My Godson Niels

On August 30th, 2010, my brother and my sister-in-law became the proud parents of Niels, a small but healthy bundle of joy. At only 1,630 kg and 43,5 cm, you can hardly call him a new Harlem Globetrotter. But my one and only godson is quickly gaining weight and will surely catch up with my brother in no time.

Best wishes to the lucky mother and father of Niels, and I hope I'll be an excellent Godfather to him. Godfather, imagine that :) I will make him an offer he can't refuse.

Grimbergen Funfair

Grimbergen Centre has two funfairs : one in May (when there is also the Sint-Servaas Procession) and one in September (which coincides with the Yearly Market when cattle is sold). This year the festivities have been spread over 4 days (as opposed to the normal 3 days). Activities include the traditional fun fair (bumper cars, speed rides, roller coasters, chip shops and much much more) but also animal exhibitions, sheep dog training, horse-riding, market stalls etc.

It was our daughter's first fun fair, and she enjoyed herself on the merry-go-round. It was also nice to bump into old friends, family and acquaintances.

A day out with Otto Dix, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Max Pechstein

On Saturday I will visit the famous Museum der Phantasie (aka. Buchheim-Museum), a museum in Bernried am Starnberger See. Named after Lothar-Günther Buchheim (writer of Das Boot), whose art collection it holds, it was opened to the public on 23 May 2001.

The building, designed by the architectural firm Behnisch, Behnisch & Partner, was completed in October 1999. It encompasses around 4,000 square meters and is designed to resemble a ship, with a jetty-like balcony extending out over the Starnberger See. In the surrounding park various sculptures are displayed.

The museum holds Buchheim's collection of expressionist art, with works by Erich Heckel, Emil Nolde, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Pechstein, and so forth. It also displays examples of folk art, African art, and Asian art which Buchheim collected during his travels. Paintings by Buchheim himself are also on display.

Source : wikipedia.org

Wedding games

I have had the pleasure of having been invited to some German weddings, and I have to say they know how to throw a party and organize games and activities. Maybe it has to do with the kind of friends we have, but often they are very creative. Here are three examples of how they manage to bring fun to the party.

1. A personalized wine cellar

The idea is simple: collect the e-mail addresses or telephone numbers of everybody who has been invited to the wedding, and ask them to bring a bottle of their favorite drink. Ask them to put a personalized sticker or picture on the lable of the bottle, and make or buy a wine rack in which to collect all the bottles during the party

Everytime the bride and groom open a bottle, they will remember the person who gave the bottle.

2. The BeWelcome / Hospitality Tile

Smash a big tile (50cm on 50cm) in pieces (as many pieces as there are couples present at the wedding) and give each couple one tile. The bride and groom get a wooden frame (also 50 x 50) and they have to collect the pieces by visiting the other couples during the next year

3. Handy-men

Every couple that has been invited, should perform some task for the bride and groom. This could be a task they choose themselves, or one that they have to pick blindfolded. The tasks could be for example baking a cake for the bride and groom, or washing the windows, or taking them to the cinema.

Tom Waits!

We found the perfect opening song for our wedding: Little Trip (to heaven) by Tom Waits. Both Claudia and I are big fans of him, and the lyrics fit very well to our wedding preparations. Furthermore the song is easy to dance to :)

a short excerpt:
"I don't need to take no trip to outer space
All I have to do is look at your face
And before I know it I'm in orbit around you
I thank my lucky stars that I found you"

Caitlin loves Jim Morrison

We were watching an episode of Classic Albums, a documentary series about pop and rock albums. This week's episode was about the debut album by The Doors. Caitlin was so fascinated when she saw Jim Morrison on screen. When he started singing Break on Through (to the Other Side) she completely freaked out. I'm sure she's going to be a beat poet :)

Looking for a First Dance Song

We are getting married (again LOL) on March 27th, and we are looking for a good First Dance Song (aka Wedding Dance Song). We don't care too much for those traditional songs (I would Die for You, Unchained Melody, ....) but are looking for something a bit more alternative.

Do you have some good suggestions? Please keep in mind that the lyrics should at least radiate happiness. So no "One" by U2, "Everybody Hurts" by REM or 'Papa was a Rolling Stone' :)

Oh, and I heard somebody got married with "Please Release me, let me go...", I can assure you: that is NOT a good opening song!