Frederick, Maryland

M* and I stopped by Frederick, Maryland on our way up to Falling Water. Having been there once before, I thought walking around the quaint, historic downtown and peeking in a few antique stores would be a nice way to spend a couple of hours. Maybe it was M*'s company or because Frederick has blossomed that I found the town more charming than on my last visit. Since M* and I have spent some time in abroad recently, we noticed the European influences. We confirmed our suspicions at the visitors' center where we learned that Germans were the main group founding the town (German was the dominant language in the area in its early days).

“(German immigrants) used art; it was not some esoteric thing apart from them. . . you worked in a colorful barn, lived in a stone house built for the ages with a motto carved under the eaves, ate pie out of an etched pie dish, and other foods cooked in a stove which had artistic original design, kept your linens in a museum-piece chest, dipped sugar out of a museum-piece sugar bowl, skimmed milk from lovely red-ware made on the potter's wheel, walked on rainbow-like rag rugs, slept under artistic bedspreads of original design, drank wine from museum-piece . . . .glass or spatter-ware, had a birth and marriage certificate of hand-illumined fractur [hand decorated manuscripts], sang out of hymn books illumined with fractur and worshipped with bibles similarly illumined. You rode in wagons gaily colored, watched the wind sway originally designed weather-vanes atop the barn, and saw even the barnyard made resplendent by peacocks." - Excerpted from Pennsylvania Dutch Cookery, J.George Frederick, 1936

Amy becomes one with the public art.

Colorful German style homes.

We also found a European ideal in the redevelopment of the downtown area–public space along the canal (that's what M* and I liked to call it as an ode to the Netherlands), mixed with businesses and residential housing. There is even a community bridge mural with an award-winning trompe l'oeil (I'm pictured above with a replica of "The Woman of Samaria").

The Baby Waker.

Frederick's "canal."

We also enjoyed imbibing a bit of American history–things we had both learned before, we're sure, at some point but could not recall or remember with clarity. One item on display is the Great Baby Waker—the cannon that signaled the end of the Revolutionary War. The front of the barrel is what remains after it exploded due to improper loading in 1844. The cannon is next to the Hessian barracks which were a prison for the Hessian soldiers captured during the war (M* and I both thought the Hessians fought on the side of the Americans—oops!). I've just read that the barracks, now a museum that is open on a limited basis to the public, "represents the finest of colonial military architecture in North America." Also, the limestone structure was the largest masonry structure in use by the military at that time. Who knew?!

Hessian barracks/prison.

M @ Tasting Room.

M*'s dessert: cranberry and blueberry bread pudding.

Another reason we liked this town so much was the interesting shops. We actually didn't even make it into the antique stores—though we passed many. We were distracted by the independent clothing and home stores and numerous eating establishments. A friend had recommended the Tasting Room, and we enjoyed a meal there before getting back on the road. The restaurant describes themselves, in the guide handed out at the visitors' center, as "combining the essence of historic Frederick and the modern styles of New York City." Sounds a bit much, but I think it's hard to describe oneself whether a person or business. My polenta with portabella mushrooms and an Italian cheese (can't remember the name) was both delicate and hearty. My glass of Viognier was quite good, although a tad too sweet. M* was please with his rockfish special and loved the high, original ceiling. In general, we found it a very relaxing spot. As they advertise their extensive martini list, I'm guessing it can be a quite a bit busier in the evenings.

As we headed out of town, I searched the visitors' guide to see if there would be a Christmas market in the area this season—Germans are know for their Christmas markets and Frederick was founded by Germans. There is: Maryland Christmas Snow is being held the two weekends after Thanksgiving. We're planning on attending (my mom might take M*'s place on that trip).

Broadkill Beach

An abandoned beach front property along the Delaware Bay in Broadkill Beach–even though the area was once a favorite with squatters, this shack belongs to the lots' legal owner.

M* and I escaped our hectic lifestyle with another trip to the Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware-Maryland-Virginia for those not in the know). We went down to Broadkill Beach where my dad and stepmother have a shore home—a modern shore home outfitted with satellite TV, gourmet kitchen and wi-fi. Broadkill was originally Broad Kiln meaning wide river or wide creek–kiln is a Dutch word, I believe. The area was first settled, after the Native Americans of course, by the Dutch and Swedes.

Fishing is the favorite pastime with the locals.

A relic of the WWII Delaware Bay defense system (not really sure what it's purpose was)

My dad had lured us down there with promises of witnessing the migration of snow geese to their winter resting spot at the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, which just happens to border my dad's backyard. However, the snow geese must have been too busy at Pumpkin Chunkin or looked for shelter away from the remnants of a hurricane that moved through on Friday night. Instead we visited Nassau Valley Winery.

Lena, a Great Dane that thinks she's a lap dog, keeps M* company as he performs a very American activity–relaxing on the couch, watching sports and eating potato chips.

