Bangkok riots – in no mood for blogging

May 22, 2010

What a week that was! The centre of Bangkok fell victim to senseless rioting, violence and destruction where many people lost their lives. Finally order was restored and curfews imposed in the night. Today is the first day we feel some relieve. It’s over for the time being. It doesn’t feel as heavy as the last few days. Time to relax, time for a drink, no?

Phuket Lager

Phuket Lager is one of my favourite beers here in Thailand. It’s not just the label which is cool. The beer has a lovely hops taste, is no heavy and makes a very refreshing drink on a hot Saturday (or any other day I guess). When next time in Thailand, try it our.

Leave a Comment » | general | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

A memorable visit to Andechs, Upper Bavaria

July 22, 2009

Andechs1

Fields near the monastery of Andechs, Upper Bavaria

Although right now I am sitting on our family vineyard in Glenburn, Victoria, I have to post this little story and my impressions from a visit to the monastery of Andechs, Ammersee in Upper Bavaria. Maria and Christian took me there on a Sunday in early July. We drove up from Fischen. It was my very first visit to this famous place of worship and beer brewing. I will disappoint the wine freaks among you again but Andechs is not known for its wine but its beer.

Andechs2

Gate with beer mugs on the way from the car park to the monastery

When you walk up to the monastery church from the car park, you pass the above gate, with one litre beer mugs above your head. “Look up folks”, it says, this is what you are aspiring to: litres and litres of Germany’s finest beers.

Andechs4

The church

The church is, as many churches in Bavaria, built in Baroque style. I found it very pretty.

Andechs3

The inside of the church

Andechs6

Carl Orff is buried here

Who does not know the “Carmina Burana” and the famous composer, Carl Orff who was a native of Diessen, Ammersee just a couple of kilometres from here. He is buried in Andechs. I liked the inscription of the stone: Summus finis, which freely translates as “everything ends”.

Andeachs5

Music festivals honouring Carl Orff are looming

Maria and Christian were to attend the music festival that very evening, while I had to catch my plane back to Bangkok. I would have loved to join them and give Bangkok a miss, but…

Andechs7

Droves of people came to enjoy lunch at Andechs

The monasteries “Gastwirtschaft”, Bavarian country inn style was full of people. We had, of course, lunch there. Christian and I, we shared a pork knuckle (they are just too big). A litre of dark brown beer was just the right drink to wash it down.

Andechs8

Pork knuckle divided into two

I just love to eat pork knuckle. It was delicious. What a great visit that was. I am so grateful to my friends for taking me to Andechs.

Andechs9

A Bavarian litre mug

Andechs is a great place. If you are travelling in Bavaria this summer, please budget some time for a visit. it is definitely worth it.

1 Comment | culture | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

Up Country – Travelling in Thailand

March 5, 2009

mae-ping-river

The Mae Ping river on “its way to Bangkok”

Coming back from a wedding in the North of Thailand, we stopped at the river Mae Ping. Mr. Chai’s restaurant with a large terrace just at the riverside was an ideal place to have a lavish Thai lunch.

mae-ping-river0

Mr. Chai’s lovely place

We were ravenous, and before I could take pictures of the various Thai dishes they were gone. Needless to say, that the food was super delicious. I just love Thai food.

mae-ping-river1

After the battle

The drink of choice at a hot day was beer (they did not have wine anyway). The Change draft was ideal to quench our thirst.

mae-ping-river2

Chang draft beer

PS: I cannot provide you with the address of the place. Sorry folks. After 6 hours in the car, we were just interested in some rest and lots of good food.

1 Comment | culture | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

Back home again

June 6, 2008

Having lunch at Lutter und Wegner im Künstlerhaus, Munich

You might have sensed it. I was away for more than two weeks. Work took me to Germany and I had no time for blogging, only work, work, work. But fortunately, there were some occasions to taste good wines and enjoy some marvelous German food. More about this later.

In May the weather in Germany was much better than in March or April during my previous visits. The temperatures were very pleasant. The sky was always blue, everything was green, nature at its best.

The trip took me from Frankfurt to Bonn, Berlin, and Munich. For the first time I went by train from Berlin to Munich and from there back to Frankfurt Airport.

It was a lovely ride, the fields were green, acacia trees, linden trees and chestnuts in full bloom, farmers cutting grass to make hay, young barley, wheat and rye growing nicely, canola (rape seed) already advanced just after blooming, young maize plants just 10 cm high. Only here and there one could spot some cattle in lush paddocks. The German landscape seemed almost void of people although the country is much denser populated than Australia.

The six hours on the train were very enjoyable. I spotted the last vineyards in the Saale valley. When crossing the Hallertau, a couple of hours north of Munich, I saw huge trellis systems for the cultivation of hops for beer production. The next vineyards I should see were near Stuttgart when the train moved on to Mannheim and finally Frankfurt.

No I am back in steamy tropical Jakarta and we are getting ready to move to Thailand at the end of August. By then it’s 10 years that we lived in Indonesia, a decade of my life. Time passes. I am afraid that the next months will not allow me to write much since so many organizational tasks await me here. Bare with me.

Leave a Comment » | general | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

German Food

March 16, 2008

While in Germany, I had the opportunity not only to sample some excellent wines but I indulged also in some other delicacies.

In the “Gummersbach Beerhouse” (Brauhaus Gummersbach) for instance I could not resist the temptation to order a knuckle of pork. Harald, one of the interpreters at the seminar, took the photo with his mobile phone (thanks Harald). Needless to say, it was delicious but a lot of meet for a not so enthusiastic meet eater like me.

knuckle4.jpg

The pork knuckle at Brauhaus Gummersbach

The other German specialty I indulged in was ‘Wheat beer’ (Weizenbier), hard to beat if freshly poured from the bottle.

weizenbier.jpg

Leave a Comment » | food | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

Next Entries »