Category Archives: Beer

The Time Machine

During this semi-isolation we live in now I’ve managed to get to some long forgotten projects. A quarter of a century ago, in 1995, we went to Sherborne, England for our first Home Exchange. We were still in an analog universe without digital cameras, cellular phones, social media and the high speed Internet we know today. So our negatives and journals, after a cursory perusal, went the way of all vacation memories at the time, deep in a drawer. We have decided to rediscover what we did and how we felt about it. Come along.

1995

Wendi has been organizing our very first European Home Exchange for over a year at this point. We fly out on March 23rd for a 5 1/2 week trip to England. We’ll be spending our first 3 1/2 weeks in Sherborne, Dorset at the home of the Rouses, two teachers at the Sherborne Boys School, one of a few exclusive institutions that molds entitled little rich kids into the leaders of tomorrow. Then we’ll be off to London for two weeks in a small studio flat in Covent Gardens.

This is a real act of faith for us. Leaving our home and business for almost a month and a half feels very risky. Our clients are a bit shocked and not particularly happy, as most are corporate types that get two weeks off at the very most. We’re not sure if there will be business when we return. Time will tell.

At this point I should tell you a little about the exchange. We have discovered that our exchangers, Tony and Jan Rouse, share the same last name but are, in fact, not married or even together. They are just good friends. When we were picked up at Heathrow it was explained to us that we could stay at either Jan or Tony’s house, but that Tony’s house, the Firs, was larger and directly across the road from Sir Walter Raleigh’s Castle. Wow, a house with a name, next to a castle, that’s the one for us. It was only after we were dropped off that the fatal flaws in our decision became apparent. Tony lives all alone, he’s a bachelor and all that entails, beginning with a very unfortunate kitchen and two bathrooms in crisis. As for the view of the castle, actually it’s about as charming as a huge crumbling pile of rubble can be.

I’ll feel better after a quick shower, but wait I can’t open my luggage. The name tag says Capt. Thompson. Who the hell is Capt. Thompson? I call British Airways, “Hello Mr. Peterson, we’ve been expecting your call. You apparently have Capt. Thompson’s bag. He’s on his way to Nairobi now, so we’re going to send a driver by your place to pick up the Captain’s bag and bring it here. We’ll try and get your bag out to you in a couple days. OK?” I pause as my jet lagged brain tries to think this through. “Mr. Peterson, you still there?” “Yes, but I’m afraid your plan won’t work for me. What I will do is exchange bags with you. Bring me my bag and you get the Captain’s bag.” After three solid minutes of dead air time she finally agreed. The driver arrives just after midnight, topping off the longest day of my life.

Sherborne Abbey

Christians have worshipped where the Abbey stands for over 1300 years. When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1539 his good buddy, Sir John Horsey, acquired Sherborne Abbey with plans to demolish it. The townspeople, only about 2000 strong, rallied together and heroically managed to raise what would be over $445,000 today to save the church.

Our new friends have organized a little tour of the Abbey. Their friend is the cathedral organist and has promised to show us around.The organist was so kind and hospitable. To the surprise and delight of people visiting the cathedral, he even belted out a little ditty for everyone’s enjoyment. He then took us up the secret stairway to the roof for a view of the town.

After the tour we headed over to the Digby Tab for a few Imperial pints of Strong Bitter. The organist arrived after a couple rounds. I stood up and announced to the assembled crowd that he has the largest and most beautiful organ I have ever seen. I’m certain that they are still teasing him and laughing about the dumb American.

Don, Edith, Cyril and the Organist at Sherborne Abbey

Stonehenge

When you could still walk up and touch these magical stones.

Beer

A quaint little Cornish village perched on hillside overlooking the English Channel. We decided to stay here simply because it’s named Beer. Seemed like a no-brainer.

