subscribe to this category with rss
I will be in Copenhagen for the SEMIC conference later this month, with some time around and during the program for conversations. Let me know if you want to meet-up.
Working from Berlin this week. Spending the week in this office of DIN, the German standards institute. The creation of European (harmonised) standards for data spaces are the topic of discussion.
The DIN offices, near Kurfürsten-Damm
S-Bahn station Anhalter Bahnhof near my hotel. Pre-war it used to be a major Berlin railway station. Above ground one facade is still standing.
The weekend after my birthday I flew to Zurich, and spent the weekend with dear friends H and P, who both live in Switzerland. We visited the mountains and enjoyed being outside. Good to catch up, and good to be in the mountains. Seeing mountains has a calming effect on me.
At Oeschinensee near Kandersteg
Eiger north face at Kleine Scheidegg
Monday morning I had some time to myself in Zürich (as I did Friday afternoon arriving). I browsed a book store and enjoyed coffee looking out over the lake.
Coffee on Lake Zurich
We’re scouting to replace our car (a 2006 Volvo V50). The challenge is finding one that has similar luggage space. The V50 has a box shaped boot, whereas other cars have either very sloping backs or lack depth in the boot. For newer Volvo’s this holds true as well. Cars have generally become bigger on the outside, but that has been used for padding and for the passenger compartment it seems, not for luggage space which seems to have actually shrunk for compact models like the V50. This ensures our camping gear won’t fit a car, where it does fit our V50.
E booked two test drives for this morning, both Toyota (a 2019 Corolla and a 2018 Rav4). Part of the test was an attempt at loading our camping gear in front of our house. The Corolla failed due to its sloping back, the Rav4 passed the packing test as its back is more boxy. The Rav4 is however hardly compact.
Reminds me of when we were looking for a car in 2004, and one of our key criteria was whether it could comfortably fit the rabbit cage that E’s rabbit lived in. Which is how we ended up driving a Citroen Xsara Picasso, after trying a much wider range of models.
For our current car we didn’t have such rabbit based criteria when we bought it early 2013. After Y’s birth in 2016 and getting a bigger tent for camping, everything still fit through adding a rooftop box.
What currently fits our V50’s boot must however also fit the replacement car (while we assume the rooftop box will remain a necessity for summer holiday travel). And it turns out that is a difficult requirement for other cars to fulfill.
We’re visiting Berlin this week.
Arriving yesterday, heading out for dinner we realised our hotel is one block away from Beta Haus.
Which is where we visited the last time we were here, a decade ago. In between a baby happened and a pandemic. Now Y is at an age she enjoys exploring a city as well. So here we are, back after ten years. First impression is it still feels much the same as last time, with much that attracts me and as much that pushes me away. I’m curious to hear what Y will think about the EU’s largest city.
Walking past Betahaus last night
It was like spring this week in Switzerland, and it was very pleasant to be outside. Wednesday we went to see the Rhine falls near Schaffhausen. There weren’t many people around. We walked across the railwaybridge to the other riverside for lunch in Neuenhausen. Along the right bank is a footpath with nice views of the falls. On the left bank, where we parked, the access to the viewpoints requires buying tickets. Looking around on the map where to explore next we spotted a photo museum in nearby Winterthur but it was between expositions. Instead we decided on visiting the Beim Stadthaus location of the Winterthur Kunstmuseum which has a collection of 20th century art.
We had the museum entirely to ourselves. We were the only three visitors. To enjoy at our leisure a wide range of works. It was great. In the 1916 museum building which also houses the natural museum, the halls are a bland beige and the works are presented without context, almost without information even. Just a name and a date. Being in there alone felt like discovering a forgotten wing of an old building that happened to have all these beautiful works of art in them. Or like being in a school building after hours when everyone else is gone. Being the only one in what is normally a frequented public building. Like you’re not supposed to be there, to have some personal time with all these works of art.
Van Gogh, Matisse, Monet, Giacometti, Calder, Arp, Mondriaan, Picasso, Braque and many more. Just us three to enjoy them, stand up close, talk about them. Walk away, come back to compare. Watch for a long time. No one also wanting their turn to look from the best angle, or trying to get a better picture.
Normally on public display, it became a fully private visit, which made it a very different quality of experience.
Who knew Winterthur held these unexpected treasures.
works by Van Gogh, Rodin, and Monet
Van Gogh and Rodin.
Painting by Leger, sculpture by Duchamp-Villon
Works by Mondriaan, Calder, Van Doesburg, Arp and Täuber-Arp