It is the small differences that does it...

Sometimes it is the small things that does it... Today I went to IKEA with a friend - I don't have a car myself but my friend was kind enough to offer to drive me there. I am not a great fan of shopping myself, but sometime one has to do it - so I did.

Got to IKEA, started to look at the things I needed to pick up. And then I realised that hey, I have been thinking about some other things too. One thing on my list was to get a new pillow for my bed, as one of the once I have has started to leak, which means it from time to time looks like I have killed a small bird in the bedroom or at least out on the terrace after I have shaken my pillows and the duvet. So I stopped by the pillow corner at IKEA... And that's when I discovered it! Germany and Sweden doesn't have the same kind of pillows, not even at IKEA. The size obviously DOES matter - while Sweden only has one size, more or less, Germany has two. One type is the same type that is common in UK - it is longer but not so high, which means it is more rectangular.  The other type is completely square. But both types are bigger than a Swedish standard pillow. Which means that getting a bed set here will cause problems; The German pillow cases will be too big for my Swedish pillows. And if I get sheets in Sweden they will not fit the German pillows...

And also, if I was to get a new pillow, I would not have a pillow case for it - which means if I was going to look at pillows I had to look at pillow cases as well. OK.

Checked first to see which is the most common shape of the pillow cases included in the bead sets. That seems to be the bigger pillow (by the way, I suspect that German kind of pillows equals the American ones but I am not sure).  So the bigger pillow seemed to be the solution - not that I was getting a bed set - because I also have to measure the duvet and make sure I get the correct size, if the correct size exists as sheets - or I have to get a new duvet or import sheets, when I need more, from Sweden...

So... once I had decided which size of pillows I wanted it was time for the next challenge: Which pillow to actually get. And then I realised the REAL challenge: Germany doesn't just do pillows, you also have to know how you sleep! Because you see, the pillows are specifically for sleeping on your belly, on your back, or on the side! I didn't even notice until I tested and my friend said: But you can't try it like that, that is a pillow for if you sleep on your back...

OH dear: All these decisions! What should I do then, who sometimes sleep on my back, sometimes on the side (and sometimes on my belly)...? Get three different ones and alternate between? Well, I went for the back sleeping option, at least I most of the time am on my back when I read, and for the rest I sleep and I don't pay attention to my pillow...

And I got new pillow cases too, so that my new pillows won't have to be naked.

Anyhow, I now have a multicultural bed - German pillows mixed with Swedish, and if needed I have some UK pillows too... :-)

Confusion 2

I have read since I was very young, I taught myself to read, and still remember when I cracked the code. It had to do with people reading to me a lot, and me being stubborn and always asking questions - and the two words that made me finally crack the code were "Volvo" and "Vivo", which I saw on signs. I always asked mum what different signs said, but these two held the key to reading; they looked and sounded the same in the beginning: V...

Anyhow, I never read texts letter by letter (or even word by word) as a child, the words were more pictures to me then, and that has been how I read all along, regardless of language - I guess that's why I soon found, when I was in China, that I started to pick up a bit of what the Chinese signs actually said, if suited my way of reading.
I still don't read words or sentences letter by letter, unless there is some really new word that I have to learn, and not always then, only if it is really complex I'll make an effort. It's not that I am lazy, it is just the way I read.

This has lead to some interesting things in the past, like me using the wrong words simply because I expected there to be extra letters in there and I made a new word up. It's OK when that isn't causing the meaning of the word to change. But sometimes it does.

In German that becomes even more interesting though, because here I have a considerable smaller stash of words to use so here my reality check doesn't work either, I don't know if it makes sense or not, and I draw parallels with similar-looking words in English and Swedish.
For example there is a word that looks a bit like 'misery' in Swedish (elände), and it's being used in relation to  fairs etc - the word is "Gelände". For a long time there was an ad at my train stop, talking about the big "Wedding Elände" - wedding misery...? (OK, that one was quite obvious so after having seen it sort of from the corner of my eye for a while I took a proper look at what it really said, and saw that it had nothing to do with "elände", luckily).

There are plenty of others too... The funeral home close to my place has some text in their window, text I haven't reflected upon until today, I paid attention to it early this morning, when I decided to write this text, but forgot to check when coming back, I'll have to check next time I pass the window. It said something that I have connected to a Swedish word, about ashes. Surely that can't have been it. A funeral home may deal with ashes but wouldn't advertise it, would they? I think my brain is playing tricks on me today... (Come to think of it I have seen the funeral home text many times before but forgot it as quickly, but now I have a mission to find out what it really says..)


(Now again, notice that this with not paying attention to the whole word refers only to reading. Writing is a different story, there I obviously make an effort, but if I forgot letters I may not notice it when reading through the text. That doesn't mean I don't like to write, I do, and I often write by hand too, but most of the time notes just for myself, notes not even I may read again. I try not to be sloppy when I write anyhow. Although I admit, when I went to uni I would take notes at the seminars, notes where I would leave out the vowels, even of the key words that I wrote. I was really good at taking notes back then - and yes, I could read them too, even weeks after. But the fact that you don't need to have all the letters to be able to read a text is, as far as I know, pretty well known.).