We stayed at the Colebrooke House. At breakfast we tried to chat with the owner and asked if he had grown up in Beer and what he did for a living before starting a B&B. He immediately dressed us down for being far too farmilar and explained that the English would never take such liberties with a stranger. As soon as he left the room the ladies at the next table came over, introduced themselves and told us the landlord was full of bullocks and just being an old grump.

Tintagel Castle

A medieval fortification located on the island of Tintagel, the castle was built by Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall in the 13th century.

It has been a tourist destination since the 1930s when visitors began coming to see the ruins of Richard’s castle. Tintagel Castle has long been associated with the legends of King Arthur.

Geoffrey of Monmouth created the Arthurian myths that are still popular today. In the 12th century he described Tintagel as the place of Arthur’s conception in his mythological account of British history. Geoffrey wrote that Arthur’s father, King Uther, was disguised by Merlin’s sorcery to look like the Duke of Cornwall, so he could sneak into the Duke’s bedroom and have his way with Igraine, Arthur’s mother. A sort of 12th century date rape.

Trevigue, Crackington Haven, Cornwall

We drove to Trevigue down a very narrow country lane after dark. The fog was so thick that we didn’t realize that just 15′ to our left was a 100′ cliff above the Irish Sea. Mentioned in the Domesday Book, Trevigue has been a farm since before the Norman Conquest.

Further North

Warwick castle

London

It’s Easter Sunday and we’re on the train to London for our last two weeks. We’ve rented a very small apartment in Covent Gardens from Mr. Almaz. Apparently it’s his son’s place and the old man puts him out whenever he can get a renter. It’s teeny but clean and the son has tons of movies. We haven’t turned on a TV in over a month.

The Imperial War Museum

Much to my surprise, this place is great. World War II is clearly England’s defining moment and this extraordinary museum gives you a real feel for the devastation and aftermath of the conflict. We even took a simulated bombing run over Berlin.

The Tower of London

It’s not really a tower, it’s a walled fortification that encloses a jail, an armory, a jewel house, chapel, royal houses and apartments. The Beefeater that served as our tour guide told us that in centuries past it was a very unpleasant place that the Royals would only come to when there was a threat of attack. The sewer system in particular was suspect. It was designed with the thought that the tidal river would wash the waste out to sea twice a day. Apparently it never worked and left the whole place smelling like an open septic tank. A lot is made of the famous beheadings that took place on the Tower Green, but apparently most executions took place outside the complex on Tower Hill so the bloodthirsty public could attend. Executions inside the complex were more solemn affairs not meant for immediate public consumption.

The Queen’s Apartments, The Tower of London

The condemned entered the Tower through this passage.

Anne Boleyn and countless others spent their final days in this very room.

Touring With Her Majesty

An Imperial Pint at the King’s Arms, London

“The Hellhole of the Pacific”

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Lonesome Town *“where the streets are filled with regret”*

Anyone passing through Aberdeen, Washington might suspect that it’s seen better days. More prosperous, sure, but better, maybe not. Founded in 1884, Aberdeen lagged behind its neighbors Hoquiam and Cosmopolis until 1895 when a Northern Pacific spur line was added, but connectivity to commerce never seemed to shake Aberdeen’s boomtown mindset. By 1900 it had been nicknamed “the Hellhole of the Pacific” for its countless salons, whorehouses and gambling joints. But things may be picking up a little.

Artist’s Avenue

Sure it’s a little sketchy looking, maybe not a place you want hang around all day but, despite appearances, it’s clear that a few people around here are having some fun.

A Diamond In The Rough – Steam Donkey Brewing Company

2nd Anniversary, Great Beer, Laid Back. Give Them A Try

Some Nice People

Despite a sordid past, quite a few famous people have hailed from this lugubrious lumber town. Aberdeen’s most famous son seems to be Nirvana founder and frontman Kurt Cobain. The town also spawned world famous photographer Lee Friedlander, Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers, Physics Nobel Prize winner Douglas Osheroff, “Gentle Ben” author Walt Morey, world class painter Robert Motherwell, professional wrestler Yukon Eric and serial killer Billy Gohl.

