Lewis' Christening

Was at Lewis' christening yesterday in Blansingen. A wonderful day had by all.

On a long weekend

What with the Ascension Day holiday last Thursday, plus the extra bonus holiday on Friday, it's been a nice, long weekend. And it's not over yet, as I have Monday off as well to compensate for overtime. Anyway, here are some random photos I took on a bike ride in the evening a couple of days ago.

Thanks Phil Vickery

Alway concerned for my well-being, my mother bought me a cook book last Christmas called "Ready Steady Cook - The Ten-Minute Cookbook". It was a shrewd purchase because she knows that I like cooking for myself at the weekend but that I'm disinclined to devote hours and hours to creating something different every time (and getting off my back-side to search out the basic raw ingredients down at the supermarket). Hence this book!

Thing is, the problem with trying to do Jamie Oliver fancy Dan type recipes that feature ingredients like rocket, parmesan, balsamic vinegar and pine kernels is that the average German supermarket often doesn't have half of what you need. Unfortunately, Edeka and Rewe are not as good as Morrison's or Tesco. Admittedly, the Hieber's chain of local supermarkets down here in Weil, Lörrach and surrounding towns are better, but they're the exception to the rule. Globus in Basel have a brilliant fruit, veg and delicatessen department, but it costs a bomb there - something I was reminded of today when I bought a lemon that cost CHF 2. Okay, it was "organic", but still.

Anyway, a recipe by England rugby player Phil Vickery caught my eye in this book, so I decided to give it a go (see photo below). Edeka didn't stock any chickpeas, Chorizo or coriander, so I bought a tin of white beans (weiße Bohnen) instead, bought the coriander later on in Globus and got a big Mettwurst instead of Chorizo. They didn't have any roasted pepper in a jar either, but I managed quite alright with normal red pepper.

Anyway below is the result. Looks disgusting, eh?! The photo on the left is the book open showing the recipe in question. The photo on the right is my creation (half eaten already by that time). Btw, note the salad "spoons" - I made them in 1987/88 in CDT ("Craft Design and Technology") at school:

Tenpin bowling in Basle

Went on Saturday night to Basle's tenpin bowling centre on Güterstrasse with colleagues Andrea and Katarina, their respective boyfriends David and Marco, plus Ilena. Had a great time. There was a noisy British hen party there as well (well, I think they all worked for Novartis here in Basle), starring not one, but two, brides to be.

Visit from Aunty Lyn

Just spent a very pleasant weekend playing host to Aunty.

After picking her up from the airport on Friday afternoon, we ventured back to Weil. Friday evening was spent talking, cooking, eating and laughing.

On Saturday, the weather was slightly inclement. However, we went to the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen to see the Edvard Munch exhibition. I'm no art buff, but Munch's works are very intense, oppressive and fascinating.

After a "pit stop" at Pickwick Pub, we went to watch FC Basel v FC Aarau in the Swiss "Super" League. Mladen Petric the Croatian international got Basel going with an impressive volley from 25 yards on 7 minutes after a long hoof by the keeper. Scott Chipperfield came close shortly after, but it wasn't until the 93rd minute that Basel sealed the three points with a penalty from the tall, bald Swede Majstorovic.

When we got back home, we had a quick meal and a bottle of local Spätburgunder, watched United beat city on Match of the Day, and then went to bed.

The next day the sun was shining, though the rain of the previous day had thankfully freshened up the air. After breakfast, we went on a brisk walk to the vineyards and back, followed by another pit stop: this time at the Mooswald for an asparagus soup (Spargelsuppe) and a refreshing beverage. After a sitting down for a while under the awning of my balcony, we returned to the airport where we then said goodbye.

Someone's fleecing me, but I don't know who

To compound a bad evening (yes, Milan were excellent tonight), I checked my mobile phone credits. Being on "pay-as-you-go" (or "Prepaid" auf deutsch), I'd topped up my credits back up to 15 euro just this last weekend. It's the 78th minute and Gilardino is just about to hit the final nail in United's 2006/2007 Champions League coffin when I check my account and find that I only have "5 euro 10 cents" left in credits despite the fact that I haven't used my phone at all since I topped the credits up to 15 euro. This is the final confirmation to me that someone's been nicking my credits, however that's possible.

