new year is already here. I wouldn't know, except that the days are finally getting a little longer. We're still in the deep freeze in central Europe, and I am so fed up with snow and ice everywhere. I'll take any temperature above freezing. Sunshine would be the best right now.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgECJfXF6u-r9AduPAwxmq1Dx96l3BWkfH5132l1ArpwxDhYFt0dBcfOzLORRI1vNDkDNl3JzmGxxwT_nl1-uLrq9ojiFks_AuQ-ozCSXUpEG-jFC44TI1aDQ2u3ZC-7tEzezS8/s1600-h/IMG_0603.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgECJfXF6u-r9AduPAwxmq1Dx96l3BWkfH5132l1ArpwxDhYFt0dBcfOzLORRI1vNDkDNl3JzmGxxwT_nl1-uLrq9ojiFks_AuQ-ozCSXUpEG-jFC44TI1aDQ2u3ZC-7tEzezS8/s400/IMG_0603.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430286557413410194" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">Today I feel like this eel....</span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38WgoeeAOGhaGOjh5HNryex_ZdaXsF7WWpfKo97UUQTwshauDNtfXitjBeLdQOuYS509Qf6fqTYOO_xP-nILnlRLgMtIj35qyQ5oc-3It9KMa63BHzxWaAU8X15eQ4Vpi5Nwi/s1600-h/IMG_0546.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38WgoeeAOGhaGOjh5HNryex_ZdaXsF7WWpfKo97UUQTwshauDNtfXitjBeLdQOuYS509Qf6fqTYOO_xP-nILnlRLgMtIj35qyQ5oc-3It9KMa63BHzxWaAU8X15eQ4Vpi5Nwi/s400/IMG_0546.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430286118801507490" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">Here I am with Lars at Sea World at the Alexanderplatz in central Berlin. Freezing cold outside. </span></i><br /><div><br /></div><div>My New Year's Eve was great, after a totally uneventful Christmas. I visited a friend in Berlin, got to go shopping there and saw the fireworks at the Brandenburg Gate and then went to some clubs until about 3 a.m. Don't worry, I drank nothing at all.... I was in no mood to compromise my alertness in situations where it is shoulder to shoulder people as far as the eye can see. But it was very entertaining and exciting to see so many people fit into a small club, and people were even trying to dance... that was a sight. </div><div><br /></div><div>A semester at the university is ending, and on St. Patrick's Day I'll set foot on my homeland for the next visit. Perhaps you've followed me on another forum - FB - where I've become quite disillusioned with the absolute lack of follow through there. Since I live on the other side of the world - compared to the place I was raised, I value internet forums as ways to find out what friends and family are doing and how life is treating them. But lethargy reigns, so no one responds, and when people post something, it is often mindless banter - things that millions of people do or experience every few minutes. This concerns me, since as the years go by you can lose the common bond with those you spent years together with earlier in life, and you lose this bond when you no longer have common experiences to share. Reminiscing can only go so far, since we live in the present and not in the past. </div><div><br /></div><div>Right now hibernation is in gear. With high temperatures not even near the freezing point, and with over a month of snow on the ground now, I spend most of my time in my apartment reading, translating, listening to music, or inviting a few friends over. I still go running on my usual schedule, and that is invigorating, but otherwise I want away from the cold outside. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thank you for reading my blog. I haven't given it up. I hope your new year has started well. </div>Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-14882340508408807772009-10-23T09:50:00.002+02:002009-10-23T10:06:24.579+02:00Lets go for a walk in my neighborhood<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiu1_bnUsxJOUGAV7ZEoLHkR5gL-j-AxSBfn5PZvk5HHa5_ZkYcwWRxY9pOUZX99f2mpQdA4dIGrVne5fzGvlfIPa-9fW950HU2ybQLNfIeT_PEGVyz0mZNa-B_f405bA8iPrQ/s1600-h/100_0885.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiu1_bnUsxJOUGAV7ZEoLHkR5gL-j-AxSBfn5PZvk5HHa5_ZkYcwWRxY9pOUZX99f2mpQdA4dIGrVne5fzGvlfIPa-9fW950HU2ybQLNfIeT_PEGVyz0mZNa-B_f405bA8iPrQ/s400/100_0885.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395701384246037394" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">My river - I can look out my living room window down onto this little river. </span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcJyq3HSKbxfcIFLTHwZh2zMREdhHUxE_8gze2Pn1yvHWyTyY3T8g1cZu-nUYPIhPPKBS3EVxdjdJm2nAZyA8rBbagOtutnyEpvh5MZRPbWd7KTxNDrcljsE2cL022Npn3Dp_/s1600-h/100_0884.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcJyq3HSKbxfcIFLTHwZh2zMREdhHUxE_8gze2Pn1yvHWyTyY3T8g1cZu-nUYPIhPPKBS3EVxdjdJm2nAZyA8rBbagOtutnyEpvh5MZRPbWd7KTxNDrcljsE2cL022Npn3Dp_/s400/100_0884.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395701382003017954" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">Lets cross the bridge - at least three times a week I do this to go running in the forest.</span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuTIYvm9gKgix4uYsqYtcupwjvwln-qiTmkWu_B8E6ZvCjo_ct4gZ0bfMJ2mwbqnr1UanEd29wnrz_mPzbpgYvDJsstM5Iycu1DS9m04y5151V_q8wWiS9vm-SZhaICuuJb3a/s1600-h/100_0876.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuTIYvm9gKgix4uYsqYtcupwjvwln-qiTmkWu_B8E6ZvCjo_ct4gZ0bfMJ2mwbqnr1UanEd29wnrz_mPzbpgYvDJsstM5Iycu1DS9m04y5151V_q8wWiS9vm-SZhaICuuJb3a/s400/100_0876.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395701375350881042" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">Another river - in the forest - where I spend one hour running several times a week.</span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ89iHBaOHMvSy17dgfSLsNE47Rj89XUQJ1DdJlwNp2vCqSjcPYwD0ego6oHD9Gw4mEYlOBUSEckgCTmUuxAWGa7oPNvQDBsABvf8NRdHOCeZfCJYduhPjidS1Nymut7RY_k1t/s1600-h/100_0880.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ89iHBaOHMvSy17dgfSLsNE47Rj89XUQJ1DdJlwNp2vCqSjcPYwD0ego6oHD9Gw4mEYlOBUSEckgCTmUuxAWGa7oPNvQDBsABvf8NRdHOCeZfCJYduhPjidS1Nymut7RY_k1t/s400/100_0880.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395701368057584674" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">I think this majestic house is abandoned. </span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3hrYJQsC779pvkgxeuQ0poQMHFNehMU3UYO6MyG5p9V985RF_9IL406xhDWDd5Xr2KHLEzQhkmVoHF-f3wwrYrfMGQU5yfBUqhUE6pNApi0tBDDkHPSya-tG3nVOMvqDdAjyz/s1600-h/100_0878.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3hrYJQsC779pvkgxeuQ0poQMHFNehMU3UYO6MyG5p9V985RF_9IL406xhDWDd5Xr2KHLEzQhkmVoHF-f3wwrYrfMGQU5yfBUqhUE6pNApi0tBDDkHPSya-tG3nVOMvqDdAjyz/s400/100_0878.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395700816026093234" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">Gohlis Schlößchen - the little castle in Gohlis - about 20 minutes by foot from my place. </span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc71xGXuNXZUsHIAHA57ZllOj0eCC6iaTL0PyMIbFM6efQxBgWiTzlhGgbf5E3RRiGyKC_WtBPIkv2ibRkyFNMQy99kxHruoTW8zWkEt0fIdQv985tz7WoLZ8TbgLO99ulxJ5X/s1600-h/100_0877.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc71xGXuNXZUsHIAHA57ZllOj0eCC6iaTL0PyMIbFM6efQxBgWiTzlhGgbf5E3RRiGyKC_WtBPIkv2ibRkyFNMQy99kxHruoTW8zWkEt0fIdQv985tz7WoLZ8TbgLO99ulxJ5X/s400/100_0877.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395700807163224866" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">It is a little castle - compared to others in Europe. </span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvpiRvoASfl4D-i6OxEmFWLGx1J5o9YWYE-jkGHr6NvCVyJXZNDtI4eb6n1nN97uVPheI4V9p7Omv41R6gIDA-R4ZSoELEcorhBhkHmubtl5ROMnVyr8tbAMpcis5O1_Ygbdw/s1600-h/100_0875.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvpiRvoASfl4D-i6OxEmFWLGx1J5o9YWYE-jkGHr6NvCVyJXZNDtI4eb6n1nN97uVPheI4V9p7Omv41R6gIDA-R4ZSoELEcorhBhkHmubtl5ROMnVyr8tbAMpcis5O1_Ygbdw/s400/100_0875.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395700800398686514" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">The zoo - about 10 minutes by foot from my place. </span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyRaq8P0B1rIHgsEXEfANp0MuWeCpwuXNdklXusJl4Zq6MhMKPeVgs6nsfk_5HYuO-rB5oAFFwKwfNuk3k-mdad_VvZE5NZcgcfdW5ZjvXLYTkjgDaRCMVTkq0P5B-6ioOg9y/s1600-h/100_0872.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyRaq8P0B1rIHgsEXEfANp0MuWeCpwuXNdklXusJl4Zq6MhMKPeVgs6nsfk_5HYuO-rB5oAFFwKwfNuk3k-mdad_VvZE5NZcgcfdW5ZjvXLYTkjgDaRCMVTkq0P5B-6ioOg9y/s400/100_0872.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395700796786033538" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">The meadow in the Rosental. </span></i><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNaoej3tpaFZ9sYW_yVGzNvrsWl6-CrnzPj_cTBUwJiQ2KTeKRG4P-xvXar7AyqsDZRa7VlGUgu7zIQz6j3h7iAjymYjs0yJFlxjmZ9ZZc0CAYuQhNhLtAFv1e9y1Vwu9QZ_ZO/s1600-h/100_0871.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNaoej3tpaFZ9sYW_yVGzNvrsWl6-CrnzPj_cTBUwJiQ2KTeKRG4P-xvXar7AyqsDZRa7VlGUgu7zIQz6j3h7iAjymYjs0yJFlxjmZ9ZZc0CAYuQhNhLtAFv1e9y1Vwu9QZ_ZO/s400/100_0871.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395700792012812354" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">Here I am back in my immediate neighborhood. </span></i><div><br /></div><div>Here are a few impressions of the surroundings where I live. I'm so fortunate to have found an apartment in such a beautiful historic part of town, and so central. When I took these photos I was on a rare walk through the forest. Normally I am running, to stay in shape, so I can't stop to take pictures. But it was such a beautiful Fall day, I had to make time for a few photos. Some day when I am back on the other side of the world, these will be cherished memories. Now if I could only let you hear the church bells that ring every day. </div>Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-64900370999340526362009-10-06T10:15:00.004+02:002009-10-06T10:20:44.464+02:00And the Walls Came Tumbling Down<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 14px; font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:11px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">No pictures are in this entry - check October or September of previous years for the fotos for this topic. I posted this on Sunday on another internet forum, but I think it needs airing here too. Memory is a very important function that we are losing with the digital age and Twitter, FB, and other forums that mainly encourage us to only live in the immediate moment. Forgetting many indeed be the most dangerous thing that can happen to a person and a society. