Was sagst du? 樣樣都德

In a year when Europe has experienced the warmest November in several hundred years, and newspaper headlines were exclaiming 'The Alps are sweating!' it is perhaps not a surprise that this winter has not really made its presence felt. It finally made an appearance when my friend arrived from Hong Kong. After all, he came to Europe at this time of the year to expect something! 今年歐洲經歷了數百年來最暖的十一月，報紙頭條標題也高呼：「阿爾卑斯山流大汗了！」怪不得入冬以來甚無冬意，直至有朋友從香港來後，冬天才終於露面，好讓他有個真實點的感受！ 25 December, 2006 2006年12月25日 My friend and I were hiking in the woods of Philosophers' Walk in Heidelberg, when we spotted some pretty frosts dangling from and between tree branches. We wondered how some of them could take up curvy shapes - perhaps there was enough water hanging on old spider webs before it all froze. 我和朋友在海德堡哲學家徑散步時，在山林間發現樹掛，有些還是曲線形，大概是聚在舊蜘蛛網的水份多，全都結冰後便成了這個樣子。 26 December, 2006 2006年12 月26日 We were back in Munich and went to visit the Nymphenburg Castle. 回到慕尼黑後，我們前往寧芬堡城堡參觀。 A big part of the canal i...

Bicycles are a common sight on German roads, and I thought it would be useful to have one for fun or maybe the occasional need. Back in April when I was looking closely at one of my (then) future residences, the tenant offered to sell me her bike for 40 euros. She admitted that she had not ridden it for quite some time. The rusting chain and the broken seat told a clear story of neglect. But I thought, quite naively as it turned out, that they could be replaced quite easily and cheaply. The price was also hard to resist as a brand new no-frills bicycle would easily fetch 100 euros or higher! (How can every family afford so many bikes?) I accepted the offer in the end. At that time, I was still staying at the on-site guesthouse of my research institute. The bicycle didn’t have much use and I did not have any tools handy. I thought I could wait until I moved into my current residence. It was June when I moved, followed by uninterrupted good weather. World Cup matches, colleagues’ barbecu...

After a 4-hour train journey, my parents and I left the canals of Venice and arrived in the urban maze that is Rome. The first thing we had to adjust ourselves to was the hectic and sometimes lawless traffic. We lost count of how many cars were spotted parking illegally, particularly those at the zebra crossings. We just had to tread the roads with extra care. Lawlessness of traffic, however, paled in comparison to the general lawlessness on the streets, and we had memorable experiences of the latter during our 3 days in Rome. Our first encounter with the dark side of Rome was on Via della Conciliazione, not far from the Vatican. Just as we were about to cross the road and were too busy chatting, my dad felt that the zip of his waist pouch was being opened and our 3 passports disappeared without a trace! Of course we were very scared, and could only think of walking back Via della Conciliazione in the hope that the passports were dumped or accidentally dropped there. Soon after our sea...

I visited Venice for the second time this year, this time with my parents whose last visit was more than 30 years ago. Venice left us with a very lasting impression on several fronts. First of all, Venice is totally free of cars! Everything is done or carried through the extensive network of waterways criss-crossing the city, including private transport, public transport, fire and ambulance services and even FedEx. There’s no need to worry about crossing the roads and watching oncoming traffic! But navigating through Venice is no easy matter, as it is incredibly easy to get lost. Even maps won’t help all the time, because the maps can’t list all the little canals, bridges and the narrow passageways that seem to make unpredictable turns. On the other hand, Venice is the prefect place for hide-and-seek and labyrinths because of this! Tourists are both loved and loathed by the locals. On one hand, there are just too many tourists roaming everywhere in Venice, especially the famous tourist...