Bonn (Day 2): Beethoven-Haus and Arithmeum

The sky was gray, and the air was damp. It almost felt like a typical winter day in my beloved city of Vancouver.

We bought a 3-day family Bonn Regio WelcomeCard at the hotel. It is a great deal as it offers free admission to a lot of museumsin Bonn and free travel on the local public transportation system.

Our first stop after a typical German hotel frühstück (cold cuts, cold cuts, cold cuts, cheese, bread, muesli, and juice) was Beethoven-Haus - the house where Beethoven was born. The staff were very friendly and gave Gabriel and Jocelyn an introduction to Fidelio (Op. 72) at the museum's stage for music visualization, a 3-D virtual reality stage in a building adjacent to Beethoven-Haus. It was still early in the morning and we had the whole stage to ourselves. As the music played in the background, Gabriel and Jocelyn alternated their roles as Florestan, Leonore, Pizzaro, and Rocco. The kids seemed to enjoy playing the role of Florestan (interacted through two closed loop of ropes, which represented his captivity), and not so much the role of Pizzaro (interacted through a dagger-like joystick). The kids had a wonderful time at the virtual reality stage.

We then went from room to room in Beethoven-Haus. Each room has displays or artifacts depicting different stages of the composer's life. The kids were amazed by some of the ear trumpets on display at the museum. The kids then spent an hour navigating the Hello Beethoven website at the computer studio, where there are banks of PC for visitors to access digitized work of Beethoven. We learned about Beethoven's daily routine, how he made a living, and that he was very picky about his coffee. Here is a picture of Gabriel in the back garden of Beethoven-Haus.




The hotelier suggested that the kids might enjoy the Arithmeum, and he was right! Computational devices (or their replica) are on display in this museum, part of a smart building that also houses the University of Bonn's Research Institute of Discrete Mathematics. We spent the whole afternoon there as the kids went from one hands-on display to another. Several displays are of significant importance: Charles Babbages' difference machine (a picture of Gabriel in front of this machine is here), Newton's Principia, Descartes' Discours de la méthode and La Géométrie. Here are a few pictures of the kids. I was showing Jocelyn how to use the microscope to look inside a microchip. It is going to be some years before Gabriel learns logarithm, but it did not stop him from trying to figure out (while Jocelyn looked on) how a slide rule works.

We have been craving for sushi for the last little while. We chanced upon Ichiban Sushi Bar. The sushi was about average (by the SF Bay Area standard) and the kids ate to their content.

Bonn (Day 2): "ich bin ein Berliner"

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, das ist ein Berliner.

We finally tasted the Berliner, a jelly-filled German delicacy.

The phrase "Ich bin ein Berliner" holds a special place in the post-war US and Germany relation, and we always wondered why people made a fuss about this (supposedly grammatically correct) sentence in JFK's speech in West Berlin in 1963.

Bonn (Day 1): Travel along the Rhine

It was the kids' autumn break last week, and we visited Bonn - the city where Ludwig van Beethoven was born and Robert Schumann was buried - for a few days. We took the InterCity Express and InterCity trains from Karlsruhe on Thursday afternoon (10.30). It was the first time Gabriel traveled on a high-speed ICE train and was so excited to see the display showing the train speed at ~200 km/h. We transfered to a slower IC train in Mannheim. From there, it was a pleasant ride to Bonn as the train cruised along the bank of Rhine. We checked into our hotel in Altstadt in late afternoon. We strolled around town center for a couple of hours, had dinner, then headed back to the hotel for the night.

Ready for winter

According to the weather forecast, it's supposed to rain/snow in Karlsruhe on Thursday and Friday. Even though we will be in Bonn on those days (the children are on a mid-term break), we still thought it would be prudent to buy some waterproof shoes for the kids. Here is a photo of the munchkins all kitted out in their new boots and wool hats. Please note the faux pink fur on Jocelyn's boots.

I made Jocelyn's hat while we were still in Oakland. I followed Melissa Hills' Kable Kid Hat pattern, using a ball of purple-pink Dolcetto yarn that I had bought a couple of years ago.

Gabriel was quite fond of this hat so I made a hat for him as well, though this time I used Elizabeth Heath-Heckman's pattern named The Boy Hat. Gabriel chose the yarn at a store in Freiburg. He chose a ball of Gedifra Fashion Trend in a bright pumpkin orange. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the store but it is located quite close to the Munster. Anyways, I subtracted 8 stitches from the cast-on so that the hat would fit the little guy's head. This made the decreasing ribs at the crown asymmetrical but that's okay, the little guy likes it anyway.

Ice skating!

As a treat on Sunday, we took the children to the ice rink. The ice rink is located in Waldbronn (~15 km away from Karlsruhe), so we took out a Stadtmobil to get there. The children had great fun! Jocelyn couldn't find her footing at first, but she was gliding by after a couple of tumbles.