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Right now Germany is basking in twenty years of unity - in November 1989 the wall came down, and on October 3, 1990 German unity was officially completed.<br />But for me and my family, these events move to the back burners. It was on September 20 and October 4 of that same year of tumbling walls that my life tumbled down - my grandmother died on September 20 and my father on October 4. My grandmother had lived with my parents - my mother took care of her - for over seven years. I often played the piano while grandmother sat at the table and listened, almost going to sleep, and mother prepared the food for the family meal. So grandmother listened to Mozart, Chopin, Lizst, or Debussy from her grandson while her daughter prepared the meal. She often said she was the luckiest woman in the world.<br />About a year after their deaths I was back at the that same grand piano playing the same Debussy Ballade. Then I noticed my mother was gone for a long time. Thinking she might be sick, I went and saw she was in the bathroom. She was crying quite a bit, so sad because that piece reminded her of how we all were together with grandmother and my father eating together. All of those times had become memories.<br />And now my dear mother has rejoined them, and she gets to eat with them at God's table and listen to music much more beautiful than anything I could ever bang out on a piano.<br /><br />But maybe I have found the real reason in Fall - everything falls - political walls, leaves on growing trees, and it would seem death and destruction can make life utterly bitter. But only a few months later Easter comes - really the most important holiday for Christians, because it reminds us of what seems impossible - that someone could really die and be buried, and then several days later really rise from the dead and walk around showing those who loved him the still present wounds in his body that would immediately tell you this person should be dead.<br />So for me, as each year goes by and I keep memories alive, I remember two important commands from God: do not be afraid, and be patient. What began at Easter is still continuing to unfold, if backstage, until someday the last wall will fall and death, the last enemy, will vanish forever.</span></span></span></span>Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-84463169307818066042009-08-07T10:09:00.004+02:002009-08-07T10:31:26.170+02:00Voilà my new apartment from the inside<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGhPlkLIIdmIgySjUBAToxI5nyOE_7GTYgUK-hpW5cQgWEwvDODndBKWoT8XtUMYkeYxi5sbeDvUbf0VOVqpDjJLk0v1-mLwByxJAVSLy8tcenQ6mxrR_ZpeyPAkrdDXWTRjl/s1600-h/100_0764.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGhPlkLIIdmIgySjUBAToxI5nyOE_7GTYgUK-hpW5cQgWEwvDODndBKWoT8XtUMYkeYxi5sbeDvUbf0VOVqpDjJLk0v1-mLwByxJAVSLy8tcenQ6mxrR_ZpeyPAkrdDXWTRjl/s400/100_0764.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367134630864687362" /></a>Looking out the kitchen window to the west<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcFhX0Ui_GQf6i646Uqo6TSB8JjajKvlNKU65m7e31ANcbaXZrX_BPAk_1hOwyJDORYFlKfbpDEfZSeLyc18U7egAsJfnVadB_Jx-E6MzwxAFRm0Lh8cfL00PfM1LPgERZk3A7/s1600-h/100_0763.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcFhX0Ui_GQf6i646Uqo6TSB8JjajKvlNKU65m7e31ANcbaXZrX_BPAk_1hOwyJDORYFlKfbpDEfZSeLyc18U7egAsJfnVadB_Jx-E6MzwxAFRm0Lh8cfL00PfM1LPgERZk3A7/s400/100_0763.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367134624895143586" /></a>Kitchen window view to the east - nice courtyard we have...<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qXooWetVDY2eVdSCp2p3gIVUBiBcjrpX1EcM9j9od7MAHBB99uZOn5EH3kplCSoiMmNftrthYvP9V9duRvxZT5BZ7M3tVJ28aobo8UFAAhWdJmVYX94NSkFJn831SG4dToh7/s1600-h/100_0760.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qXooWetVDY2eVdSCp2p3gIVUBiBcjrpX1EcM9j9od7MAHBB99uZOn5EH3kplCSoiMmNftrthYvP9V9duRvxZT5BZ7M3tVJ28aobo8UFAAhWdJmVYX94NSkFJn831SG4dToh7/s400/100_0760.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367134612686132786" /></a>Looking down from the kitchen window to my very own garden.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2j0XHrJvoChX6DT2IiJESgiT8vnmJFMFeljicgW6kpwim-waYE03AEOuTNgU_dAq8cS-bXjUmF4BOJVfe9WmbffAfh4p5cA7I0A4jebF__WCSqrunwJf0CzNlJWKFApGwrSzC/s1600-h/100_0759.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2j0XHrJvoChX6DT2IiJESgiT8vnmJFMFeljicgW6kpwim-waYE03AEOuTNgU_dAq8cS-bXjUmF4BOJVfe9WmbffAfh4p5cA7I0A4jebF__WCSqrunwJf0CzNlJWKFApGwrSzC/s400/100_0759.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367134610653218178" /></a>Looking straight ahead from my bedroom window into the back courtyard.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cMEPYuy_Ql5bUiNVr5JJVq4flXYuRGiF67lps2V4Z7em6-Ju7BWrYVLhOw6HubaAE2fRAg0NrPRkX14hGo2i2BvTQ0FhDmE3SDwTHzg7uNhOeFT3btV1mdMXdENc7XLmYEAF/s1600-h/100_0762.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cMEPYuy_Ql5bUiNVr5JJVq4flXYuRGiF67lps2V4Z7em6-Ju7BWrYVLhOw6HubaAE2fRAg0NrPRkX14hGo2i2BvTQ0FhDmE3SDwTHzg7uNhOeFT3btV1mdMXdENc7XLmYEAF/s400/100_0762.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367133621779330274" /></a>The breakfast table in the kitchen - rubber tree wood....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilma0LTX9jXRURA_CWuPwqj82E6HZNmas8CrsFMsOteRklkqku-3fMPaRpCDf8AoEHbIvlBdC0vx-cMgv5qDfSLaaIT6IHDohzppuzQY20y_zxa6QHmYICetg5ICmDNQsXnkSz/s1600-h/100_0761.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilma0LTX9jXRURA_CWuPwqj82E6HZNmas8CrsFMsOteRklkqku-3fMPaRpCDf8AoEHbIvlBdC0vx-cMgv5qDfSLaaIT6IHDohzppuzQY20y_zxa6QHmYICetg5ICmDNQsXnkSz/s400/100_0761.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367133615180917682" /></a>The icon wall in the hallway<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdUh-nyeeLtfL1Yw2Mhsj0ci6PAa9gcw3f03EocATHRkzRbjqxGRketVcwPtOilZkL3HQoStreLH980ltt9M5GYUka72DWRJj_GB79Seg3ULxMlbjgVSm8OC4iZewx8zs53Bp/s1600-h/100_0758.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdUh-nyeeLtfL1Yw2Mhsj0ci6PAa9gcw3f03EocATHRkzRbjqxGRketVcwPtOilZkL3HQoStreLH980ltt9M5GYUka72DWRJj_GB79Seg3ULxMlbjgVSm8OC4iZewx8zs53Bp/s400/100_0758.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367133608697468018" /></a>The bathroom<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic43rDT2KtFL4PE8rDlVFrxmJqn1aCI8nByMAe75jb-9baJG99wOPeD0pqkQepqscRStfM1przd3dQAj5wwBOAveiclVBP4Fs9vKTeaIzKO8DXbW4cty2et_1ljgUW0-ThhLYI/s1600-h/100_0757.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic43rDT2KtFL4PE8rDlVFrxmJqn1aCI8nByMAe75jb-9baJG99wOPeD0pqkQepqscRStfM1przd3dQAj5wwBOAveiclVBP4Fs9vKTeaIzKO8DXbW4cty2et_1ljgUW0-ThhLYI/s400/100_0757.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367133603984799938" /></a>Another view of the kitchen<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWJpHHmlps0PznwmNAjFpeOlb6ZHlmUI0-hO3fMUDoj_J7QhmffSWv-Xqqja36fAckIB5uQgVlpliaQ6xDdGY54Mc_9qnJDOEkegm6HYFk6t7RemiloPH78vK68l74dtp-x-X/s1600-h/100_0756.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWJpHHmlps0PznwmNAjFpeOlb6ZHlmUI0-hO3fMUDoj_J7QhmffSWv-Xqqja36fAckIB5uQgVlpliaQ6xDdGY54Mc_9qnJDOEkegm6HYFk6t7RemiloPH78vK68l74dtp-x-X/s400/100_0756.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367133594131670514" /></a>The kitchen seen from the hallway.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcA2r6z8n0JIXQpxWze_Sd-Fqqs6QVPOJ2EmQ-Oe2iCvjOCwDKG9cn9ogVJKAWFz4gvQnIwgKU9dJdMDTZpxaPRs0QrjZ4dSgGVLGlFzFxSfshiCGQ1Gfw3i8s871erREOs3Y-/s1600-h/100_0755.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcA2r6z8n0JIXQpxWze_Sd-Fqqs6QVPOJ2EmQ-Oe2iCvjOCwDKG9cn9ogVJKAWFz4gvQnIwgKU9dJdMDTZpxaPRs0QrjZ4dSgGVLGlFzFxSfshiCGQ1Gfw3i8s871erREOs3Y-/s400/100_0755.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367132706892546450" /></a>The view looking north out the living room window.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5k-jXkjkcrzFweyycO4q-5jZWApqsEvyHlm970Ig56ub9DRg36B6FdPG8me1aU0WIYZuAiUEK2sjkWuWCcLqMPfQG1XcV6Tn9FFwuCucHsJLazrU8zJW4SwXA8TgattgJCri/s1600-h/100_0754.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5k-jXkjkcrzFweyycO4q-5jZWApqsEvyHlm970Ig56ub9DRg36B6FdPG8me1aU0WIYZuAiUEK2sjkWuWCcLqMPfQG1XcV6Tn9FFwuCucHsJLazrU8zJW4SwXA8TgattgJCri/s400/100_0754.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367132700849744210" /></a>The living room<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhapfmevNoOAbb9-MkjSgfhWUIMhZsBvRVaFb51SUIUaQcJIGm1qx6_YmDACXkmVgdl1qRhlraILjAtuHhQ6ISEyMnkjHY-cJow0Dfsh7a-JH-U4MgY8m48FgDjDkBlHDSr16/s1600-h/100_0753.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhapfmevNoOAbb9-MkjSgfhWUIMhZsBvRVaFb51SUIUaQcJIGm1qx6_YmDACXkmVgdl1qRhlraILjAtuHhQ6ISEyMnkjHY-cJow0Dfsh7a-JH-U4MgY8m48FgDjDkBlHDSr16/s400/100_0753.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367132694343673666" /></a>The living room from the other side<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2g6FKkDhic7Fn12HgKDpdKO8Mdp1qmq3k6kG7xBj37d4ec-yCfGTRqia0ceTIOtbRJkvlRynfliiVXcc8STr0wnv81nvrC6Rz6qH-6qphIP-YAAQ8zsOEo9N3XQqcpdOItoQ0/s1600-h/100_0752.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2g6FKkDhic7Fn12HgKDpdKO8Mdp1qmq3k6kG7xBj37d4ec-yCfGTRqia0ceTIOtbRJkvlRynfliiVXcc8STr0wnv81nvrC6Rz6qH-6qphIP-YAAQ8zsOEo9N3XQqcpdOItoQ0/s400/100_0752.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367132688788169058" /></a>And the hallway seen from the living room.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9F8rXIpX2fA2xO_4Jbuwy7y5685l1EtIIchRXw1ufbETChdpLrBkUJeeS4OzZiTf56uk-rPoZyNNKKoUR7Y-hVePemLog-ucTrR8giIdyRDEb1eyVHbFyDJKxNLeSKA0sq4cP/s1600-h/100_0751.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9F8rXIpX2fA2xO_4Jbuwy7y5685l1EtIIchRXw1ufbETChdpLrBkUJeeS4OzZiTf56uk-rPoZyNNKKoUR7Y-hVePemLog-ucTrR8giIdyRDEb1eyVHbFyDJKxNLeSKA0sq4cP/s400/100_0751.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367132684832038706" /></a>The hallway seen from the entry.