The winery touts its status as Delaware's first and only award winning winery–my dad joked that it's because its the state's only winery. I'm sorry to say that after sampling five of the wines, I had to agree with him. I also agreed with his statement that one feels compelled to buy a bottle of wine at each vineyard that is visited–now in California or France this is something that I'm happy to do. We did try a peach dessert wine that we found to be passable, and my dad, without tasting it first, bought two bottles of chardonnay. Luckily the spicy kabobs he made that night vastly improved the taste of the wine.

M* carried this piece of driftwood quite a ways back to the house. Here, he gladly pauses to take a photo.

The rest of the weekend was spent trawling the aisles of the local grocery store–my dad's favorite pastime, watching TV (sports and the horrible CSI: Miami–my dad's favorite show) and walking on the beach–Sunday was sunny and beautiful. This type of beach living is far more relaxing, I find, than the crowded, traffic clogged Santa Monica area beaches. Granted, one can enjoy warmer temperatures for sunbathing in California, but I prefer to stay white and pasty anyway.

Bethesda Trolley Trail

Start of the Bethesda Trolley Trail (aka North Bethesda Trail) off of Tuckerman Road.

Friday night M* and I walked five miles from Rockville into Bethesda via the Bethesda Trolley Trail (a flat path that is really a connection of a number of shorter trails through neighborhoods and over two freeways). We first did this walk by accident the previous Sunday—when we realized that we had already completed half of the walk and it would be the same distance to get into Bethesda as to turn around and return to my mom's place, we continued on knowing that we could take Metro back and hoping that my mom might be in the area to give us a ride.

View of the 270 freeway from the pedestrian bridge near the start of the trail.

On Friday, we were without a car, but invigorated by our walking/ cycling experience in Cambridge, we decided to walk to a recently well-reviewed restaurant in Bethesda. While taking Metro was an option, returning to a car dominated lifestyle has been making us feel a bit lumpish, so we were quite happy to get the exercise. As we got started a bit later than planned, instead of most of our walk being before sunset, the sun only made an appearance for the first 15 minutes of our excursion. Even without a flashlight M* and I managed to find our way along the path—it's a bit hard to escape the glow of suburbia along the trail.

Our destination—Nark Kara

We were quite hungry when we arrived at Nark Kara—a reasonably-priced, well-reviewed Thai restaurant. M* and I sensed something was wrong upon entering—there were empty tables but no one seated us or another couple for a while, diners were waiting without menus or water, exasperated glances followed servers as they frantically moved from the kitchen to the dining room. It turns out that getting seated was much faster than any other part of the dinner—water, menus, ordering, drinks (didn't come out until after our appetizer which took about 40 minutes while), food. However, the staff was so nice (we got free mango ice cream for dessert) and apologetic (our server did explain that something was wrong, but neither M* nor I could fully understand) and M* and I were in no hurry (we've gotten a bit used to the lengthier European dinner). Some people walked out, some demanded to speak to a manager, some complained loudly, some were just passive aggressive. Those who did stay long enough to receive their meal were mostly very pleased with the result. My Prik Khing was excellent—the green beans were bright green with a good crunch and the dish had a nice spice level—although it took two tries as the first was missing the kaffir lime leaves.

After over two hours in the restaurant, we walked over to the Bethesda Metro and trained it home. As it was after 10pm and it was hat/scarf/mittens weather out, we didn't even consider taking the Bethesda Trolley Trail back. I must say, getting around without a car made us feel healthier and a bit nostalgic for Cambridge.

Happy Halloween!

Inspired by the pumpkin festival at Schloss Ludwigsburg near Stuttgart, Germany, I went with animal themed pumpkins this year. I only wish that I could have entered the creations into my friend Eric's annual pumpkin carving contest. As it is in LA, I didn't think that the monkey, fish and mouse would fare well on the trip.

Me and my monkey.

The German made monkey that was my inspiration.

Our three animal pumpkins: mouse, fish and monkey.

The mouse and fish from Ludwigsburg. I just realized yesterday that the mouse was not a cat. Maybe it could go both ways.

Me and M* arranging my creations.

Since I thought this was originally a cat, I thought the girls wouldn't mind its presence. From their reaction, I should have realized that it was a mouse pumpkin.

Cedar Island, Virginia

We took two trips to Cedar Island, a barrier island bordering the Atlantic Ocean, when we were in Wachapreague last weekend. Carolyn and Adam took us out on Saturday in their 19 foot Carolina Skiff, and then we made a stop during our Captain Rick ecology tour on Sunday.

Carolyn showing off her very large welk shell.

A mature sea turtle finds its final resting spot.

M* had fun chasing ghost crabs back into their holes.

Hermit crabs can be found in the waters on the bay side of the island.

Unfortunately, we found many balloons on the beach. They can be fatal to certain sea creatures.

Skipper Adam, me in full iritis gear (blue blocker shades and cap) and Carolyn.

M* got a lovely Flock of Seagulls hairdo while riding on the bow.

