Sabotaged Fireworks in Regensburg!

Today the city of Regensburg celebrated - one year after it received the designation as "World Heritage" from the UNESCO.
The celebrations were topped off by nice fireworks at the Stone Bridge.

So, we went there early, to get a good spot to watch the show. Set ourselfes up at the beergarden Alte Linde with a nice view at the Bridge, Cathedral and the river.

The fireworks were to start at ten thirty. It turned ten fourty. Ten fifty. Eleven. And then the announcer told the crowd that someone had sabotaged the show and smashed the radio remote control, so they had to hand-fire all the pyro. Wow.

From Regensburg Fi...

Anyway, we had a good show, enjoyed ourselfes and are looking forward to the next fireworks...

Matthias

Abensberg is such a charming small town.

Today we visited the charming small town of Abensberg. The weather was much better than last Sunday - still cold, but dry. It's just a short drive from Regensburg, parking is no issue at all.

Wanted to take my woman to the Kuchlbauer brewery/restaurant - but they were closed. The italian restaurant across was not bad either. Walking through the historic city centre doesn't take that much time (it really is a small town).

From Abensberg Photos

Then we visited the museum and were pleasantly surprised. They got really interesting exhibits from the stone age to recent times - a lot "hands on" items, awesome for kids (and adults like me). Unfortunately they don't have english audio guides yet, but my wife was able to translate the explanations for kids...

From Abensberg Photos

Next Spring we'll be back, by then it'll be asparagus season again and we'll eat the famous "Abensberger Spargel".

Matthias

Christmas Market - Preview

December 1st - that's when the Christmas market opens in Regensburg.
Can't wait...



Matthias

Whacky Bavarian Kings (Castle Neuschwanstein)

You must have heard about castle Neuschwanstein. The "original Disney castle" - built by that weirdo bavarian king Ludwig II (the one that never got married, was into Wagner-operas and drowned after he got declared insane). You've probably seen hundreds of Neuschwanstein photos.

When we had a day off (thanks to the Regensburger Pope Benedict and his Catholic church) we decided to visit this place. It's about a 2,5 hr drive from Regensburg, so we got ourselfes some accommodation nearby (no reservation - just stopped at a small "Gasthof").

The next day we headed there - and found ourselfes waiting a full hour for tickets.
(Reminder: next time reserve tickets in advance). They have tours in pretty much every language, but we tagged along with an italian tour (they had the day off too).

From Neuschwanstei...

First we visited the older castle Hohenschwangau - where Ludwig II actually grew up. All the interior is painted with old german fairy tales, knights in shining armour, the whole works. As a 6 years old boy I would have loved to live in a place like this. Nowadays I would probably paint all the walls white, rip out the golden decoration and replace it with IKEA furniture... :-)

From Neuschwanstei...

Then we hiked up to Neuschwanstein...

From Neuschwanstein..

Looking back this place kind of reminds me of Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch. Old Ludwig II was a weirdo too and created his own fantasy world for himself. In those days they were a bit more respectful to kings...
I'm not sure what I should think of this place and Ludwig II - but it's well worth a visit.

Cheers, Matthias

Winter is here.

What a crappy weather. Rain, snow, sleet, wind, cold, miserable.
Somehow we're not in the mood to go on a hike today...



Matthias

OpenSocial - things to do on rainy weekends...

I am active on different social networks - LinkedIn, XING, Facebook and others. So when I heard the announcement that Google would offer an interface to all these platforms I was excited. Got me a developer key and poked around a little. Good distraction from the rain and snow outside.

Unfortunately, my excitement was soon replaced by disappointment. OpenSocial is buggy as hell - even the tutorials don't work properly. But that can and will be ironed out.

The real kicker is that OpenSocial doesn't do anything for the user - it's just a tool for developers to spread all these obnoxious applicaitons/gadgets across different platforms.

Here's a little presentation to explain and demystify this a little:



Cheers, Matthias

Finding a New Hairdresser

Probably like most women, it's a challenge trying to find the right hairdresser. He or she must have all the right qualities: a skillful hand, a keen eye, and a friendly personality. Well, I think I may have found these qualities in my new hairdresser at Haarstudio Deluxe.

Her name is Anna and she is located on Drei Kronnen Gasse (Altstadt) right next door to St. Petersburg soup kitchen. She opened her shop on September 1st and it seems that she has a steady flow of customers (but she is still building her clientele).

I had my appointment yesterday and it went better than I had expected. She doesn't speak very much English (and I'm not fluent in German yet), but we managed to carry on a conversation in German the whole time I was there. She got rid of the blond highlights I had and added copper red highlights instead. She trimmed my hair to minimize the volume at the bottom (my hair is naturally curly) and she straightened it out for me. When she was done I was extremely happy with the results that I made another appointment for next month. I think she will get busier as she builds her clientele.

I highly recommend her. For those who are interested and need a change, here is her contact information:

Haarstudio DELUXE
Anna Langowski
Drei Kronnen Gasse 2
Regensburg 93047
(0941) 58 61 23 23
HOURS: Monday 9-17 uhr, Tuesday-Saturday 9-19 uhr

When I first arrived in Regensburg earlier this year, I had found a really good hairdresser on Maximillian Strasse, but in September I found out that she didn't work there anymore, and they had no idea where she went. Her replacement cut my hair and it was the worst haircut that I had in a long time. A few months later I found Anna and I'll keep going to her as long as she has her shop.

Cheers,
Rosa

Haarstudio Deluxe

It Was Only a Test

Last week flood barriers were set up in front of our flat assuming that the Danube was going to overflow. Well, the river never flooded and the barriers were set up only as a trial. Early the next morning the flood barriers were dismantled and neatly packed into large blue bins.

At least it was only a trial run and not the real ordeal. The river is still low and cruise boats are still coming in. Unfortunately the weather isn't co-operating. It's been raining pretty much most of the day. Hopefully the tourists will still enjoy their stay in Regensburg. It still is a beautiful city even when it rains.

Bis später!
Rosa