It was the right reception

Hurray! It was the right wedding!
Any way it wouldn't have mattered, because I had so much fun :-)

Confusion 1

I was at a wedding yesterday (yes, on a Thursday). It was fantastic. But I do suspect I was at the wrong one. I didn't want to say something yesterday but I will ask the bride and groom. Yes, because I do know them. It was the right couple. But I suspect I was at the wrong reception?

You see, at the evening reception I went to, the time it said on my invitation, there were basically just family, plus an old colleague and a friend of the groom. And the photographer, who is also friend. And me... I knew the photographer, that's it. Never met the family before. Whereas at the earlier reception there was a whole bunch of people that I know quote well... Confusing...

But fun, I had a lot of fun. So I am not complaining, I'm just slightly puzzled. And I have to ask, if they indeed did give me the wrong invitation they are probably just as confused as I am and wonder why I turned up so late...

Big city love

Laleh, Swedish singer and an incredible artist - the video is filmed in Gothenburg, the city that I will always love, in a way, even though I haven't felt at home there in a long long time.

Gothenburg and I actually have a kind of love-hate relationship. There are few things as beautiful as Gothenburg an early morning, in the summer, when all you hear  is the sound of a lonely tram moving through the city, and the sea gulls screaming, and you feel the smell of the ocean. 
On the other hand there are few things as horrible as the Gothenburg rain in the winter, that horizontal rain that comes with a wind that goes through everything, there is no way you can escape it, and it chills from inside.

The only thing that keeps you sane in the winter in Gothenburg is the people but even the people become more inbound and less talkative in the winter.

But whatever I say about Gothenburg it is still the place where I grew up, and I will always have a special connection to the city. Laleh's video therefore impacts me in more than one way, not just because of the beautiful music and the text but also because the pictures in the video - it is connected with so many memories.

The home grown tomatoes are delicious.

Just thought I'd mention it... 

Ahrg!

I SHOULD know better, I know, I know... Never never never email some autorities or insurance people or real-estate people, nor bankers late at night. They call you back! EVEN if it is the middle of the night. Once again I forgot this... And once again I was reminded of it! As if I want to take a discussion close to midnight? Seriously???! I was just about to go to bed but sent off a message I had had pending for quite some time, and 10 minutes later the guy calls me. No, I didn't pick up the phone, I certainly don't want to talk business when I am tired. That late I am either in bed or busy with something else.This time I was juuuust about to fall asleep. Normally I would switch of my phone first but this time I forgot. But I shouldn't have to, not to avoid sales calls.

Do you call customers close to midnight? Where I come from it is bloody rude to call anyone after 10PM unless you know them really well. I would not call any of my friends at that time unless there really is an emergency, or they are in another time zone...
I may text friends slightly later than I would call, but call, never. Except on a Friday that is, or a Saturday, but that is different.And even a Friday or Saturday I only do it with people I know are either out or are expecting my call (or, OK, I admit that I have texted some people very late a few times, forgetting that not everybody switch of their phoness at night, but even so, it has been on weekends, even when I was in another time zone...)

And some people claim that you can't ever get hold of anyone here in Germany? Well, somehow being Swedish seem to do the trick. I can't get them to not call me. What IS this???

Puzzled...

Smoke

I really don't understand why some people insist on dressing up and use expensive perfume, when they then smoke like chimneys. The stench takes over everything... Pointless to dress up when ruining the whole setup like that...

(More smokers in Düsseldorf than anywhere else I know.  And also a lot of people that spend a LOT of money on clothes and fancy accessories. Often the same people who do both - smoke and spend ridiculous money).

Stockholm weekend - the travel

Spent the weekend in Stockholm. Stockholm has to be one of the most beautiful capitals of the world, it's stunning. For some reason Sweden always decides to show itself from a not so fantastic side, weather wise, when I come up there though. Stockholm had weeks of stunning weather, I am told, but sure enough; the day before I arrived the high pressure went away. Not that it is unique for Sweden, in Germany the weather is also considerably colder and rainier than it has been for the past six to eight weeks, we have had stunning days. But it would have been so nice to see Stockholm and Sweden in general a beautiful day – it doesn't have to be warm, but sunny would be nice. Now, I am silly enough to go to Gothenburg every year in November so I guess I have no one to blame but myself for the weather not being fantastic when I go….

Anyhow; Stockholm… Yes, it was great. I arrived Friday, came via Copenhagen. Well at Arlanda airport I made an interesting experience… Minutes in Sweden are very very long. Arlanda Terminal 5 has a system telling you when to expect your luggage. Just above the baggage belts there is a sign that tells you the flight and then shows the minutes you should expect it to take. When I came out the countdown was ongoing already. After a while it said 0 minutes – and we all stood up and expected the belt to start moving. It didn't. 0 minutes… Except in my time zone it was more 15… I guess Sweden and Germany have different clocks? Yes, I know, it is a minor detail, but it sort of sets the standard; Tourists arriving and the first thing they experience is that Swedes can't be trusted with their systems? I would have much preferred if there was no time and the bags arrived when they arrived, that would have been far less annoying than a countdown that you then can't trust anyhow – and actually going back home I didn't exactly gain confidence for Arlanda Airport, when I discovered that there was no information to be found about flights etc., the terminal had lost contact with the computers and couldn't project any information to it's passengers.

