World’s most elaborate water tower…

Ty took the train to the airport from Mannheim so we had a chance to visit the water tower. Unfortunately, the Döner place I love there was closed. Maybe next time.

The quieter side of the gardens…

I took Ty to the palace gardens in Schwetzingen so that he could see them and I could film them  (my latest obsession). Video forthcoming. The gardens were splendidly beautiful as always. This time I just took shots of a couple of the quieter corners.A couple of the videos I shot. The first one shows the geese in a state of spontaneous agitation.

And now a couple to calm the soul.

Finally, a shot of one of my favorite places in Germany: Zum Ritter, a beautiful restaurant with great food and the best beer in the world.

Rediscovering Germany…

Our extended trip to Brazil coupled with Ty’s “fresh eye” observations reminded me of how I take some things for granted here. Case in point: German bakeries. As we rushed to Sophia’s first day of school (more on that later), we stopped by the bakery on Walldorf’s Hauptstrasse and grabbed a quick bite to eat. For those who haven’t been to Germany, behold below the beauty of a typical German bakery. Some call it bread. I call it wheat-based art.I’ve never bought one, but I like the loaves decorated with flour like a soccer ball. Something else I remembered while in Brazil: Although many American waiters will sigh or sneer if you ask them to separate the tabs at the end of a meal, in German it’s fairly common. In many restaurants, the waiter or waitress will sit down at your table, ask each person what they had and “do the math” with nothing more than a pen and paper. I find this practice both quaint and practical.

Strasbourg in September

As I mentioned in a previous post, my stepbrother Ty spent a weekend here. I took him to Strasbourg and Schwetzingen. I have about 10,000 pictures of Starsbourg in the Prickril Family Picture Archives, but couldn’t resist taking a few more. The weather was perfect and this gorgeous city impressed me yet again.  The wait for the boat tours was simply too long, but the early birds seemed to be enjoying it. 

Morning treat…

Almost as soon as we arrived in Niterói, we spotted a small monkey, called a mico in Portuguese, gracefully traversing power lines. One morning upon awaking I heard a chorus of chirps and whistles that I didn’t recognize. When I got outside, there was a mico on the power lines in front of Cristina’s house.

I quickly grabbed my camcorder and a piece of papaya, which I placed in a tree. I’ll be darned if the little bugger didn’t go straight for it. If you watch to the end, you’ll see a friend of his sharing his breakfast.

Monumental…

For more than a decade I’ve passed a monument (sometimes at outrageous speeds) on the Aterro do Flamengo that I knew nothing about. Renato and I stopped there on our downtown tour and I discovered that it is a monument to Brazilians who died toward the end of WWII (Brazil entered late on the side of the allies).The monument comprises abstract geometric shapes, statues representing the three branches of the military and a reflecting pool.A group of bright yellow-footed cranes leisurely preened themselves in the reflecting pool. It is somber, almost sterile  place. The overcast weather seemed somehow appropriate. Inside is a museum that was closed in honor of the holiday. The dead, including the unknown soldier, are buried on the grounds.Some of the walls display beautiful murals.What originally caught our attention as we passed was a group of soldiers, including a band, practicing for the parade the following day.This monument has an impressive view of downtown Rio. You can even see the Teatro Municipal.As seen in the video below, traffic on the Aterro do Flamengo now seems tame, but I can remember being in taxis that seemed like they were going over 200 kph. In the late 90’s, the most underrated thrill ride in the world was telling a taxi driver in Zona Sul that you were late for a flight at Santos Dumont Airport.

I gave my camcorder’s zoom function a workout on the eagle atop the city theater.

Behind the monument is the Marina da Glória, home to all kinds of sea craft, from tiny sailing boats and enormous yachts.

The mighty Fluminense…

Renato also took me to the headquarters of Fluminense, “his team” in Rio. It is situated in Laranjeiras, a neighborhood I’d heard of but hadn’t spent any time in. Turns out I love it. It seemed very calm and sophisticated, with beautiful streets lined with high-rise apartment buildings and folks moving about at a leisurely pace.

The buildings are old and beautiful. The main courtyard has a beautiful fountain and a shrine to the team’s matron saint. Aside from the main building, there’s a field that these days is only used for practice.We then entered the library, which lead to the trophey room, filled with thousands and thousands of trophies, tributes and other memorabilia. I’m not sure if I caught Fluminense fever, but I gained ever deeper insight into the passion Brazilians have for soccer.