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoygBBxBBTTyCxQKUY5IrOVUF5QaPk9KZSSB4U_cI8OtLhCoG3K2PV9M3kXjRccx__vMk_PgKEwSK26Nniwk6yTy2L_6Zg12T6dLdXy91R0q5ue9-bW98BIisj0rE0hpPF1BaB/s1600-h/100_0750.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoygBBxBBTTyCxQKUY5IrOVUF5QaPk9KZSSB4U_cI8OtLhCoG3K2PV9M3kXjRccx__vMk_PgKEwSK26Nniwk6yTy2L_6Zg12T6dLdXy91R0q5ue9-bW98BIisj0rE0hpPF1BaB/s400/100_0750.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367131953535555650" /></a>My bedroom.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSqDWH9Ergkhfza0UmS3cmiHxDGLAsDIK_9aljjyREpEyO0z_AyPoCFr7Sh4KvmAOk1uOk-c4TDPu1u8y68ejlEhY3W1MPKTbi7mhyDFyKgfhyphenhyphenkJ2V9r0T08gyyM881Wsmlt9/s1600-h/100_0749.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSqDWH9Ergkhfza0UmS3cmiHxDGLAsDIK_9aljjyREpEyO0z_AyPoCFr7Sh4KvmAOk1uOk-c4TDPu1u8y68ejlEhY3W1MPKTbi7mhyDFyKgfhyphenhyphenkJ2V9r0T08gyyM881Wsmlt9/s400/100_0749.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367131951538443730" /></a>My bedroom from the other side.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6bHtjLf4TQCrb-QV1jMVob53P4HC41zdb_UOEGvnZ49C9lBzwUUkfac3ArIpBQZfg6AQRm-AX3KUqW0PG0nuJFpEiUBwIRI1YQilGxjNdJAJ5c9HYpL6fCArk2CfZmlG-psVk/s1600-h/100_0766.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6bHtjLf4TQCrb-QV1jMVob53P4HC41zdb_UOEGvnZ49C9lBzwUUkfac3ArIpBQZfg6AQRm-AX3KUqW0PG0nuJFpEiUBwIRI1YQilGxjNdJAJ5c9HYpL6fCArk2CfZmlG-psVk/s400/100_0766.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367131944015727426" /></a>The view from the living room window looking east - here is where I go running now.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3yIO6lvTRRUSdIxXZFXwQ9_lIepHQ10UzhZImmjEPii5-pjFWA3L-VzS9u4WgeR3znkK0svO8JZym9UDLTJnvsscRwW8hAt3rQfWCCaTU3khIUBIrcTPHIyxnFd5krWmumzQ/s1600-h/100_0765.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3yIO6lvTRRUSdIxXZFXwQ9_lIepHQ10UzhZImmjEPii5-pjFWA3L-VzS9u4WgeR3znkK0svO8JZym9UDLTJnvsscRwW8hAt3rQfWCCaTU3khIUBIrcTPHIyxnFd5krWmumzQ/s400/100_0765.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367131937037187970" /></a>The view from the living room window looking west.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nv2NlEI542TZQ0PdmEloqrMU8IWqHL38IwKggmfBgceEXtE1QWup_IDiW1FbKAhJiNqbhYrFRl0hx8v-ss8l3eIOPW-xHXgd2bSvIm4IgF7I4VeJ3inbTr_pkHjJTO8rCyLw/s1600-h/100_0767.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nv2NlEI542TZQ0PdmEloqrMU8IWqHL38IwKggmfBgceEXtE1QWup_IDiW1FbKAhJiNqbhYrFRl0hx8v-ss8l3eIOPW-xHXgd2bSvIm4IgF7I4VeJ3inbTr_pkHjJTO8rCyLw/s400/100_0767.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367131932396945090" /></a>Perhaps a better view looking west....<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Above you see the interior of my new apartment. Please excuse some of the clutter - when I took the pictures there was still some unpacking and sorting to do. I really love the new apartment and the section of town I now live in - I am only 4 tram stops from the main train station, so I am very central, yet it is very quiet here - I can finally sleep with my window open - wonderful. </div>Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-69941048217087117602009-07-17T17:33:00.002+02:002009-07-17T18:04:31.867+02:00Moving On...<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gH20xNB0j-3FW0kncVjsNw86-EsrVq8TED8z-uACnQKD_0Nay6FbILTA2WwgH8xTnCU71WchXgtOBCV7UYpt98GOf4cpshsZQ5eRxO2iejUBulNr9JnVMPFKEBote1VO691O/s1600-h/100_0739.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gH20xNB0j-3FW0kncVjsNw86-EsrVq8TED8z-uACnQKD_0Nay6FbILTA2WwgH8xTnCU71WchXgtOBCV7UYpt98GOf4cpshsZQ5eRxO2iejUBulNr9JnVMPFKEBote1VO691O/s400/100_0739.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359454529220550242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The new garden</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOHwEzlLMSJaLLd6eKHJZkobJNspCfxxyuH6-GcQHE44o4ahR2LoWMsBwE7PQnivkxcijgUFauWwYBnGhvnzSbaMrBixIF9Pqm5A7awo4LuwF6GWe1qkpJDXQpp_FI2xYsBe0/s1600-h/100_0738.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOHwEzlLMSJaLLd6eKHJZkobJNspCfxxyuH6-GcQHE44o4ahR2LoWMsBwE7PQnivkxcijgUFauWwYBnGhvnzSbaMrBixIF9Pqm5A7awo4LuwF6GWe1qkpJDXQpp_FI2xYsBe0/s400/100_0738.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359454525974845218" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102); font-style: italic;">another corner of the new garden</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ovvkVsCI1xjRebBCXj7vz0EVGovEEOsM1hGdsPCz90aqe37TKulaydcNhYnGC5eZny_oYi4_x02MtqonDsN9_17L6WtECPZBs7TN5fjWXkBL9sYZ2BB2c-h5tXwru37mjsuo/s1600-h/100_0741.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ovvkVsCI1xjRebBCXj7vz0EVGovEEOsM1hGdsPCz90aqe37TKulaydcNhYnGC5eZny_oYi4_x02MtqonDsN9_17L6WtECPZBs7TN5fjWXkBL9sYZ2BB2c-h5tXwru37mjsuo/s400/100_0741.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359454207586139250" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">the stairwell with stained glass and wooden steps</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZcOLU5ilyst-VCKU7NbVbPmUu-JXdzFaK4Eq2tLD5D_ySwRGzyjKwPPQvb8gds8-lZ26ey5bsSMnK4y_HkC92vVLMvUOJOpkerz-cBet66LHNWiUEOj_B9c3ZfBv8cQdgxyLZ/s1600-h/100_0744.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZcOLU5ilyst-VCKU7NbVbPmUu-JXdzFaK4Eq2tLD5D_ySwRGzyjKwPPQvb8gds8-lZ26ey5bsSMnK4y_HkC92vVLMvUOJOpkerz-cBet66LHNWiUEOj_B9c3ZfBv8cQdgxyLZ/s400/100_0744.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359454200038346674" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">an intersection about 10 seconds from my new front door</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RnhOjyMxo9HgTwKAIvDrxNzEZYLDcNtzyCFx4FSxiyGnSUe0EBm0o0Mv8o-3v16mhnq4glIEDhZNaZeLYmattVcNwr3K2wO4fllBJVevIhkGlql9FNmL05vRn4iVsLXP3iyN/s1600-h/100_0743.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RnhOjyMxo9HgTwKAIvDrxNzEZYLDcNtzyCFx4FSxiyGnSUe0EBm0o0Mv8o-3v16mhnq4glIEDhZNaZeLYmattVcNwr3K2wO4fllBJVevIhkGlql9FNmL05vRn4iVsLXP3iyN/s400/100_0743.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359454194765498482" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">the street view from the front door</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-pqcx_BmCeE-SAxxWQZ-6tf_Qgf7l_F_StGm9e7gqmhDqwdiX7nUAB3oDashde1C0lT6lfWOVimKqT_b0pUqgitP8GExBbYuORx1cg3j590y3IIu2KmUb-tufrlRTTUN8QN4/s1600-h/100_0742.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-pqcx_BmCeE-SAxxWQZ-6tf_Qgf7l_F_StGm9e7gqmhDqwdiX7nUAB3oDashde1C0lT6lfWOVimKqT_b0pUqgitP8GExBbYuORx1cg3j590y3IIu2KmUb-tufrlRTTUN8QN4/s400/100_0742.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359454175778483858" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">a front view of the house - the windows on the fourth floor (third for Europeans) are mine.</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZSY2UeDaTQc-6qYDhajwn46wrJ_zOK1uGP7agZIDZiRLhefLZdM4J9CXPkR_b1JCC7TXi8C1Ujyy_VCfn3Cr70xT_6Wb2ehU3puxs8uliMPC1dtMZO5zbtN9uTXmrGDTMCbh7/s1600-h/100_0740.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZSY2UeDaTQc-6qYDhajwn46wrJ_zOK1uGP7agZIDZiRLhefLZdM4J9CXPkR_b1JCC7TXi8C1Ujyy_VCfn3Cr70xT_6Wb2ehU3puxs8uliMPC1dtMZO5zbtN9uTXmrGDTMCbh7/s400/100_0740.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359454166568783794" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The house from the back </span><br /></div><br />In one week my moving day arrives. The current apartment has two main shortcomings: very noisy outside, and mold on the east wall. And the management company is like a typical east German socialist "business" - do nothing fast and try to blame the tenant for everything.<br /><br />The new apartment fits my personality much better - in an art nouveau house built 1902. Leipzig and Prague are the two cities with the most <a href="http://www.architektouren.com/english/leipzig/tour_6.html">art nouveau architecture</a>. If you remember much of the design of the Lord of the Rings movies, art nouveau elements played a central rôle there.<br /><br />I could chose the colors of this newly renovated apartment: kitchen - apricot with terra cotta tile, my bedroom - sky blue, the hall - vanilla yellow, and the living room - a wine red bleached almost to white. Sebastian's room he just wanted white. The bath has anthracite tiles and old style white tiles. Being older, the ceilings are higher, and the living room has the old double windows and a rustic wood floor. I am on the top floor again, so more light and less noise comes in the windows.<br /><br />And we have our own nice garden, as you see, with climbing roses, tulips, daffodils, grape vines, and several other local flowers I don't know yet. There is plenty of room for nice garden parties - afternoon tea on the lawn, or evening cooking out with wine or good German beer, and in the <a href="http://www.panoramio.com/photo/896670">Waldstraßenviertel</a>, where this is, there is a high concentration of top-notch restaurants and beer gardens, with the largest park, the Rosenthal, next door, and the zoo around the corner.<br /><br />And when you move, you sort out and throw away many many things, so this is a purging experience also. Very ambivalent for me. And so a move is often like a transition to a new time in your life. I will see if this is true for me right now.Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-39648332132379033422009-06-20T16:34:00.003+02:002009-06-20T16:56:42.085+02:00Red Roses for a Blue Lady<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4oka7Cerj9Xo2ZGzlF9hMnvQnXlRZwKzkC4HNNbcQFrBKzqx6uqWjs1UVcZ-WXbJWxsVbhOSMhAfi96n0DeNzvzav1H7ISGjvVm40FUlOyiODH19Rwtg8NGhIV8Mz-WpZW1h/s1600-h/100_0714.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4oka7Cerj9Xo2ZGzlF9hMnvQnXlRZwKzkC4HNNbcQFrBKzqx6uqWjs1UVcZ-WXbJWxsVbhOSMhAfi96n0DeNzvzav1H7ISGjvVm40FUlOyiODH19Rwtg8NGhIV8Mz-WpZW1h/s400/100_0714.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349418682689310354" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">These aren't roses, but they are a beautiful red. </span><br /></div><br />Do dreams tell us much? I think they can, especially if we have the same dream over and over again.<br /><br />After the death of my father and grandmother within two weeks of each other I was plunged into the most difficult year of my life, but for my mother it was even more difficult; she had lost her own mother and husband of almost 40 years while her youngest son was on the other side of the world.