Brown Motion

 Here ICE stands for Inter City Express. Part of a vast array of transport vehicles operated by the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) or German Railway.   ICE are considered the high speed trains that typically operate between any two large metros /hubs in Germany. DB is a state run operation that spans the entirety of Germany.  They operate a wide variety of long distance and local train services to create an immense network spanning over 20,000 miles which is almost the length of earth's circumference around the equator. I happened to get another opportunity to spend a week in Germany, this time in winter and enjoy riding these rails. While it got to a low of 0 deg C or just below 32 deg F on couple days it only snowed during my last couple days of the time I spent there. Most snow I saw was in fact just across the German / Austrian border in the historic city of Salzburg. Got to walk over the bridge on River Salzac and look at a fort on a hill (Schloss as they are known) t...

 This weekend we dined at a fine establishment in town of Gastonia, NC.  Webb Custom Kitchen. Facade of the restaurant  This in a 100 year old building that once was a movie hall. Showed films from the era then fell into disrepair as did the town of Gastonia. A local developer and banker got hold of it and reimagined this brick building and converted it into a wonderful capsule to showcase the era that was.  Also serving American cuisine with some local southern fare the service is fairly warm but hit or miss in some other operational aspects. Pricing is on the high side partly due to the environ and ambience they cater alongside the food itself.  It is well thought out and decorated with memorabilia like film projectors and snips of celluloid to frame a light box or two.  The upstairs are not handicap accessible but if you are able bodied it offers a view of the open kitchen as you dine on your meat and veggies. It also runs a black and white period clip o...

 Like always we pigged out on what the locals were offering. In all of Portugal. Below some sweet n savory memories.. breakfast on a tray - caffeine, protein and savory Mariscos Gambas end with Port ... always!

 At the intersection of several romance languages in the corner of Europe we visited Portugal for couple weeks. Our first visit to this wonderful and friendly locale. Views were not too shabby either... rooftops in Lisboa Windswept street when time stopped there is also life underground - Metro in Lisboa A Streetcar named Carris cathedrals of glass Ancient Symmetry  Art unexpected Fancy McD? Electricshaws? cave life by the beach - south of Portugal Tower of Belem Cabo de Roca - end of Europe (westernmost point)

 Whilst I am not an Instagrammer or whatever those in that part of the Gen Z demo are called I do like to capture thoughts in this medium of a blog .. mostly to impress on me what I did when I was a wee lad in my fifties.. assuming I make it few more decades and have the desire to look back in time.. This new year eve we left America to visit the southern tip of continental Europe in the form of a country visit to Portugal. At the end of what is called the Iberian peninsula sits this nation of 10 million inhabitants straddling the Atlantic Ocean on its west and south shores. Shaped like and in many ways similar to our former home in California this is a fourth in geographic size and population to the largest state in America. It too is longish and sits along an ocean. It too has a wine region except it is known for producing some fine sweet kind called Port.  Grapes are harvested in the Douro River valley in the area called Porto.  Used to ferment and then process halted ...