And another succumbs to the switch

Welcome to the ranks, Bren. Hope you enjoy it - I'm here to advise.

Adventures of Special K

Konrad got his first taste of Europe - including the Alps, Alsace, and more. We were lucky enough to accompany the cutie for some of his treks.

Colmar avec les cousins

Kate and I zipped to France with Bren, Corey, and Special K last weekend. The destination was the Alsatian town of Colmar. Although it was a tad dreary, the townsfolk were out in droves. Following is a leisurely walk through the accordion-filled old town.

James Blunt isn't such a pansy after all

A goon he may be; a pansy he is not. James Blunt gave a lively concert last week in Mannheim. He didn't deliver the overly sentimental gushing falsetto we expected. Mr. Blunt rocked out for us.

Kate had scored great seats and VIP parking - thanks to her elaborate connections in the local entertainment industry (she taught the whole arena staff English, even down to the guy who drives the zamboni).

So, aside from keeping our lunch down during "You're Beautiful" and "1973," we thoroughly enjoyed his performance. I would even recommend it.

Deac and Jane in Europe

Dad and Jane came over for their honeymoon last month. We got to catch the start of their trip and accompany them to Switzerland. On the way, we swung by Auggen to visit Laurie and Ernie. Here are some shots and the link to their site

Adobe Elements meets Final Cut

Following is a slight experiment in combining still shots with video software. It comprises about 120 still shots adapted with Adobe Photoshop Elements with graduated stylizing of four effects.

Fall in full effect

Kate, wielding her D80, snapped some peak-fall photos of the town. Although no Vermont "fruity-pebbles-poured-on-mountains" landscape, the ruddy foliage, the terra-cotta-tile roofs, and the ubiquitous maroon sandstone in these parts pleasantly dominate the autumn spectrum. We'd enjoy the season even more if we knew winter wasn't so close behind.

Birthday monkeys

Perry took me down to see monkeys near Lake Constance. I got to feed monkeys popcorn right from my palm the whole day. They were pleasantly fuzzy macaques - chubby, playful, shivering, mutually grooming monkeys. They sat on the posts and awaited their snack.

The monkey mountain, or Affenberg as it is called, also hosted other creatures, including deer, leviathan-sized carp, storks, ducks, geese, and elusive frogs.

We then went on to a town on the banks of Lake Constance for a Greek meal and a stroll along the promenade. Below you'll find a slide show and video of the day. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday - everybody loves monkeys.

Heidelberger Herbst

Every year, Heidelberg holds an autumn festival, to which Germans (and other nationalities) flock. Come 11:00 a.m., the streets are chock-a-block, shoulder-to-shoulder packed. Kate and I snuck down around 8:30 to beat the crowd and get a look at the preparations. The medieval theme is obvious from these shots - but there were also some unexpected sights and sounds.

Graduating from iMovie to Final Cut

Special is not the video; rather how it was made. Final Cut has a pretty steep learning curve, but I finally can do with it what I can do with iMovie - and then some. Thus I'm retiring the latter.

What you may notice this time already:

• Audio editing and audio transitions


• Dissolve video transitions


• Multitrack audio (three in this case)

No worries if you didn't notice - there will be some more drastic enhancements in the posts to come (I hope).

Hike it

A five-hour hike through sleepy lion park in the Rockies. A few photos.

Converting one family member at a time...

Mom got a Mac!

Ivy the mountain dog

Ivy was my roommate for a few months during my last year of college. She's now nine years old, but still has her same slobbering habits. And she still likes to hike - here she chases prairie dogs in front of the flatirons backdrop.

Three cities in two days

It's humbling how fast you can overcome time and space - and then scramble to prove it in a multimedia story. In less than two days, I dropped off the folks in Grindelwald, Switzerland, landed in Denver, and sped on to Las Vegas. Although it was fun to compare and contrast the Alps and the Rockies while both fresh in the head, traversing time zones and climates that fast takes its toll on body and mind. Luckily, I dropped in on friends and family during the tour (with intermittent work commitments), which kept me going. Off to Frankfurt tomorrow.

Rumble in the Rockies

Tomas hustles like a hare. What he lacks in skill he makes up for in sheer tongue-sticking-out-the-corner-of-the-mouth determination. Here's a look at his Pele-caliber soccer moves. Way to scrap, T!

