Author Archives: Björn

Back to the bay – with flowers in my hair

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My more regular readers may remember that – over the years – I have done (more or less) regular visits over to the San Francisco/ Oakland bay area, to visit Lisa, who I had met back on my first trip to Antarctica – and whom I have stayed in touch with ever since. During Covid visiting was (obviously) out of question – but as things were clearing during the year, we decided to go ahead and I got myself a ticket to the bay for a week in late September/early October.

During Covid Lisa had moved from Oakland to San Francisco – so there was loads to explore: from house and garden to the neighborhood – with steep roads and the one or other viewpoints out to the city and the bay – and businesses around (incl. a newly discovered seafood place just a few bus stops away).

In San Francisco we covered the Exploratorium after dark (i.e. in the evening and kids free with easy access to all exhibits and experiments) and the De Young Museum (incl.  the exhibition on Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs).

We also did the (meanwhile customary) trip down to wine country – heading South for Santa Clara county and the area around Hecker Pass – with stops (and tastings) at three wineries. My favorite here was (once more) Hecker Pass Winery with its Italian-style wines, family-tradition and a philosophy, giving the wines more time than in other – more commercial – wineries. Just down the road, also Sarah’s was convincing, especially the superb selection of pintos (which to me felt overpriced, especially compared to what is available in Europe).

No trip to San Francisco is complete without a trip out to the bay. We used the ferry, to make it over to Oakland and Jack London Square for another bit of wining – with the focus now on (mostly) Zinfandels at the tasting room of Rosenbloom.

Otherwise there was plenty of time, to catch up on things, enjoy the great food, San Francisco has to offer (incl. a to-die-for-cioppino), some (more) wine – and (re)meet Lisa’s family and friends. Needless to say, it’s been a great trip and time – a great THANKS to the host.

Disclaimer: there were no flowers in my hair – due to a lack of the latter.

Of Stilt Houses and Castles

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Today saw us making a trip into history.

We kicked it off with a trip to the Stone and Bronze Ages with a visit of the Stilt House Museum (Pfahlbautenmuseum).

From here (after a bit of tourist rip-off) it was on into medieval times and to Meersburg, a small city at the shores of Lake Constance.

We had a walk around town, checking out the lower and the upper town – and taking in the views on the way. We eventually stopped at a bistro at the lake front for some food and drinks – before heading back to Friedrichshafen.

After another evening with the family, I left on Tuesday morning – heading home by train – and looking back to a great, eventful weekend.

A trip across the Lake – Bregenz & the Pfaender

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Today we spent big time on Lake Constance – making our way from Friedrichshafen to Bregenz on the Austrian side of the lake, each way being a good two hours with multiple stops en-route.

After arrival in Bregenz we made it straight for the Pfänderbahn, to get up the Pfänder mountain. At 1062m above sea level – and (more important) 667m above Lake Constance views here were fabulous.

Back down in Bregenz we had a quick walk around the city center and (as by now we were both hungry and thirsty) a quick afternoon snack – before catching the ship back to Friedrichshafen.

A weekend at Lake Constance – Friedrichshafen

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My mother had one of those big birthdays this year – instead of a big celebration we had a small family reunion … with Lake Constance being my mother’s choice of destination.

My parents picked me up Friday midday and we made our way down to Friedrichshafen at the front of Lake Constance – a drive of about four hours.

My sister and nephew joined on Saturday – both days were spent, exploring town – and included a visit of the Zeppelin Museum on Saturday.

documenta fifteen

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In Five years are over once more – and it is time, to head back to Kassel for a fit of contemporary art at the biggest exhibition of its kind on the planet – documenta fifteen.

The approach for this edition was a bit different than with previous ones, with the role of artistic director being given to the Indonesian art collective Ruangrupa. Other art collectives were asked to join – who in turn added like-minded artists. The result – in my view – was a fairly one-sided system-criticizing exhibition with (at least for me) no real WOW-moment. Well – and the controversy around antisemitic elements in several pieces of art in the exhibition is just the next thing.

In any case, below a couple of impressions from the exhibition …

Back to Riga – and Good Bye

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We made it back to Riga after a long drive of about five hours. I had a nighttime walk around town after dinner (and drinks), to get in some final impressions of Riga – and final impressions of this trip.

Overall this has been a very loaded trip – with many, many things to do and see. The trip clearly showed off on the cultural heritage and history of the three countries – but (at least from my perspective) also gave insight into the lively scenes of art, food, drink and music in all three countries. I also quiet enjoyed visiting the National Parks and of course the gastronomic delights during the trip.

Coming back, I would probably do things differently – focusing on the main attractions only, much fewer churches – and more nature, more hikes and more focus on trying delicacies, local food and drinks. Exploring the craft beer scene here might be worth a trip on itself. But for now – Good Bye Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania!

Curonian Spit – final Impressions

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Today was the final full day of trip. We had the morning for some final explorations around Nida – before a midday pickup for the long drive back to Riga.

The weather had changed, today it was cloudy with occasional sprinkles of rain and colder than yesterday. I used the morning, to make my way over to the Thomas Mann culture center, check out the exterior, before continuing over to the Baltic Sea for some final views of the ocean for this trip. For the way back to Nida I once more picked a trail going across the Parnidis Dune.

Lagoon Night Impressions

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We had dinner in a Mexican restaurant just at the front of the lagoon. I took below photos after dinner … and now sharing those night impressions here.