Billy “Ghoul” Gohl

By the early 1900’s Aberdeen was also dubbed “the Port of Missing Men” for it’s extremely high murder rate. Billy Gohl arrived from the Yukon already an accomplished criminal. He became a low level Union Official and bartender at the Sailor’s Union Hall where he began to prey on sailors passing through town. He would separate them from their valuables, murder them and drop the bodies down a chute below a trapdoor in the floor that led to the river where the corpses would drift out to sea. Although Billy “Ghoul” Gohl was only convicted of two murders, he was believed to be responsible for over 140 homicides.

Billy’s ghost is said to still haunt the bar.

Berlin – A Case of Creeping Sameness

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Berlin – Great, In Spite of Itself

I don’t know how many of you remember Ian Shoales. He would do commentary and social observations in the 80’s and was my favorite segment on NPR’s All Things Considered. In one show he talked about the real intent and purpose of McDonalds. He suggested that their success and proliferation throughout America, and ultimately the world, is really about sameness and predictability. By offering the exact same Big Mac with Cheese in Columbus, Ohio as in Seattle, Washington you relieve the consumer/traveler of the anxiety of making a bad choice and you fill them with warmth and comfort. It doesn’t matter that it’s not the best burger, the important thing is the sameness. You combine this with, at least in the 80’s, the virtually identical pimple faced and polite teenager at the drive-thru window and all your fears and reservations are dispelled.

Our Hotel

Now fast forward to 2018 and the Global Village. We find that every major city we visit is striving for exactly the same thing. Wendi and I walked down the Kurfürstendamm in Berlin 26 years ago and stopped in beer halls, ate bratwurst and schnitzel while listening to Oom-pah bands blasting out German tunes to the delight of everyone. Now after spending three very hot days here we find it is more international then national. We went in search of the aforementioned schnitzel, bratwurst and beer halls but were confronted with pizza, pasta, falafel, curry, tacos and HipHop, anything that makes the visitor feel more at home and less here. With the exception of street signs almost everything German has been pushed aside and replaced with samples of cuisine and culture from other places. Even the new architecture would be at home in any major city in the world as more traditional buildings peek through the giant skyscrapers.

That’s Wendi’s hat.

Who know? Perhaps I’ve got it all wrong and that for decades Germans have been saying, “Hey, I gotta get me some of that fast food.”

Art’s The Thing

Man doesn’t live by sausage and beer alone. Does he? Anyway, art is really the thing that rings our bell and the art here is great, especially the German art.

We managed to make our way to four museums that were all terrific.

CO/Berlin

First up was the CO/Berlin, a contemporary photo museum that is showing an amazingly curated show of Polaroid images , most by the great German film director Wim Wender. He took the photos while traveling during the 70s and uses them to help illustrate the social significance this technology has had and how digital imagery is a direct offshoot of it. The Grandfather of the Selfie.

The Camera

Stock Image

Edwin Land attended Harvard University but did not finish his studies or receive a degree. His wife told his biographer that she would prod him for answers to homework problems, write up the work and turn it in so that he could receive credit for the course.

At work he would conceive of an idea, experiment and brainstorm, taking no breaks, until it was solved. Food was brought to him and he had to be reminded to eat. He was rumored to have worn the same clothes for eighteen consecutive days while working on a diffcult problem. As the company grew, Land had teams of assistants working in shifts at his side. As one group grew tired, the next was brought in to continue.

Polaroid originally manufactured sixty units of the First Land Camera. Fifty-seven went on sale at the Jordan Marsh department store in Boston for the 1948 Christmas holiday. Polaroid marketers imagined they would have time enough to manufacture a second run before the first batch ran out but all fifty-seven cameras were sold on the very first day.

