The Beautiful Canadian Prairie

Hello My Dear Great Ones,

The Canadian Prairie is not promoted that much as a tourist destination, but I think it should be.  It is actually quite beautiful. I spent some time at Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, located in southern Alberta, a few weeks ago.  It was a clear day and you could see for miles/kilometers.  

The prairies were once home to millions of buffalo, and also home to natives who hunted them and depended on them for their lives.  Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump is where natives once drove buffalo off a cliff to their deaths.  Now there is an excellent musuem, which educates and also is a monument to an era that would be eventually obliterated with the coming of the European settlers.   There are also some great views from the museum and it gives you a taste of how vast and beautiful the prairie actually is. 

Big land.   Big sky.

This lone teepee was a great photo op:

This noble warrior was no doubt a great hunter of the buffalo.

The cliffs where the buffalo were stampeded over.

Iconic Canadian images:

Have a great week everyone.

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk

A Wistful Ode to Barbeques and Garden Parties.

Hello Dear Great Ones,
I love barbeques and garden parties.  In the regions of the World that have seasons, like Canada, they mainly take place in the summer making them special occasions for one can actually sit outside, in warmth and sunshine.   The harsh, horrible, frigid conditions of the long winter months are a distant and unpleasant memory only, sadly, to be rekindled soon.  In Alberta old man winter (why is it old man and not middle age woman, just asking) can arrive as early as September.  

Barbeques and garden parties in Canada are a fantastic way to reconnect with old family members, old friends, plus a great way to make new friends before the frigid winds from the arctic makes its annual journey south sending people scurrying further south or into dwellings where in a way they hibernate for several months.   I remember not seeing neighbors for like ten months in Canada due to this hibernation, and only in the late spring when the barbeques and garden parties started again, and they emerged out of their holes a little pale and lethargic, did I know they had survived another winter.  Maybe I am being a little melodramatic here, but I don't think I am too far off the truth when I say most Canadians can relate to this.

While mosquitoes often attack a barbeque or garden party in Canada with relentless aggression, the smell of Off and savoury smoking steaks at a barbeque or garden party is as Canadian as snow, ice, hockey, maple syrup, and a touque.  

On a more serious note I believe barbeques and garden parties are a fantastic way for people from different generations, different professions, different socio economic stratas, different ethnic groups, different belief systems, to come in peace and share snippets of their lives with one another.  It is a chance to encourage and provide a sense of identity, you belong! It is a way of saying, "We are grateful for your presence and the best of who you are." Plus there is nothing like some delicious food and drink to improve ones mood as well.  So all hail to barbeques and garden parties.

My parents Helga and Alfred have a very regal and great barbeque and garden party every summer.  It is a wonderful highlight of the year for me and is a fine example of all that I mentioned above.

Thanks, eh.



      

Circle of life.

Catching up with Peter who I had not seen since the picture was taken below, back in the late 60's.

Peter is third from left, I am of course the tallest one.  Always have always will be.

 Mom, sister, and brother in law.  He cheers for the Raiders.  Some day he will be rewarded for his faithfulness, but not this year. Or the next….

 With Eli my fine son.

 Eli showing off some moves for cousin Colin.

 My dad the master chef.  Why do men barbeque and the women don't?  Just asking.

 Good food.

 Elsie multi-tasking.  Playing soccer and frisbee at the same time.

 Kids having fun.

 Eli sharing a kernel of wisdom.

 EAT!!!!

Have a great week everyone.

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk

A Very Special Girl

Hello Most Excellent Ones,

I spent time with Eli, Gillian, and their amazing daughter, (my granddaughter!), Avalon,  for a few days this past week.  It was a special time and I am very grateful for it.

Eli, Gillian, Avalon, and Millie the Greyhound (half deer, half kangaroo when she runs) over looking Paul Lake.

Gillian lugging her precious cargo.

Cute.

Big smile.

Nap time.

Sweet pictures:

Avalon with young Opa.

Eli with his sweet baby.

Sweet.

Please pray for Eli, Gillian, and Avalon.

God bless you all.  Have a great week.

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk

Hamburg and Heidelberg

Hello Dear Most Great Ones,

I spent a few days in Hamburg, the city of my birth, catching up with relatives, eating well, and seeing some sights.  Sven and Celia were with me making the time more fun. 

The house my mother grew up in.  Its owned by an uncle and has been part of the family for decades.

Hanging with my God mother and relatives for an amazing meal.

Hamburg without strawberry torte is not Hamburg.

Deluxe Abend Brot.  Germans eat evening bread rather than a large meal in the evening.

Hamburg flag in the foreground.  In the back is the Hauptbahnhof.  The main train station.

Hamburg has been called the Venice of the north due to its many canals near the harbour.

A landmark of Hamburg: St. Michael's Kirche.

A huge statue of Luther is near the church.

Inside are several loud and large organs.

452 steps take you to the top of the tower.

A view from the top of the tower.

Near Hamburg is Travemunde; located on the Baltic Sea.  I spent a lovely time with some excellent ones there.

It has a beach covered with traditional covered beach coaches, protecting you from the wind, and a place to store your stuff. 

Great people hanging by the Baltic sea.

Some parts of the beach at Travemunde were rugged indeed.

Visiting was also a big part of Hamburg.

An afternoon spent with relatives, mother's cousin's family, was fun.  Traditional coffee time with Tortes.

A good luck ladybug on a floor.

Later we had a great meal at Blankenese by the Elbe.  The restaurant did not look like much, but the food was awesome.

A big container ship from China eased by.

My final days in Germany were spent in Heidelberg with my excellent friends Michael and Sabine.

The Heidelberg castle.

Germans love to have coffee and cake outside.  So do I.

Part of the fortress is a ruin.

Great views from the top.  The Holy Ghost Church is below, while the "Old Bridge," spans the Necker.

The Heidelberg castel has a famous keg of considerable size.

Germans do not normally dress this way, in traditional German garb, but when they do it is always worthy of a picture.

What incredible luck.  I witnessed the Germans winning their fourth World Cup in Germany.

The neighborhood came alive when Germany won.  Fireworks, yelling, horns honking, and one guy kept repeating ," wir sind Weltmeister, wir sind Weltmeister,  we are World champions, we are World champions…."  Great fun.

The next day I went biking with Michael and Celia through the countryside of Heidelberg.  Awesome.

A view from a castle.

In the background are three castles.  

This castle is inhabited.

Biking though a corn field with a ruin of a castle in the background.

Amazing.

  Biking through this town was like biking through a fairy tale.

I love Germany especially the people.  It is great and I plan to go again and again as long as I can.

Have a great week.

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk