Take some friends with you when walking through the 1000-square meter haunted house. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the Phantom of the Opera, the bloodthirsty pastry chef… and others… are there to welcome you.

Entrance fee: € 20 for adults, € 18 discounted (children and students)

Hours:

Thu and Fri: 17:00 – 21:00

Sat and Sun: 15:00 -19:00

Access :

Metro: Gare de l’Est / lines 4, 5, 7 or Poissonnière / line 7

Bus: Faubourg Saint Denis (line 32)

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I am not a big fan of big cities such as Seoul, but I might as well include this into our travel plans. Taking pictures, eating lots of wonderful Korean food, and seeing a few former students of mine, should be the highlight of this short visit.

I prefer the countryside for its slow pace. Big cities are just too generic. If my Korean were any better, I would attempt to explore the Korean countryside. Maybe next time.

This time, we will focus on Japan once more. Again, we will purchase a five-day Kyushu JR railway pass which lets us travel all around the island with stops in Kitakyushu, Beppu, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, and Goto Islands. Each destination has its purpose, of course.

Kitakyushu is the place where I spent three years and therefore have quite a few friends there.

Beppu was great last time – I enjoyed being buried in black sand (see my previous post)

While living in Japan, I never made it down to Miyazaki and this photo, posted by a former student of mine on Facebook, finally convinced me to add it to my list of things to see.

Miyazaki-ken, Japan

Kagoshima is known for its heavy drinkers. Can’t pass this one up! Might have to teach them a lesson or two on drinking beer. . . but keep away the Shōchū (焼酎), a Japanese distilled beverage.

Nagasaki is where we have good friends and from there we will take the ferry to one of the main Goto Islands. Not sure yet which one is the best one to see, but I hope for some recommendations.

Our itinerary is slowly taking shape for visiting Kyushu during cherry blossom time!

Sheep on a German hillside

This is a rare sight, even in the country side such as Northern Bavaria. We pulled up, so I could take a few pictures against the dark skies.

Shepherd with dog

Beautiful moment. Peace on Earth. Lonely traveller. Loyal friend.

Happy New Year!

Having lived on the most southern island of Kyushu and grown familiar with the area, we will spend our time there (nine days). We plan to visit some friends in Kitakyushu (Fukuoka prefecture) and Isahaya (Nagasaki prefecture).

This time I would also like to visit Gotō Islands. The Gotō Islands (五島列島 Gotō rettō, literally: “five-island archipelago”), an archipelago of actually 140 islands in the East China Sea, is off the western coast of Kyūshū. The islands are a part of Nagasaki Prefecture.

My brother and daughter are going to join me on this trip. I suggested renting a bike to ride around on one of the Gotō Islands. My daughter, curious about Japan, but usually less curious about me, asked “Mama, can you even ride a bike?”. It is sometimes challenging to act like a grown-up with a teenager on your side.

Kyushu Island, Japan

I hope I do remember how to ride a bike – it has been close to 25 years since I have been on one. Otherwise it would be voll peinlich (totally embarrassing).

For my friends – yes, I will post a photo of me conquering the bike.

The village of Sennfeld (near Schweinfurt) has its own tradition of celebrating this special day with a parade, dancing, eating, and drinking.

Minimum age is three for enrolling in the public dance performance

Thanksgiving - traditional dances

Dancing around the tree - fertility symbol

Traditions of songs and dance

Another dance, another outfit

My three-year-old grandniece will join the junior dancers next year.

Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.

- William Somerset Maugham -

Besides being a regular Sunday in church, on Erntedankfest though, the church gets decorated with the year’s harvest of vegetables.

Protestants however, celebrate Thanksgiving in style. The neighboring villages of Sennfeld and Gochsheim (near Schweinfurt) are both mainly protestant. Both have a Erntedanksfest Umzug (Thanksgiving Parade) with a big fest afterwards. The most popular food items on the list are Zwiebelsplootz and Federweißer.

Zwiefelsplootz and Federweisser

Here are some pictures taken in Sennfeld (Lower Franconia) on their Thanksgiving Day parade.