Oh well…

Technicalities, I know. The bus ride to Stockholm city was uneventful at least, or at least relatively. And yes, I take the bus, Arlanda Express, the train, is quicker, approx 20 minutes instead of 40, but on the other hand the bus is far cheaper – about half the price – and more important, the train leaves more seldom, while the bus leaves every 10 minutes, which means if you have to wait for the train the time you gain taking the train is lost waiting for it – so for half the price and the same total time I prefer the bus, actually.

I did find it a bit funny though, when we got closer to Stockholm city, and the driver announced that "Oh well, it seems there is construction work going on so I have to go back and take another street, it will take an additional couple of minutes". Except the construction works have, as far as I know, been going on for months and months, if not longer. It was hardly a new thing, and that I found really quite humoristic. There were construction works going on around that area already when I was in Stockholm in March…

If you heard someone singing this one in Stockholm...

If you heard someone walking around Stockholm during the weekend, singing this song, it may have been me... I can't get it out of my head. "Katarina Klockor", the church bells of specific church, Katarina, in Stockholm. I don't really know why music by "Imperiet" has been inprinted into my brain, but it has... It just won't let go...

Worried like h*ll

People killed in a stampade in Duisburg, at Love Parade, a festival in Germany. I had an invitation to join friends for it but since I am travelling I couldn't join. Happy about that now... Techno is not at all my music but there is a chance I would have joined anyhow, just because it is so different from what I would normally do. 
I have gotten hold of the people I know were going but I am still worried that some of my other friends may have been there without me knowing.

And yes, of course it is horrible for those people involved regardless but in this case I am selfish and I am happy that at least none of my friends were there - as far as I know at least. Of COURSE I feel for the families and friends of those involved - hurt or killed - but I am like everybody else who's friends are safe happy that at least those of my friends I have gotten hold of are safe.

I am so shocked and sad about the whole thing, Duisburg is so close to Düsseldorf and I have friends living there.

Update: The last one that I know wanted to go is now accounted for as well, thankfully!

See this bag?

See this bag? This bag was full of 1.5 litre Cola bottles. Not Coca Cola but a general brand cola. Most of them had been emptied already but the man carrying the bag was opening a new bottle when sitting next to me, gulping down directly from it - and 1.5 litres is not that little, 1.5 litre is almost 34 Fluid Ounce (US) or 35 Fluid Ounces (imperial)  - 1.76 UK pints, 2,11 US pints. So it is a lot of cola! And there were at least four empty bottles in the bag, I noticed when he put the just opened one into the bag. I don't think the bag contained anything but bottles, to be honest...
Talk about caffeine addiction...

By the way, today on the train there was a woman who just kept staring at me. Kind of scary... I saw her when she boarded the train, then I closed my eyes and sort of fell back to sleep, but every time I looked up she was just staring at me in the weirdest way. I kept thinking that she would grow tired of it, but no, when I looked up, she was still doing it - and she kept staring until she got of. Didn't nod, didn't say hello, just stared. Normally I would have said hello - that always makes them look away, or at least stop staring in such a direct way, or you at least get a conversation going, which makes it less creepy, but I didn't have the energy for it this time.
After a while I was beginning to think that my lipstick had smeared or that there was something else fishy going on, but no, that was not the case, I looked perfectly normal when I got to work. I guess I must have just reminded her of someone? Oh well, if I am all of a sudden gone, vanished, you know where to start looking. If it isn't the taxi drivers (that is pretty unlikely during the summer, I don't use taxis much during the summer) it is the train and the people taking the train you should check...

(Staring seem to be more more common in Germany, at least in most other countries in Europe they stare at Europeans in a more discrete way. In Asia I get stared on a lot but that's because I am different, they don't stare at other Asians in the same way. Germans seem to stare in general, and it is not only me who has observed that...)

The most difficult addiction to get rid of - coffee

I almost didn't drink coffee at all for several years after I quit 2004. Also not black tea or even green - I stayed away from caffeine, I was clean. I'd have one cup now and then, which worked, but if I had more than one I'd get shaky. I loved being off caffeine, it saved me from horrible headaches that I would get when I couldn't get my coffee on time. Or tea. Or whatever it was (actually most of the time it was tea, black tea, which I used to always have at my desk). I'd still drink tea but red tea, Rooibos, totally free from caffeine, it was just nice to have a cup of hot something when working. Or reading, or doing what ever it was I was doing.

 And then I started, slowly without noticing it, to get into drinking coffee more and more often. And I am telling you, this caffeine addiction must be the most difficult one. I am hooked again. I have to have my caffeine. I try to fight it but it is SO difficult! I have gotten into the habit of having at least one cup per day again. Useless! Got to get a bit more disciplined again!

Stockholm over the weekend

I'll be in Stockholm over the weekend. Tips and ideas are welcome, or perhaps you even want to meet up?

I don't like shopping

I don't like shopping, I really don't - may have mentioned that once or twice on the blog before. Especially not running from shop to shop, to me that is as close as you can get to a nightmare. But that doesn't mean I don't buy stuff, it's just that I am very efficient when I do.

First of all I have enough things so that I never really look for something special, there is always something else that works. Which means I never have to get desperate.

Second: If I find something that I like and that works, I get it. I make my mind up and then I get it, so that it is over and done with. I don't go from shop to shop seeing if I can find something similar. If I like it I either buy it or forget about it. I'm not going to find anything better, I'll just get mire tired and cranky. No point in waiting for that, better to just get it over and done with - the shopping that is, not the crankiness...

