Forum members who have actually met face-to-face

[karlhenning]

You know how to change CDs, Harry, but - can you change nappies?!

There's an ap for that . . . .

[Harry]

You know how to change CDs, Harry, but - can you change nappies?!

With the many God children I have, I would say yes.
And not to forget my grand children.

[Harry]

I guess I should tell Harry ahead of time that the sentence "Holds up to 10kgs" on the nappie wrap refers to the weight of the baby, NOT the weight of the ...

Chuckle......

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

With the many God children I have, I would say yes.
And not to forget my grand children.

Excellent!

[Lilas Pastia]

Just want to let everyone know I had a wonderful time this weekend in Utrecht with Johan (Christo).  I cannot believe his hospitality and the excellent tours of the city.  And I finally got to ride around The Netherlands on a bike!  Not to mention his family was most welcoming.

Anyone going to be in Aachen this weekend?

Brett, make sure to spend a few hours visiting the Dom and its Treasury. The Dom is made up of Charlemagne's (Charles the Great's) cathedral (9th century) and has been augmented by various buildings in the following centuries. It is a totally different concept from the gigantic gothic naves. Charlemagne's remains, throne, crown and sceptre and much more can be viewed in the Treasury (Domschatz). Aachen (Aix-la-chapelle) was Charlemagne's capital city, from which he governed a good third of Europe. It was already a thousand years old at the time (around 800 AD).

When Charles was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III, he was infuriated by the Pope's last minute change in the ceremonial, the better to push his pretention that "the Pope makes the Emperor". One thousand years later, when Naploeon was crowned Emperor, he took the crown from the Pope and put it himself on his head - to affirm his pretension that the Pope deferred to the Emperor!

The Aachener Dom:

Charlemagne's original cathedral was built 1200 years ago. It's the central part, with the ogival dome. It has been 'satellized' by various churches built by later emperors. the whole thing is a curious match of roman-byzantine and gothic architecture.

I bought a nice 'Domwatch' in the Dom store. Unfortunately their music  realizations were not much enticing (I bought great organ music discs at Stasbourg and Laon, France). Make sure also to buy printen, the local specialty (a sort of gingerbread). There are dozens of printen boutiques in Aachen. And if you have enough time, take a sidetrip to Monschau, a wonderful medieval city some 40 km from Aachen. Monschauers insist their printen are the only real ones!! Personally I found Aachen stores more commercial but there's no denying they have more varieties.

Monschau:



Charlemagne's coronation:

Napoleon's coronation: after having crowned himself with laurels, he proceeds to crown Josephine as his Empress. Pope Pius VII (#13 in the caption) is reduced to a cameo role


Sorry for the huge size, but I have no idea how to resize them . Rightclick on 'view picture' for an ensemble view. They are all stock photos. I have plenty , many quite good, but I have no clue how to post them  Hope this looks OK to you, Que.

[Christo]

Brett, make sure to spend a few hours visiting the Dom and its Treasury. The Dom is made up of Charlemagne's (Charles the Great's) cathedral (9th century) and has been augmented by various buildings in the following centuries.

I totally agree. But have to add, that the advice is particularly apt since Aachen/Aix-la-Chapelle was for the most part destroyed by Allied bombardments and the rest of the old town is rather "dead" nowadays - as are indeed most German cities, for the same reason. In short: there's not so much else you can do in Aachen, except for visiting a fine beer cellar of course. 

[Lilas Pastia]

True, Aachen was a nevralgic place. It's minutes away from Belgium and Holland. The tripartite border lies on the city's outskirts. But the Rathaus (City Hall), Charlemagne Tower and portions of his imperial palace have been spared. As was the Dom of coure. It's on the Unesco Heritagew List. Everything is within walking distance. Other than that, the city has lees to offer than neighbouring Maastricht and Liège.

[Catison]

Johans, check.  Trappist beer, check.  CDs, check.  Fanta?, check.  Waitress being hit on in the background, check.  Wonderful evening, check.

What kind of music am I listening to?, Czech!

