My favorite author

Actually, perhaps the title of this post should be: one of my favorite writers, as I have more than one but I've got to start somewhere, right?

Although, as a rule I prefer to read fiction, there are some exceptions, travel books being one. I like to read about places people went to, learn about their opinions on them, and then, if my travels take me to the same place, compare my impressions to theirs. Before my trip to Australia a few years back, I was given Bill Bryson's book Down Under. Some time after that I found another of his books in a second hand book shop, I liked it even more than the first one and it just went from there... As a non-native English speaker I especially enjoy his unique and fresh usage of the English language, which makes his books so effortlessly funny in a way that reminds me of another of my favorite writers, J.K.Jerome.

In spite of what I have just written, Bill Bryson's book I enjoyed the most, The Life and times of a Thunderbolt Kid, is not a travel book, or maybe it is, but a different kind: traveling back in time and reminiscing about the author's childhood.

Coffee in Wiesbaden

This week started with me visiting Wiesbaden, a small town near Frankfurt. It was rather a spur of the moment decision, as I spontaneously accepted an invitation to visit a good friend and colleague, who like me, is a great coffee fan. The afternoon passed by quickly with us chatting over a cup of coffee and later, over dinner with a glass of wine.  Not a bad day after all, although it didn't start so great.

Lilac

Spring for me is all about flowers. Cherry blossoms, dandelions, forsythia and my favorite: lilac. It is everywhere I look at the moment, in parks, gardens, white, light purple or almost black. I love the sweet smell of it. Unfortunately the "lilac season" only lasts for a few days, a week at most, so very soon it will be over.  And then I will have to wait a year until it blossoms again. But spring still has a lot to offer. Just outside our house grows black locust and lime trees that smell almost as good as lilac :)

Walpurgis Night