Cover up!

Right, you can still have lunch or coffee outside, but you better cover up, with midday temperatures barely into double figures. But hey, good news: soon enough, they will put heaters out!

Здоровье, товарищ!

Now then... You see the yellow building? The bistrot des copains. Bistrot: a drinking place. Copains; mates, buddies. The name bistrot, or bistro, comes from the russian "bystro", quickly, fast. This dates back to the occupation of Paris by cossacks, in 1814. The russian soldiers were thirsty, the french waiters slow...

The perpetual daydream of the three madmen from the mountain

A painting by German painter Daniel Richter, to be seen at the Museum of modern art. More about him here.
As for the original title... It is: der ewige Tagtraum der drei Irren vom Berg

.. Harold Lloyd's Great-Granddaughter At Work.

I cant think of an appropriate title  for this post. Any suggestion welcome!

It's all so quiet...

I love going through on sunday! I like the quiet, the few people around take their time. And so do I!

A weekend reflection

The botanical garden, reflecting on the tropical glasshouse

See more weekend reflections here

Autumn leaves

Autumn, hiding behind summer leaves...

UDS:3. Nobel: 4

The university garden. The local U is the Université de Strasbourg, or UDS (formerly ULP, Université Louis Pasteur). 3 universities in one, with 50.000 students and 4000 researchers. And 4 obel Prize winners working there right now, teaching, 3 in physics, one in chemistry. The U teachers won 3 Nobel prizes since 2011. You might see them in the garden...
More b&w for this weekend here.

Raven's court

Actually the raven's courtyard. Ravenscourt is a tube station in London, from where I commuted daily for a few years. Well, couldn't resist, couldn't I!
Anyway, this is the Cour du Corbeau. An old inn, it became a hotel in 1528. Yeah, things are old here! This is the entrance to it, 57 rooms in a 4 stars hotel, a few minutes from the cathedral.

The passage

A passage to a long gone past, to my childhood

The CIA chateau

Well, we even have our very own castle here, the chateau de Pourtales! With a rich history.
Built in 1784, called after Mélanie, countess of Pourtales, a favorite of Napoleon the 3rd. When she was in town, she had many hosts: King Ludwig the 2nd of Bavaria, the German emperor, the Prince of Wales, many kings and queens, Albert Schweitzer, Franz Liszt, and so on.
Melanie died in 1914, and her castle closed in 1939.
After the war, the castle housed the Free Europe University in Exile founded by the CIA in 1951 to form cadres for the reconquest of Eastern Europe. I wasn't aware of this when I played in the park and used the chateau's toilets in the 60es...
In 1972, it became a campus of Schiller International University.
A fancy hotel occupies now the former stables, see below

Abandoned bunker on the Maginot Line

One of the last bunkers in Strasbourg. There used to be a lot more of them, as we are right on the german border. Growing up the 60es,  we kids used to play hide and seek or cowboys and indians in them.
Still a necessary thing for many.

CDP monthly theme day: abandoned

These are the 2 abandoned kittens we rescued in the last 8 years, In Cyprus and in Spain. Rio and Bundles.

How could someone have abandoned them at the first place??? Beats me.
More about the City Daily Photo blogs theme day here. And thanks, Peter, for not abandoning us! :-)

A weekend reflection

Happy blogaversary, Weekend Reflection! 7 years already, quite an achievement!

Into the wild

As I needed to take off rust from my legs, I went for a long walk (16 km, 8.5 miles) into the wild, aka the foret de la Robertsau, north of town. Many ponds in the area! And some critters.

Between the lines, or music is the key

I spotted this... painting (?) yesterday, in front of the university. As I am curious by nature, I dug, and fund out more. The artist call himself Dan23, His paintings are based on meetings with various people, and on music. More about it here 

Autumn

The fish market

I am cooking right now, so this seems the perfect post... Well, no fish tonight, I'm doing a fish-less Moroccan couscous.
This was painted by Joachim Beuckelaer in 1568, and can ce seen at the Palais des Rohan. More about the painter here.

Not your everyday car

2 CV, deudeuche, 2 chevaux... You dont see them very often anymore, and that's unfortunate, very unfortunate

Skywatch Friday

7.10 am from my kitchen window
Skywatch Friday is here