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Denmark – visiting friends

Denmark is always a place I need to visit from time to time since I have an adopted family there.

In the Royal retreat, a very beautiful garden with a few buildings, this is where the royal family stays.
A storage facility for food before refrigeration
This is the original building on the property and down below you will see an explanation of this royal retreat
We picked and ate a lot of of the ripe ones
This is a traditional danish building with the attached roof
This hook on the back of the car is on most cars, not only in Denmark. Many people have a small, mini trailer that they just drop onto this hook when they go shopping for bulky items that won’t fit in the car
We found some of these on our walk in the woods as well
It’s always good to visit an old brewery
Here is the product
This is the house owned by a private family that runs the brewery
Inside is the sales office for the organic apples and apple juice
Organic apple juice
Almost ready to pick
An interesting danish design
A World War II memorial
A very old village popular with tourists
Some buildings have plaques noting memorable occupants
You can see the mirrors outside the windows. These help elderly people who mostly stay inside see what is going on outside the house
I think these are blueberries but I’m not sure
You can see the birds perched on top. This is a nature sanctuary
Of course we have Thai food from the chef of the house
And I get to have the traditional dish breakfast I love so much
This is waiting for the ferry from Germany to Denmark. It’s only a short distance
This ferry has a rotary sail.
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Orkneys – try it out

the Orkneys are a group of islands between the mainland of Scotland and the northernmost islands, the Shetlands. If you decide to go there make sure you go by car on the ferry since local transport is probably not going to be satisfactory for a short visit. You really need a card to get around.

In Scotland it’s the way to start a day
There is a gap between the toilet and the walkway to the pier which I guess they are referring to as the “no swimming” area. I’m sure they are not talking about swimming in the toilet.
The Batmobile van
The skull and crossbones seem to be prevalent icon on many Graves
Sheep everywhere
And oil rig close by
Evidently there was no need to repair the roof
A very typical building on the island
This is the older ferry which was not on loan to the Hebrides
The island of stroma is not deserted
Of course it has a lighthouse
On this old ferry you just drive on and turn around to get off
Sheep, cattle and the fishing industry
I’m sure one of the popular magazines in Scotland. This land is filled with farmers
A great place to have a Guinness. Everybody was very friendly and even bought me another one
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Japan in August

With an old friend I haven’t seen for many years. Good reminiscence and memories
Dinner with a former employee
Why not use this name for a restaurant?
Very nice reclining train seats
A nice building in Osaka
This is the place to practice archery
At breakfast in my hotel people can watch the televisions above showing cameras in each of the elevators. I found it a little strange
The smoking room in the train station was very crowded which is good for cheap smokers who don’t want to pay for cigarettes. They could just go in and breathe the fumes
Up above, the sign in pink letters advertises a “soap land” where you can get soapy with a girl and do a variety of things
Cautions on the escalator
Whatever you do, don’t get caught
In Sapporo grilled lamb is called “Genghis Khan”.
This is how politicians campaign
A beautiful day in the park in Sapporo
The black one looks angry and threatening
A type of fashion
Crazy dancing at the Thai nightclub
This is an interesting twist on names
With Kiyo.
This is a coffee shop where you can rent a cat to keep you company
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Japan – food and drink

these are from my last trip in Japan.

It’s not creepy, it’s just creap, short for creamy powder, the equivalent of coffeemate
Elegant salmon with scallops and ……
This is my breakfast in the Wakayama business hotel . Not really exciting
This is a little more exciting, breakfast in one of the Toyoko Inn Hotels
Some really excellent beef
Miso ramen down the famous Sapporo Raman alley which is the host of the famous Sapporo Ichiban
Way too many people lined up for the most famous Ramen so I went down the alley a little bit and had some excellent Ramen which you see above
And one of the underground stations you can buy sandwiches in the machine
And the hotel you have machine delivering soft drinks and coffee and tea for breakfast buffet
In the subway station you can buy all sorts of things including baseball caps in a machine
You can buy ice cream also from this famous prefecture well known for dairy products, Hokkaido
In Asahikawa this Tonkatsu restaurant was featured in a television presentation and the food was excellent
This is the tonkatsu (deep fried breaded pork cutlet) with a little bit more sauce than most people use. Excellent food
Sapporo was the place this country loved learning and producing German style beer. This large and very long park has months long beer festivals.
Each company has their own large area
Even Craft beers are present
Even this very famous Munich beer company is present
Meanwhile, back in my old neighborhood sushi restaurant …
You could see the name of the restaurant with the phone number. Everybody here is a lot of fun
But after the sushi restaurant we went to a Thai nightclub serving some of my favorites
Another breakfast, not fantastic but good enough to fill me up to start the day
In Okachimachi, Tokyo you can find this famous Chinese Gyoza restaurant
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pilzen – Czech Republic

in 1842 with the help of a German brewing expert a group of determined people in this small town decided to create an interesting beer. The result is a beer type named after this town (Plzeň) in the Czech Republic, Pilsner. The defining process is called bottom fermentation. They let the yeast sink to the bottom and perform a slightly longer fermentation. That is the process defining a Pilsner beer. Urquell is a German word meaning the original source. The brewery is definitely worth a tour even though they charge. The education of how beer is brewed is worth the fee. They explained Asahi in Japan purchased this company and as you will see in the photos there are many brands and many different types of beer and drinks created by this company. But the defining Pilsner is made only at this brewery.