<br /><br />I saw red, and they were beautiful red roses, and a hand was lovingly arranging them while someone held this bouquet in their hand. As if it were a camera, the view began pulling back, and I saw that a woman was holding this giant bouquet of beautiful red roses, and she was wearing a festive dress - this was indeed a special occasion!<br /><br />How happy I was for her, as I could then see she was wearing expensive high-heeled shoes like she always wore for special events, and I could hear majestic happy organ music flooding the room.<br /><br />Now I could see more - it was a big church, and this lady, my mother, was standing at the front at the alter with her lovely bouquet of red roses. But wait, something is wrong..<br /><br /> the church is empty, and no one is standing at the alter - only a giant cross, and my mother is standing their crying buckets of tears flooding those red roses while the festive happy organ music plays on in this empty church.<br /><br />This dream does not haunt me anymore.<br /><br />The tears are gone, and now it is my turn to carry the roses and listen to the music.Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-25448037575476079622009-05-01T10:30:00.004+02:002009-05-01T10:51:13.360+02:00A Long Holiday Weekend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuC48iDC9Prlbmwv1w-CkZOsfhUC-RYBw_xanB8Y7XRizg2vYpfUWtpG7gj5tkvI54j_Wcy0vI2C42HnyUVPNPN8NOV8Cp5dhET9DaNNzJk32qLlhThCEgpp6oFDJF9giIaQ4W/s1600-h/100_0672.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuC48iDC9Prlbmwv1w-CkZOsfhUC-RYBw_xanB8Y7XRizg2vYpfUWtpG7gj5tkvI54j_Wcy0vI2C42HnyUVPNPN8NOV8Cp5dhET9DaNNzJk32qLlhThCEgpp6oFDJF9giIaQ4W/s400/100_0672.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330772440953766450" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The theatre where Bertold Brecht put on many of his works.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Ib3rTzab0EaC2vSjZif7NfxDFaD5RD9_nf0Mfup3Hv-A6OEMknHOCZAK9UXVND_7tX5iAe3Mtwdo9Z0mR8RRkVuYfkdP_ozJ6PAiM4XBV0z60xeHR84Jil02WurEHObRThSS/s1600-h/100_0659.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Ib3rTzab0EaC2vSjZif7NfxDFaD5RD9_nf0Mfup3Hv-A6OEMknHOCZAK9UXVND_7tX5iAe3Mtwdo9Z0mR8RRkVuYfkdP_ozJ6PAiM4XBV0z60xeHR84Jil02WurEHObRThSS/s400/100_0659.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330772434586298434" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">A view of central Berlin from the boat. </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU3O3LCCpBjF83JowBsOMITlxFXpIWP3UMy1d8S8AupEGv5YTDZXcQ_dmRpAGoOzbBwHvBbkWQotls7eNwVTH-5gnXld5k4L80qCIc9jBwREg9kiK0isnuaLRtC9X9KZ43_0f9/s1600-h/100_0639.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU3O3LCCpBjF83JowBsOMITlxFXpIWP3UMy1d8S8AupEGv5YTDZXcQ_dmRpAGoOzbBwHvBbkWQotls7eNwVTH-5gnXld5k4L80qCIc9jBwREg9kiK0isnuaLRtC9X9KZ43_0f9/s400/100_0639.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330772429915083826" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Now on land for that view.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1D7oaMHgBSA2E5kCmzpCNtNKUAOgjjRlT3eBhKxVkE1kOJ23bhAgeiW8r0rF-PZMkdVt7MQ5oZeiZN5_0YlqskOvPxcHs6WRhz6TaXzIKKQ5suHzUfsgmBQ8v58FpawcW7Azj/s1600-h/100_0633.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1D7oaMHgBSA2E5kCmzpCNtNKUAOgjjRlT3eBhKxVkE1kOJ23bhAgeiW8r0rF-PZMkdVt7MQ5oZeiZN5_0YlqskOvPxcHs6WRhz6TaXzIKKQ5suHzUfsgmBQ8v58FpawcW7Azj/s400/100_0633.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330772428980318706" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The tv tower surrounded by cherry blossoms. </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVjlH4snl2f6mDaf7GLkqQNHjxsIbEBErxjJ-8-Q40GHPxHHcGWjw-0hIwdIUFIJRQSDLSTsIG3xSS_8eOjhmSukY94ZjDc1CRNaXaPr2pKsLbbU17XMjX-kPWRnuDzwfeOcN/s1600-h/100_0626.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVjlH4snl2f6mDaf7GLkqQNHjxsIbEBErxjJ-8-Q40GHPxHHcGWjw-0hIwdIUFIJRQSDLSTsIG3xSS_8eOjhmSukY94ZjDc1CRNaXaPr2pKsLbbU17XMjX-kPWRnuDzwfeOcN/s400/100_0626.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330771359240192242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Bode Museum on the Museum Island - a UNESCO protected island full of world-class museums. </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilO6RIGtgfEoXLjzpQJ1Uy2N4NXGB92YhogEVIPC264BhK6iMS0rRSxAA-QaRL1cdNHrUPZfGLxmVgOnQofHKG3z-2XypmyWxgHzusyFB-5jx9e3-MUc-vu0ZYIM0nQPxeK6BF/s1600-h/100_0621.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilO6RIGtgfEoXLjzpQJ1Uy2N4NXGB92YhogEVIPC264BhK6iMS0rRSxAA-QaRL1cdNHrUPZfGLxmVgOnQofHKG3z-2XypmyWxgHzusyFB-5jx9e3-MUc-vu0ZYIM0nQPxeK6BF/s400/100_0621.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330771352618049106" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The reading room in a café. </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTqpdQlCSEKLJWdAAaKyIyhwzfF0d_9S7lT9dr8YC8U1vAwSvcG-RKwU3vNDfnhM1kaVPDkdDKlFGy-j299Quzd5dgANhgQWCosvbimBe-a-FFff0u6JNgkHdvxrK5kECG9p2i/s1600-h/100_0615.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTqpdQlCSEKLJWdAAaKyIyhwzfF0d_9S7lT9dr8YC8U1vAwSvcG-RKwU3vNDfnhM1kaVPDkdDKlFGy-j299Quzd5dgANhgQWCosvbimBe-a-FFff0u6JNgkHdvxrK5kECG9p2i/s400/100_0615.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330771349044732578" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Lenbach House - notice the detail on the porch.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh4kP7HbL7uSlp9V40_kDhqfLhOOF8XtikmGtgIjMS4x0nQRc36L5JWgfZZTB-NQ9y4EqVMCaCJddpis8EMdk9RtLNgDfeFTSoep4eiXz1LUh-H1h5J5r14aLGJ3H-p2vxEcC_/s1600-h/100_0611.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh4kP7HbL7uSlp9V40_kDhqfLhOOF8XtikmGtgIjMS4x0nQRc36L5JWgfZZTB-NQ9y4EqVMCaCJddpis8EMdk9RtLNgDfeFTSoep4eiXz1LUh-H1h5J5r14aLGJ3H-p2vxEcC_/s400/100_0611.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330771343367254834" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Bode Museum up closer. Astounding collections of art from the first 5 centuries of Christian art are also here. </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uBzAyhAT5WAtqFUgaYaL28BiZaV5aONDK4Pr8UbgLx7pknxNKzAGHa8dS7QBCahHMgolvt6Usuc5diaIL9mA-leDOavoTJ5QAuU2xmqRG-zvHmoVRLD_NwZeaKrJUDSXCK9E/s1600-h/100_0606.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uBzAyhAT5WAtqFUgaYaL28BiZaV5aONDK4Pr8UbgLx7pknxNKzAGHa8dS7QBCahHMgolvt6Usuc5diaIL9mA-leDOavoTJ5QAuU2xmqRG-zvHmoVRLD_NwZeaKrJUDSXCK9E/s400/100_0606.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330771339859349986" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">A repair shop for very old woodwind instruments. </span><br /><br />May 1 is a holiday here, so we have a long and sunny weekend ahead of us. I started it last evening with a long get together with the Danish director of a contact lens company I teach English for. After Thai food, a litre of beer, a little cognac, and then two cocktails, I still realize that I was not made for that kind of alcohol consumption. Since the evening started a 6:30 pm. and ended at almost 1 am., all the drinks were well spaced out so I wasn't spaced out. And I am glad I have nothing I have to do today.<br />I thought I would post a few more photos of the Berlin weekend - in case you never get there, this may give you a taste of the largest city between Paris and Moscow. Have a good weekend.Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-3001610014899513602009-04-26T22:59:00.003+02:002009-04-26T23:21:13.116+02:00Photo Essay - a Berlin Weekend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL936nFZ287YpSwYB4JTNzWKZsQHMxMYkJ5l42Dlbkg9UQ0M2CpWVBgk15aeirNqsWe6_Proj-03rF2uFM2uObZ1PLVDnx97i5tTxACvB1k9LJV9NUVVcQ9PpElO6hFh5lelV5/s1600-h/100_0652.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL936nFZ287YpSwYB4JTNzWKZsQHMxMYkJ5l42Dlbkg9UQ0M2CpWVBgk15aeirNqsWe6_Proj-03rF2uFM2uObZ1PLVDnx97i5tTxACvB1k9LJV9NUVVcQ9PpElO6hFh5lelV5/s400/100_0652.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329110971191250162" border="0" /></a>Tram tracks lead to the tv tower in eastern Berlin on the Oranienburger Str.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jxetVUzNLmADuc-yyWO5MJqgnPLwowC0J2p3N1h_6xOdDg7UlmRLhSgZVyKNym_Fofx2WOzh44cDbdo4NVuo9QplpnxdsmwIxfj5XKvXj1Sa60PF6TfCWdr2ycEJdmRGVe2t/s1600-h/100_0595.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jxetVUzNLmADuc-yyWO5MJqgnPLwowC0J2p3N1h_6xOdDg7UlmRLhSgZVyKNym_Fofx2WOzh44cDbdo4NVuo9QplpnxdsmwIxfj5XKvXj1Sa60PF6TfCWdr2ycEJdmRGVe2t/s400/100_0595.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329110965999763730" border="0" /></a>Here is the view from our hotel room window - the Tempelhof airport.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILqEx1ublL9dlyDJI1tmqiGHCnsMPRH25CFf5-rkGaUPJmDw-1-GL7BtiVpMQ74SRtZ6JlSWCSTmYhyphenhyphen6vbq7EO7MKarWs4zV_yOOaePS3Etj53PmP6nhEfJshg5w3QiSP2fXs/s1600-h/100_0648.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiILqEx1ublL9dlyDJI1tmqiGHCnsMPRH25CFf5-rkGaUPJmDw-1-GL7BtiVpMQ74SRtZ6JlSWCSTmYhyphenhyphen6vbq7EO7MKarWs4zV_yOOaePS3Etj53PmP6nhEfJshg5w3QiSP2fXs/s400/100_0648.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329110961873462946" border="0" /></a>Sebastian takes the cue from Buddha to meditate before currying...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgCZJdeG8xOty_MpRLhFMd0Sw-u9AFSZVzRvfzhPC0XFDHG7y8Fh9rRC-hMhkfkDHAnvMyE5pXQeG_tFZMI5FOmheukkpMNMhogUV43BsOLolhRtUiSunfpwZnCesXzbQfiJU/s1600-h/100_0598.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgCZJdeG8xOty_MpRLhFMd0Sw-u9AFSZVzRvfzhPC0XFDHG7y8Fh9rRC-hMhkfkDHAnvMyE5pXQeG_tFZMI5FOmheukkpMNMhogUV43BsOLolhRtUiSunfpwZnCesXzbQfiJU/s400/100_0598.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329110953751105186" border="0" /></a>....the French church at the Gendarmenmarkt<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgfsb8EXIVVauxjbhhCB8ih6s2hlRx4y92YTKR0uGGMHCenUtr_wzFlEmikS5f6RXHc-I0bcw0bFE1RdWl7AgwDju0yMuAN_UKVzWj6oZ0840VMofDz4y2CJh01HlOUgwqRXD/s1600-h/100_0601.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgfsb8EXIVVauxjbhhCB8ih6s2hlRx4y92YTKR0uGGMHCenUtr_wzFlEmikS5f6RXHc-I0bcw0bFE1RdWl7AgwDju0yMuAN_UKVzWj6oZ0840VMofDz4y2CJh01HlOUgwqRXD/s400/100_0601.