Author: Christian Sperka

Another two enjoyable days with lots of excellent food!

A good friend of mine, who I met first over two decades ago, invited me to his 80th birthday party. I had a great time and I stayed up until three in the morning, eating and talking a lot. The venue for this was one of my favorite restaurants/hotels in Switzerland: The ‘Hirschen’ in Obererlinsbach.

Herzlich Willkommen!

Today I had a very good roasted duck lunch at a local Chinese eatery; with my parents, brothers, nephew, nieces and their boyfriends. Only my oldest nephew and his girlfriend are currently in North America and could not join us for this feast.

And I finished off this afternoon with one of my favorite deserts ‘Vermicelle Meringue Glace’ (=Chestnut mouse spaghetti with meringue from the Swiss Emmental, topped with unsweetened, freshly whipped cream).

Today’s picture is of sunflowers on a small field on the edge of the Black Forest, Germany.

Picture Data: Canon EOS R6 with RF 24-240mm lens.

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Today was a culture day. I went to one of my favorite museums, the Foundation Beyeler in Riehen, Switzerland. They featured a very interesting exhibition of the Spanish painter Francisco José de Goya (1746-1824)

https://www.fondationbeyeler.ch/en/home

In the evening I had a exquisite dinner at a small restaurant in Germany, called the ‘Voderhus’ (= front house), together with a very good friend of mine, who was my first business partner and colleague. We worked together from the mid 1980s until I moved out of IT in 2008.

Today’s picture is of the front of an old town building (from around 1600) in the town of Bad Saeckingen. It is the entrance to a delicatessen store owned by friends of mine and to a restaurant called ‘The Fuchshöhle’ (the fox hole).

Picture data: iPhone 12 Pro Max

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A seasonal salad at the restaurant ‘Voderhus’.

The last two days I have spent with my family in the village in which I grew up and around the town where I went to school.

Yesterday evening my brothers and I had an excellent dinner at one of my favorite restaurants called ‘Die Fuchshöhle’ (the fox hole).

Today I went for a walk around a small lake near town. This was a great opportunity to capture the beautiful autumn color and some local wildlife.

And this evening my brothers, a niece, a nephew and I enjoyed visiting a small local fairground (which is called ‘Chilbi’ in Southern Germany). Great fun, especially for the ‘young ones’!

Today’s picture was taken at the ‘Bergsee’ (= lake in the hill) near the town of Bad Säckingen, Germany.

Picture data: Canon EOS R6 with RF 24-240mm lens.

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I took a plane from Zurich to Amsterdam to visit a good friend to help him set up his new Canon camera equipment. I configured two Canon EOS R6 with five new lenses from 15mm to 800mm and a lot of accessories.

In the evening we had a superb dinner at a small restaurant called ‘De Lage Vuursche’ near Utrecht with a few other most interesting dinner guests. I had a delicious beef carpaccio and an very tasty roasted duck main course. The restaurant was just next to Drakestein, the residence of Princess Beatrix, the former Queen of The Netherlands.

I stayed overnight at my friends’ house, which is a most beautiful place decorated in Art Deco, filled with incredible artwork including an original Rembrandt, Picassos and a golden clock from the Louis XV period.

And now I am on the way back to Switzerland …

Today’s picture is of a mint tea, as it was presented at ‘De Lage Vuursche’ restaurant.

Picture data: iPhone 12 Pro Max

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My first full day in Germany was a very quiet one. I spent the day with my parents, brothers, nieces, nephew and their friends. We had a ‘local cuisine’ lunch with excellent ‘Spätzle’ and for supper I had my mum’s German sausage salad.

In the afternoon I took a walk with one of brothers through Bad Säckingen, the town in which I spent all my high school time.

Today’s picture is of the small local castle with the famous trumpeter statue in front (the trumpeter was the hero from a well known German novel – Der Trompeter von Säckingen by Victor von Scheffel).

I love the autumn flowers planted in the foreground. It was again a very beautiful sunny autumn day!

Picture data: Canon EOS R6 with RF 24-240mm.

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I have arrived safely at my parents’ place in Germany after a rather pleasant flight, which was only half full. I only needed my test certificate once at check-in, together with a new online registration document for Switzerland at boarding. And no-one wanted to see my vaccination document so far.

I enjoyed my first lunch with my family at a Greek restaurant in Germany and my mum had some ‘Münchner Weisswürste’ with sweet mustard and fresh pretzels ready for supper.

Considering that this is the end of autumn going into winter in Europe the weather was very nice with sunshine and pleasant temperatures (above 10 degree Celsius).

Today’s picture was taken during take-off from Johannesburg airport with my iPhone 12 Pro Max.

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