I was lucky enough to hear Edwin Land speak during an Icons of Photography series at MIT in Cambridge in the early 70s and he was quick to point out that he thought the initial attraction of the instant camera was so people could make “personal” pictures at home without having to take the film to a lab for development and “scrutiny”.

The Alte Nationalgalerie

Next up was the Alte Nationalgalerie, situated on Museum Island, a UNESCO-designated World Heritage site. This national gallery has an amazing permanent collection that includes a few of all the greats.

Wanderlust

The current exhibition, “Wanderlust”, follows art from 1800 through the early 1900s which illustrated Europeans new found love of the self-determined journey on foot that came to represent a new, intensified encounter with nature in particular and life in general. These wanderings represented a significant development of world knowledge for artists and writers who were trekking through the Alps and all over France, Germany, Norway, Great Britain, Denmark and Russia. Every painting in the show depicts a wanderer in the wilderness.

Loving to travel like we do, this show had a particular connection for us.

This famous painting “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” by Caspar David Friedrich was the center piece and inspiration for the show. It has come to represent a metaphor for life, as we stand and look out across the great unknown.

“Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” – Caspar David Friedrich 1818

At a time when women were all trussed up, this was considered one of the first Feminist paintings, showing a woman wandering alone and dressed for freedom of motion.

“Bergstelgerin” – Jens Ferdinand Willumsen 1912

Gassies was inspired to paint this during his travels through England and Scotland. In this large painting he accentuates the winds ferocity with clearly visible brush strokes.

“Scottish Landscape” – Jean-Bruno Gassies 1826

Nolde paints a solitary traveler on a path that leads to an unclear destination, suggesting hardship and danger, somewhat popular themes during the Romantic period.

“Winter” – Emil Noide 1907

Most of the paintings in the show were on loan from other museums so most photography was verboten, but I did want to show a few pictures from the permanent collection that I thought were fun.

There was no nameplate on this so I have no idea who painted it. I can only hope that the model didn’t have to sit too long and got the sausages in the end.

Any of us who have spent time with children can relate to this.

“Small But Subborn” – Wilhelm Busch 1875

Before there was Disney there was Victor Müller.

“Snow White” – Victor Müller 1862

I’m thinking that Arnold Bocklin worried a bit about the passage of time.

Self-Portrait With Death Playing The Fiddle – Arnold Bocklin 1872

I love the Dutch. Leave to them to take what we think of as a solo pursuit, the women alone at her spinning wheel, and putting the whole village to work, even the kids.

“Flax Barn In Laren” – Max Liebermann 1887

For our dear friend Sabine.

“Sabine Lepsius” – Self-Portrait 1885

The Neues Museum

Right next door was the Neues Museum. We’re here for the “Margiana. A Bronze Age Kingdom in Turkmenistan” show and their collection of Egyptian artifacts.

I’m going to forego the broken pottery and jump right to the show stopper, the mysterious “Berlin Golden Hat”. This is the only fully preserved specimen of the four known conical Golden Hats from the late European Bronze Age, 1,000 to 800 BC. It is generally assumed that the hats were worn by priests of the Sun Cult that appears to have been widespread in Central Europe at the time. A detailed study of the Berlin example showed that the symbols represent a lunisolar calendar and would have aided the wearer/priest in predicting the dates and periods of both lunar and solar events.

The Berlin Golden Hat

The Museum für Fotografie

We finished our quick visit with an afternoon at the Museum für Fotografie. This museum is a joint collaboration between the Kunstbibliothek and the Helmut Newton Foundation and exhibits a huge array of contemporary photography that challenges our notions about what constitutes fine art photography and fashion photography.

Museum für Fotografie

These 9′ Amazon Women greet you in the main foyer. It’s funny to think that in the early 80s Helmut Newton shocked the fashion and photography world when he first exhibited them. Now they seem almost quaint, just good clean naked fun.

In the Aftermath of WWII

There’s no denying that, in regards to the horror of WWII, Berlin was the heart of the beast. Germany has recognized that to be a world leader they would have to expose Nazism for what it was and help educate the world about the events that help create the huge tragedy it represents. All of this is done with the hope that in knowledge is the power to stop this from ever happening again.