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329110948847015794" border="0" /></a>A detail from John chapter 4 of the French church at the Gendarmenmarkt<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibA2f09cD_TXEDKO8VSbZuEW_JYKLVKLAdT0B1cWNbHdo35tbzoxuOlBiJ_q_laA4bnJYjXB1WDgPTsqWsGM2v7Vw-CnfeYUMqmBoHIWtRmYkIDv21YQ4HPSPL5IK5qnuPgzux/s1600-h/100_0602.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibA2f09cD_TXEDKO8VSbZuEW_JYKLVKLAdT0B1cWNbHdo35tbzoxuOlBiJ_q_laA4bnJYjXB1WDgPTsqWsGM2v7Vw-CnfeYUMqmBoHIWtRmYkIDv21YQ4HPSPL5IK5qnuPgzux/s400/100_0602.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329109799609870370" border="0" /></a>The impressive Gendarmenmarkt - my favorite square in Berlin<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk-NJaQD3TpGSxepXxJExe2Lg-YWzmM9GT7YqAte3QqOIIRNQI8odfTqzdxVQ8Mn5avYpxwH2VVUJ_Lrl0QWTMMbBvnS6A0mZTFlkaoWUojNOxFbOQEzVQx66q43nnXsl-gccT/s1600-h/100_0609.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk-NJaQD3TpGSxepXxJExe2Lg-YWzmM9GT7YqAte3QqOIIRNQI8odfTqzdxVQ8Mn5avYpxwH2VVUJ_Lrl0QWTMMbBvnS6A0mZTFlkaoWUojNOxFbOQEzVQx66q43nnXsl-gccT/s400/100_0609.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329109794458763746" border="0" /></a>.... and in an inner courtyard you find artwork like this...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7D9ys8tgRSJuVOcZdEmb5x9XwZXfsRtVWofyWJR4UtCgg4zkmTzoSresDku-JeF0d6-FoMyHGabiQi8N0TJCx-ifvwBPoC5cO8QByFvSP6C89lQW1cCe950wmEom6b5dkTy3S/s1600-h/100_0616.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7D9ys8tgRSJuVOcZdEmb5x9XwZXfsRtVWofyWJR4UtCgg4zkmTzoSresDku-JeF0d6-FoMyHGabiQi8N0TJCx-ifvwBPoC5cO8QByFvSP6C89lQW1cCe950wmEom6b5dkTy3S/s400/100_0616.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329109789461959586" border="0" /></a>my coffee break in the afternoon on Sunday<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiSr_X5jZSecxs6t1mOpBXs44t7ArbnhLJTx0DZktIakYGuG9MssIAITyHbROeRoq7dD_l6oIep_Lx9FIgc4MPR34ZRdqbqI1Hhf28Jcw7rWeNPYBy-CY8ftKQdrd7phFehkU/s1600-h/100_0617.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiSr_X5jZSecxs6t1mOpBXs44t7ArbnhLJTx0DZktIakYGuG9MssIAITyHbROeRoq7dD_l6oIep_Lx9FIgc4MPR34ZRdqbqI1Hhf28Jcw7rWeNPYBy-CY8ftKQdrd7phFehkU/s400/100_0617.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329109786642891234" border="0" /></a>the beautiful café where I enjoyed this coffee break.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1csRYB65om6muFlsL0yOFtJt7brVnWfr1kBY4qW9foPDVQRi3-Y5-MhMyjaZkK__669kjfmp45zoEfSz8_Fye6J9Xjc2vBjwiwYs5U9KMJOmcLDksV2S2awyqdg2Rm3ElrOPL/s1600-h/100_0623.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1csRYB65om6muFlsL0yOFtJt7brVnWfr1kBY4qW9foPDVQRi3-Y5-MhMyjaZkK__669kjfmp45zoEfSz8_Fye6J9Xjc2vBjwiwYs5U9KMJOmcLDksV2S2awyqdg2Rm3ElrOPL/s400/100_0623.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329109784642265506" border="0" /></a>a classic view of west Berlin - the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in the background.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRd2ug05sjXHwSjXrTk8BX9PI1NUjWyr7Omo1Uouj93QiJIeyDiJVpbphf_R0M098nh8Fqt9jklqwrClHnpUcfOVJUx7vOIEtiGsSldigYFUR14Pu5gdRjAH0jtTOagSpulbYp/s1600-h/100_0628.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRd2ug05sjXHwSjXrTk8BX9PI1NUjWyr7Omo1Uouj93QiJIeyDiJVpbphf_R0M098nh8Fqt9jklqwrClHnpUcfOVJUx7vOIEtiGsSldigYFUR14Pu5gdRjAH0jtTOagSpulbYp/s400/100_0628.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329108701644255826" border="0" /></a>The Berlin Cathedral on the Spree River - here the Hohenzollerns, the royal family of Prussia, went to church...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgno6QCDDp3OXL4s5HS1E-1LIYl0J3ocRzN_4mSyM7Lfw86E7kAzKIUokpjThKJ2G1-hIYlZMGNxrY1SMKN74FCfB56ILdVqNWZbmivCZyy0sOKM5EXWvlU5ZrK7j84ka-domcY/s1600-h/100_0635.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgno6QCDDp3OXL4s5HS1E-1LIYl0J3ocRzN_4mSyM7Lfw86E7kAzKIUokpjThKJ2G1-hIYlZMGNxrY1SMKN74FCfB56ILdVqNWZbmivCZyy0sOKM5EXWvlU5ZrK7j84ka-domcY/s400/100_0635.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329108700807789314" border="0" /></a>The Cathedral from the other side with cherry blossoms.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLgVxHi8EtuNPwSYwhIOYnDkWxYBHuKn2t4IOEWFBYt3IlCIJWgq5bCqnvUw6Zaqt0YzACupIBoO9SfeEEr28npAgstJbMsAUaGXkyGJqsLNFZklRlBOBfn-8yXNy40KfVyG5L/s1600-h/100_0666.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLgVxHi8EtuNPwSYwhIOYnDkWxYBHuKn2t4IOEWFBYt3IlCIJWgq5bCqnvUw6Zaqt0YzACupIBoO9SfeEEr28npAgstJbMsAUaGXkyGJqsLNFZklRlBOBfn-8yXNy40KfVyG5L/s400/100_0666.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329108694993685586" border="0" /></a>the chancellor's quarters seen from a boat on the Spree River...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTRhYCJJu5s8MiNHEg6kSpN6hqenPzkYlZxfQk7yRlc7vQeR8etx6BcM02M6-qce4TS2tAE5c0CnSCso6iWCLjOJntwWSdK-cq8z8odXmxDQZA5w5t0btbXk27KzxUFeDGrb34/s1600-h/100_0596.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTRhYCJJu5s8MiNHEg6kSpN6hqenPzkYlZxfQk7yRlc7vQeR8etx6BcM02M6-qce4TS2tAE5c0CnSCso6iWCLjOJntwWSdK-cq8z8odXmxDQZA5w5t0btbXk27KzxUFeDGrb34/s400/100_0596.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329108690242450738" border="0" /></a>Our coffee break at La Fayette in the Friedrich Str. in central Berlin.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Ln9Ku-tPH3Bvx5w43KKVa41vdwd1Jnwv36Ft9Ca-MJJKg0auwN2v5gECmS6a9QRV-nK0u50U8Bzw9hOs7MC8c2SeJ4Zyn5pPkKPyp7_7zijpb_rpbzOzM4RvWuGgyp_mvXiM/s1600-h/100_0650.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Ln9Ku-tPH3Bvx5w43KKVa41vdwd1Jnwv36Ft9Ca-MJJKg0auwN2v5gECmS6a9QRV-nK0u50U8Bzw9hOs7MC8c2SeJ4Zyn5pPkKPyp7_7zijpb_rpbzOzM4RvWuGgyp_mvXiM/s400/100_0650.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329108685155321250" border="0" /></a>a self-photo at the Indian restaurant in Prenzlauer Berg.<br /><br />Here is a photo update on my life. With wonderful weather, a weekend ago we took a 2-day trip to Berlin - 1 hour on the train and voilà, you're in Berlin. It was a peaceful yet fast-moving time; Berlin is so big that you have to keep moving fast to take anything in. The lemon tart at La Fayette was wonderful, and the boat ride on the Spree River was the first I have taken - worth the money. More details soon, but at the moment I have to get on - and get to bed! Sleep well...Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-9033822642755968292009-04-16T09:57:00.005+02:002009-04-16T10:25:58.616+02:00Biking through Saxony on Easter Weekend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYv9J7JG4W_Si2cpBzyFq4zlWHFFvfBnOvDkcuE9a9wFP5UfwP5hPicY-A6lRA9ARhd1bkYyrIkQ_gmAz9ghxnkyWDCfpW69uLPMaFwEm1Nytko8tnYWN1bI13u1Amjuk4dfo7/s1600-h/100_0578.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYv9J7JG4W_Si2cpBzyFq4zlWHFFvfBnOvDkcuE9a9wFP5UfwP5hPicY-A6lRA9ARhd1bkYyrIkQ_gmAz9ghxnkyWDCfpW69uLPMaFwEm1Nytko8tnYWN1bI13u1Amjuk4dfo7/s400/100_0578.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325200200815305442" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The beauty of Spring earlier this week - on the way back from Rötha and not too far from my apartment.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHzs1ZKfNgem1nOltBw79JIsvsJKv7PCQJcqTYb1f2CbyG0X_vHIoAzNIrjzvhJuIEU8zqj6wutPH3RiMePi6Dsg4txHpb7I3qOc9vzUKAReGSewudL_wVeViSt8ln3MRUbVsH/s1600-h/100_0577.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHzs1ZKfNgem1nOltBw79JIsvsJKv7PCQJcqTYb1f2CbyG0X_vHIoAzNIrjzvhJuIEU8zqj6wutPH3RiMePi6Dsg4txHpb7I3qOc9vzUKAReGSewudL_wVeViSt8ln3MRUbVsH/s400/100_0577.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325200194871679634" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Such a beautiful public park in Markkleeberg...</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8lnw-UhXj9LGPP0FTuePfOkjHmcSH4l9ILRVCNJZG6lDGzM6fe8PlnXl_CmLpZuub30u5eTVVxbZzGRughjS8s87SG76CDG4kJAK0OzHfFQQ3ADORu5zdMIl5hMfyzzJB2PO/s1600-h/100_0576.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8lnw-UhXj9LGPP0FTuePfOkjHmcSH4l9ILRVCNJZG6lDGzM6fe8PlnXl_CmLpZuub30u5eTVVxbZzGRughjS8s87SG76CDG4kJAK0OzHfFQQ3ADORu5zdMIl5hMfyzzJB2PO/s400/100_0576.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325200184051029122" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">A splendid mini-island to relax on...</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwAPb0MrvX4px3IfMc2g9sZoNTiFj8yLPLyEpcfuDQ5f5T7e0dgBJWaYRV2-VbtiTxCyxZJ6bVcVFBMd2pcFhLHQjTBYF4rpPCe_NCaVDFl-1JRY6TDNoxW4mD932Db_HpRlnT/s1600-h/100_0585.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwAPb0MrvX4px3IfMc2g9sZoNTiFj8yLPLyEpcfuDQ5f5T7e0dgBJWaYRV2-VbtiTxCyxZJ6bVcVFBMd2pcFhLHQjTBYF4rpPCe_NCaVDFl-1JRY6TDNoxW4mD932Db_HpRlnT/s400/100_0585.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325198354959382834" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">This fellow watched us while we ate ice cream in Grimma</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgp40gI7UmddVY8eWjbxrSnuFiAv9VHe0tRYAhisBxhBmDilgV768QZkEanbwi88wHv1I-SvksUp5c6K7o7UZd5VufwbL6BvmCnUQ8d6BUaJeOKhS2TUqEFnMExMXgQqIjBMRt/s1600-h/100_0592.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgp40gI7UmddVY8eWjbxrSnuFiAv9VHe0tRYAhisBxhBmDilgV768QZkEanbwi88wHv1I-SvksUp5c6K7o7UZd5VufwbL6BvmCnUQ8d6BUaJeOKhS2TUqEFnMExMXgQqIjBMRt/s400/100_0592.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325198351541477810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Mulda River in Grimma</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizRbLMOjzhU1mKXiIInwiCJpjCUY95YIlGiNivbV3etv6EJzq2Jot-nC3TEi-RMXZTDFzlnamzRUmrWC7abIK871pAAXFCW9RC9qlIoUbkih_ofu8dzFhqavjRBoHIga9psYFJ/s1600-h/100_0591.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizRbLMOjzhU1mKXiIInwiCJpjCUY95YIlGiNivbV3etv6EJzq2Jot-nC3TEi-RMXZTDFzlnamzRUmrWC7abIK871pAAXFCW9RC9qlIoUbkih_ofu8dzFhqavjRBoHIga9psYFJ/s400/100_0591.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325198344356224034" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The bridge over the Mulda in Grimma</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZGd8lVqFdezaKHj4FAop_RrUuFGmAFvwGhCuvzANhr4bKZlTsFIpu33TATY833_9gZ7sSPJeD6F-OdP4-3065_oPAF0Iup42g-7d8F-iAvxu3kI8wlgjtbTEpxvjxpBj2ot1/s1600-h/100_0590.