Côte d’Azure and Provence

Like ever year, as it comes to a close it's time to reflect on travel destinations from this year. For "some" reason we are drawn towards countries that offer either interesting and old cultures or new and tasteful cuisine, or both. This year we chose the South of France as our destination and we were absolutely floored. After spending some days exploring the Côte d’Azure from Monaco to Cassis we headed north and spend more time in the heart of the Provence (Saint-Rémy-de-Provence) enjoying the smells of Lavender, Roman architecture and of course fine foods of the region.

Compared to people living in Paris, the French in the south have a more relaxed attitude on life and it’s basically what doctors prescribe for a nice vacation.

 

While driving through Annecy on the way back to Switzerland, we must have exceeded the posted speed limit (by 7 km/h) because a couple of weeks later we received a ticket for 45€ from the French government. At least we were able to pay online by credit card, which beats traffic school anytime. Please note, that Annecy is located further north towards Geneva.

Result of a wet Spring

The other day I went down to the lake and my eyes caught something and I had to take a closer look. As I bent down to investigate, it became apparent that it was a mushroom. In fact, there was not only one, but two of them. Knowing that some mushrooms can have serious effect when ingested, I did some research and found out that they are Morels. Being the cautious type I left them alone. I was not that hungry that I depended on this quite beautiful fungi.

 

A Morel

With all the rain that we have had here in the Midwest it's not a surprise that this Morel appeared in our backyard.

Wakeup Machine

Every morning we wake up with an espresso and today the machine hit 6000 brews. We bought the Bosch benvenuto B30 in 2006 and it still works like a champ.

One of the best features is that one doesn’t have to clean the grinder all the time like in other models. It really allows the owner to enjoy what you bought the machine for, a good hot nice shot of espresso. All you need to do is to once in a while drop a cleaning tablet into a hole and let the machine do the "tough" job. If you want to buy an espresso maker for the sake of cleaning it, then this machine is not for you.

This brings me to another topic. Even though the initial expense for this machine was higher than other models, the cost per shot which it the 1299.- / 6000 = 0.22, which is negligible and beats a shot at Starbucks anytime.

I can't wait until tomorrow morning.

Christmas Time

They have such a seasonable sweet and nutty taste that I often get “blamed” to make guests want more. Of course, I am talking about Cinnamon Stars, a famous and traditional European Christmas cookie (Zimtsterne).
 

Zimt Sterne

To no surprise, Google comes up with 437000 results.
Most of those recipes have one thing in common and that is the consistency of the dough. But the cookies taste so delicious that it’s well worth dealing with the ultra sticky dough.
The stickiness can be dealt with by cooling the dough in the freezer for an hour before cutting out the stars.
 
Once the cookies are cooled down the stars should end up soft inside with a white hard icing.
Here you find the recipe that I was using.

Windows 8: Love it or hate it?

The answer should be: embrace it.

Let me explain. Microsoft seizes a great opportunity to consolidate two different platforms each requiring a different approach of interaction. The “old-fashioned” way of using mouse and keyboard for the desktop PC on one side and a more natural way of interacting with the tablet via gestures.  Initially, it might feel a little clunky when starting up Windows 8 on a desktop but if you have two monitors like most people (should) have then the metro style  is nothing more than a graphical representation of programs that one would access via the Windows Start key. But wait, there is more, those tiles are alive and  provide information before you even start the application.

I have to give Microsoft a lot of kudos for trying to fuse two distinctive concepts and I believe this is only the start. Yes, it feels odd in the beginning when switching between a metro style app to a to desktop app, but changes are inevitable and like so many other good things they will get even better over time. Life has changed and most of us consume more content than they produce and that is where the metro style app is more “handy” (pun intended) than an desktop application. At this time, there is no doubt in my mind that keyboard and mouse or stylus are essential tools for more productivity when creating content, and that is why the desktop application is still a solid part of Windows 8 and will be used on a desktop.

Some new feature requires users to learn new tricks, but then again not too many people are born with a mouse and keyboard either. Like anything new it makes people feel uncomfortable because the status quo changes and new skills or knowledge has to be acquired in order to remain competitive and that’s a little scary.

Raking Season is over

With the temperatures falling in the last few days, the leave raking and collecting season is finally over for this year.
As a proud owner of a Cyclon Rake I can can only tell you that it's so much fun to be outside and let the tractor do the all the hard work.

Säntis (Appenzell)

September is a great time to travel and not just because the people are back from their vacation but usually the weather is fantastic too. We took advantage of that and took the cable car from the Schwägalp to the highest mountain in the region. 

The Säntis is 2501m above sea level and part of the Alpstein, The panorama is great and one can see Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein and some peaks from Italy as well as Switzerland.

There is a old weather station at the top was built in 1882, and it's fully automated these days.

The restaurant on top provides a fantastic buffet with fresh bread and Bircher Müesli and other local specialties, such as Appenzeller cheese and Birnbrot (Pear Bread).

In the past, the Appenzeller land was a closed off regions and as such is home of a lot of traditions. One that is still practiced every year is leading the younger cows up the the alpine meadows in the spring and bringing them back home again in the fall. In the fall, it's called Alpabfahrt. The Senn (care taker) and his helpers dress up in the traditional uniform with a red vest and yellow pants. How to get the leather pants this yellow, is a closely guarded secret, like the recipe for the Appenzeller cheese.