A Japanese tour group of about 20 people was looking at the mock up of the old brewing process
Here we go to start the tour
This is the sensing system to determine the cleanliness of the bottles used for the Pilsner beer
These are all the different brands and products produced by this company
The fermenting vats
The brewing process
The many kilometers of caves with Barrels of beer
Everyone gets a taste directly from the barrel
They have a restaurant with delicious food. This was a pork ankle. And the prices are reasonable.
Downtown there was a festival time
A lot of people were watching the fire show
Different talents from all over the world were entertaining people
Nice building
We can imagine how this building might have been damaged by war and Russian occupation
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Dacau Munich – a dark past

I did not realize how close this prison camp was to Munich but when I saw on the map I had to visit. Below is a link to information about this camp.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachau_concentration_camp

The famous gate
The entrance where everyone came in
This place is massive. I decided not to walk around the whole area. Visiting the one main museum building and maybe one or two others is sufficient for the history. The rest is a walking tour.
These dots represent supporting sub camps. When I saw this map I found it a little difficult to believe after seeing even the massiveness of this main camp.
This photo above and the photo below are the infirmary areas which were also massive. But the infirmaries were not just for healing people they were for human experimentation as well.
Probably not a relative but the closest to where my family lived. I need to keep looking in other places.
This massive book contains every registered prisoner.
This poster was at the train station
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Dundee Scotland

I have heard about Dundee since I was a little kid but I can’t remember exactly why I know the city. There is a lot of history here but I didn’t find it all that fascinating. It is a quiet and beautiful place on an ocean Inlet.

The facilities were OK but the sign indicates just how much attention this place pays to Reception. Only one time, when I checked in, did I meet who I thought was the owner. No one appeared over the next two days to greet me or anyone else.
My hotel room was very much like many of them I occupied so far in Scotland. They tend to be old houses refurbished, keeping the same small room characteristics of old houses, building separate bathroom facilities for each room and then renting them out. I found it interesting and comfortable
Looking at Dundee from the other side of the bridge
After this breakfast, scrambled eggs with cheese on top and the only sauces of ketchup and “brown sauce”, I decided to go out and buy my own sauces and bring to breakfasts. Soy sauce and sriracha sauce are necessity for me.
This photo reminds me of San Francisco
Actually, I found the breakfast choices kind of amazing and the chef who I was thinking probably is also the owner, the husband of the lady who checked me in, was really extremely helpful and flexible in how the food was prepared.
On the second morning I got smarter and just decided on Scottish smoked salmon with these eggs. I found some soy sauce
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Rome Vatican

I guess I don’t need to explain what this monument is. But I will give a hint, “entertainment”.
The arch of Constantine
The arch of Titus
I hope the game pieces don’t come alive
The former government buildings
Castel saint’Angelo
It’s amazingly small, I guess for small thoughts
Trajan’s market
The motorcycle rental shops love to rent Vespas, the stereotypical style is still in fashion
St. Peter’s Basilica
Inside the Vatican museum
The Sistine Chapel, accessed through the museum
you can see the Hebrew with the Latin. My understanding is that Hebrew was used only in the religious arena and the intelligence spoke Greek since this was formally a Greek influenced area of the Mediterranean. The local people probably spoke Aramaic
I don’t know the significance of the pinecone
Vatican City area
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Scottish Highlands – Castletown & Thurso

Up until about 1400 years ago the Picts were living here pretty much alone. Here is one of their famous stones.
the breakfast was fairly plain but the salted ham was tasty and the black pudding was also very nice. You can see I needed to add some soy sauce which I carry with me to give the necessary flavors. On the left is a small bowl of raspberries, blueberries, blackberries with some yogurt on top
Local old town people called this restaurant “the Indian”
You can see Castletown is a very small place with one gas station
I suspect these people were getting on the small boat to go to the neighboring island, not serviced by ferries
I don’t yet know what kind of “bowling” is going on but there is a huge grass area in the back so it might be something like bocce
Several markets like this had an unbelievably high percentage of rosé type wines I guess that is in demand in Scotland
Look at what all the Shop needs to do I hope this is keeping them busy enough
In the distance you could see the small island of stroma
Thurso has a small railway station with a train once a day that takes you all the way to Inverness
The local church of Scotland
They must’ve had trouble with kids playing with a ball in this area?
This old central government building is now a library
How “wee” can you get?
The town’s World War I memorial
I guess they are famous for their Flagstone
The water is cold like it is in Monterey but outside it is very cold as well, like the coldest day in Monterey. I can’t imagine going swimming here, not after living in Thailand for so many years
The new houses in town. Well, relatively new
This is the post office, newsstand and the general store, another multipurpose business
This is not a roll-on, roll off ferry. The cars have to turn around to get off
I was told this is one of the old ferries. The “more modern” one is on loan to the Hebrides since their new fleet is still on order..
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nuremberg – The court and the city

This is the room where the criminal court for war crimes against the second world war government was held. It was built specifically for the trials
Is there any other good name for a hotdog stand?
Above the door you can see the individual panels of the different districts defined by the Lords or the church. This isSt. Lawrence  basilica
An ancient artwork
Again the coat of arms of the different fiefdoms
A campari spritz which so many people seem to be drinking in the afternoon and the evening
Different from a Campari spritz but you get to know how they are made
The Hauptmarkt|
Schöner Brunnen
Iconic fountain with Gothic church spire
A very tasty spaghetti Bolognese
This just strikes me as funny. It’s a Vietnamese restaurant advertising Japanese Ramen and avocados which are so popular, plentiful and cheap in Laos. Most of the Asian food restaurants we have seen in Europe are run either by Vietnamese or Chinese immigrants
Albrecht Dürer, sometimes spelled in English as Durer, was a German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance. Born in Nuremberg, Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe in his twenties due to his high-quality woodcut prints.
You see these extended rooms with windows and I was not able to ask anybody why they’re built this way but I suspect it’s for watching what’s going on
This one has a night in shining armor watching out for everyone
The castle
The view from the castle and the photo below explains the different sites
This was a very delicious orange sherbet with some fruit and …. just so delicious