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZGd8lVqFdezaKHj4FAop_RrUuFGmAFvwGhCuvzANhr4bKZlTsFIpu33TATY833_9gZ7sSPJeD6F-OdP4-3065_oPAF0Iup42g-7d8F-iAvxu3kI8wlgjtbTEpxvjxpBj2ot1/s400/100_0590.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325198336627742690" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">A main street in Grimma</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAP1aSNnW4vImT270FZeQ6UanilZHI09zxcZ0FjMt-hCjOv_Wvt9c3ImCt3uv_ZWLuvINhJQ_31t8YLo3bdC7lgmsdyBfskoS1ZTdVIT9ZHeoJ4XW8sPZn0gUKNk1LAWW547yH/s1600-h/100_0588.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAP1aSNnW4vImT270FZeQ6UanilZHI09zxcZ0FjMt-hCjOv_Wvt9c3ImCt3uv_ZWLuvINhJQ_31t8YLo3bdC7lgmsdyBfskoS1ZTdVIT9ZHeoJ4XW8sPZn0gUKNk1LAWW547yH/s400/100_0588.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325198333112268546" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Tobias and I at the ice cream café</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-fdai4WMHYSgfW8SaUhE-rvvi56BEyam0jcKNQ4TQc-O8IbhOGUmPSVyaiDlMx6S-XiP8tQEUzYOZSjVFx-KsjGyS-n07p8E7gBcRr5NDK2GZ2UYM4vmYq8Iqnvq7q-TNj9k/s1600-h/100_0589.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-fdai4WMHYSgfW8SaUhE-rvvi56BEyam0jcKNQ4TQc-O8IbhOGUmPSVyaiDlMx6S-XiP8tQEUzYOZSjVFx-KsjGyS-n07p8E7gBcRr5NDK2GZ2UYM4vmYq8Iqnvq7q-TNj9k/s400/100_0589.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325197434236953762" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Sebastian and Stefan across the table from Tobias and me.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSOWY4v7u7alJZozDzgKZUOy9Zz1DoX3ngFOk_xiF3BXF2pXij9_IXDH5hKQmRT4QzSvXB7X4KbNzQ6shy2Rjx-s5G5020mEiCtaxhyphenhyphenhSWLf1C5sS3lhS98_PlbiavbxVyI6k/s1600-h/100_0582.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSOWY4v7u7alJZozDzgKZUOy9Zz1DoX3ngFOk_xiF3BXF2pXij9_IXDH5hKQmRT4QzSvXB7X4KbNzQ6shy2Rjx-s5G5020mEiCtaxhyphenhyphenhSWLf1C5sS3lhS98_PlbiavbxVyI6k/s400/100_0582.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325197433327236930" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The serene lake in Beucha.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTY_78xWte8yhz-K1_vCaUF8Qzw4nPwUB1uhhtGuHCeuL1Y5R2pEMzfiZaO_te2EcL6XmOA8OSv53a88FSvGla3ONhqHbdFlYSfFJXg6JtY28pJLy6P2kHywCzA_JQSVpo5jT9/s1600-h/100_0584.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTY_78xWte8yhz-K1_vCaUF8Qzw4nPwUB1uhhtGuHCeuL1Y5R2pEMzfiZaO_te2EcL6XmOA8OSv53a88FSvGla3ONhqHbdFlYSfFJXg6JtY28pJLy6P2kHywCzA_JQSVpo5jT9/s400/100_0584.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325197421417951714" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">A conference late Monday morning at the lake in Beucha.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZz_6_dd4XarcobhaUt1gKlM89RbMDU3BkeIaWq2ClBhtigL4mat6wyPquL7dojabeEu-_LKmkSFx9LE7bdrp7F-YWcSCyuRLmQRUqhvgAT_VVNv-G1PNJY4n8MRZF3kn7IW_a/s1600-h/100_0571.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZz_6_dd4XarcobhaUt1gKlM89RbMDU3BkeIaWq2ClBhtigL4mat6wyPquL7dojabeEu-_LKmkSFx9LE7bdrp7F-YWcSCyuRLmQRUqhvgAT_VVNv-G1PNJY4n8MRZF3kn7IW_a/s400/100_0571.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325197419699480802" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">From the tour on Friday - here in Rötha. You see our bikes in from of an art nouveau house.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjqqAz5LaECeimM4MfYIKNyFMlQjn7nRUlKAmH9DG0ljoGou2vf7Wp8Fix1XcaffjokUFOhSuBtGg_3jtaKSPr6NF185WEc0H56lZ8JA0pu9m1OltRAjH0JUHVi5YvyEroTnlV/s1600-h/100_0563.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjqqAz5LaECeimM4MfYIKNyFMlQjn7nRUlKAmH9DG0ljoGou2vf7Wp8Fix1XcaffjokUFOhSuBtGg_3jtaKSPr6NF185WEc0H56lZ8JA0pu9m1OltRAjH0JUHVi5YvyEroTnlV/s400/100_0563.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325197414122844338" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">A sculpture at Lake Störmthal.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10ja34DHAWLFVz0SVjRGLdfvlkp2-x5CstvoRJ7r_PMTr_k1cpWNHSnThZtCE_TNBQ7gBRatsKRhNWCVmfgez2_Ut9rHdZE5kvFgkZhSuY79paICVZC-gY1umezVbIKSTNhxP/s1600-h/100_0574.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10ja34DHAWLFVz0SVjRGLdfvlkp2-x5CstvoRJ7r_PMTr_k1cpWNHSnThZtCE_TNBQ7gBRatsKRhNWCVmfgez2_Ut9rHdZE5kvFgkZhSuY79paICVZC-gY1umezVbIKSTNhxP/s400/100_0574.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325196199458091874" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Stefan about to deface this creation he ordered... in Rötha</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102); font-weight: bold;">.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPsGyqfPMjPwqxwR_ji68WHyMQhxfYFvHkatFyuiQUXDgtT3iiNR2pQyebbPCv5Ong4-wIhukIlItMtv476M2xsJ-9jNgtoPzKsnuoEi9Lh9s74f5puk5abKckQIZVpzo5JLZ8/s1600-h/100_0566.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPsGyqfPMjPwqxwR_ji68WHyMQhxfYFvHkatFyuiQUXDgtT3iiNR2pQyebbPCv5Ong4-wIhukIlItMtv476M2xsJ-9jNgtoPzKsnuoEi9Lh9s74f5puk5abKckQIZVpzo5JLZ8/s400/100_0566.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325196195898202674" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Lake Störmthal again: Stefan, Tobias, and Sebastian.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8vIkeBaA_T0hCAhXdpvq8jFXYnr6tt9ju0U4SR-yiyQ-5cJDSkVbJkKANU7cOQDaN4mERsk9LkPj7ldD1Cr4tdnRiE3cJTtx4IfmRBmMCWEB92b_AqlhqdiDKG1TSAiK_6cG/s1600-h/100_0565.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8vIkeBaA_T0hCAhXdpvq8jFXYnr6tt9ju0U4SR-yiyQ-5cJDSkVbJkKANU7cOQDaN4mERsk9LkPj7ldD1Cr4tdnRiE3cJTtx4IfmRBmMCWEB92b_AqlhqdiDKG1TSAiK_6cG/s400/100_0565.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325196191947599474" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Stefan at Lake Störmthal.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZCx9rfDvMOewwnzImmNXsxznWYfEu1dR4AHA24gyrtptzauBn4bZDDkZnzP0RWuZ6YaZZ4rWRPAR19ZK3huVZNlHWGfUoz-zxKB1__inCYJUhKINJjkAMiO-JgAKyZtH-k2IN/s1600-h/100_0562.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZCx9rfDvMOewwnzImmNXsxznWYfEu1dR4AHA24gyrtptzauBn4bZDDkZnzP0RWuZ6YaZZ4rWRPAR19ZK3huVZNlHWGfUoz-zxKB1__inCYJUhKINJjkAMiO-JgAKyZtH-k2IN/s400/100_0562.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325196182495066514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Such nicely paved roads in the country - easy to ride a bike here.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75hMFynjjT71pYl_alLfDBdrWuMsPiENS1CQE9lqg0Mfg0zLNDFQxFUV8u8k_J10lSpu5Uw8hMXSUQREMSzdVU7_gIEZMNmmFhMLP8YtFC5Tu3wvW_SCaDo-Ilh3997db3Jhz/s1600-h/100_0575.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75hMFynjjT71pYl_alLfDBdrWuMsPiENS1CQE9lqg0Mfg0zLNDFQxFUV8u8k_J10lSpu5Uw8hMXSUQREMSzdVU7_gIEZMNmmFhMLP8YtFC5Tu3wvW_SCaDo-Ilh3997db3Jhz/s400/100_0575.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325196175786937010" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Tobias and Sebastian resting at the café in Rötha.</span><br /><br />This was my Easter weekend. In Germany Good Friday and the Monday after Easter Sunday are holidays, and in Germany holidays are "holy cows", so you are "doomed" to take it easy on such days, as we did in these photos above. The ride over Beucha, Naunhof, Grimma and Bad Lausick was 38 miles, or 60 kilometers, and sunshine the whole way. The trip to Rötha on Friday was a bit shorter but also sunny the whole time. Since I run regularly, I had no muscle problems, but the seat on my bike did leave me sore - I'm not used to sitting on a bike for over half a day!<br />It was so good to spend the day out in the sun, flowers, meadows, and fresh air on Good Friday and Easter Monday. I haven't lost any weight from all that biking, though - must have all gone to muscle - oh yeah....<br /><br />I hope you have had a wonderful Easter weekend too.Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-85396163978423393352009-03-29T19:17:00.003+02:002009-03-29T19:55:18.934+02:00Time stands still as the garment of our lives is torn beyond repair.<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxc3TnLySfAuMkakKFMUAZ9GvnMmNO8aTjCvZEHD4CiMPL3jB3AUwiTdLKz9R2HMvoZTeTRA2svhkQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />As time races by, remembrance keeps it standing still. In just a few hours I will remember how I came home from teaching all day on Monday, and in the late afternoon saw the message light blinking on my phone. I had a sick feeling already, and when I listened to the message, "This is the nurses' station, please call us as soon as possible," I started shaking all over. I have never known that kind of fear in my life. I knew I would be on a plane to Texas the next morning, but I had no idea what was about to happen. Within two hours I was speaking my last words to my mother via phone as my brother was at her side with many other friends, and my cousin and aunt were racing to the hospital.<br /><br />I will never forget my last words to my mother. Somehow I kept my composure and made a quick summary of our life together and how we would continue it after a few years of separation now, and that when we see each other again we will never be separated again for all eternity. I said I envied her, that she was about to be back together with all our other family members forever and catch them up on everything we've been doing all these years.<br /><br />This hope is stonger that a year ago, yet the fabric of our lives has been torn beyond repair in this life - a huge central section of the garment of my life has been ripped out, and my life testifies to this unrighteousness as it looks forward to setting right all of these wrongs.<br /><br />Until then I hope this short slide show can do some honour to my dear mother. The choir is singing Psalm 130 of the Penitential Psalms from the late medieval German composer Orlando de Lasso. This is an excerpt of the choir in which I sung here in this city in Germany. As we sing of the depths from which we call to God to hear our voice, we know we all face this someday at death, when travel through the shadowy valley to be in that existence called "paradise".<br /><br />Our mother always modeled God's unconditional love to her family. She was faithful and dedicated; nothing was too much for her when it concerned her family. As well as I knew her, I know she waits and waits now with our father and our grandparents for the garment of our lives to be finally repaired.