Third: If I pass a shop and see something nice (that is nine times out of ten how it's done, if there isn't anything that pulls me in I am more likely not to go in) I go in and check it out. And since I am going to have to take of my clothes to try I may as well do a quick round to see if there is anything else to try. I don't want assistance doing this,it just slows me down, when I say a quick round I mean a quick round. And then I go and try it all and all that fits I buy.

I have a few brands that I really like though. Linnea Braun shirts from ""The Shirt Factory" is one of them. Except I can't get them in Germany (yet?), have to get them when I am in Sweden - and then I get a bunch of shirts. Great. It means that I only buy shirts once or twice per year, that is normally how often I am in Gothenburg nowadays. Works well. If it wasn't for the fact that the quality is so good that my closet now basically is overflowing with shirts... I just don't remember how many I have when I go shopping, and of course I want to new styles, plus you have different types of shirts for different type of events, so now I have a closet completely packed. It's good, I am not complaining about the quality - and I don't ever buy shirts anywhere else. I don't even stop by the shop every time I am in Gothenburg, Sweden (because it is only there I buy them - all the shirts I need in one area, efficient shopping!). I even didn't buy any when I was back in Sweden in November last year (although in June I did again), but still. It is mad. There are many shirts... Some even duplicates... I am a very good - and happy - customer. And the ladies working in the shop in Gothenburg recognises me when I come in, very nice.

Something else that is good with shirts from the same label is that when the dry cleaner packs a pink esprit shirt among your laundry, you immediately spot that it's incorrect and can return it. (The size should have given it away too though: 36, I am a 38).  Happened Saturday.

But when I count the number of shirts I actually have I smile an embarrassed smile on my face. For not liking shopping I have a silly number of shirts... I am even embarrassed to tell you here.... I guess you could say that shirts are an addiction...

PS! According to the website they are planning on selling the shirts over internet soon. The basic shirts are already available but the rest will be coming. I think I will try and stay away from internet shopping though, I already have enough shirts. And I don't need to shop more often. But it is a great initiative! 

Teriyaki marinated chicken with tomato salad

Summer food of today:

Simple Teriyaki marinated chicken served on a bed of chicory, with Tomato salad, walnuts and goat cheese

What do you need:

• Chicken, preferrably already cut into the pieces you want to use. I used chicken legs.  Take as much as you need for the number of people you are.
• Chicory
• Walnuts
• Tomatoes
• Olive oil 
• Teriyaki sauce (or make your own, it happens that I do that too)
• Fresh herbs, I used rosemary and thyme, which happens to grow outside.
• Possibly some balsamico or so. 
• Salt and pepper 

Possibly one of the simplest but yet one of the yummiest dishes I have made lately - at the moment I don't cook that much at home, both because of the weather, which has been stunning, and the many activities that are going on.

How to:

So: Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C.

Take the chicken out of the fridge - you want meat to be more towards room temperature when you cook it for the best results - not fridge cold. 

When the oven is warm, pour a bit of oil into the dish/pan you are going to use, and put the pan into the oven for a few minutes, to heat up.

Take it out, pour some (table spoons - 1-2) into the pan, put the chicken on top and pour one or two table spoons of teriyaki sauce onto the chicken as well - or even better,  marinate the chicken for an hour before you cook it, in which case you can skip the additional sauce when cooking.

Put the chicken in the oven. It will take some 30-40 minutes, cut it when you think it is finished and you will see if it is - chicken needs to be properly cooked, nothing pink, or it may get dangerous. Remember to always clean your hands, knives, and anything that was in touch with raw chicken properly.

Back to the food: While the chicken is in the oven, cut tomatoes into pieces, wash and clean the chicory, break it into smaller pieces and make a little "bed" of chicory on the plate. I never cut chicory and other "bitter" salads as I have a feeling it makes the salad even more bitter, I prefer breaking. Fact is that most salads I break or pull into pieces, I very rarely cut salad. 

The tomatoes that you cut into pieces you pour a table spoon or three of good olive oil over, crumble goat cheese/sheep cheese over the tomatoes, and crumble some walnuts over them as well. You can add some good vinegar too, and a bit of black pepper.

When the chicken is ready, just place it on top of the chicory and serve the extremely simple but so tasty meal!

Who said good food has to be complicated?

With me you never know what will happen

If you are sitting close to where I have parked my bicycle you may for example find yourself showered with a Mango smoothie from Starbucks. I came out with a new drink, was going to put it in the cupholder (yes, I have pimped my bike, and I am proud of it) and dropped the whole d#"n thing, so that the smoothie/tea frappé splashed all over the place.

The sweet staff at Starbucks in Medienhafen were kind enough to give me a new drink though. Very grateful for that. Embarrassing to have spilled it though!

Opera gala

What you see here is a poor quality photo of an amazing program... Yesterday I was attending a wonderful Operagala "for all" - Opera am Rhein für Alle. If you look at the link, you will see that the tickets weren't exactly free, so you may wonder what "for all" means. But it means just that, for all. You see, this was a gala, not just an opera, so the music came from different operas, and so did the different ballet pieces. And what is even more important: EVERYBODY could see it. At the same time as I attended the gala in the opera house, there was a public viewing, and the gala was broadcasted and shown at Burgplatz, centrally located in Düsseldorf Altstadt. Those of us who attended the gala in the opera house got drinks and food afterwards as well, though, so that part was obviously different from the public viewing - but I think it's such a wonderful idea!