When it was time to leave, we couldn't find Jocelyn. It turned out that she had skated into the smaller rink, which was transformed into a disco complete with the strobe lighting and techno music. Ahh Jocelyn...is this a sign of things to come when you're older?

A day in Mainz

On Saturday, we ventured out of the state of Baden-Wüttemberg and went north to the city of Mainz. The train ticket, which was good for up to 5 persons, for unlimited travel on regional trains for a day was 35€! Mainz is located in the state of Rhineland-Pfalz and is a city that has a rich history. Mainz started out as a stronghold for the Roman Empire during the Antiquities, later became a religious center in the Middle Ages and is now a university town.

Though this city may be steeped in historical significance, it doesn't mean that the present day inhabitants cannot have a sense of humor. We saw this sign out on the street in the area's main shopping districts. Now the "BS" may mean something entirely different from the definition that we normally associate it with, but Alan and I still found it amusing nonetheless.

After a quick lunch we headed to Dom Mainz, which is located in the center of town. The Dom Mainz is a cathedral that is magnificent not only because of its size, but also because it houses religious art that date back to the Middle Ages. The tombs of past archbishops are also kept on the site. There are also quite a few relics that you can view in the Dommuseum Mainz. Many of the Church's artifacts (like the equipment used in the liturgy) and some of the jewelry worn by senior members of the clergy were all made out of gold and encrusted with gemstones. Which makes one think about where/how the Church got the money for all these resplendent pieces, doesn't it?

We also went to the St. Stephan zu Mainz (St. Stephen's Church), which is famed for the beautiful stained glass windows created by Marc Chagall. Chagall was commissioned to create the windows in the 1970's. The Church approached Chagall to design the windows as a symbol of reconciliation between German and Jewish relations. Jocelyn was quite taken by the windows, which are colored with differing hues of blue. Here is a photo of the Church's exterior - we did not take any photos while we were inside.

Mainz is also home to the Gutenberg Museum which details the evolution of modern printing. Johannes Gutenberg is considered the "father of the modern printing press" and samples of the first biblical texts that he printed (known as the Gutenberg Bibles) are on permanent display. Also on display are earlier versions of the printing press, as well as samples of printing from different cultures. Gabriel, who is fascinated by machines and technology, was intrigued by the printing presses and was constantly trying to figure out how they all worked.

Mainz also has quite a collection of Roman artifacts because of its history as a Roman outpost. Many of these are on display at the Römisch-Germanische museum. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to visit that museum though we did swing by the Roemisches Theater. Though the theater was supposed to be quite grand during its heyday, all that's left now are the ruins that are next to the tram station. We suspect that some of it was damaged during the construction of nearby structures and buildings.

We headed back to Karlruhe after this last stop. In terms of the weather, we've been quite fortunate. It's been rainy during the weekdays, followed by a few days of sunshine during the weekends. This pattern has made sightseeing more comfortable, though we don't expect our luck to hold up for much longer.

Durlach on a Sunday afternoon

Gabriel woke up on Sunday and decided that he wanted to go to Durlach. He is quite obsessed with the tram system here and there is a tram that goes to Durlach. So after the family enjoyed a leisurely lunch at der Vogelbräu (perhaps the best German cooking we have had since moving to Karlsruhe), we boarded the Durlach tram. Durlach is a suburb of Karlsruhe and is a 15 minute ride away from the City's center. Once there, we decided to take the Turmbergbahn cable car up the hill to look around.




From there, you can walk up to Turmberg Tower and take in the lovely views of Karlsruhe and the nearby vineyards.

Afterwards, we walked around the adjacent garden where the children enjoyed playing with the brightly colored leaves that had fallen to the ground. Autumn here has really sparked the kids' senses - they have enjoyed looking at the landscape and picking up the acorns and chestnuts that are all over the streets and parks. The only comparable experience that they've had at home has been watching the leaves fall off the tree in front of our house in Oakland (that Alan really enjoys sweeping). Autumn in California is just different, where it is still between 60°-70° Fahrenheit. Let's just say that it's much cooler here.

After the kids had their fun, we took the Turmbergbahn back down the hill and walked around the town. Here are photos of some of the sites in town.


We bought the kids some eis after we noticed that their blood sugar was low (and got some coffee for ourselves). Then we headed home after we enjoyed our snacks.

Freiburg im Breisgau

Last Saturday, we continued to explore the nearby cities in the Baden-Württemberg state of Germany. On Saturday, we went to the city of Freiburg Im Breisgau. Freiburg is known as the "Capital of the Black Forest (Schwarzwald)." Freiburg is a charming city and has the winding streets and interesting medieval architecture that I've been dying to see in Germany.