<br /><br />Please join me in thankful loving remembrance of a faithful loving Christian lady, wife, and mother whose smile always made the day brighter.Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-16499526155456835192009-03-24T09:19:00.002+01:002009-03-24T09:39:03.607+01:00de profundis clamavi ad te Domine Domine exaudi vocem meam<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTDtRP2f4x4jLQIf0H8C-oHVqIbbVR4gmKBe0zexT1d8JmNme8enKSmapGcop28uBuS8Mc80Rwdmj0xM1N6QjSw7w1dJGuOCVLYbs80nBs-74SLuL6ihX5CmvGolVLQ9M11VJ/s1600-h/100_0536.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTDtRP2f4x4jLQIf0H8C-oHVqIbbVR4gmKBe0zexT1d8JmNme8enKSmapGcop28uBuS8Mc80Rwdmj0xM1N6QjSw7w1dJGuOCVLYbs80nBs-74SLuL6ihX5CmvGolVLQ9M11VJ/s400/100_0536.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316666478759584930" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Reconciliation fulfilled by the perfect death and then resurrection - the alter of the church in Bad Schandau</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIH_UXx6tVIi6ZNyMzD63nxhoZZQJcnb9qpv2zMmrP5FJAcM8VE2YTlsM4bShucH1D9Zu-782i1tw9OZJp5e7vAEIUPWK5NWZzMgEen07zXtncgvYyZbHjrk575Wdu74MTlBd/s1600-h/100_0542.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIH_UXx6tVIi6ZNyMzD63nxhoZZQJcnb9qpv2zMmrP5FJAcM8VE2YTlsM4bShucH1D9Zu-782i1tw9OZJp5e7vAEIUPWK5NWZzMgEen07zXtncgvYyZbHjrk575Wdu74MTlBd/s400/100_0542.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316666467762126354" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Spring flowers remind us of the gift of life </span><br /><br />The last week has begun. One year ago in this week my mother's condition began deteriorating rapidly. When the pulmonary physician said to her, "I don't like your condition at all; you are too weak to take care of yourself. You have to go to a nursing home so others can take this burden off of you." She was crushed, and I was scrambling trying to figure out how to arrange admission to a reliable nursing home in her area. Even brushing her teeth wore her out, and when home health care noticed she was stumbling through the house and falling asleep at the table, they called the doctor to arrange her immediate admission to the hospital for tests. And so she walked out of her house she had lived in since 1964, not knowing she would never see it again.<br /><br />I loved (and still do) to climb trees. When I was three I was in the back yard one morning climbing and went too far - so far that I couldn't go back out of fear, so I though I would drop down on the ground. I was hanging there by my fingers when I looked down and realized it was too far to drop, so I started yelling for my mother to come. Quickly she ran out - dressed for work in her smart skirt, hose, high heels, etc., and there I was saying she had to catch me when I let go. After some discussion I finally let go and she caught me, but she never let me know how scared she was during that whole event. But that was more than my mother standing there catching me. Jesus' words on the cross were the same: "into your hands I commend my spirit." These were his words to his father, our father, who never lets us down. She'll catch me again when I see her next time.Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-9966970165296112962009-03-18T18:25:00.003+01:002009-03-18T19:06:04.271+01:00in loving memory of another grandfatherOn this day in 1977 my paternal grandfather passed away. He had been virtually bed-ridden since a major stroke paralysed his right side in 1969, I believe. My grandmother and my father, with his two brothers, always helped take care of him at their home in Hearne in Texas. Since he was born in 1891, he was quite old and always seemed to already be halfway out of this life for me. Since I was so young, I never had the chance to get to know him as well as my other grandparents.<br /><br />Before the Great Depression he had been a rich cotton buyer and had been a reporter for the Houston Chronicle in his youth. He was thin, handsome, and very energetic. True to his 100% Irish heritage, he was 100% whiskey-drinking Irish Catholic with quite a temper. I have seen the "fighting Irish." His official name was Bernard Glenney, but we all called him "Hada", which was Irish for "grandpa."<br /><br />For me, his death was the first time in my life I experienced the loss of someone I saw regularly; the thought of going to the house in Hearne and not seeing him, of my grandmother being a widow, was something completely new in my life. Little did I know that one year later my grandmother would join her husband suddenly, and within 13 years all my grandparents and my father would leave this life.<br /><br />Someone who reads my blog here in Leipzig seemed concerned that my entries about the deaths in my family could indicate a problem with depression. Quite the contrary. I feel very at ease talking and writing about my loved ones I am temporarily separated from. I mentioned my faith as an important part of my thinking, and this person insisted that that was not what it was about - quite an interesting notion, to think that religion and death are not connected.<br />A careful reading of the New Testament - and a careful consideration of earliest Christian art and writings - shows a confident hope and expectation that someday the Christ (or Jesus, as many know him) will return, and with him all creation - and all people - will be restored to the way life was meant to be. Until that time, after death humans are in paradise (a word originally meaning a lush garden) awaiting the restoration of all things. That, at least, is an extremely truncated version of the course of things.<br />It is sad that so much Enlightenment, Existentialism, and modern scepticism have tempted the masses to cursorily dismiss religious faith as something for the uninformed or the weak. It is even sadder that so many seem to have found no really satisfactory way to confront death. I don't know if I do a good job, but I certainly feel strengthened, and my hope and anticipation of seeing all of these people again who taught me to love and care has only grown in the past years.<br /><br />We often get jaded as we grow, realizing that we can't reach for the stars anymore, and that we will all die anyway, so what is the point of life? Just enjoy it while you can? Or just wallow in despair, realizing that the bitter end is coming someday?<br />For me, I know there is a big surprise coming, a reality so much more real than what we experience now, and when I have seen that, I will never want to come back to this existence again. And the best thing about that reality is that all my grandparents and parents and many others are there now wondering when my brother and I, and the rest of us, will join them. We all want to complete the circle, and it will happen - what goes around comes around.<br /><br />So join me in fond loving memory of my Hada and your loved ones as we never forget that the story only begins when we close our eyes the last time.Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-68020590850452370672009-03-15T20:11:00.002+01:002009-03-15T20:28:43.772+01:00a weekend in the Saxon Switzerland<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZyhj-WueiPtkVMqdHbSmh1jjgglS6qKyozkS8gkiogm7fKG5HKTjy9zNhXZk4zGpuzYsDnn06ZYFMKIOFEzP-gT92d_W0Byfj0PkfbRc9v4MF6Zbgo0rV4gsicoeg7QOeB3JL/s1600-h/100_0535.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZyhj-WueiPtkVMqdHbSmh1jjgglS6qKyozkS8gkiogm7fKG5HKTjy9zNhXZk4zGpuzYsDnn06ZYFMKIOFEzP-gT92d_W0Byfj0PkfbRc9v4MF6Zbgo0rV4gsicoeg7QOeB3JL/s400/100_0535.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313495988138525122" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Moses underneath the chancel in the church in Bad Schandau</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEDlzN6NnRs3CPKKWEND-X6OKDKC_YwMdnStCMATSGpr38z4ze_Oygzwel0hkavFJgyTar1Ug9mm_qi5S1jHkyDwoCWNqWNQS6JkudYzTq1OuR1rDsTUSVrGJnoAm5hEa-wYv/s1600-h/100_0533.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEDlzN6NnRs3CPKKWEND-X6OKDKC_YwMdnStCMATSGpr38z4ze_Oygzwel0hkavFJgyTar1Ug9mm_qi5S1jHkyDwoCWNqWNQS6JkudYzTq1OuR1rDsTUSVrGJnoAm5hEa-wYv/s400/100_0533.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313495979855783570" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Spring is coming - crocuses in the church flower garden.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUATCx9NMuEobIhlxsRxgXJ6px0RMBdYndby-RZBSheMz6wHj9GCD3OZKYAyBeQe8HFauQBafCnnlBCYaZw3_7fRt4I22CAxVuTI__3351GePKFYy9_OSJkQfnYqeAkcg_VDLT/s1600-h/100_0538.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUATCx9NMuEobIhlxsRxgXJ6px0RMBdYndby-RZBSheMz6wHj9GCD3OZKYAyBeQe8HFauQBafCnnlBCYaZw3_7fRt4I22CAxVuTI__3351GePKFYy9_OSJkQfnYqeAkcg_VDLT/s400/100_0538.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313495977501077362" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">A cafe in Bad Schandau - a fitting place for a rest after long walks.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4C2VqYdBMnWLxz3mgt2sDo9zau90UaAVPXzTAUlPvOU3qPpxHPy58HyCSVz-dElN6L0G2Jp_mQajmjAY-k7UF3y5Um3kcB3HC_YKRcW1QHDwhxptjydxNuR2hFCahG_5ABha/s1600-h/100_0528.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4C2VqYdBMnWLxz3mgt2sDo9zau90UaAVPXzTAUlPvOU3qPpxHPy58HyCSVz-dElN6L0G2Jp_mQajmjAY-k7UF3y5Um3kcB3HC_YKRcW1QHDwhxptjydxNuR2hFCahG_5ABha/s400/100_0528.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313495962924753922" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">And we wait patiently for our food after a long walk.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhQYhUJYKN9v9SbNBoPNHGIDtm2qdG0mCuZOK2qJ7vyu852gWCKNTBe_d9mUxkEjkEbjw6QBwCBidjPMdLvt8Ujfl4Fd4STHoeT2Qf-eTIBITKaXETZ8zrsRp5MUIvlr4qdhp/s1600-h/100_0525.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhQYhUJYKN9v9SbNBoPNHGIDtm2qdG0mCuZOK2qJ7vyu852gWCKNTBe_d9mUxkEjkEbjw6QBwCBidjPMdLvt8Ujfl4Fd4STHoeT2Qf-eTIBITKaXETZ8zrsRp5MUIvlr4qdhp/s400/100_0525.