[Christo]

Johans, check.  Trappist beer, check.  CDs, check.  Fanta?, check.  Waitress being hit on in the background, check.  Wonderful evening, check.

What kind of music am I listening to?, Czech!

I recall a hot summer evening on the Beestenmarkt (Cattle Market) in the old town of Delft, the other Johan's home town. Beers were Belgian, music discussed was often Czech, life felt blissful...  0:)

In short: one of those GMG forum members meetings. 

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Johans, check.  Trappist beer, check.  CDs, check.  Fanta?, check.  Waitress being hit on in the background, check.  Wonderful evening, check.

I recall a hot summer evening on the Beestenmarkt (Cattle Market) in the old town of Delft, the other Johan's home town. Beers were Belgian, music discussed was often Czech, life felt blissful...  0:)

In short: one of those GMG forum members meetings.  

Nothing to add (though I did imbibe Fanta...), except that today Dunya (my daughter) and I went to a Swedish 'Midsommar' feast just opposite from where Brett has been living for the past two months. Almost there, I was thinking of him, and who should I see crossing the bridge? Yes, the man himself.

[SonicMan46]

Well, Susan & I just returned from a 5-night vacation in New York City - went for some museum visits, concert @ Carnegie Hall, Broadway musical (Billy Elliot), and some of the BEST FOOD on the planet (would like to 'report' in the eating thread but don't know if my fingers would hold up to all of the typing needed - so much good eating!) 

But, the personal pleasure of the trip for both of us was meeting Bruce Hodges - we spent a couple of hours chatting over drinks & snacks in the lobby bar in our hotel - we all had just a delightful time, and I believe all would agree that another couple of hours would have been easily enjoyed!

Below are a couple of pics just to 'prove' the meeting - I did try to 'crop out' the wine glasses, and admit that Bruce & I did share a couple of glasses of Sauvignon Blanc - 

We've visited the BIG APPLE often but not as much in recent years - have really missed the experience and hope to return soon, and would love to see Bruce again - 

[greg]

Cool! 

[Brahmsian]

Dave, Susan and Bruce!    Great to hear.  I'm envious of the meeting.

I love hearing these types of stories.  0:)

[Bogey]

Thanks for posting, Dave!

[bhodges]

Thanks, Dave!    I had a great time with you all as well!  You two certainly crammed in a huge amount of sightseeing--not to mention FOOD, and a few concerts, too.  (I'm still envious that you got to hear the Takács Quartet, but oh well...just too much to do here on any given night, and I had already committed to go to the Xenakis show, which was terrific.)  Anyway, it was a super evening, and I hope we can do it again sometime.  You have to come back more often; think of all the great music you're MISSING. 

And as I mentioned the other night, how cool is the Internet, making all this possible?   

--Bruce

[MishaK]

I'm going to be in Frankfurt for pretty much the entire month of December, if anyone around there is interested in meeting.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Thanks, Dave!    I had a great time with you all as well!  You two certainly crammed in a huge amount of sightseeing--not to mention FOOD, and a few concerts, too.  (I'm still envious that you got to hear the Takács Quartet, but oh well...just too much to do here on any given night, and I had already committed to go to the Xenakis show, which was terrific.)  Anyway, it was a super evening, and I hope we can do it again sometime.  You have to come back more often; think of all the great music you're MISSING. 

And as I mentioned the other night, how cool is the Internet, making all this possible?   

--Bruce

Sforzando also had lunch with bhodges a couple of weeks ago.

[karlhenning]

Perhaps it's time Sforzando came back to Boston for a visit?

[Joe_Campbell]

It's about time I posted in this thread! I also recently went on a trip to NYC, and I had the great pleasure of breakfast with Bruce at...I forget the resaurant name! It was such a nice diversion to just sit and talk about life and music in the midst of my busy trip schedule. Good company and good eat!

Did you ever find a Japanese translator, Bruce??


Sonicman is correct: the food everywhere is SO good!

[vandermolen]

Great photos, which made me nostalgic for my trip to Leiden, where I had the pleasure of meeting the famous two Johans.