Friday Photo Favorite: The Commute

We've both been working too much lately (as you can see from the emptiness of Herr J's train home). 

One more rough week before a big work deadline, then we're off to arrange the last wedding details!

TGIF!!!

Friday Photo Favorite: Olympiapark Sunrise

This one is an HDR photo from an early morning trip to Munich's Olympiapark. 

I love the colors and light in this photo, as well as the winding path up to the lookout where we experimented with our tripods. It gives me a warm and peaceful feeling when I look at it. We have this one in rotation on our digital frame.

Introducing....

...Friday Photo Favorite 

We're having so much fun exporing through the lenses of our cameras and learning more about photography, editing, and the world. 

So we've decided to bring you a favorite photo each week. Maybe a pretty photo or a great memory or just something cool (and possibly unrealistic) we've made on the computer. 

This week - since it feels like winter again - a beautiful shot Herr J took one cold morning when he was getting SCUBA certified. This was the little lake north of Munich where they did their training dives. 

Easter in Istanbul

While I was expecting a lovely Easter brunch with friends, sun, flowers, and chocolate bunnies, I had no idea what was in store for us. 

First, the hotel was decorated for the season, with giant chocolate egg sculptures throughout the lobbies. I guess they knew the subtle scent of chocolate would be a temptation to eat the art, so they kindly left jars of chocolate eggs on all of the tables. 

 

And made frequent refills...because these eggs were GOOD! They had a thick candy shell and wonderful chocolate inside, with just a hint of hazelnut. Our group ate a lot of these, but I was thankful the hotel had them out the night our dinner cruise was 2 hours late for pickup-

 

In between days of siteseeing, we took Easter off and celebrated with a lovely brunch on the terrace - good friends, good conversation, and great food! 

 

They did a wonderful job decorating the terrace with flowers and eggs, as well as had clowns and a play area for the kids. But most importantly, the food...Instead of a traditional buffet, it was a bit of a mix between buffet and made to order. There were chefs at each stand cooking the foods, so that the food on the buffet was always fresh and frequently replaced. From breakfast (waffles, eggs) to sushi and tempura to grilled meats-seafood and freshly made caprese salads (choose your type of mozzarella!), it was all excellent. And of course to supplement the mains were a huge variety of sides, tapas, salads, and of course a döner stand. And wonderful turkish breads!

 

Here at the stand where they made artichoke and prosecco risotto and lobster ravioli (yum!) the chefs had all the ingredients ready. I had never seen what an artichoke looks like on its plant! 

 

And dessert...Instead of a dessert bar, they brought a selection of desserts and sorbets to each table. Wow...words fail me here, but let's just say macarons, peanut butter chocolate cake, lemon tart, and caramel cream puffs...just to start. 

 

And these lovely centerpieces. I think they're real flowers, but I'd never seen anything like them. Sort of like peonies, with lettuce in the middle. But in a good way!

 

But what really made the day for me was the little petting zoo. I thought I might have chocolate bunnies and chicks, but never dreamed I'd have the real thing!

 

Yes, the littlest bunny is cuddling with 3 ducklings. I thought I might die from cuteness!

 

How perfect are these guys?

 

Hi!

 

Adorable.

 

After a wondeful afternoon (yes, we spent 3 hours at brunch) we returned to the room to find a chocolate creation. A white chocolate egg with marshmallow fondant flowers and a few more of the tasty chocolate eggs. 

More to come on our long weekend in Istanbul. It was a really wonderful trip. A chance to see good friends and to relax a little and enjoy the sun and the beauty of Turkey. But so many photos to sort through first!

Happy Easter!

After way too much work and stress, we're finally off for a short break in Istanbul.

Easter is a big holiday in Germany. We're only taking off the 4 day weekend, but many take a 1 or 2 week break now. Luckily the airport in Munich usually isn't as horrible as US airports on holiday weekends!

Wishing you all a wondeful Easter, filled with family, friends, flowers, (chocolate) bunnies, and all the cute fluffy things that come with the season!

 

We'll be back next week, with some great memories and hopefully some good photos.

I spent New Year's Eve 2002 there, but I'm looking forward to going back with a better camera, more experience, and Herr J!

(Can't wait to see what Nikon can do with the mosques and lights...)

Signs of Spring

A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, I feel alive again...spring finally is here! 

 

 

Though most of the trees and flowers are still only budding leaves, there were a few early bloomers out at the Botanical Gardens. 

 

And of course many great flowers inside the greenhouses.

 

We're still a few months too early for the baby ducks and geese, but for now we have turtles.

 

 

And most of the trees in Munich are starting to show signs of life.  Interesting that Munich is a couple of weeks behind Frankfurt. These are the trees budding in the Bavariapark here in Munich. Last week in Frankfurt, the leaves were out and plum trees covered in bloom.

 

 

I've never seen anything quite like these blue and yellow ones, also at the Botanical Garden in Munich. 

 

Some of last year's swan babies hanging out in the pond at Schloss Nymphenburg. 

 

Even better, we can finally eat dinner outside again. The Augustiner am Dom has interesting signs of spring. Not just the Easter-ish table cloths, but that they seem to have lamb as their current seasonal menu. I do think of cute fluffy lambs at Easter, but it feels a bit odd to feature them as dinner! We had flammkuchen instead....

 

 And best of all? Spring means the beer gardens are open again!  

Hard to believe how quickly things changed. This is the Nymphenburger Kanal, only a few weeks apart. We went from people on the ice to algae and ducks swimming. 

Champagne Beer Part 2: Infinium

We previously tried the Sylter Hopfen champagne-style beer and have talked about German brewery Weihenstephaner's collaboration with Samuel Adams to create the Inifinium champagne-style beer. 

Finally, we tried it over Christmas. There are two versions available - one produced in Germany and one produced in the US (Boston, of course). 

We tried the US-made one, which we found at the wonderful Charleston Beer Exchange. This is a little beer store in the historic distric of Charleston, which has a wide selection of craft and international beers (they have Augustiner Edelstof Exportbier!!) and holds monthly beer tasting dinners. 

The first thing we noticed was the color, a rich amber hue. Like champagne, it maintained its small bubbles. It poured with quite a significant head, though it's settled down significantly in the picture.

As expected, it definitely had a yeasty flavor. While the smell was a bit more complex, the malt and yeast were what we tasted most. And the "beer" part of the taste was much more of an ale than a lager.  Overall, it's not bad and we're glad we tried it. But it probably isn't a beer we'd buy again. It's more of an interesting idea and something fun to try than a good beer of which you'd want to drink a whole bottle.  (And btw, it's best served cold)

I'm not sure exactly what you're supposed to pair with champagne-style beer, but as we were at my parents' house we tried it with some great Corky's ribs and Dad's famous homemade onion rings. Yum!