The Topography of Terror

The Topography of Terror

The Topography of Terror is a documentation center that is visited by 1.5 million people a year and is one of the most frequently visited places of remembrance in Berlin. This is a fascinating site that gives a step by step historical account of exactly how the Nazi party came to seize power and convince an entire population to believe their lies and propaganda.

The Topography of Terror

Let’s not forget the Commies

Check Point Charlie

The Wall

The 17 June Memorial

This huge mural was created by the artist Wolfgang Rüppel and commemorates a worker upraising on June, 17, 1953. It’s original working title was, “The importance of peace for the cultural development of humanity and the necessity of struggle to achieve this goal.” Leave it to the Commies to overcomplicate things.

The 17 June Memorial

The Holocaust Memorial

The Holocaust Memorial

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, or Holocaust Memorial, is a memorial to all the Jewish victims of WWII. It was designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold. According to Eisenman’s project text, the stones are meant to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason. Many visitors and Berliners have also interpreted the contrast between the grey flat stones and the blue sky as a recognition of the “dismal times” of the Holocaust. Needless to say there has been much controversy surrounding the site since it was first constructed in 2003. Regardless, over 1,000 people visit each day and it is truly sobering.

The Holocaust Memorial

On A Cheerier Note

We did manage to find schnitzel at the Duke restaurant in the Ellington Hotel. The food, beer and service were all great.

So what was I on about?

99 Bottles of Beer On The Wall

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The Beer Man

People come to Europe on extended vacations for all sorts of reasons. I read in Conte Nast about a man that spent months on the continent searching for the perfect Sachertorte. Another fellow spent his entire summer holiday seeking out every topless beach in Europe. Noble as these quests may have been, they didn’t inspire me. I came thirsty for a premium beverage. Alas, I never found the perfect beer. Try as I may, once I thought I had finally discovered the Holy Grail of Hops, that beer would be followed by one that was equally as good and most often even better. You can only imagine the pain and disappointment. Undeterred, I trudged on for hundreds of kilometers and four countries. I have tried beer on mountain tops where it was as cold as a well diggers posterior and at beachfront cabanas were it was as hot as Hades on a sunny day and I’ve come to the inescapable conclusion that the best beer will always be the next beer.

More Useless But Interesting Facts

The Andy Kaufman Routine:

The highly repetitive and ultimately boring nature of “99 Bottles of Beer” means that only a child or a lunatic will actually finish it. Comedian Andy Kaufman exploited this fact in the routine early in his career when he would actually sing all 99 verses. Kaufman was deliberately provoking the audience. Once they realized that he actually intended to sing all of the verses, catcalls, booing, and sullen silence were common responses. Toward the end of the sketch, Kaufman would feign recognition that the audience was not enjoying the material, and he would leave the stage with only 5 or 6 “bottles” to go. At that point, the audience would begin calling for him to return to finish the verses.

“Infinite bottles of beer on the wall.”

Mathematician Donald Byrd wrote this song “Infinite bottles of beer on the wall, take one down and past it around, now there are infinite bottles of beer on the wall.” Repeat. “To Infinity & Beyond”.

I’ve got to go.

The Bavarian Shuffle

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Munich

The first stop on our swing through southern Bavaria was Munich. It’s a big place, Germany’s third largest city, with a population of around 1.5 million. Although it’s an old city, 1158, it feels very young and is presently undergoing a huge facelift with new construction and restoration everywhere. Munich may be one of the most prosperous and fastest growing cities in Germany but it’s not all business, people are having a pretty good time here.

An afternoon beer garden

Construction is everywhere.

The Lowenbrau Beer Garden

Candy Shop

The plaza was full of huge rolls of plastic straws. Art?