And while the gala was broadcasted to "Burgplatz" it could also be seen over internet, as it was streamed. I have yet to find out if it was also recorded so that one can see it afterwards, or if it was just then and there, but I will look into it.
I loved the gala, it was fabulous. It started with some opera, then some ballet, and then a longer than normal pause while the opera was reorganised and the orchestra game on stage, and then we got to listen to more fantastic, fabulous music. A truly enjoyable experience! Among my favourites were the pieces from Carmen, by Georges Bizet, but the ballet hits you hard, it is modern ballet in the way Martin Schläpfe, the leader of the ballet, has done so fantastically well in the B.01 (Ballet 01) to B-05 this season - B-05 I saw earlier this week.

Call me snobb, call we whatever you want, but I truly adore opera and ballet. On the other hand I really love a lot of different music, depending on my mood. Just like with other kinds of art I prefer not to limit myself, as all of it has it's beauty.

Upset feminist

You know what really annoys me about Germany? Women are, just like in most places, making less money for the same job as men do. OK, that is bad enough. And yes, I know there are individual differences.
Also, women doesn't have as high positions. That goes for Sweden too, but here it is a lot worse.

But what REALLY ticks me off is the fact that despite women in general making less, we have to pay far more in health insurance, because we are expected to live longer.
So women lose out twice here.

And yes, having a health insurance is mandatory. But in reality it means that we actually get to keep less of our salaries. In countries like Sweden the health insurance is a part of your tax, here you have to add that onto the tax, so it becomes super visible. In Sweden we pay the same percentage, regardless. One would have thought that those with the lesser income would have paid less "tax" or mandatory fees.

HUFF! It's bad enough that we get less pension (less salary, less pension), when mandatory cost is higher for women too, it upsets me. I want equal rights!

German

Thanks guys for not letting me get away with it anymore!  There are some friends who I will always prefer to speak English to, especially when we are one on one, and they speak perfectly good English (it's SO much slower to communicate when one is speaking in his/her first language and the next person is so much slower) but I am really happy that some of my German friends have now started to use German when we have a whole group of people, so that I actually do use the language - also in social context, not just with strangers or for official business. I still respond in English now and then and I will always speak English when there is someone else who doesn't speak German around - it is the polite thing to do unless you have, like me, actually asked them to speak German.

German isn't and will never be my mother tongue or my second language, but I do want to use it. Yes, when it is loud and I am tired and there are a lot of conversations going on I will continue to switch to English but it doesn't make sense when people switch to English when I am the only English speaking person in the group. Not considering I do function fully well in German...

There is especially one person who has been most helpful in switching me to German, and that I am very grateful for!

(Although those who know me know that I speak to a lot of people all the time so it isn't as if I haven't been using the language a lot also in the past, it's just that I have been using it with strangers and not with friends so much).

Peace and quiet - hurray

They - the electricians - came in today and replaced and programmed my new sprachanlage - the equipment for the door.

I've had two weeks of peace and quiet as no one handing out ads or coming to deliver something has been able to ring my door as they normally do - the original equipment down by the front door was replaced two weeks ago when I wasn't home. But today they came in with the new one. And! Listen to this!!! It has a mute button! Guess who will be using that! I can switch it on whenever I expect guests - and only then! Imagine that!

(My doorbell is the first one hence the one that every random person uses. Not that I am home a lot but still...)

A new view of Düsseldorf - K20

A view of Düsseldorf I haven't seen before, Grabbeplatz in Altstadt, but this time from K20.

K20 is a Düsseldorf institution, it's a big art museum for modern art. When I first moved to Düsseldorf I would pass it on a regular basis, but because I was busy planning the move then - all the furnitures etc that was supposed to come down - I didn't really have the time to go inside, except for once when I managed to get to the entrance just to pick up some reading materials.

And then when I returned, it was closed...

K20 has been closed for over 2 years but reopened on the 10:th of July. It is a big place, and I planned to go there on the opening day. I did, briefly, but I didn't have time to stay that long this first time - but that will soon change.

It's a fascinating museum, the modern art are from the 20:th century, and there is a mix of interesting artists; Mark Rothko, Julian Schnabel (who, by the way, was recently shown at another museum here in Düssedorf, NRW Forum, where he had a small but very interesting exhibition of his enormous (for that kind of picture) polaroids), Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Kandinsky (somewhat of a favourite with me), Miro, Chagall, and many many more. All of them being amazing artist, artists I have seen at other museums, among them in Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York City - and we have some of them here! In little Düsseldorf!

The interiors is with a visit just for the sheer beauty - even if you don't know about modern art and even if you don't appreciate it, you can still enjoy the beautiful building.
I was mesmerised by what I saw, stairs leading into different directions, onto different levels, and the fabulous light, that is coming through via different windows and lamps, letting the light hit the painting in different ways, allowing another type of experience. The museum has done an amazing job with the new design, some of the bigger rooms have been made more visitor friendly in that you can now sit down and study your favourite painting, and you also have a feeling that strolling around, from room to room, is perfectly OK. It is a relaxed atmosphere in the museum.

