Hot Venice..

Walking the narrow lanes of Venice admiring the displays of glass jewelry and venetian masks, I am stunned to suddenly be greeted by sights of this!! Vibrantly colored, hot chillies being sold in open vegetable stalls..

Sunny Sunny days....

We are on our family holiday in beautiful Italy. Enjoying the hot weather(just like India), gorging on delicious sea food and frolicking on the beach, visiting ancient monuments. The kids are loving it. Ahhh, and yes, not to forget our Italian adventures which we will remember all our lives...:)

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My name is Khan, what's yours?

Guess what the kids bump into while surfing channels on the television. You guessed it right..:) Now, it was no surprise to me to see king Khan on German TV. Here's why......German's adore him, yes, like crazy!! Here's what an article has to say about him, that he is as popular as the Pope!!!! Huh???

Sonny has a classmate who squeals like crazy the moment she sees his posters. She goes about screaming, kissing and all the girlie stuff girls do when they see their favorite stars. Of course, sonny is not impressed..:)

Here's another incident....a fellow Indian expat who was attending german classes at the Volkshochschule was asked what was famous in India. Before she could even reply(she was to mention the Taj Mahal), her fellow classmates replied in unison Sharukh Khan!!!! :D

Anyway, though being Indian, the kids and I are not fond of Bollywood. There's no explanation as to why. I do have a select collection of favorite Indian movies, but that's about it. So what made us watch this? Call it coincidence or what, it was the day I began tutoring the kids on the hindi alphabet or akshar, and the same evening we encounter this?? I could not believe our luck and instructed them to to watch the whole movie. It would help them in their language training.

(Doesn't Kajol look ravishing? )

After 10 minutes of whining and protesting, we managed to sit through the entire movie with occasional tears :D and protests again!!!

 Final verdict by sonny after sitting through the entire story..."I need to put in some sense into this director's head!!!!" So Mr Karan Johar, what have you to say??

Fireworks in Lohr am Main

On Sunday we were treated to spectacular fireworks in our little village. Every year the beer fest ends with these fireworks by the river Main. People from the surrounding villages line up on both the old and new bridge to view the display. For us it was the first time and the kids were way too excited.

(The special boat which takes you on a little cruise and then stops for a while to view the fireworks)

Bursting of fireworks any time of the year is forbidden in Germany and a punishable offense. The only time you see such displays are during Silvester(New Year's eve),beer fests or exclusive displays planned by the state. For Indians who are used to bursting crackers for every other event or celebration it is hard. More so during the time of Diwali(festival of lights), not being able to celebrate the normal way can be frustrating. So on Sunday night, it felt like a special kind of Diwali celebration, only a little bit early...:D

Take a walk with me, you won't regret it.

Today, after almost six months, I walked to my favorite place. This is by the river Main across Lohr. You got to walk across the Altes brücke(old bridge), go down these flight of stairs and voila you are in.....

PARADISE!!!!!

This spot is so peaceful and calm. It never feels crowded, though there are always people in small groups wanting to enjoy the serenity of the place. This stretch runs for miles from a village to another with green grass and weeping willows alongside the river Main. You can walk or bike, do whatever you please.

When the kids are tired, there are play areas too with all sorts of favorite things to do..

Now here's why this is my favorite stretch for walks.... See the picture below..

All along I am treated to various veggie and fruit gardens!!!! I have no garden of my own, but I satisfy myself just looking and admiring all of nature's bounty grown in someone's yard. Pictured above are Zwetschgen, a kind of plum elliptical in shape. 

(click on the pic and enlarge to see the bunches of purple plums dangling from branches)

When I look at all the fruit, I cannot help but think of the fruit trees back home in India. All of us family members have to be on alert like watchdogs, just to see that the fruit remains on the trees till they ripen(of course in the process, you do tend to lose some to petty thieves)

Over here there is tremendous respect for other's property and belongings. A little further down the road you come across small patches of land which either belong to or else are leased or rented out to families to grow their own veggies.

As you can see, some are fenced, some not. Yet, untouched by intruders.

Being a passionate gardener and lover of plants, I can see that months of hard work and labor have gone into producing the fruit above. More so cause nobody lives in these small patches of gardens. They live in the village and during their free time they have got to come over to water and tend to their green ones.

Every patch has their own little shed or green house and a water tube along with big bins for the vegetative waste. 

I know this turned out to be a long post. But I had to show you my favorite walking stretch. If you lasted till the end, thanks a ton for the company...:)
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der Sommer

The summer's whizzing by..... like a soft breeze...

I don't want it to end. All the color, sunshine, I want it to stay...

Winter, please take your time.... I am in no rush to greet you....:)

What's your summer like ??

(Above pictures taken at Burgsinn, a pretty little village 26 kms from Lohr)

Tuesday's around the World

Tis the week where our sleepy little village is alive both by day and night....:)

What's your today like?? Wanna share with us? Come along and have fun!!