baby w: no. 1

Taking a break from Würzburg to share a photo of baby W, who turns three weeks old today! I've spent some time with W and her big brother S and my friends M and T over the past few weeks, and I managed to take some baby pictures during one of the visits. (Normally I'm too busy holding her or making food!) Perhaps I'll share a few more, but this shot will suffice as introducing her. Expect to see more of W over the next few months (and years)!

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iTunes: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

würzburg: no. 3

Based on the number of pictures I'm posting of the Würzburg train station, we must have had a decently long layover there on our way to the next destination. This shot has some grunge-appeal as well. I'm curious as to what all these buttons do. I resisted the urge to press any of them and just took pictures instead.

Preparing for a big presentation on Wednesday on an article on this movement of a Beethoven string quartet. I've listened to it about 40 times in the past 5 days. Thank goodness I really like late Beethoven string quartets!

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iTunes: String Quartet No. 12, Op. 127: I, Maestoso/Allegro, by Beethoven

würzburg: no. 2

I really liked the red train in Würzburg.

Today I anticipate spending a lot of time on hold. I'm hoping for half-decent elevator music. Renewing car insurance and trying to sort out a credit card mess since it was stolen last week. Ugh.

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iTunes: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling

würzburg: no. 1

May as well squeeze in the little cities where we only spent a few minutes (or hours) while changing trains. Normally I find black-and-white photos with masked color sections a bit... tacky. BUT sometimes it works. I think this was one exception to that general rule. I think it's the grunge aspect of the black-and-white portion.

Anyway, back to reading Foucault. (What have I learned from reading Foucault for two weeks? I don't like Foucault, and I don't like his manner of writing. I prefer the Germans.)

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iTunes: The Turn of the Screw, by Benjamin Britten

me and my valentine

Taking a brief break from Europe posts to say Happy Valentine's Day! No matter whether you have a particular "special someone" in your life or a whole bunch of special people whom you love, I find that February 14 always presents a chance to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you. So, share some loving kindness and make someone's day!

This little one has been my valentine for the past few years, and I couldn't ask for a better one! Since moving to New England, I haven't gotten to see her on Valentine's Day for the past two years, so I send her a valentine instead. But hopefully I'll be seeing her soon!

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iTunes: Wellingtons Sieg, by Beethoven

frankfurt: no. 1

I like shots of train stations, so I thought I'd share another one. This was the main station at Frankfurt, where we changed trains on the way to our next destination. So it's one of the few Frankfurt shots I have, since we never left the station.

Today is a reading day with a couple of meetings thrown in. I was thinking about having some leftover shrimp for lunch, but I don't know that they'll reheat well in the microwave. Perhaps I'll have to dig up something else to take with me for lunch.

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iTunes: Der Glorreiche Augenblick, Op. 136, by Beethoven

amsterdam: no. 15

Well, I know I said I was done posting pictures of Amsterdam, but I suppose this train station shot is still technically Amsterdam, and not the next city we visited (or the next one we stopped in -- you have to love train-hopping!) -- so this is the last official Amsterdam post of this stretch!

I love how the trains run on time in Europe. (Okay, Italy may be excepted from this for reasons that I will share later. But At least Germany and Switzerland! That good old Northern European blood makes everything work like clockwork... Perhaps I can blame my liking of being on time on my German heritage.) When I was in Berlin last spring, I overheard some locals complain that the bus was 2 minutes late. In the US, 2 minutes late would be on time! The trains I take here are often 20-40 minutes late!

Wednesday is hump day, and my only day with two classes. Looking forward to getting through the day and coming back to whip something delicious up for dinner. Having a dinner guest this evening, which will be an excuse for making something special. Shrimp perhaps?

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iTunes: Diabelli Variations, by Beethoven

amsterdam: no. 14

Surprisingly, I'm coming to the end of the best-of-the-best Amsterdam pictures. But I thought I'd share this one last shot before moving onto the next city we visited. I do love a nice, crisp black and white shot.

Up later than usual tonight, and have an intense day of classes and meetings tomorrow. Probably should be getting some shut-eye instead of posting pictures, but I didn't want to get out of the habit again.

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iTunes: Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 111, by Beethoven