I will absolutely return - and not just once!

This museum certainly has potential!

A postcard arrived

A postcard arrived, stamped in Paris.

You know that the German post - Deutsche Post - is good when it manages to reach you, if delayed, when there is no city mentioned on the card. 

It is a lovely card, and it tells a lovely little story about a Paris visit, and it makes me want to go back, again, soon. I don't know how many times I have been to Paris but what I do know is that I never grow tired of it, the city is high up on my list of fascinating and interesting cities, even if London and New York is even closer to my heart. 

What does scare me slightly about the post card however is that I don't recognise the hand writing. It is from three people who are very very close to me, and I should recognise the writing, but I don't, I really don't. I can see who wrote the address (it was just the city and the zip code/post number that was missing, the rest is there), but I can't recognise the writing. I suspect I know who wrote it but I can't be sure.

Frankreich Fest in Düsseldorf

In this wonderful city, Düsseldorf, there is always something going on, especially during the summer, and Altstadt is often the place to be, for these events. The past weekend, July 9-11, it was a French festival, Frankreich Fest, for the 10:th time, and close to the French national day, which is July 14. That was only one of all the things going on but it was the event in Düsseldorf that I really attended, so it's the only one I can really write about. Except for football that is, but that's not for here and now.

I had a kind of busy Saturday, with errands to run (shops in Germany are not open Sundays so shopping must happen Saturday if not during the week), but when I came back I got a call from friends suggesting I'd meet them in town in the late afternoon. I gave them a pre warning that I would want to go and watch the football, and then I headed out.
The Frankreich Fest was magnificent, the whole area along Rhine (Rhein), in Altstadt, was full of little shops and stands offering French merchandise; Cheese (lovely, especially since Germany isn't exactly a cheese nation, even though Le Fromagerie opposite Bilker Kirche offers the best cheese in Düsseldorf, at least when it comes to French and Italian cheese), salamis (try walnut salami if you haven't already!), wines, jams, pates, olives and so forth, but also other French made products, also things you can't eat or drink.

Part from the wonderful food and other products there were also a little car competition of some sort. Not a race, but antique cars that were shown off. In many cases the people in the cars were also dressed to match the cars. The coolest one of the ones I saw (OK, cool is not the word I would normally use, but I have been hanging out with someone who uses it a lot so it has sort of gotten stuck in my head - just ignore me... It's funny enough more used in German with friends, not so much in English...) was a little car, which was equipped as a bread car, something the bakery would use to transport bread... Beautiful and fun to watch!

There were also plenty of other events, music performances and so forth, but I didn't see all that much of the festival, to be honest - but I certainly tasted it. We strolled for a bit but then we did the French thing: we got snacks (plenty of cheese, yes, among them an excellent Comté (although a little soft in taste), and a cheese that tasted a lot like a stilton but was a bit more of a green cheese rather than a blue - it wasn't Roquefort but not completely different either. Later on we also had an interesting cheese with chili, something that gave the cheese a really good "kick"), bought a bottle of wine, got some glasses and some cutlery, and just say down and enjoyed the moment. Lovely!!!

Next year I will set aside some more time. French Festival when it is 34-385 degrees works extremely well! 

Spain

I don't think there is much point in trying to reach the colleagues in Spain today...

Congratulations Spain. It was a rough game, the World Championchip finals - from both sides - but in the end Spain came out as winners. Netherlands had the most yellow cards but personally I think Spain got off easier because they were much smaller (read shorter) than their Dutch counterparts - all played rough. Can understand that the nerves were on the outside though, it is  not so strange. But regardless, what counts in the end is who scored.

And yes, I was cheering for NL, as I have a bit of a connection to NL through friends, and they are our neighbours, but I have plenty of Spanish friends too, and regardless:

The first European gold while playing on another continent (according to what I heard on German TV), and what also really impressed me:

European teams took the whole top three:

Spain

Netherlands

Germany

Now THAT is pretty amazing!

Music - can you chose it?

I can't really say anything about this, not in Swedish, not in English. I don't know what kind of title to give it, I can't translate it - I can't even say it in Swedish... So I am not going to try to, but I still want to play the song, which touches me deeply, not just for the lyrics, but for the music and the voice.

I used to listen to Imperiet and to Thåström (Joakim Thåström, a Swedish singer, who was the leader of the band Imperiet and even earlier Ebba Grön, Swedish punk, and a music poet) a lot, once upon a time, I never was much for the latest music but always picked up things that were a little bit outdated - I still do, as long as it is often on the radio I am not overly excited. Thåström was raw, unfinished, which was something that appealed to me, it still does, even though I certainly have broadened my taste in music over the years, I love Jazz and Opera and other sometimes very demanding music styles as well, nowadays. Fact is that I more or less had forgotten about Thåström until I started to rediscover the music, or the music rediscovered me, actually. I would find myself all of a sudden humming a song, a song I hadn't heard in a long time, or even singing loud - especially on my way home, on my bike (I have this strange feeling that no one can hear me sing when I am on my bike, so I sing. I sing loud now and then...)