I'd smelt something fishy around three months ago, but wasn't sure whether I was going mad and that texting to the UK from Switzerland with a German mobile phone number was the real reason behind the strange loss of mobile credits. Now I know that this isn't the case, and that I'm going to have to either get a new "pay-as-you-go" deal or sign up for a mobile phone contract. Either way, I'm going to have to do something.

Useful debut

Here's the official report from my first ever match for Basel Cricket Club, a friendly versus the Zurich Sri Lankans (written by Club Secretary Mr Anthony Boschin). I don't know about the bit about me "bowling slow". Didn't think I was that slow. Nor was my bowling that metronome. Ah well. Maybe I'll get a bit quicker once I get my accuracy sorted. Anyway, my final bowling figures were 4 overs, 2 wickets for 15 runs.
.........................................................................

Bachgraben, Sunday, April 29th, 2007.

Friendly: Basel C.C. v. Zurich SL C. C (35 overs).

The first game of the season started with a slight hiccup as originally there were 12
players signed up to play but only 10 actually showing up.

Luckily ZSLCC had brought about 15 players so they graciously gave us one of there
players for batting and rotated a fielder when Basel fielded.

With most of the players arriving on time, we set to work setting up the field and within a
short time the grounds were ready for the first official/friendly game of the 2007 season.
Jay won the toss and decided that Basel should have a bat first.

Bhas and John opened that batting and Bhas was the first to fall, bowled for 4, with the
score on 14. John was next out, caught at 2nd slip for 4, with the score on 26 in the 8th
over. Nikhil managed to get 6 runs before he was caught low down with score on 37 in
the 11th over. Anthony and Unmesh managed to stabilize things a little and took the score
to 79 before Anthony was out bowled for 25 (the ball edged the bat, deflected onto the
pad and then onto the stumps) off the last ball before tea in the 18th over. So at tea Basel
was 79/4 after 18 overs.

Jay was next man in after tea and he managed 4 runs before being caught behind off a
ball that pitched on a good length but rose sharply into him and in trying to prevent the
ball from hitting him managed to fend it off with the bat handle, only to see it loop over
his head to the wicket keeper. Basel was now 88/5 after 20 overs. Unmesh, who was holding the innings together, was bowled in the 23rd over with his score on 16 and Basel score on 99.

Sridhar was bowled with his score on 9 with Daniel going shortly after that, bowled for 4.
Vinod didn’t stick around too long and he was bowled for 0. Rizwan, the player from
ZSLL scored 5 before being caught, leaving Simon not out on 4. Basel were all out for 116 in the 29th over.

There wasn’t too much movement in the pitch and the Basel batsmen really need to
concentrate on playing straight. Numerous batsmen were bowled while playing across the
line.

A delicious lunch of chicken curry was enjoyed by all, with one or two players also
washing it down with a cold beer.

Nikhil and Anthony opened the bowling for Basel and after 4 overs apiece had not
managed to get the breakthrough necessary to slow the ZSLCC team down. After 8 overs
ZSLCC had 36 runs on the board. A change of bowling though brought the 1st wicket
with Simon, in his 1st over for Basel, tempting the batsmen with his slow balls just
outside the off stump. These were just too tempting and the batsman totally misjudged his
shot sending the ball high in the air to point, where Vinod took a great catch, also his 1st
for Basel.
Still frustrating the batsmen, Simon got an edge in his 2nd over with Bhas taking the catch
behind the stumps. After 12 overs, ZSLCC were 57/2.
In the 17th over with Daniel bowling, the ball was driven into covers, where Anthony
made a good stop and got the ball back to Bhas, who completed a good run-out, leaving
ZSLCC on 77/3 after 18 overs at the tea break.
In the 1st over after tea, Daniel found the edge of the ZSLL captain’s bat with Bhas taking
a good catch behind the stumps to leave the ZSLCC on 80/4.

Sridhar was next to get a wicket, bowling the batsmen with the score now 91/5.
Unmesh got the final wicket of the day for Basel, with another caught behind with the
score on 110.

The winning runs, a 6, were hit of Anthony’s 5th over with Basel losing the game by 4
wickets.

Defending such a low total, Basel bowled way too many wides, 22 to be exact. Extras
were the 2nd highest score for ZSLCC.
Pre-season friendlies are there to try and iron these things out, so hopefully the bowling
lines will tighten up as the season continues.
The Basel CC fielding was also not really up to scratch and this will also hopefully
improve in the coming weeks.

Match Report by Anthony Boschin.

