Quick impressions from a short business visit to Paris – with a bit of ‘sightseeing’ on the last night …
Category Archives: _Europe_
A Sunday in Minsk
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This gallery contains 20 photos.
Today was a free day. I used that opportunity for a bit of a sleep-in. After breakfast I left the hotel and made my way through the parks along the banks of the Svislach river. The week leading into this … Continue reading
… and back to Dudutki
Today a treat was waiting for us; we were heading to Dudutki with the full team for a team event. Dudutki markets itself as a museum complex of ancient crafts and technologies – which basically summarizes it nicely.
The individual crafts are represented by the corresponding workshop – often with an actual craftsperson giving a demonstration and our guide providing the explanation. We started in the old windmill – to then cover a bakery, the workshop of a carpenter, a vodka distillery, an apiary, a farm, a pottery and a blacksmith’s shop – before making it to the museum’s restaurant, where a wide selection of Belorussian specialties was waiting for us.
Back to Minsk …
From the summer in Buenos Aires it was now on into the winter in Minsk, Belarus.
Another workshop was scheduled to happen here for two weeks following the week of my trip to Buenos Aires. This workshop in Minsk was basically the continuation of the workshop in Tokyo back in October.
Days were spent with technical discussions, while we had some good team dinners and activities in the evening. Below some photos of Minsk at night.
Saxon Wine
This weekend saw me heading out to the Elbe river between Dresden and Meißen. Wine has been cultivated in the valley here for centuries – and this weekend (following hint from a friend) there was an open winery event, with many wineries open to the public including special programs, offers and entertainment – and a (not overly well organized) shuttle bus between wineries.
This wine growing region here is one of the smallest in Germany – and given that, its output and its (relative) geographic isolation (in the far east of Germany), the region and its wines are fairly little known in the rest of the country.
So the weekend turned out a major exploration … the one side of course being the (for me completely new) landscape of the Elbe valley from the river up to the steep slopes of the surrounding hills … and then on the other side the viticultural output of that landscape.
The landscape did barely disappoint – the wines were as one would expect, when blindly going on a (massive) wine tasting … some were bad, some fairly average, some good – and the little rest simply amazing.
Below some evidence of the landscape … for the wines, better go and judge yourself – these three might be (in my view at least) good starting points: DREI HERREN, Weingut Schuh and Weingut Vincenz Richter.
documenta 14 @ Kassel
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This gallery contains 16 photos.
Amazing how five years have passed since the last documenta in 2012 … similar to back then, I made it up to Kassel with a friend to a glimpse of this year’s edition of this exhibition of contemporary art. It … Continue reading
Madrid
This week a business trip got me into Madrid. Business-wise it was a quiet intense week, however there was a bit of time to explore the area – below some impressions.
From the Pacific to the North Sea
Business did bring me to Amsterdam this week. This evening we had a team dinner, which we enjoyed straight at the beach of Zandvoort, a mere 40 minute drive from the office (and as such not much further away than Amsterdam downtown). We were just in time to catch some sunshine and get in the sunset over dinner – a real treat after a day’s work (with more to come).
I guess, there are only few better ways to finish a month, which had started with the Pacific Ocean in sight, than having a foot bath in the North Sea.
Istanbul
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We traveled from Plovdiv to Istanbul by bus – arriving there in the early morning. My flight out of Istanbul left in the afternoon, so I had about enough time for breakfast, three hours of Istanbul, a quick shower and … Continue reading
Plovdiv – Amphitheatre Performance
We were lucky enough to be in town to catch a performance of traditional Bulgarian dancing with live music in Plovdiv’s amphitheatre – a truely magical experience … seeing this millennia old theatre full of spectators with a performance on stage.