Again to Auggen...

One of the last stops on Kris's itinerary was a (too) quick visit to Laurie and Ernie in Auggen. It was a mini-reunion with sauerkraut and Ernie's constant consultations on marriage.

Konrad Ernst Soennecken has arrived...


OK, usually babies this young aren't what I would call cute. But little Konrad here is a special case. This one is acutely cute. The dude's got the disposition of a boy beyond his, well...months. Just try to avert his piercing gaze. He's already got the world figured out and is ruminating on his conclusions.

This precocious tot is the son of my cousins Brendan and Corey. He joined the planet about two weeks ago. He'll be heading over to Germany end of October. Kate and I hope he'll be staying a while. Congrats Corey and Bren - you've definitely got a little corner of the sun now!

Visit from Portland

I hadn't seen Ivan in about six years. He's an Edinboro, PA native who showed me and the high-school crew around the panhandle back in the day. We met his wife Tara and their one-year-old daughter Adha for the first time. The three of them are doing a tour of Europe, with four weeks to do it in. We were fortunate enough to see them twice during their ramble. The sights of Heidelberg were a given on the agenda.

Flirting with high dynamic range (HDR)

This is my first go at HDR images. If any of you Tramps Abroad viewers have worked with HDR before, I would very much appreciate some tips.

The first example was taken by Kate at St. Antimo in Tuscany. The second was taken outside Interlaken. The third was at Omaha Beach. Sorry for the watermark - it's still a trial version of the software.

Normal (click to enlarge)	HDR (click to enlarge)
Normal (click to enlarge)	HDR (click to enlarge)
Normal (click to enlarge)	HDR (click to enlarge)

It's pronounced like "Favre"


So what do Paris, France and Green Bay, Wisconsin have in common? They both celebrate icons whose names end in the utterly unutterable "vre". Yes, although Brett FaVRE has himself probably never been to the LouVRE, he does share with the museum this linguistic peculiarity.

So either the star quarterback has French forefathers, or a trapper from Wisconsin found serious favor in Louis the XV's court.

Anyway, here are a few shots and videos of our visit to this art trove. Kris enjoyed the variety of sculptures, paintings, and artifacts. Although nice to get the lowdown on prehistoric Mesopotamia, I think I would have rather seen a Packers game.

l'Alsace

The last Sunday before work starts again in full swing. Kate and I headed West to the Alsace region of France, where we visited the towns of Wissenbourg, Seebach, Hoffen, Hunspach, and even a bit of the Maginot Line. This region is only an hour from Heidelberg, it is the true birth place of Amish patchwork and was home to those who decided to call the New World "America." Who'd a thunk it? Below are some pics of these still mediaeval looking hamlets.

A frist go at Maki

Tired of putting down the cash for plates full of raw fish, Kate and I decided to try our luck with the salmonella gods and prepare our own maki and sushi. The verdict is still out, as we are still digesting, but I think we had a respectable premier. Foogoo, here we come.

Swedjin...as if one weren't enough

Given Kate and I put in longer hours than we'd like to, we thought it would be fair to the cat that she get a roomie. The name of the Beast is Swedjin. She is evil.

EURO 2008 atmosphere

Just a few shots of Heidelberg before the Euro 2008 finals. The entire country had mobilized for the deciding game, showing up at public viewing areas en mass. Here's a small sample of the Euro 2008 feeling.

Pan's Plunge

On May 29, getting on to 10 at night, Pan was playing innocently at our feet with a new toy, when something out of the window caught her eye. The last thing Kate and I saw was her hind quarters fly out the window.

She's fine now - a sort of bionic kitty, with a steel-pinned leg and an epoxy jaw.  We compiled this video to help Kate process the trauma and to help me deal with the shock of the vet bill.

Party in the Park

As a way to say thank you and goodbye to some of Kate's students, we hosted a small barbeque and corn-hole event. It was a great way to spend a Saturday - playing games and eating lots.

Thanks to everyone who came, and we missed the ones who couldn't make it.

Le Road Trip (Updated with Video)

We chomped off a large chunk of Western Europe this summer, hitting several touristy and not-so-touristy sites along the way: from Heidelberg to Paris, to Normandy, to Bruges, to Trier, through the Moselle Valley and back home. Here's the route; the video recap is now in there..


