No, That’s Not True, „Sobrino“ …

Posted on 22. Oktober 2018 by Axel Thorer

... you are not the oldest restaurant on earth!

The nice old facade of the „Sobrino de Boris“ in Madrid

IT’S WRITTEN AGAIN AND AGAIN! That Madrid’s „Sobrino de Botin“ on Calle Cuchilleros in the La Latina district was founded in 1725, never closed, and is older than any other restaurant around the globe! People believe it, go there for exactly this assumption, the food is excellent, no reason to regret the visit – and once you are seated they will tell you another hair raising story: That the painter Goya, young and poor, washed dishes in the „Sobrino“. Maybe, but there are definitely older restaurants in earth, especially in Japan and Germany, and the Austrian St. Peter Stiftskeller in Salzburg (celebrated in an earlier post of this Blog) was opened in 803 and is therefore almost 1000 years older than the „Sobrino“! Sorry, folks, but go on telling whatever you want …

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Are There Still Inka left?

Posted on 22. Oktober 2018 by Axel Thorer

Yes, but they are called Q'ero and are very few ...

The Inka reign ...

The old Inka ...

... and their descendants

AFTER THE DEVASTATING VISIT OF THE SPANIARDS – and especially the Catholic Church, they disappeared. But in 1955 some descendants of the Inka were discovered by an ethnological expedition near Cuzco in the province of Paucartambo. Their villages are situated as high up as 4700 meters, that’s the main reason why they managed to hide for so long, and they live in traditional houses, not much different from the conditions of their ancestors, 600 years ago. They kept traces of their original religion and language, are crop farmers mainly and are estimated to be 2000 heads strong, dispersed to 14 villages. Their vocal memory of the glorious – and terrible – past is very vital and delivered from generation to generation. To grant them an easier live is discussed by the Peruvian government, bit the Q’ero resist any attempt to re-populate them in other parts of the country.

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Jump The Lines in Florence!

Posted on 22. Oktober 2018 by Axel Thorer

It's possible – with the FirenzeCard ...

That's the FIRENZECARD ...

IT LOOKS LIKE A CREDITCARD, it’s red, expensive – and very comfortable! The FIRENZECARD is issued by the Segnoria, the town council, and if you got it, it allows you the visit all that’s worth seeing for free. But that’s not the point, because the card costs 85 Euro and you wouldn’t pay more by entering with the regular tickets. BUT – having the card you are allowed to jump the waiting lines, and they are the pest of the visitors in Florence!!! It can happen that you stand in line over an hour at the doors of the Uffizi. With the card you enter at your own will. 85 Euro (= app. US$ 95) is a fat amount of money and the card is valid 72 hours only. But it safes you precious time – and probably the whole visit. And don’t be impressed by the protests of the people in the waiting lines, just show them the little red miracle card …

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Louis Vuitton Is Attacked …

Posted on 30. September 2018 by Axel Thorer

... successfully by a brand called Goyard!

A Godard bag in grayish blue ...

THE MATERIAL IS MORE OR LESS THE SAME, but the design is different. The bags seem being simpler to me, also a bit more decent, which a lot of real ladies prefer. I discovered Goyard in a boutique in St Tropez – or not, since all the bags were sold out, I saw the displays only. But later in the day I found the one I show here and bought it. Not that Goyard is much cheaper: A bag like the one here costs roughly 1200 Euro in the licensed shops. But in the street they sell in for less, you have to deal for the best price – and 200 Euro is possible. How that’s possible, I don’t know and I don’t want to know. What I know for sure, is that Goyard is chic, has a vast variety of objects and it’s always worth to browse the internet – in the way one should browse the street markets …

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What A Hilarious Website!

Posted on 30. September 2018 by Axel Thorer

It's like reading fully texted wanted posters ...

That's the head of the pretty – and entertaining – website ...

GO TO BANKNOTES.COM (yes, it’s an easy adress) AND LOOK FOR THE CROOKS! Go to the bottom of the first page, there you will find „Hall of Shame“, click it – and you will enter half an hour entertaining reading. The following individuals or companies are not just dishonest swappers, traders, collectors who do not send their share to their clients. Many of them are hardcore criminals, such as scammers, thieves, fraudsters, crooks, who are making a „living“ by cheating, scamming and defrauding collectors and dealers. On this page anyone is posted who will cheat, scam or defraud, including delivered but unpaid orders, credit card & check fraud, electronic shoplifting, other activity, such as unreasonable chargebacks, and chargeback-fraud etc. I have the feeling that to publish all those details concerning suspected individuals is highly illegal, but there is an enormous amount of careful research behind each story and the longer I browsed it, to more fun I had …

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Eating Out In Krakow …

Posted on 30. September 2018 by Axel Thorer

... the Polish city has 26 Michelin restaurants!