Thanksgiving Parade, German style

Men in feathered hats

Some little German helpers

Advert for renewable energy

Thanksgiving Parade participants

Thanksgiving Parade

bountiful harvest

It was a rather short parade, but worth attending. Sadly enough, the number of participants keeps shrinking as interest in traditions is slowly fading.

But one of those trips took me to Mr. Huang’s home in 2005.

Starting fall 2003, I started tutoring his daughter who, at that time, was attending a boarding school in Switzerland. As half of her education was conducted in German, along with English, she then spent most of her school breaks with me in Oberursel learning English and German, respectively.

Mr. Huang had enrolled his daughter with HB.Language, a Swiss language agency, which places students for language studies in various countries. I am one of those teacher/host families.

During her first visit, her dad would call everyday to check on her progress.  With each further Study and Homestay program she enrolled, the phone-calls became fewer.

C. (name withheld) eventually left the Swiss boarding school to attend Frankfurt International School (FIS) in her final years, while being hosted by an FIS family.

Because of C., our son became interested in learning Chinese. After six years of private lessons, he had to give it up being a senior in high school now.

In 2005, with a little pressure from C. and our son, I agreed to visit the Huang family in China. Of course, we were splendidly hosted, but frankly speaking, I only learned about C.’s dad’s business/entrepreneurship while we were there. Yes, I was a little surprised to learn of  his 40 patents he holds in inventions, being a member of congress, the factory tour, and many other things.

During this time, we stayed in an apartment in Beijing. Then we were carted off to Dezhou (hometown), where we stayed in one of those worker hotels. The remainder we spent in a big beach house in Qingdao.

We were given many guided tours, served the best food, and were treated like special guests. Well, the Asian way.

The last leg of our time in China, we spent in Shanghai on our own. I like Shanghai the best, even though I learned there how polluted these big cities really are. While we were guests of the Huang family, we were driven around by a private chauffeur on every occasion. So we hopped into the van and out.

But in Shanghai, we walked everywhere. Each time we returned to our hotel to take a shower, we had blackened feet. We actually had to scrub our feet to get the dirt off.

Anyway, we got to see Mr. Huang a couple of times after that. This was usually while he was passing through Frankfurt on his way back from meetings in other parts of Europe.

Article in German: Alternativer Nobelpreis für chinesischen Solar-Unternehmer

Another article from news.xinhuanet.com

Congratulations to the Huang family!

These country hotels are spread out all over the Germany, reaching from the North Sea down to the Alps. One of them is located in the heart of Germany, namely Hotel Schloss Zeilitzheim in Northern Bavaria.

On of our visits to my hometown in Northern Bavaria, we had an overnight at Hotel Schloss Zeilitzheim.

Country Hotel Schloss Zeilitzheim

Quoting an excerpt from the Geo Saison article, written by Hannah Glaser:

Den jungen, gutgelaunten Hausherrn von Schloss Zeilitzheim treffen wir im Garten, auf den Knien beim Löwenzahn stechen (We found the young and good-humored castle owner in the garden, on his knees pulling weeds).

This, among other daily routines, contributes to a familiar atmosphere when staying at the hotel.

Country Hotel Schloss Zeilitzheim

Hotel Schloss Zeilitzheim ranked 7th on the Geo-Saison list (full list available on Presse-Portal).

For more information, visit Zeilitzheim Castle Hotel in Bavaria, Germany.

From their room with a view, my husband shot this photo at 5:30 in the morning.

Sleeping in Edinburgh

The next photo was taken at about 8 a.m.

Morning light over Edinburgh

… and to finish off the fairytale view of the city:

Edinburgh at night

If our son gets accepted to the University of Edinburgh, there will be more trips to this most wonderful city.

All photos were taken with this camera: Canon EOS 550D SLR-Digitalkamera (18 Megapixel, LiveView) Kit inkl. EF-S 18-55mm 1:3,5-5,6 IS Objektiv (bildstabilisiert) (from Amazon.de)

sunflower fields lining the roadside

grapes and geraniums on German homes

vegetable patches around the village of Sennfeld

Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.
- Robert Frost -