Ice Cream Vendor

Walking Men

The Olympiaturm was built for the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Marienplatz

The Rathaus at Marienplatz

Marienplatz is the central plaza in the old town and like most everything in central Munich it is overfowing with tourists.

Marienplatz

The Rathaus in Marienplatz

Probably the largest tourist attraction in Munich is the Glockenspiel located on the Rathaus in Marienplatz.Every day at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m in the summer mass crowds of tourists and locals fill the plaza to watch this low-tech marvel chime and re-enact two stories from the 16th century. Consisting of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures, the whole show lasts somewhere between 12 and 15 minutes. At the end of the show, a very small golden rooster at the top of the Glockenspiel chirps quietly three times, marking the end of the spectacle.

Glockenspiel

Urban Surfing

The Grandstand

Despite being many hundreds of kilometres from the nearest ocean, Munich has a reputation as a surfing hotspot, offering one of Europe’s best waves. The Bavarian capital is the birthplace of river surfing and has been the center of surfboard riding on a stationary wave since the early 70s. Up to 100 surfers daily hit the Eisbach wave in the city’s Englischer Garten. Munich has produced the best river surfers and has around 1,000 active surfers, while 10,000 people have tried it at some point. An annual surfing competition is held on the standing wave.

Urban Surfing In Munich

Hans der Kunst

Hans der Kunst

Hans der Kunst – Closed Christmas & New Years

Hans der Kunst was constructed from 1933 to 1937 as the Third Reich’s first monumental structure of Nazi architecture and as Nazi propaganda. The museum was opened on July,18 1937 as a showcase for what the Third Reich regarded as Germany’s finest art. The building’s original purpose can still be seen in such guises as the swastika-motif mosaics in the ceiling panels of its front portico.

Hans der Kunst – 1937

Opening Night

We were there to see a great exhibition called “Mise en scene” by American photographer and filmmaker Stan Douglas.

Lenbachhaus

Lensbachhaus

The Lenbachhaus is a great museum with outstanding art and a terrific cafe. It was built as a Florentine-style villa for the painter Franz von Lenbach between 1887 and 1891. The building has been remodeled, modernized and expanded many times over the years but some of the rooms of the villa still have kept their original design.

Lensbachhaus Courtyard

If money is what we use to keep score then Gerhard Richter is an MVP. He held the auction record price for a painting by a living artist at $37.1 million until last November when the Balloon Dog (Orange) by Jeff Koons sold for $58.4 million at Christie’s, and knocked Richter off his perch. The museum has 8 large scale Richter abstracts and up close, they are amazing.

Gerhard Richter 7′ x 7′

Ludwig’s Houses

Further south near the Austrian border we stopped by three of Mad King Ludwigs most popular castles.

Neuschwanstein Castle – Disney’s Inspiration

Hohenschwangau Castle

Alpsee from Hohenschwangau Village

King Lugwig of Bavaria was an enigma. Even before he died, the king was already somewhat of a legend. He once told his governess, “I want to remain an eternal mystery to myself and others”. With his palaces the king built an ideal fantasy world and refuge from reality. He conducted no matters of state and strangers were barred from his palaces during his lifetime. Called the Moon King, he stayed up all night reading alone and slept during the day. Although engaged twice, Ludwig never married or took a mistress. His hugely expensive and eccentric interpretation of his role as king was ultimately his downfall. From 1885 foreign banks threatened to seize his property. The government viewed Ludwig’s actions as irrational, had him declared insane and deposed him in 1886. The very next day both he and his psychiatrist died under mysterious circumstances at Lake Starnberg. The shy dreamer palaces have been visited by over 60 million people since his death. Due to tourist revenue over the past thirty years these properties are now firmly in the black. It seems that tales of craziness, murder, deception and an obscene amount of money will work every time.

King Ludwig II

Linderhof Palace

Schloss Linderhof

Construction was completed on Ludwig’s Schloss Linderhof in 1878. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed. We took the tour and enjoyed every minute.