Freiburg is unique in the sense that there were deep gutters along all the city streets which will flow with streams of water called bächle during certain times of the year. The gutters were dry when we went, but we still had to watch where we stepped nonetheless.

Here is a photo of the children outside of one of the buildings in the city center.

Freiburg is also home to a magnificent Gothic Cathedral (Freiburg Münster). Unfortunately, the Münster's unique spire was covered with netting and scaffolding when we went because much of the exterior is currently being renovated. From the inside of the cathedral, you can feast your eyes on the gorgeous stained glass windows, grand altars and monuments. Here are photos of the Münster's side exterior and the ceiling near the main entrance.

There was an open air market area adjacent to the Münsterplatz where local farmers and merchants sold their wares. Of course you're never too far away from the fine proprietors of meat and würsts when you're in Germany.

This is also where the Historical Merchants' House (Historisches Kaufhaus) is located. The Historical Merchants' House was built during the Middle Ages and used as a warehouse and customs building. I don't know what the clear height is, or the number of docks there are in the building. Can you tell that I used to work in a commercial real estate office?

We also went to the Carnival Museum (Freiburger Fasnetmuseum). It had a weird, creepy vibe that made it fantastic! We initially thought it was closed, but as it turned out the museum's caretaker was in the neighboring pub enjoying a brew with a group of his friends. The museum, which is run by the Breisgau Carnival Guild, contains costumes that have been worn by the carnies in Freiburg from medieval times to the present. Surprisingly, the children were not scared and even enjoyed hearing about the costumes and looking at the displays. We didn't take any photos of the exhibits but here is a photo of the sign that hangs outside of the building.

The kids also enjoyed watching this street performer create gigantic bubbles. At first they were content to just watch her, but after they saw a few children pop the bubbles they couldn't help but join in the fun.

After we meandered around for a little longer, we returned to Karlsruhe via the Deutsche Bahn train.

My first overnight business trip in Deutschland

I went to a "Neutrinos and Beyond" meeting at Universität Tübingen over the last two days. The meeting started around 16:00 yesterday, so I did not have to leave Karlsruhe with my colleagues until the afternoon. Tübingen is an old German town not too far away from Stuttgart. The streets in the old town are so narrow that most passenger cars can barely pass. After a brief session at the university we checked into our hotel, which is only a block from the fabulous town hall. The meeting organizers reserved the Boxenstop for a group tour and dinner for the meeting attendees. The sports car museum has a number of interesting vehicles, such as this Lloyd. After another day of talks at the university, we beat the Friday afternoon crowds at train stations to make our way back to Karlsruhe.

Trip to Stuttgart

It was a beautiful sunny day last Saturday. And since there was going to be a Stadtfest in Karlsruhe that weekend (and a crowd reminiscent of the one we encountered in Heidelberg), we figured it would be the perfect day to take a trip to Stuttgart. Well, we escaped Karlsruhe's Stadtfest and found ourselves smack in the middle of Stuttgart's Volksfest.

But even though there were loads of people on the streets of Stuttgart, we didn't quite feel like we were in the middle of a mob. Stuttgart is a bigger city after all and it is also the state capital of Baden Wüttemberg. Needless to say, there were makeshift biergartens and wagons selling würsts everywhere.

Stuttgart is also the home of Mercedes-Benz, as you can tell from this side view of the Hauptbahnhof. There is a Mercedes-Benz Museum in the city, though we didn't go there this time. We'll probably go take a look when my parents come for a visit in December.

We arrived in town just in time for lunch. We were casually exploring the streets when, lo and behold, we came across some signs. There were photos of dim sum! We've been on the lookout for dim sum restaurants for some time now, and we couldn't believe our eyes. To get to the restaurant we had to walk through a Chinese take out joint and go upstairs. Once upstairs, the restaurant changed from a take out into a sit-down restaurant. This was where they had the dim sum, and this was also where you could order fresh ingredients for a hot pot if you so desired. After we all gleefully got our dim sum fix, we were able to continue our exploration of the city.

We walked around the beautiful Schlossplatz and had planned to attend a presentation at the Carl-Zeiss Planetarium. Unfortunately, we didn't get there in time and missed the presentation. Gabriel was initially disappointed, but he brightened up once we got to the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart. We decided to go there because Jocelyn is a big fan of modern art. The building itself is pretty impressive, with its stylized glass exterior and sleek interior.

Once inside we saw the Christian Jankowski exhibit, which will be there until January 11, 2009. The exhibit was surprisingly thought provoking (as you can probably tell, I'm not a big fan of modern art). However, Jocelyn was so inspired that she immediately asked for a set of paint. We have yet to buy a set for her, but she hasn't forgotten either.

And of course the kids couldn't pass up the chance to be rowdy.

After we milled around Stuttgart for a little while longer, we boarded a train and returned to Karlsruhe. Who knows where we'll go next weekend?