Ticketless

Received the following e-mail this afternoon:

Dear Mr Blogger from Weil am Rhein,

Unfortunately your Application with the Customer Reference Number xxxxxxxxx has not been successful in the lottery for Tickets for UEFA EURO 2008™.

It is possible that further Tickets may become available for sales at a later stage. If you are still interested please regularly visit www.euro2008.com.

Your UEFA EURO 2008™ ticketing team

Well, what can you say about that? I applied for tickets for all six matches in Basle hoping I may get some scraps, but nothing. Null. Zilch. Niente. Contrary to the final statement in the e-mail that offers a glimmer of hope, further tickets won't go on general sale at a later stage (read the last paragraph of this link).

Nicole's birthday

Went to Pete and Nicole's in Blansingen on Saturday to celebrate Nicole's birthday. Had a lovely time. The following is a photo of friends and family. From right to left: Serge, Silke, Nicole, Nicole's parents, Lewis (on grandfather's lap), Annette, Pete:















Plus a couple of views from their garden:















View back to Weil-Ötlingen:















Played cricket today (Sunday) but too knackered to write anything else.

Aerial photo of Weil

And what a beauty it is. For reasons of copyright, probably not a good idea to reproduce here, but this is the link.

More photos from Easter

My parents visited me here in Weil from Maundy Thursday onwards. We then went to visit our relatives in Bellach (CH) on Easter Sunday. I returned here on Easter Monday, but my parents stayed on in Bellach for another few days.

Hottest day of the year (so far)

With a high of around 28C today. It was much the same yesterday. I've never known anything like it. Didn't do much today but I cycled to the vineyards and back. As the photo shows, the buds on the vines have finally broken.

Easter 2007

Sunday

Cricket was postponed yesterday (Saturday) due to the inclement weather, which was a pity as I'd been looking forward to the exercise. The weekend was uneventful - punctuated by international football on telly and a walk to Lörrach today (see photo). And the clocks went forward. Nothing else of note to report.

Palm trees and daffodils

First day of spring

Wake up this morning, however, and there's a slight sprinkling of snow. Just like the morning before. There was a heavy dump of snow late this afternoon, but none of it stuck. More of the same forecast tomorrow. Incidentally, I'm supposed to be playing a game of Twenty 20 cricket in Basle on Saturday, which will be followed by a barbecue. Should be fun!

Trip to Dortmund

I went to Dortmund this weekend to take in Borussia Dortmund play Nürnberg at the Westfalenstation. The match finished 0-0 and wasn't the best of spectacles, unfortunately, but at least it was another football ground to tick off the list. This Saturday's attendance of 80,100 makes it the best-attended match I've ever been to. Although not quite as impressive as a whole as, say, San Siro or Old Trafford in my opinion, the Westfalenstadion boasts the unique Südtribüne - the world's largest standing-only end holding approx. 25,000 - which is a sight to behold.

Riesling

Ever since working on a vineyard in the Pfalz in the summer of 1997, I've had a weakness for German wine, particularly Riesling. I don't want to get too much up myself here, but, for me, the Riesling grape produces some of the best (white) wines in the world, the lion's share of which originates from Germany. Fact. Forget the sordid pleasures of Napa Chardonnay or the kinky gooseberry of Hawkes Bay Sauvignon, Riesling is the wine we should all aspire to.

For decades German wine exports were fighting a losing battle for the hearts and palates of discerning international wine lovers. Drowning under a deluge of mass-produced Blue Nun and Liebfraumilch, Germany's elite winemakers were unable to shrug off the unfair stereotype of German wine being the sweet concoction your Nan got tipsy on every year at Christmas. Something had to change, and something did change.

Firstly, some background information. The cause of German wine's ignominious fall from grace can be traced back to the German Wine Laws of 1971. Under pressure from the country's powerful Liebfraumilch-producing concerns, the politicians of the time who drafted this legislation stipulated that grape fructose levels should become the basis for judging the quality of all wines, regardless of where they were grown. What is more, recognised grand cru-standard vineyards were enlarged to include "lesser" terrain - the wines from which could legally be sold under the same name as the wine from the original grand cru site. Or, to cite a famous example, the village name of a reputed Mosel wine grown from a 70-degree, south-facing slope could henceforth also be used on the label of a Liebfraumilch grown on a former potato field on the opposite side of the river. Consequently, a grand cru wine such as Piesporter Goldtröpfchen from the Mosel would be tainted for decades by the fact that a sugary liquid of roughly the same name was (and probably still is) sold in plastic cartons down your local supermarket. Frankly, "Pissporter" would have been more apt.