Birds of Wachapreague

Here are some of my brother-in-law's photos from our nature boat tour around Wachapreague Inlet and Cedar Island—his zoom was far superior to mine in capturing the birds that Captain Rick, our guide, pointed out. I saw a few of these species last year when my sister and I explored a different area of the Virginia Shore with Captain Rick, but it's going to take a bit of training before I can identify a bird that doesn't have unique plumage and isn't sitting close enough for me to carry out a thorough inspection.

Double breasted cormorant sunning itself by the Wachapreague Marina.

The red-billed royal and caspian terns.

The marbled godwit walks amongst the oyster shells.

The peregrine falcon perched by its nest—the plastic abode was provided by a local authority.

A group of unidentified shore birds.

The whimbrel has a bill curved at 58°—the perfect angle to raid fiddler crab holes.

And finally, the oyster catcher—the favorite amongst our group.

The Other Cambridge

A lot more fast food and traffic lights and far fewer cows in this Cambridge.

Driving to my sister's shore place in Wachapreague, Virginia (population 235), we passed Cambridge, Maryland. After our time in England and our travels around Europe, we realized how many towns and cities in the U.S. were named after places settlers had emigrated from. Out a sense of nostalgia or our need to use the bathroom or a mixture of the two, we stopped at the McDonald's in Maryland's Cambridge. M* went all native and got the Egg McMuffin Breakfast Meal.

M* enjoying his Egg McMuffin.

AC/DC Without A Hint of Hipster Irony

You know you're back in Maryland when...

you are at the bank, and the mobile phone of a tank-top and shorts wearing fella indicates a call with AC/DC's Back in Black. I just can't imagine such a thing happening in the UK (even though the band is Australian), and in L.A. it would be more of a hipster statement of retro, average joe coolness (like drinking Pabst beer, listening to Journey and sporting trucker hats—thank God that trend has past except for the few who still embrace that tired brand of Von Dutch) than a declaration of a longtime fan.

Kitties!

Luckily Titchou and Brea have forgiven us for abandoning them for the year at "Grandma's."

Titchou is mesmerized by the camera.

Brea is such a glamour girl.

Goodbye 29 Owlstone Road!

Copenhagen—President and Protest

We were walking through Copenhagen's City Center, when we saw a queue of people. Following it to its start, we learned that people were waiting to meet Bill Clinton and have him sign his new book. Since he was set to arrive in a few minutes, we waited around to see him and his Secret Service agents alight from their vehicles. I decided to do join the locals thrusting their hands forward for a shake (the rest of my family has met him, so I figured it was my turn), and M* got a video of Bill (unfortunately, I did not make it into the clip).

Copenhagen—Red Life District and Graffiti

The reviews of our hotel did not mention that the hotel is located right on the edge of the red light district. M* found this out during his interview, when a potential future boss asked him where we were staying. I also had picked up clues such as the Bunny Club strip joint on the same street as the hotel.

Shop right around the corner from our hotel.

The area is actually in the process of gentrifying, and we didn't see much more than a few sex shops and strip clubs. We were also told that Copenhagen is an extremely safe city. With hotel prices around $300/ night in this area, I expected a slightly different neighborhood ambiance. Still, with the train station four blocks away, the hotel was very convenient.

American graffiti in Copenhagen.

The other surprise of our trip was the graffiti—the presence of it in most neighborhoods and the amount of it that was in English. As we were told that the Danes are some of the happiest people (according to some study), I was a bit surprised by the large quantity and the anger displayed by it. Perhaps I've just lost my edge after spending a year in the pastoral setting of Cambridge.

New take on 'Make love, not war'?

At first I thought this meant a call to rise up against gay people, but I checked, and it refers to the struggle by gay Muslims for acceptance.

Copenhagen--First Impression

Not the New Yorker that I'm used to.

While waiting for M* to return from his interview, I walked from our hotel to the Strøget, which is a series of streets known for good shopping. Well, I should have expected globalization to have left its mark on Copenhagen, and I, unfortunately, saw mainly stores that one can find in most large cities: Zara, Urban Outfitters, Ecco, H&M.

The Strøget begins with a 7-11 on one corner and a Burger King on the other.

I had read or heard that Copenhagen was a lot like Amsterdam, and I can see it a bit in the architecture of the older buildings. However, it's Amsterdam with fewer canals, more advertisements and neon signs, and a 7-11 or American fast food establishment (McDonalds, Burger King, KFC) in every block. I'm expecting that once we explore more of the city, we'll discover a more authentic Copenhagen.

Ads like these that cover soulless office buildings in Los Angeles--that I can handle. It's such a shame that these lovely, historic buildings are used to hock mobile phones, airlines and financial services.

On another note, our hotel (AXEL Hotel Guldsmeden) is conveniently located by the central train station and Tivoli Gardens. However, the famous gardens are closed until 12 October when they reopen completely decorated for Halloween.

Tivoli Gardens decorated for Halloween. Getting past the gate will have to wait for another visit.