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Oktoberfest: O’zapft is!

You’ll be pleased to know that the beer was paraded in and arrived safely at the Wies’n. The first keg was successfully tapped by the mayor at the stroke of noon. Here we go!

Does Oktoberfest have its own language?

All over the place I’ve been hearing references to Bayerisch (the Bavarian language) in connection to Oktoberfest. The official website has an English-Bayerisch dictionary. A friend gave me an Oktoberfest song book* which also includes a Bayerisch phrase guide (and an interview with Roberto Blanco, of all people. WTF? All I know is that if … Read more

Norway: the Lofoten Islands

The part of our trip I was looking forward to the most was the part north of the Arctic Circle, four days in the Lofoten Islands. The Lofotens form a big, mountainous wall in the middle of the ocean, and are speckled with lakes and fishing villages. These islands receive six weeks of constant sun … Read more

Norway: the Hurtigruten

Alternate title: Watching the sun set in a hot tub on a cruise ship in a fjord One of our many modes of transportation around Norway was the Hurtigruten coastal steamer, a big old passenger and cargo ship which runs up and down Norway’s west coast in 13 days, transporting goods and tourists into every … Read more

In anticipation of Oktoberfest

Ah, our first Oktoberfest as residents of Munich is just around the corner. You can tell it’s the season due to all the stores trying to get you to buy tracht (traditional Bavarian clothing, ie dirndls and lederhosen) these days. It’s in all the shop windows. My one previous trip to Oktoberfest was about 10 … Read more

Bell pepper season

I don’t know what’s being harvested in the rest of the world, but on my balcony here in Munich, bell pepper season is in full swing. Given that they live in pots, instead of out in the wild, each of our bell pepper plants had an important decision to make: size or quantity. Some plants, … Read more

Norway: Oslo


Our trip to Norway was 10 days long, and we split our time between its cities, fjords, and islands as we made our way up and down this comically long, skinny country. We visited Norway’s three largest cities, all of which felt tiny and adorable compared to, say, Munich (which feels tiny and adorable compared to, say, Berlin or New York). Much like Swiss cities, they were all very clean and safe, and full of friendly yet reserved folks who tended to speak English better than I did.

Read moreNorway: Oslo