Anyhow, I started to get old Thåström songs in my head so I started to look at the web and see what I could find about his music production, and I found a lot that I really liked. Thåström is to me more than a musician, he is a poet, with a twist to his lyrics that it irresistible to me, I can identify with many of his songs, or I can recognise people around me in his music, it's a fascinating skill he has. At the moment I am obsessing and listening to Thåström again and again and again and again - thanks to iTunes I have bought back records that I used to have but were lost.

This is the song "Kort biografi med litet testamente" - Short biography with a my wil. I really think this music chose me, I didn't chose it...

I don't really like to post a video from a TV-program (this is from Skavlan, a Swedish TV program with a norwegian host), but the video of the song doesn't seem to be available, so this will have to do.

Provocation

There is something provocative with an empty canvas, it is hard to resist, despite the weather being amazing and there being a lot of fun going on in this wonderful city of mine...

Whine

 I was having a glass of wine with someone on Saturday. I had the intention to go to a party after the football (which, in case I forgot to mention it, we won 4-0 against Argentina - well done Germany!), but in the end I didn't have the energy, so I took a nap and then I went for a glass of whine. Because you know, that's what it actually was. Not wine, whine.

One thing I always insisted on is that to a large extent you are responsible for your own happiness. It's not always easy, I know that, but a positive attitude towards life WILL make things easier, and trying to smile a bit more often will too. I try, and I believe I am generally perceived as a positive person, at least in most situations (although don't ask me to play the Swedish game "Fia med knuff", at least not lf you want to remain friends, that game truly brings out the worst in me, which is why I haven't played it since my early teens - it's the one game I have to stay away from).

So, anyhow, wining about how things are boring, how nothing fun is happening, how old you are getting (said by someone considerably younger than me (but that is only known to me), thanks for that - I certainly don't feel or look old and I don't plan to be either. I am as young as I feel. Which sometimes means only 12, by the way...), is hardly going to get you anywhere, is it? I must say that I am far less patient with whining nowadays, there is simply too much fun going on for me to have time to spend - or energy for that matter - on listening to people that just complain. I don't mind some - I'm Swedish for god' sake, we are good at it, and I live in Germany and they are even better, but ONLY? Sorry, but either you must have a really good reason or you have to throw in some positive things in there too. Then I can listen. But don't complain about your life if you aren't going to do something about it. Or at least try.

Life is too short to be miserable, really.

Totally confused

If you get messages from me that doesn't make sense: Don't worry about it. I was probably meaning to send it to someone else... At least that was what happened yesterday. Good thing it wasn't anything embarrassing... ;-)
I am thinking about one thing, doing something else. I blame the weather. Or something strange in the water... You know, I drink tap water, something most Germans wouldn't even dream about...

(Yes, I still have the water discussions with waiters in Germany ever so often...)

No, but seriously, not sure why I am so up in the blue but the fact that there is so much going on in this lovely city all the time might be one of the reasons, I heard someone say that sleep is a good thing? Oh well, I will worry about that some other time...  And in the meantime, don't worry if I seem confused.  I probably am... ;-) But I can assure you, it will pass.

Hihihi

It's very good that have my own flat. I woke up this morning from the sound of my own laughter. It was something I dreamt, and I can't remember what, but it was hilarious. And I was laughing loud.

This will be great day!

I just can't get them to email me...

Last time it was the bank. Or if that was the time before...? Anyhow... I speak German. But I don't speak German fluently, and when I have to discuss technical or financial matters that I normally don't talk about (it is different if it is work related, even if I mainly work in English - company language - I can do it in German too (but don't tell anyone, a whole day of German and I am so tired in the evening...). But when it comes to things where I don't really understand the context, or at least not to 100%, I find it very helpful if I can get the information in written first, I don't like to dive straight into the discussion without having some understanding.

It may have to do with me, I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to my personal finances, I admit that. Well, I like to be in control when it comes to many things, but that's besides the point when it comes to this one. When it comes to my personal finances I like to know what's going on.

Here in Germany there are so many rules - Germany is the Weltmeister - world champions - when it comes to bureaucracy, and rules. They claim that the majority of books having to do with taxes in the world are in German... Anyhow. You may remember from previous postings the trouble I had with the bank getting them to email me, they would just insist on calling. Drove me up the wall...

And now I have discovered that it's not only the banks having these kind of interesting deals. I have just been in contact with another company, not going to go into details around what, but they are going to help me look into something special. And the story repeats itself! I ask for information via a web form, you can fill in the preferred time for feedback, and I wrote in the form that I preferred an email. AND OF COURSE  they call me. Not even when I ask for the general information in written do I get it. I try to explain that I want to have some basic information so I have a chance to read through it before discussing over the phone, but no. This guy switches to English. Except that doesn't really help, the problem is not really the language but more the cultural and legal context, that's why I want to read before having to answer questions.

But no, he doesn't give up. I do the discussion in English after all, and then I write down key words. I'll just have to use one of the online resourses, I guess.
Funny enough the guys says before we hang up: "See, it is much better over telephone than over email". I tell him that I disagree. I always find it a bit shady when I can't get written information from banks, insurance companies and so forth, it is like they are hiding something. Same thing with gyms that don't have a price list, it is against my principles to use something where I can't do a fair comparing.

I guess we just have to agree what we just don't agree... And I guess that is OK, if cumbersome. Thankfully there IS Google... And other online resouces where I can get at least a basic understanding so I understand the concept before I try to get into details...

