Category Travel
He Who Must Not Be Named
It’s been 20 years or so since the first of the Harry Potter novels was published, sparking a reading craze and transforming author J.K. Rowling from impoverished single mother into the world’s richest woman. A generation has grown up with the books (and the subsequent movie adaptations). They are a powerful marketing force, and Rowling […]
Seduced By A Sign
I wrote this piece more than a year ago, shortly after we arrived in Germany. I planned on using it then, but there was something else scheduled the day after I wrote it, then I switched phones. It has languished on the old phone, and might still be there if I hadn’t had to turn […]
Westminster Hall
There are few things in life that frustrate me more than not being able to take pictures when I visit an historic site. It just doesn’t seem right. In early 2017 I had the opportunity to tour Westminster, the mother of all parliaments. At the time I was still working on Parliament Hill in Ottawa […]
Christmas Dinner
The sign said they were Weihnachtsganse or Christmas geese. This flock of white birds was in a field just below the castle in Emmendingen when we visited a month ago. I thought perhaps they are named Christmas geese because they are snow white. I suspect though that they are so called because that is when […]
Tannenbaum
It is our second Christmas in Germany, and I can’t decide if I prefer the simple white lights used as Christmas decorations here, or the multi-colored ones of North America. I think the white ones are a remnant from the days of wax candles – you didn’t have the options electricity gives. The displays here […]
Another Rink
Yesterday’s post reminded me that I took some pictures of the skating rink at the Christmas Market in front of the Rathaus in Vienna. That rink impressed me with a far more creative approach than most of the other outdoor rinks I have seen in Europe. Instead of a rectangular slab of ice which could […]
The Rink
After a year I have figured it out. The big fuss about skating rinks that is. Last year I saw them in Mullheim and Lippstadt. Outdoor rinks installed around the end of November in public spaces and gone at New Year’s. Skates were available to rent and a good time was had by all. This […]
Visions of Advent
There is a Christmas Market in in front of the Rathaus (city hall) in Vienna. It is big and colourful with lots for sale. But there is more to it than just commercialism. Part of the market is the Nativity Trail, a series of 12 nativity scenes, different interpretations of the birth of Jesus Christ. Back […]
Sulzburg Christmas Market 2018
In the big cities in Germany the Christmas markets run for a month or longer. The goods on display are slickly made. In sleepy Sulzburg it is a one-day thing, and there is a lot of home-made baking and clothing for sale. And gluhwein of course. The market is open until 8 p.m. local […]
The Things You Miss
I was walking down a street in Vienna, trailing the rest of my family by a few metres – if I remember, I had stopped to re-tie a shoelace. Then I saw this plaque. I like to read historical plaques – they give a flavour to a neighbourhood, providing interesting information you might otherwise have […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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