Sterne-Koch Filipkiewicz ...

... und das schöne Krakau

WOW, I DIDN’T KNOW THAT, did you? Krakow is the gourmet center of Eastern Europe! In 2019 it will be awarded the title „European Capital of Gastronomy Culture“, and Marcin Filipkiewicz, the chef at the Hotel „Copernicus“, received the honor of being „Chef of the Future“ already. All in all, the town can boast about 26 restaurant, mentioned in the „Michelin Guide“ – that’s an enormous amount, it happened in secrecy and nobody really knows how. Beside the beauty and history of Krakow, her countryside and not to forget the native Gural people, this is another fine reason to travel there …

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The Traffic Lights Will Watch You …

Posted on 14. September 2018 by Axel Thorer

... in London. But it's a clever idea!

Wie die Beatles in der Abbey Road ...

YOU KNOW THE SITUATION AND HATE IT: You are stopped by a red traffic light without need – there are no pedestrians crossing! Or the other way round: You can’t cross a street because of the red light – but there are no cars! So far traffic lights were stupid, exchanged their colors by a fixed time signal, not appraising the real demand. To alter this, the city council of London decided to install 200 smart traffic lights which recognize the real situation and adapt the duration and sequences of their colors accordingly. Thank you! But the United Nations should order all their member states to follow – it would safe time, energy, exaust fumes and frustration enormously around the globe …

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The „Astoria“ will be back!

Posted on 14. September 2018 by Axel Thorer

Leipzig's famous hotel resurrects from the dead ...

... and the old luggage label

A postcard of the hotel ...

ONCE IT WAS THE HOTBED OF THE INTER- NATIO- NAL VIPs – even Enrico Caruso slept hier! Opened in 1915, the „Astoria“ stands close to the equally famous train station, both being fine examples of Imperial architecture and representing in splendor the former wealth of this Saxonian town. But the State ownership during the socialist reign of the GDR ruined it and even the unification of the two German states couldn’t save it – in closed in 1995 and became an empty shell. Now it will be restored with the original facade, with 250 rooms up to the latest hospitality standard, and the opening is scheduled for late 2020. Hurrah, cry the aficionados of hotel nostalgia!

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WITH JULES VERNE IN VIGO

Posted on 16. Juli 2018 by Axel Thorer

The Spanish Port celebrates the French writer

So wirbt das Museum mit Jules Verne

HE WAS TWICE IN VIGO, and both times Jules Verne was passenger on a ship and something went wrong! First he had to take refuge in Vigo, after tremendous gales almost sank the vessel, the second time, some years later, the ship herself had a grave problem and had to be steered to the port. It maybe therefore, that Verne let his famous book „20.000 Leagues Under the Sea“ start in Vigo, an ideal setting for an adventure like that. And now the exhibition „The Limits of the Imagination“ at the „Marco Museum“ in this Spanish harbor covers the two stop-overs and joins the discussion about the French authors overflowing phantasy and his influence on the modern world. It’s open until September 16.

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Neanderthals were different …

Posted on 16. Juli 2018 by Axel Thorer

... tell the latest findings: very early paintings in Spain!

That's how they looked ...

... und that's a stencil of their hands!

DUMB, BRU- TISH CREA- TURES THEY WERE, SO EVERY- BODY BELIE- VED – but then arche- ologists discovered remarkable paintings in three Spanish caves: a red linear motif in La Pasiega (Cantabria), a hand stencil in Maltravieso (Estremadura) and red-painted speleothems (mineral layers) in Areales (Andalucia). When the results of the uranium-thorium dating came back, it was a total surprise – they were at least 68 000 years old, made 20 000 years before the arrival of modern humans in Europe! Which means: These painting were definitely done by the dumb and brutish Neanderthals! Until now, it was thought that their artistic expressions was – if there wer any – limited to body ornamentations. Now the gap between Neanderthals and modern human beings is closed, the scientists are jubilant.

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