Art and Abart

Over the last week I have been painting small pictures to hang in Gino's Italian Cafe here in Rissen. Gino is a real gem, an Italian who...

I seldom buy canned foods nowadays because the inner lining of cans often contains the toxin bis phenol and tests have shown that the uptake...

This shop (chain actually) has got marketing down to a tee. It is a coffee shop; grinds and sells various coffees - all own brand. But on th...

The stall holders at the Sunday market in Uetersen last weekend wore traditional dress and their stalls, full of  baskets of  fresh and beau...

After living in a country where cigarettes must be kept under the counter it is a bit of a shock to find baskets of cigarette packages place...

I do like escalators that have all the 'up' stairs on one side, so you don't have to walk around to the other side on each floor...

Uetersen (just north west of Hamburg) is one of the world's most important rose breeding areas and the Uetersen Rosarum is worth a visit...

These mid-air actors in Hamburg were attracting attention on Friday. Some people walked straight past without seeing them but then someone w...

Australian Ugg boots seem to be popular in Germany. I have seen them in Hamburg (below) and Munich (below that)! The ones I saw in Hamburg y...

It was cold and threatening rain in Hamburg this morning so I went into the city center, getting out of the train at Jungfernstieg to a typi...

How nice to see the Hamburg Rathaus (Town Hall) appear at the end of the street. Rathaus Hamburg Rathaus It is such a pretty build...

In Hamburg this afternoon there was a very long queue of people waiting to buy an iPhone5. Pedestrian managers in yellow jackets were kee...

The Angel in St Michael's church in Munich Isn't she lovely?

I was in a bit of a zombie state after painting hard for two weeks then doing the tourist thing in Munich so I snoozed on the train to Hambu...

"There must be more to Munich than this," I said to myself as I drank my espresso looking out the cafe window. Munich Street ...

Dirndls dirndls everywhere. .... Well after all, this is Munich and Octoberfest is around the corner. In every shop window there were dirndl...

As you walk along Munich's pedestrian street from the station you come to a building site covered with scaffolding . You don't see t...

There are 15 people here in the Munich YMCA breakfast room, all of them either young Asian folk or mature-to-elderly locals. What did I ex...

We should enjoy THIS life said the woman at the table by the door to her companion as I passed her on my way out of the restaurant. My fe...

Austria looked like a picture postcard from the train today. Blue skies, snow capped mountains, farmers mowing hay, cows grazing. The trai...