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San Fran for a Day

A small mix of business and pleasure. First visit to San Fran in nearly 20 years. Before meeting with the folks at Business Objects in San Jose, got to see a bit of the bay area and Silicon valley. Was amazed at how quickly you get into nature. A quick look at the city...

Kayaking? ...Nahe.

We've got nothin' on nature. After a strong performance on the Altmuhl last year, we were utterly humbled by the shallow and rocky waters of the River Nahe, about 60 km West Southwest of Mainz. We tallied a total of three instances of capsizing - the water wasn't exactly thermal-spring fed either.

Met a Samaritan after the second close encounter with the water. We all disembarked, and he drove us (and our kayaks) a ways to a better campground (I don't know where we would have staid that night if we hadn't met him out on the water). He even brought us blankets, a dry sleeping bag, a hot plate of steaming noodles and tomato sauce, and a bottle of wine later on that evening. We sat with him late into the night, watching him smoke cigars and talk about dirt bikes and wasted tax euros.

We are already scheduling our rematch with the River Nahe for next year...we'll make sure to call our Samaritan in advance.





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Visit to Auggen Revisited

Brenner was in town two weeks after our previous visit to Laurie and Ernie's place in Auggen. Didn't do much, but that was the best part.

Aunt and Uncle in Auggen

Got to sprint down Schwarzwald-way to visit Laurie and Ernie at the old winery in Auggen. They had some marvelous stories that day. A more recent one we caught on video:

Crete a la Karte

Music, video, and cartography: a little over-documentation. But you can cover more of the senses this way...all we need now is an odoriferous USB-stick. Anyway, for those who haven't been to Crete, let this lure you. So much to do that you can't plan for, and it wouldn't be as fun if you did.

The best way to navigate through the map is to click on "View Larger Map," below the lower left corner of the map. The photos embedded in the map are a nice touch - just click on the icons. The photos were taken more or less where the icons are on the map.


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Füüüüüüüßen: Part II

Yes, we are getting into video production...it gets the message across so much more vividly. The following is a video recap of the Sams' maiden trip across the pond - they are scheduled to arrive this summer for their next adventure. Look forward to seeing you Connie and Van!!

Matt and Dad in D-Land Video Recap

Just a quick revisiting of Dad and Matt's visit to Germany in the fall of last year - this time with the land-lover activities as well.




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London in a Day
One of the world's largest cities in one day...not easy. But we packed in quite a few sights, including a musical (joy). The video sums up our 24-hour tour of England's capital.

Donegal on horseback

It was back in 2005, but wanted to highlight Kris's first trip to Ireland nonetheless. She learned to ride quickly, and even galloped down the wooded trail avoiding every low-hanging branch and returning with only a slightly strained back.

We hope to see her in Europe again soon.

Flat Stanley Visits Heidelberg

Kate and I got a little carried away with a project for her second-grade second cousin. Flat Stanley, who had suffered a horrendous bulletin-board accident, was sent to us from the States. It was our duty to show him around and integrate him with the locals. The following is a short documentary of his excursions.

Introducing Pan the Jungle Kitty

She's wild....oh yes she is wild. Pan (short for schizophrenic pandemonium the jungle kitty) joined our enclave on January 4. We drove 100km to the town of Mosbach in the Neckar valley to browse for a feline Fritz. We stumbled across Pan, who was very reserved - except when it came to biting our fingers when we weren’t paying attention. We basically took her home, because we figured she didn't have a chance with anyone else.

Pan the Jungle Kitty

After spending the first two nights petrified under our couch, Pan emerged to lay claim to our domicile - with proud gesturing and stinky poo. She now attacks our feet, toes, rugs, upholstery, plasma television (yikes!). She has terrorized our plants, and her scratching post is little more than a splintered toothpick.

But at night she nestles between us, purring, squinting, and then sleeping soundly...until about 3:00 a.m., when playtime once again ensues.

But we love her anyway, just as any parent would have to love a problem child.

Christmas in the Balkans

With little warning, I was off to the Balkans to spend a solitary Christmas. Hit one of the nicest Christmas markets I'd ever seen in Ljubljana and visited the owner of a youth hostel in Zagreb - the one I help build seven years ago. It has since expanded by about 150%, with more and more visitors coming each year. 

Was a bummer not to see the fam, but at least I got a lot of reading done. Bog!

Christmas in the Balkans