Despite the celebrated vintages of 1971 (ironic, eh), 1975 and 1976, the Seventies were to mark the beginning of the Dark Ages as far as German wine was concerned. It was not until the 1990s that the worm began to turn. Spurred on by a tentative attempt in the early Eighties among Rheingau wine estates to introduce some sort of quality standard for conscientious growers, a generation of winemakers in the Nineties began to push the envelope a bit further. Under the aegis of the VDP (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates), producers such as Rebholz, von Buhl (where I spent my summer sabbatical) and Bürklin-Wolf from the Pfalz, or others elsewhere such as Haag, Loosen, Donnhof, Keller or Heger were not only producing world-class wines but were also gaining worldwide international acclaim at the same time.

Weingut Müller-Catoir of Neustadt an der Weinstraße were, however, the real linchpins of this 1990s movement, despite the fact that they were unaffiliated to the VDP at the time. The estate winemaker, Hans-Günter Schwarz, is a legend of the German wine scene. Despite not owning any prime Pfalz vineyard real estate in the communes of Deidesheim, Ruppertsberg, Forst or Wachenheim, Schwarz was able to conjure wines that were arguably the best in Germany and the world. Once the éminence grise of the wine world, Robert Parker, started sniffing out Schwarz's wines (and giving them 90+ ratings), the bandwagon well and truly started. At the same time, the advent of New World Rieslings from the already popular Australian wine market also added some extra sex appeal. However, despite being the home to the world 's best Rieslings, Germany offers some of the best value for money on Planet Wine (© Stuart Pigott). Compare the price of a Montrachet to a Kirchenstück and you'll see what I mean.

With the introduction (by the VDP) of a semi-official grand cru (or Grosses Gewächs) quality system from the 2003 vintage onwards, German wine - and Riesling especially - is now enjoying more exposure on the export markets. Personally, I have objections to the Grosses Gewächs system as I feel that the provision stipulating that only dry wines are allowed to have this designation completely misses the point about what makes German wine so appealing. Jancis Robinson, one of the UK's leading wine writers expresses it better than me:

"One thing worries me. Not all but very many of my favourite wines, the ones that seemed best balanced, had a perceptible level of residual sugar in them. They were off dry rather than sweet, and often no sweeter than many a New World Chardonnay, but I am by no means sure that such wines would qualify according to the recently tightened Grosses Gewächs rules which decree that from the 2006 vintage the wines may have no more than 9 gm/litre residual sugar. In 2005 each region could choose its own limits for sweetness which were as high as 18 g/l in Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, 13 in Rheingau and 12 in Nahe. German wine without rules is of course unthinkable but these ones seem awfully inflexible to me."

Terry Theise, the US wine critic whose German wine catalogue is one of my featured blog links, expresses his disdain for this inflexible approach more outrageously and eloquently than anyone I know (please do click on the relevant link on the right as it will widen your perspectives from both an oenological and ontological perspective). I'll leave you will this following Theise quote:
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Subject: why riesling?
A) Because if you grow it where it’s at home, Riesling comes out of the ground already perfect. Don’t need for face-lift, depilating, tummy-tucks or pancake-makeup.
B) Because Riesling exists to make food taste better. Compare with adolescent narccisistic grape varieties that only want to draw attention to their adorable SELF.
C) Because Riesling knows soil more intimately than any other grape, and because Riesling is more articulate than any other grape in conveying soil right into your palpitating palate. Go on, SOIL YOUR PALATE with Riesling.
D) Because Riesling attracts the kinds of vintners who do NOT need to prove to you what throbbing hot-shots they are by how neatly they can diddle technology. With Riesling, nature RULES. In the cellar, less is more.
E) Because Riesling is genuine, organically linked to the ground, whole in itself, resistant to fancy-pants machines, because it survives frost, because it ripens late in the Fall when everything is taut and crisp and golden, because Riesling wines are the afterglow of the contented world.
F) Because YOU will be a deeper, happier person when you drink these wines. There’s no ego and no affect between them and you. They simply display their uncanny complexities in a manner so infectious you can’t HELP responding with your OWN complexity; suddenly your mindheart-soul expands and the world seems like a far more intricate and fascinating place than it was just moments before.
G) Because, take it from me, a lifetime of Riesling drinking will make you a nicer person, a better-informed citizen, a finer lead guitarist, a better hitter with an 0-2 count, a MUCH better lover; you’ll balance your checkbook, avoid Jury duty, change the oil on your car every 3000 miles, never dawdle in the left lane, root for the home team and make bread from scratch.

