Axel Thorer's

FITNESS for the HIGH SOCIETY …

Geschrieben am 4. Januar 2019 von Axel Thorer

… JUST FOLLOW THE EXERCISES IN THE ILLUSTRATION. Do you recognize it? A person doing three movements, easy to execute and possible wherever you are without any machine. But is it really a person? Look closer – no, it’s an old fashioned corkscrew, stretching and lifting its arms! What a great idea of an unknown designer. And so useful: You follow the three routines, at least a dozen times, and you will be fit like a sneaker. And loose some more calories by laughing heartily about the illustration …

Kategorien: In Praise Of ..., Newly Discovered, The Nice Advice | Schlagwörter: Arms, Corkscrew, Illustration | Kommentare deaktiviert

Isn’t that funny …

Geschrieben am 4. Januar 2019 von Axel Thorer

The speeding ticket …

... and „my“ street

… I THINK SO! Just imagine: A – by the way, incredibly attractive – friend of mine has sent my a traffic ticket because she was flashed for speeding in a village south of Munich in Bavaria (Germany). I was tempted to pay the fine for her – and you know why? She was caught in a street bearing my name!!! In the Thorerstraße!!! Named after my family since we once owned the beautiful castle in this village, Eurasburg, lived there from the 12th to the 19th century and then my great-grandfather sold it. The friend wrote: „What a beginning of 2019! Having an encounter with the police in a street with your name!“ Happy New Year, beautiful Christiane!

Kategorien: I Got A Strange Message, Let's Get Personal | Schlagwörter: Eurasburg, Police, Speeding, Thorer, Ticket | Kommentare deaktiviert

Not Just Arabian Oil & Gas …

Geschrieben am 31. Dezember 2018 von Axel Thorer

Some pieces of porcelain …

… and the surprise!

I SAT IN A RESTAU- RANT ON THE IS- LAND OF MAJORCA, turned my (empty) plate and got a surprise: It came from U. A. E. and said: „Make sure it’s RAK“. Good heavens, could it really by, that this china originated in the United Arab Emirates? And what is RAK? It’s the tiny sheikdom Ras al-Khaimah, the northernmost part of the U. A. E., which has no oil, nor gas. It has nothing except vast stretches of sand dunes, a bit of beach along the Arabian Gulf and a dynasty of dictators who rules the country for the last 310 years (!). And the present ruler, Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al-Qasimi, had an idea: We produce the china for the Arabic/Islamic world! And he succeeded so much, that an restaurant on the island of Majorca served my lunch on his plates and the coffee in his cups! Salam aleikum …

Kategorien: A Conversation Piece ..., Newly Discovered | Schlagwörter: Porcelain, Ras al-Khaimah, Restaurants, UAE | Kommentare deaktiviert

Christmas is over, but …

Geschrieben am 31. Dezember 2018 von Axel Thorer

… I WANT TO SHOW YOU, WHAT I DISCOVERED IN THE LAST DAYS OF THE OLD YEAR: The largest, most precious Christmas collection outside a museum! A German has assembled these thousands of up to 250 years old Santa Clauses, market shops, miniature trees and toys. Just look at the almost man-sized, heavily populated tower with its ventilator, propelled by the heat of real candles! And the very old crib from Naples with a phantastic landscape of Jerusalem! Most are from Germany and Austria, and every Christmas he takes all those things from his climatized store and decorates them around his rooms – following for years detailed photographs of the desired positions. I reckon that at an auction in the USA his collection can fetch up to a million dollar – and I don’t even show his more than 300 antique Christmas tree decorations, some so expensive that they remain in their boxes every year: It’s too risky to use them. This collector lives in the vicinity of Munich and has never shown his treasures publicly, and small children are only allowed entry on the arms of their parents.

Kategorien: A Story Of Glory, Collectors Corner, Interesting People Along The Way | Schlagwörter: Collection, Decorations, Munich, Museum, Santa Claus, Toys, Trees | Kommentare deaktiviert

Stay In A Cave Hotel!

Geschrieben am 25. Dezember 2018 von Axel Thorer

Von außen sieht’s eigentlich ganz normal aus …

… aber das Innenleben hat’s in sich …

THE AMAZING FACT IS: There are so many caves in the Guadix and Altiplano de Granada region, (some say, there are more than 5000), that some bold entrepreneurs came up with the idea to transform them into luxurious underground villas – and spectacular hotels! In the moment there are more than 60 guesthouses, not one looks even faintly like the other, and there no two rooms the same. Sometimes one can’t see anything from the distance but a chimney protruding from the hillside. The thick walls of the hotels guarantee silence, shade and a stable temperature of ca. 20° all year round, therefore air condition is unknown. But all the necessary amenities are there (toilette, bath, kitchen, maisonette arrangement). And just look at the cosiness of the room, I show you here – no 90° angles and sharp corners! To book, just look for „cave hotel al jatib“ and you are on the theme. And by the way: These caves were used as apartments for thousands of years …

Kategorien: A Conversation Piece ..., If You Ever Come To ..., Modern Wonders, The News To Use | Schlagwörter: Altiplano, Granada, Guadix | Kommentare deaktiviert

I Got My Own Stamps Now …

Geschrieben am 19. Dezember 2018 von Axel Thorer

Me by Hochhuth …

My family crest …

Me by Burwitz …

Me by Reiser …

Me by Ustinov …

… and with friends

IS IT AN EXAGGERATED EGO-TRIP? Or an excusable vanity? Well, the German postmaster made in possible and I jump onto the occasion: My own stamps! It’s so easy: Three clicks and you got them. Just get the pictures ready – and you are (on) an official stamp! I decided on six motives, me in caricatures (by Sir Peter Ustinov, the German poet Rolf Hochhuth, the Swiss artist Max Reiser und the painter Nils Burwitz), my family crest and me in Botswana with my friends, the elephants. I look nice on letters, people are surprised to get them – and the stamps cost me hardly more than the face value. This, for me, is my very special personal social medium …