Blogger issues

Posted a comment that is not displayed? Sorry, there is a problem with blogger at the moment. I am getting a "bX-o3qgph" error - a "BX-error" - and I can't solve it myself. So it isn't that I don't listen to what you say, promise.
I hope it is fixed soon, and you can always try inbetween if you want to.

UPDATE: Now it works again. It seems.

Happy Birthday USA

Friends and family in US, or from US: Happy 4:th of July!

Yes, I have celebrated it too: With BBQ, dear friends and beautiful sun. Soon the day is over, and a new week begins.

DEUTSCHLAND!!!!

DEUTSCHLAND!!! Tyskland!!!!
What a GAME! We managed to beat Argentina but not just with one goal but with 4!!! Argentina 0, Germany 4 - and I am highly engaged, now also with a Germany T-shirt.
This is football at it's best, engaged players that really try, and also succeed.


And Düsseldorf is going mad!

Heavy water

Someone complains about how heavy water is to carry, but right now, because it is so warm, she needs to drink a lot of water. She is thinking about taking the car to work so she can bring a whole box of water bottles.

I can't help but smile, and say "or we have tap water".

She looks back at me as if the thought never occurred to her - and it possibly didn't, often it seems as if we immigrants are the only ones who drink the (by the way excellent) tap water. And then she smiles back at me and says "yes, maybe I should just finish my water and refill it from the tap".

That's the spirit!

But watching the people around me, she is clearly not alone, many many carries very heavy boxes of water across town...
(mailblogged)

London My Town

London, my town. A friend played this for me a few months ago - and it fits me. London is my town, indeed. There is no city like London to me, and she is like a drug to me - I can't get her out of my blood, and as soon as I am back I feel at home, feel the familiar smells, the familiar sounds. And yet I never lived in London, I only visited, but many times. The fact that London was the first city outside of Scandinavia that I went to without any grown ups accompanying us obviously also played a role.

I love going to New York, I adored Atlanta when I was there, I quite fancied Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur is magical - but there is nowhere like London.

I have a new love though, Düsseldorf, but Düsseldorf and London are not the same, it is like comparing a Belgian and a German beer, it is like comparing a starter with a dessert - it is just not doable, because they are so different, and play in different categories. London and Düsseldorf are like that - you can't compare them. And London is like the love from your youth, the one you keep thinking about, but he/she doesn't really know you. Düsseldorf is the love that loves you back, if you are just prepared to make an effort.

(The band playing live on this video is Fine Art Showcase, by the way - actually a Swedish band... But I hadn't heard about them before I came down to Düsseldorf.)

If you are running Apple mobile device

OK, I know, I go on and on and on about privacy etc.
But here is an important one!

How to opt out of Apple iPhone/iPad/iTouch personalised advertising.  Yes - the whole sentence is a link. Click and read. Really.

In two weeks time

In two weeks time I will have gorgeous legs. Just saying. The stairs outside my office are being repaired and getting to the office now is an adventure, up a hill (it IS Wuppertal after all), down the stairs in another building, through corridors, down to the basement, through the basement, into my building, and up the stairs. A lot of stair climbing and hill defeating so I will soon look absolutely gorgeous. And maybe be able to fit into my favourite dress again ;-) (In the meantime I have gotten new favourites).

Kaviar in Sweden is not the same as in Russia

In Russia, in Iran and in other countries around the Caspian sea, they have what we in Sweden call Russian caviar, or Beluga caviar. It's at the moment banned in many places by the way, for fear of the beluga, the fish the caviar comes from, is on the verge of extinction. But that was not what this post was supposed to be about.

Anyhow, there is the beluga caviar, and there is caviar from a lot of other fish, it's the fish eggs that in many cases are a delicacy.

And then there is the Swedish "Kaviar" (caviar). Kalles is probably the most well known, but there are others, like this one, "Isbjörnens" - the polar bear's. If you are offered this when you are in Sweden, try it, but yes, you have to be prepared. This doesn't have anything to do with the beluga, these are hardly related... Yes, there are some fish eggs, mainly from cod (from the Atlantic), but that's where it stops. Sugar, salt, oil, and a bunch of other ingredients makes this a rather common bread spread, and not even a fancy one. It's also common on eggs, preferably hard boiled bur definitely boiled.

I like the Kaviar, bur I am not crazy for it - not like someone dear who used to be near, who would go tub after tub of kaviar - and fast too! But I like to have a bit now and then, and it works well when one should have stopped before the very last drink the day before too - salt and sweet and fat, that's all a body needs in those situations... Works in the summer when one is dehydrated as well, a little bit of Kaviar on a piece of bread or on an egg, and the day is saved (but be careful with it if you are going to kiss someone between eating it and brushing your teeth, it is not the most kiss friendly food - although better than onion flavoured crisps I'd say...)

I try to get some when I travel to Sweden, it keeps pretty well, and I only have it now and then, so one little package is normally plenty - nowadays, when I don't have someone else sharing my kitchen. The cheese is still priority one travelling back from Sweden, but a bit of Kaviar is also nice to have at home.

Again, it's worth trying, but go easy with it - try just a little and then go for seconds if you like it. Personally I think it is an acquired taste, and you have to get used to this strange Swedish bread spread...

(blogged via mail)