The Germans

Not another image, I hear you cry, but I want to share this gem with you, if only for the fact it shows the Matterhorn painted in the black, red and "gold" of the German flag (see below). Which tickled me for no particular reason, but I'm someone who's easily amused.

The gist of the German article it accompanies - scanned from the front page of yesterday's local free newspaper Der Sonntag - is that record numbers of Germans are making the exodus into the land of Roger Federer and the cuckoo clock. From the Germans' point of view, Switzerland is an attractive place to work for economic reasons. It also offers an attractive job opportunities and a high quality of life. Theoretically, it's also easier for Germans to integrate into the Swiss workplace as there is no language barrier.

However, as shown by a recent survey conducted by Swiss tabloid rag Blick under the title "How many (more) Germans can Switzerland take?", many Swiss are resentful of their northerly neighbours. Their objections are that Germans are unfriendly, uptight and have only come to Switzerland because of the money (as if...). Plus, they're obliged to speak normal comprehensible German to them - the thing that narks the Swiss the most, I reckon. Moreover, according to the survey 36% of the Swiss population believe that the Germans are taking all their jobs. The Swiss economy, however, is benefiting from the influx of Germans, believes Rainer Füeg of Basle's Chamber of Commerce, given that they tend to be highly qualified, add more tax funds to the state's coffers and inject extra impetus into the economy thanks to their consumer spending.

As an aside, I must say I was surprised at how many Germans were in my train carriage on the way from Zurich on Friday evening. I mean, I could actually understand every conversation! Maybe some of them lived in Basle, maybe some of them were returning to Germany. Come to think of it, I'm half-kraut, so I suppose that makes me one of them, lest one forgets.

Eclipse of the moon

More photos from Buurefasnacht in Weil

Bundesliga

Schalke lost 0-2 to Hamburg last night, and Stuttgart lost 3-1 at Leverkusen today, so that meant that Bremen and Bayern were able to make up some lost ground. Werder won at home 3-0 vs. Bochum and Bayern won at Hertha Berlin 3-2 in front of a 74,000 sell-out. Salihamidzic scored the first goal for Bayern with Lukas Podolski chipping in with the second. Ex-FC Basel striker Christian Gimenez made it 1-2 but Roy Makaay made it 1-3. Dick van Burik scored Hertha's consolation.

Final score

Liverpool 0 - 1 Manchester United (O'Shea 90)

Steel wool

I mean, I've got hair like steel wool. And it's going grey. Now I feel I need a change and tomorrow I'm going to the barber's - the one and only Herr Ludin on Berliner Platz. Unless I have a last-minute change of heart in the sober light of the morning, I think I'm going to ask the barber for a "summer cut". How short will probably depend on how I'm feeling. But in any case, what with global warming - and the fact that it's irreversible and we're all doomed - spring will soon become the new summer anyway.

Friday in Zurich

I worked with my colleagues in the Zurich office today. On the whole, the visit went alright. I had an inauspicious start to the day, however, because the 7.27 bus never arrived. Admittedly, I sometimes cut it fine with the bus, but this time there were three or four others who had no idea what was happening. Realising that the bus would probably never arrive, I quickly returned to my flat, rang Zurich to say I'd be late and then waited for the 7.57 bus to arrive ten minutes later than scheduled (as per usual). By the time I reached Basel SBB station, I'd missed three connections and the next train didn't leave until 9.07. I finally arrived at Rötelstrasse 84 in the Wipkingen quarter of Zurich after a journey time of three hours.

Work itself went fairly well, and we all had lunch at a nearby Indian called "Curry Dreams". I wonder if I'll be dreaming tonight about the lamb curry I had?

Tired & rainy

As I got off the tram in the centre of Basle this morning, scores of bleary-eyed Fasnacht participants were heading home following three days of carnival that officially ended at 4 this morning. I was also weary, as I'd gone to bed way too late last night. I'd been watching the live cams from Basle on my computer and realised that 10 p.m. onwards on the final evening is one of the event's special moments: the time when everyone ventures out for one last hurrah until the street fall silent at 4 a.m.

It was a rainy day, too, which suited my mood.