Kategorien: A Conversation Piece ..., Let's Get Personal, Modern Wonders | Schlagwörter: Axel Thorer, Burwitz, Hochhuth, Mail, Reiser, Ustinov | Kommentare deaktiviert

What A Wonderful Tattoo Book …

Geschrieben am 15. Dezember 2018 von Axel Thorer

That’s the unique book …

… and the author with a master

AN UNBE- LIEVA- BLE VO- LUME! A modern bench- mark book! Never done before in this com- plexity and irretrievable for another writer. The title: „Die magischen Tattoos of Myanmar“ – The magical tattoos of Myanmar (= Burma). The author: Prof. Dr. Jürgen C. Aschoff, a German neuropsychiatrist, tibetologist, photographer, author, publisher and antiquarian. It took him years to be accepted in the secret societies of the Burmese tattoo masters, to be able to study the antique (and not publicly shown) designs of the century old tattoo schools, and the be allowed to photograph the most fascinating examples of this Asian art and the tattoo masters at work. The book is in German only, but it contains hundreds of photographs and illustrations, 90 % never seen before. So you don’t need to master German to enjoy it. The ISBN code: 9783931997625. The price: 26 Euro (= ca. US$ 30).

Kategorien: In Praise Of ..., Newly Discovered, The Book to Look | Schlagwörter: Aschoff, Burma, Myanmar | Kommentare deaktiviert

When In Paris, Enjoy The Coulee Verte!

Geschrieben am 28. November 2018 von Axel Thorer

A board over a rivulet …

… and even modern bridges

NOBODY I KNOW, KNEW ABOUT THIS GREEN OASIS! I found it by being late and looking for a shortcut – a case of good luck! The Coulee Verte is something strange: a garden on an old railway line, on a higher level, and sometimes you walk so high, you have the feeling of standing on a roof terrace! Just look at the photos I show you here: There are modern bridges over soft lawns and simple wooden boards over rivulet. It has grown over alleys and thickets which close out even the impression of Paris. The park is small on the city map but large, once you are inside. But Coulee Verte is not easy to find: In the east of the city, near the Place de la Bastille, the entrance is on the Avenue Daumesnil – and if you insist, you can almost walk to the Bois de Vincennes …

Kategorien: If You Ever Come To ..., Modern Wonders, The Nice Advice | Schlagwörter: Bastille, Daumesnil, Garden | Kommentare deaktiviert

I Met A Warrior From North Sentinel …

Geschrieben am 28. November 2018 von Axel Thorer

This is our book …

WHAT UTTER NONSENSE IS WRITTEN NOW ABOUT THIS LAST UNKNOWN TRIBE ON EARTH! Just because this American idiot, the missionary John Allen Chau, was speared to death on North Sentinel. My sympathies are with the warrior who did this – defending his world against an unwelcome intruder. What did this Mr. Chau want of these people, living for thousands of years in peace? Bring christianity? Become famous? Well, now he is dead. – In 1977 Prof. Heinrich Harrer, ex-king Leopold of Belgium and myself made an expedition to North Sentinel, sponsored by the Indian government (the Andaman Islands belong to India). We shipped close to the shore on a gunboat of the Indian Marine but a warrior shooed us away with bow & arrow. In a rapid action we surrounded the island and put present ashore – but they didn’t take it, well guided by their instinct. Later I have ghostwritten a bestseller for Heinrich Harrer, „Die letzten Fünfhundert“ (in German), describing our adventure and telling all information about the North Sentinelese, we could find – like no fire, no wheel, no name for themselves, no counting system and so on. What I read now, is all stolen from our book, which is never mentioned. But if you are able to read German, I strongly suggest you get it. And by the way: Harrer and Leopold later signed a pact with the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, that for the next 100 years nobody is to go near North Sentinel …

Kategorien: A Conversation Piece ..., Oh, What A Shame ... | Schlagwörter: Andaman Island, Chau, Gandhi, Harrer, India, Leopold of Belgium. King, Missionary | Kommentare deaktiviert

Discover The Gaudy Dublin Doors!

Geschrieben am 8. November 2018 von Axel Thorer

Two doors, two neighbors, two colors …

… and the PR poster

WELL, WELL, WELL – I WAS IN DUBLIN MORE THAN ONCE, but these gayly painted doors never made an impression on me! But a few weeks ago I visited the Irish capital just for them, stimulated by the poster I show you here (issued by the city of Dublin as a tourist lure). Pretty views indeed, but the legends around them are even more colorful: 1. The British queen Victoria had ordered that all doors had to be painted black as a sign of mourning after the death of her prince consort Albert in 1861 – and as an act of rebellion the Dubliners painted them in all colors but black. 2. No, no, say some Irish, that’s not true. The doors were painted multicolored after a double murder by mistake, when a drunk, coming home in the early hours, found his wife in bed with her lover, killed them both – and discovered the next day that he had confused the doors and committed the killings in his neighbor’s house! To avoid future mistakes, the house owners (or the city council) decided on different colors for neighboring houses. Well, well, well – the Irish …

Kategorien: A Conversation Piece ..., I Got A Strange Message, If You Ever Come To ... | Schlagwörter: Colors, Ireland, Legends, Murder, Victoria | Kommentare deaktiviert