When I was in Japan this past month, again I was given a lot of cultural gifts, such as kimono, kasuri fabric, hankies with sakura blossoms, etc.

As much as I appreciate these presents, it became time for me to start rearranging a few things around our home. While reorganizing my collectibles, I found this Yosegi-zaiku parquetry box. I would have just moved it aside, if I had not read an article about this special skill just a few days before.

Parquetry box from Japan

Yosegi-zaiku parquetry is a craft combining colors and grains of wood to create mosaics.

The different types of wood used are macropoda holly, zelkova, lacquer tree, or camphor tree.

The very first yosegi-zaiku is said to have been made by the artist Ishikawa Nihei of the Hakone region in Kanagawa Prefecture in the later part of the Edo period.

This traditional craft is done by Japanese with a deep understanding of the nature of wood.

The German public holiday Christi Himmelfahrt (Ascension Day) is celebrated on the 40th day after Easter Monday.

This has been a holiday since 1936, although it was not celebrated in the GDR between 1967 and 1989.

The same day is also known as Vatertag (Father’s Day) and many clubs and organizations hold their annual parties, mostly for drinking. This is a day when some fathers, do not spend any time with their families, but with other men (drinking buddies) instead.

We went to the Schützenhof again as we do every year. The fest itself seems to get smaller and so does the menu selection – they only had steaks and Bratwurst available, but it was good as always.

Bollerwagen on Father's Day in Germany

This year, we only saw guys with a Bollerwagen, a hand-drawn cart for drinking supplies. Wonder what happened to the guys coming up on tractors and wagons on Father’s Day, such as in previous years.

Austerity measures?

Not only do we have some pretty good restaurants around here, but some also serve its food in an interesting way.

One is the Internationaler Verein Windrose (a non-profit organization), with their clubhouse serving excellent Portuguese food in Oberursel, specializing in beef and seafood dishes.

We had ordered the beef steak skewer, one with scampi and one without. Our guest looked surprised – I believe I had the same look on my face when I had been served the dish for the first time.

Beef dishes at a Portuguese Restaurant, Oberursel

Due to some planned demonstrations, the RMV is closing the S-bahn “Taunusanlage” and the U-bahn “Willy-Brandt-Platz” stations from 1pm tomorrow to 4am Sunday.

The tram lines 11 and 12 will not run past the Hbf and bus 64 will have its route curtailed.
More info here:

http://www.rmv.de/de/Verschiedenes/Informationen_zum_RMV/Der_RMV/RMV_aktuell/61048/Frankfurt_Grossdemonstration.html

Updated: 16 May

More information in English on: AllThingsGerman

From today’s issue (15 May 2012) of the Global Edition of the New York Times:

Yesterday, Korean Air stated that passengers could book tickets now through its Facebook fan page. In addition, starting May 31, the airline counts baggage by piece, instead of by weight, which would allow for more weight in most cases.

I flew Korean Air on my last trip to Asia four weeks ago. I had the best customer service experience with the airline – both on ground and board.

Visit Korean Air on Facebook for more information.