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313495953575198386" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">one of the train tracks in the Dresden main train station</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1pVaNBz1O_okcUbua28w6vXSIW8sIgpBTIirD3oZYFg7sQ94b-DCisLUZ12Y77NKeMFWryMUYD-hpVjj4AyhQoR3DjMAmnra4x-nD03GgJsnae6-1VZNBRqU5pPhFhrf46xEb/s1600-h/100_0519.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1pVaNBz1O_okcUbua28w6vXSIW8sIgpBTIirD3oZYFg7sQ94b-DCisLUZ12Y77NKeMFWryMUYD-hpVjj4AyhQoR3DjMAmnra4x-nD03GgJsnae6-1VZNBRqU5pPhFhrf46xEb/s400/100_0519.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313495123471150578" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">the old city centre in Dresden - at the entrance to the Frauenkirche</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZJ6byW-Hb4pVXBD_6ivYiNjx_KqMBQA8FpBOJxCx09pz74qVfkRjZMzxVGEv00F8efEauDITWDSdCdqAZ-Ijyz4qoudGirOIzVLSgY9MYOusPuA9hksa5ELLnisCXa8f62Bf/s1600-h/100_0517.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZJ6byW-Hb4pVXBD_6ivYiNjx_KqMBQA8FpBOJxCx09pz74qVfkRjZMzxVGEv00F8efEauDITWDSdCdqAZ-Ijyz4qoudGirOIzVLSgY9MYOusPuA9hksa5ELLnisCXa8f62Bf/s400/100_0517.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313495119902660690" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Frauenkirche - the Church of our Lady. Notice how small the people are up close to the building. After being almost leveled in the bombings, this church was rebuilt only with voluntary contributions. </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB2b13-OkesjN7ynV_O2_1BQqK3xXDcP0-wABnjfTjV0K2RZ-A5-vVmhdSyXY2SDVWHbrwTZcjFlMgjhTBnqsmfZwJ_U6U-9kjbZsKEMTWNi5lozuPa_I16_y4GENXquxCJmJ_/s1600-h/100_0508.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB2b13-OkesjN7ynV_O2_1BQqK3xXDcP0-wABnjfTjV0K2RZ-A5-vVmhdSyXY2SDVWHbrwTZcjFlMgjhTBnqsmfZwJ_U6U-9kjbZsKEMTWNi5lozuPa_I16_y4GENXquxCJmJ_/s400/100_0508.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313495109959426786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">One of my favorite places in Dresden - the bar and café Gänsedieb - Goose Thief. </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingycG8800CvDMRegDNe35fVu29ozDZM3tzZSXvKqca3sOE9bLkb9GbLGYF6Qh9TRh1SAEgln7WApezjTD0SN8cFfb1jo4EU72odhoKy6VNPwNaaRrw2zrtMxYdF5KrsslKS2o/s1600-h/100_0513.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingycG8800CvDMRegDNe35fVu29ozDZM3tzZSXvKqca3sOE9bLkb9GbLGYF6Qh9TRh1SAEgln7WApezjTD0SN8cFfb1jo4EU72odhoKy6VNPwNaaRrw2zrtMxYdF5KrsslKS2o/s400/100_0513.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313495092384125266" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Inside Gänsedieb - lots of warm wood and colors. </span><br /><br />Here at mid-March I took a weekend to visit my friends in Pirna, just south of Dresden. I had a few hours late Friday afternoon in Dresden, so I took in the attractions of the things I like most in Dresden. Then on Saturday we went to the Czech Republic for shopping and then to Bad Schandau, a health resort, for some walking and resting in restaurants and cafés. It actually remained dry the whole day Saturday, so we spent the whole afternoon out walking and looking at things, as some of these photos attest.<br />I hope you had a good weekend filled with people and activities you like.Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-89516794377514879312009-03-09T22:53:00.002+01:002009-03-09T23:08:34.391+01:00More Loving Memories<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGC8GwdbLeGWQOFEda_lrXgLzPTjGNvEvrSPQAY8y5_OhYpCj2pkiqChy1Q4D10owFCVG1dNlXKrMd-_g0sgXufDIOSUEHEHJJOwrqLOoCMiRlCA1I0M8I-2A0qyaQ6sOmj-kw/s1600-h/LexmarkAIOScan7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGC8GwdbLeGWQOFEda_lrXgLzPTjGNvEvrSPQAY8y5_OhYpCj2pkiqChy1Q4D10owFCVG1dNlXKrMd-_g0sgXufDIOSUEHEHJJOwrqLOoCMiRlCA1I0M8I-2A0qyaQ6sOmj-kw/s400/LexmarkAIOScan7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311309727786807778" border="0" /></a><br />In this photo you see my great uncle "Willie" with my mother. I took this picture in September 2002, while my mother was visiting me in Austin. Willie was living in Austin in the North Loop area with his third wife (He outlived the first two.). He was about 96 years old at this time and probably the last member of our family from that generation still alive. He reminded us about the stories of his father, how Fritz Tesmer got on a ship in East Prussia when he was 18 to leave the old world and start a new life in Texas. My mother was so happy to see her uncle after so many years.<br />During my visit to Texas in December 2006 to January 2007, my mother and I drove down to Taylor to visit the cemetary where many on that side of the family are buried. We wondered if Willie was still alive. I found a new grave with his head stone, so we answered our question - he had died in March 2006, and with him a generation passed out of this life. And two years later my mother rejoined him. Within two years we experienced almost two complete generations passing out of this life.<br />With all of these events, suddenly 18 year old Fritz Tesmer's decision to board the ship to Texas in 1883 no longer seems so far in the past. Soon we turn around, and our children's children will stand at our graves, hopefully taking photos and blogging, documenting the past as we all learn to be thankful for each other.Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-18366638879974280382009-03-02T22:40:00.002+01:002009-03-02T23:00:41.584+01:00In Loving Memory27 years ago on this day my maternal grandfather passed away. He had always been a physically strong man, having worked on the railroad all his life. I was always close to him. He and my grandmother helped me learn German, since they were bilingual. With him I learned to fish, grow a garden, speak some German, and enjoy the ethnic central Texas culture. He and my grandmother only had one child, my mother, so my middle name comes from his first name. He was Edward Fredrick Tesmer.<br /><br />True to his East Prussian heritage, he kept a spotless house, an immaculate yard, and everything always worked right at his house. He lived frugally, was a no frills man, and left my mother with investments to be built upon - these I continue to take care of as I try to be a good steward of this bequethed heritage.<br /><br />Once in a convenience store in their small town the shopkeeper claimed all young people were dishonest and would steal in a shop if they had the chance. My grandfather immediately said his grandson Mark would never do that. The shopkeeper objected, so my grandfather told him it would be a long time before he ever bought anything there again.<br /><br />His funeral was the first time I saw my mother and grandmother in true grief, but it is great comfort to know their grief has come to an end.<br />Since my life with him was a while back, I have no digital photos to upload. I still have to look for old ones to scan. But these words are an attempt to do justice to a grandfather whose strictness was tempered with a desire to share, all of which was surrounded by faithful love.Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-22716560062369488322009-02-23T09:23:00.002+01:002009-02-23T09:37:49.026+01:00Hubert de Givenchy on Elegance...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCH5SQJRrm6RhO7SYAdf5J31VM9Y2mSwg53dv4EhZ9ctGdUBiUClsvuAm_6J3zLd7YbZ1LtZcZPYvdFJWVXehUieQ2ZJe4ToVFd95Q443fx_DYsHwgi_69k2kBWlLKEE64bR_s/s1600-h/100_0291.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCH5SQJRrm6RhO7SYAdf5J31VM9Y2mSwg53dv4EhZ9ctGdUBiUClsvuAm_6J3zLd7YbZ1LtZcZPYvdFJWVXehUieQ2ZJe4ToVFd95Q443fx_DYsHwgi_69k2kBWlLKEE64bR_s/s400/100_0291.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305906325801565010" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The minimalist "Bauhaus" style is in demand - some say it's elegant, while others find it stark or boring. </span><br /><br />"The greatest elegance is that of the heart, which consists of doing good works with the highest degree of confidentiality, even anonymously. Elegance is always inconspicuous and never intrusive; it does not indulge itself in luxuriousness and display. Elegance is always the refinement of that which is simple and almost indiscernable..."<br /><br />This quote is my translation from an article in which Givenchy commented on elegance. After all the pomp of Christmas, and now Carneval, and the Oscars yesterday in the USA, I needed a little refreshment and airing-out of my senses.Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772848.post-31338909734416157702009-02-20T22:52:00.002+01:002009-02-20T23:04:25.066+01:00So one year goes by....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NcrQV_SsGyk9g_0HVkfzlx53LaPgNkmLg-rCum9zqEP4OcooAbv3AcZnJNsjYK_KitiFf1dvS0kdn4blDpRm_mYEhTzXhkam2vV9zb4AGQPLzGexVwWtLHeY8lySsbn066Pr/s1600-h/PIC_0128.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NcrQV_SsGyk9g_0HVkfzlx53LaPgNkmLg-rCum9zqEP4OcooAbv3AcZnJNsjYK_KitiFf1dvS0kdn4blDpRm_mYEhTzXhkam2vV9zb4AGQPLzGexVwWtLHeY8lySsbn066Pr/s400/PIC_0128.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305001265134328658" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In August 2004 we enjoyed a mild morning having coffee at Central Market in Fort Worth. </span><br /><br />As of today it has been one year since I last saw my mother. I hugged her, kissed her, and felt confident I would see her again in just a few months, in the summer of 2008, since I was certain I was moving back to Texas to be there to help take care of her.<br /><br />I walked out of the door and got into the car as my friend Randy drove me to the airport. I commented to him that now the most difficult part was over - saying goodbye was the most challenging. Little did I know I had just said my last goodbye in person to her during this life...<br /><br />And about two weeks later here in Leipzig I had a shivering revelation that I would not see her alive again. I chose to ignore that knowledge, dismissing it as an insane notion. I knew there was something different about that notion, though. Yet I continued my plans, not suspecting that in just a few weeks the fabric of my life would be torn beyond all repair...Euromarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15002422459559199799noreply@blogger.com3