Clarke is having a new baby!!!

Actually, Juanita is having one... But Clarke did the hard job.

Look!

Since Bjorn and Wiebke are not blogging much... at all.... I'm at least showing proof of Bjorn's existence!
And it's a nice existence by the look of his lab - fancy equipment and a huge office with ginormeous window with a bit of a view. (I should explain that our bosses are collaborating on a project now, so I got to travel to Zürich over the day to see some fancy lasers...)
I also got to meet Wiebke for a coffee, but no picture. She told me about snow shoe hiking in the mountains that they are doing every now and then... I'd like to try!

Guess who will be moving in late March?

More from Bonn and Köln....

Here is Raúl, ruler of all he surveys (the part of the Rhine that runs through Bonn at least)

And doing foolish things with a cannon, I don't think it's loaded at least

And here is his marvelous palace, where he works (2nd floor, window just to the right of centre)

Nice view from there to the city :)

We snuck into the Münster in Bonn, it really has a strangely ancient feel to it, unexpectedly peaceful too, despite being in the middle of the city

As we left, we witnessed a miracle: blessed Jesus ducks who could walk upon the surface of the water- jealous Antti?

And to Köln, and the wonderfully interesting streets down by the river, a nice change from the totally commercial and modern centre of the city (no pictures of that part, just imagine a city)

Full of wonderfully imposing churches, nothing like striking the fear of God into the hearts of mere peasants.

And finally the riverfront at Köln, strikingly similar to Bonn, but with extra people. Not surprising given it's the same river and all I suppose. So, if you would like to see more, come visit Raúl in Bonn and take a day trip to Köln, he's got a sofa bed arriving this week just for visitors!

Hope the new year is treating you all well, and I miss you all!
Kiri

After listening to this song I could not forget you guys!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHpSCHxb780&feature=related

Köln

Hey!! Greetings from Northern Westphalia! Sorry for my delay in not posting any pics lately on the blog, but I have been tied up in adjusting to work around here after stopping for so long after I left Canberra. The following pics are from a trip myself and Kiri took to Köln just after the new years.

Enjoy and happy new year,

Raúl

The biggest and meanest Cathedral I have ever seen! You leave the Central Station in Cologne and you have this huge massive ugly beast looking down at you and giving you a big "fuck you". The Köln Dom is from the 13th Century and it took around 800 years to be fully built. Up until the mid 19th century it was the worlds tallest building.

The Dom is a fat little bugger...

Typical medieval narrow streets in downtown Köln.

You can almost imagine the people in the middle ages walking these narrow streets and and looking up at the Munster and it gave them the creeps.

Couchman in da Haus! (Kiri in all her green bag splendour)

Another huge church, this one I believe it is called St Martins Church, and it is still f****g massive!

Kiri with the waterfront area by the Rhein river as a backdrop.

Hej hej!

Have a great week end, dear friends!

Cheers from us!

Man has walked the moon, and Brazilians have walked the ice. Very happy aunt Rosely, mum Iara, grandmum Guiomar and Ri to be in the middle of a frozen lake.

Swedish invention, need no further explanation... ;-)

Christmas at the Svahn's. Mamma, me, pappa, Ri, cousin (and movie star) Michael, Rosa, Gui-Gui and Iara.

Better than the electric car.....

The air car! What will they think of next that we can all ignore? What new marvel shall all the genius of the human race create that will be snuffed out by greed and selfish interest?
Ah well, we can dream...
http://www.theaircar.com
;)
K

Individualists

Dear Friends,

Hyvää Päivää

While you've been blogging your selfish daily doings and your individual experiences, we've been conspiring for a more humanistic post...

Ferry from Helsinki:

Och Suomi


And my new asset: