Celts Exhibition and Vapiano Restaurant ... with Children!

Yesterday I went on a long-planned excursion, together with my friends Simone and Dominik and their children Xavier and Noëlle. Simone, Dominik and I are members of the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium's "Class of 1996"; a Gymnasium being the type of secondary school that grants university admission. Since our friendship goes back such a long time, I was offered to become the godfather of their first child, an honor I gladly accepted (however, not without pointing out that, being a skeptic, I may not be the prime choice for this duty).
After being away in Berlin (2004-2008) and Chicago (2008-2010) I am quite happy that I am currently able to spend a lot more time with Xavier, and of course also with Noëlle. Often I just pass by their house when I go out, but this time we actually had an appointment - we had planned for a long time to see the Celts exhibition at the nearby town of Völklingen. The top left photo shows the four of them on the train. Taking the train was a prudent choice, since we could have a little walk in our hometown (St. Ingbert) to reach the station, and at Völklingen the exhibition site was right next to the station there. The top right photo shows the outside of the place, which is actually an UNESCO World Heritage in its own right. Decades ago, our region used to be an industrial hotspot, producing tons of charcoal and steel, but having found no worthwile replacement, we currently have significant problems with unemployment. (Ultimately, if there were more high technology companies, I might have found a job myself already.) So, this World Heritage site is a now-defunct steel factory, which you can see on the bottom left photo. Actually, this was a suitable idea, because the Celts were the Iron Age people of Europe. Yet, as I have learned, there was never a coherent Celtic culture, and they didn't perceive themselves as one people, but rather as independent tribes with significant differences among them; the main thing they had in common was actually the ability of making items from iron. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures inside the exhibition, because it didn't appear I was permitted to do so. Anyways, it was worth the money, and I am glad we went there.
Actually, we were accompanied by Maria and Wolfram (friends of Simone's and Dominik's), their son Jannis, and his friend Valeria. That means we were a group with four children, the oldest of which (Xavier) will turn 8 this summer. For the little ones the exhibition maybe wasn't the excitement of their lifetimes, but I don't think they were having an outspokenly bad time, either. Nevertheless, they obviously liked the next stop much better - the Vapiano restaurant at Saarbrücken, which is about half-way back to St. Ingbert. We had some Italian refreshments (pasta, pizza, salad), and even though I would translate Vapiano as "tread lightly", the kids had all the action there that they couldn't have at the Celts exhibition ... The bottom right photo shows everyone at the dinner table.
Anyways, it was a great day, and I would prefer to do more trips of this kind!

Nina's Birthday Party (Merzbach), Porta Nigra (Trier)

Yesterday I went on a day trip to visit my old friend Nina, her husband Jörg and their baby boy, Moritz. Much to my own shame I must confess that I did not attend Nina's and Jörg's wedding, because it took place while I was in Chicago. (Likewise, I skipped another friend's wedding for the same reason, and since she also had a baby boy recently, I may go on another trip soon(ish), and I will then report on that, too ... Ironically, my friend Homa from Chicago is getting married these days, and I was forced to turn down her invitation as well.)
Nina (to the left in the top left photo) and I became friends in college. We both were chemistry majors in Kaiserslautern (which you may find on the map of Germany that shows my travel route a bit to the east of the starting point near Saarbrücken), and so were in fact most people you see on the first photo. Not all of them were in our year, but Britta and Stephanie ("Steffi") were. Britta is the blonde holding Moritz (I apologize for using the wrong shutter setting for this shot), and Steffi is the brunette watching over the snoozing baby.
Nina, Steffi and Britta form an interesting triangle. Nina and Steffi go back a long way, having been even high school class mates. If I remember correctly, chemistry wasn't the first choice for either one, but that's what they ended up with. (In the first two years they were roommates.) Going with chemistry apparently didn't hurt them too much, I guess, since both met their husbands. Britta, on the other hand, was Nina's companion in Glasgow, Scotland, for one semester abroad; an adventure I was also a part of. Steffi and Britta later went on to do a PhD in physical chemistry with the same advisor (I left that group for Berlin after the final undergraduate thesis), while Nina did hers in organic chemistry.
Now, yesterday's journey of mine began as early as 6:30 am, when I left the house to walk to the train station. At around 7, I hopped on the first train, which took me as far as Saarbrücken ... only a 10 mile ride. After a ten minute layover, I hopped on another train to Trier, which took 90 minutes, and where I had a full hour wait until I could continue. From Trier I went on to Euskirchen. There I only had to cross the platform, where the last train to Rheinbach was already preparing for its departure. Since I was a little early for the party, I had a snack at that train station, until I took a bus to Merzbach, where Nina, Jörg and Moritz currently reside. Total duration, one way: seven hours. I stayed at the party for about three hours ... then I had to leave to be home without spending a night at a train station in the goonies. Jörg gave me a ride back to Rheinbach, and guess what? The train I was supposed to take from there was cancelled! That meant an extra 30 min wait before I could ride back to Euskirchen (only 15 min). There I found, much to my relief, that a train to Trier would leave soon, and be there at 8 pm. From there trains depart for Saarbrücken every hour until very late (and more than a few actually go as far as Homburg or Kaiserslautern for which they have to pass through my hometown, St. Ingbert).
In Trier, I was stalled for another hour, so I decided to do a quick sight seeing trip. Trier happens to be the oldest settlement in Germany, being founded more than 2,000 years ago by the Romans. The so-called Porta Nigra (or Black Gate), has been left by them and can be visited. It is located only a few minutes from the train station in Trier (which the Romans used to call Augusta Treverorum), so I decided to seize the day and take a few pictures. (I am sharing my favorite with you on the bottom left.) - Eventually, I rode to Saarbrücken, and since this train does go to Homburg, but not on Saturdays, I had another final layover there.
When you look at the map, you will find my traveling route indicated. I find it a bit ridiculous that was on the train(s) for five hours one way, when the net traveling time was actually only 3.5 hours. But there are two problems: first, I used the so-called Happy Weekend Ticket (39 €), by which you can use all short-distance trains on one weekend day (which must be designated prior to the trip). You may even bring a long a few others, but the ticket must be signed, so the holder must be present and cannot pass the ticket on to someone else when he doesn't need it anymore.
The second problem is that there weren't any long distance trains available that would go, say, from Saarbrücken to Cologne on my route, because (I think) those can't used the existing tracks. Taking long distance trains would have deviated me so much that the trip would have been only (much) more expensive, but not faster.
I wish they would introduce a fast connection from Saarbrücken to Cologne, or at least make the layovers significantly shorter, but another problem is that there are more hills than population between Trier and Euskirchen/Cologne, so this will probably remain wishful thinking in the foreseeable future.
Nevertheless, I had an awesome day, and it was particularly nice to reunite with so many friends, even for just a short time. Additionally, the weather improved a lot throughout yesterday, from rainy-gray to spring-like. I think I have to see them again soon, also because it has just occurred to me that I didn't taste any of Nina's father's products yesterday - the man runs his own vineyard!

Family Reunion

Recently it was my father's birthday. For an appropriate celebration of this event we went to a nice local restaurant. We, meaning my father, my mother, myself, and my sister Katharina (yes, "the Great", just like Alexander "the Great"). I don't get to see my sister very often, as she lives now in Hamburg, at the North Sea, which is about 500 miles north from our town. In fact, this was the first time I saw her in the flesh since I had returned from the United States. (Ironically, she is currently pursuing a degree in psychology, which has more to do with the mind than the flesh ...)
The restaurant we went to is called Die alte Brauerei, or The Old Brewery. I don't have a definitive proof, but it seems very obvious that the building used to house the facilities of the Becker brewery, our local beer brand, which later got merged with a larger competitor (from Homburg, the capital of our county, so it was still a local product) and was eventually discontinued. The newer facilities of the Becker brewery are located just across the main street, which is called Kaiserstraße, or Emperor's road, after Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte; note that the German Kaiser and the Latin Caesar are cognates. The Kaiserstraße is nowadays a second-tier highway (and as such is has a general speed limit of 100 km/h, unlike the German Autobahn), but already back in the 19th century it connected Paris, France, with Mainz, now a state capital in central Germany (next to Frankfurt).
The restaurant itself is above everyday lunch category, at least for my budget, and also my parents'. Nevertheless, the ambient gives it a distinct down-to-earth feel, while on the other hand the French owners and waiters add the right amount of out-of-the-ordinary. As you can see from the top picture, the part that faces Kaiserstraße has an archway through which the yard and the actual restaurant are reached. Note the timber framing (middle picture) - it really is an old building.
Finally (bottom picture), you can see the other three members of my immediate family sitting on one table, waiting for the feast to begin. - My mother suggested that we go there again once I found a new employment.