Culture | Fotoeins Fotografie

Posts from the ‘Culture’ category

“Science is an integral part of culture. It’s not this foreign thing, done by an arcane priesthood. It’s one of the glories of the human intellectual tradition.” – S.J. Gould.

HL chow fun, chow fun, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, myRTW, fotoeins.com

Chow fun (wok-fried rice noodle), HL style

Above/featured: MSP, USA version – 10 Mar 2019 (X70).

Thanks to the wok from San Francisco’s The Wok Shop, I’ve had a few years of beating down and “seasoning” my cast-iron circular-bottom ear-handled wok. I’ve made the following “chow fun” (炒粉, wok-fried rice noodle) a lot, because the following recipe provides plenty of leftovers, which reheat very well.

On my year of RTW travel, my trusty wok is in storage, but I’ve had occasion to make my chow fun for a number of friends while I’ve been out and about on the road. It was time I put the recipe to electronic form.

( Click here for more )

Pho Thai Son, Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, fotoeins.com

3 Places to Eat in Central Saigon

Saigon is a metropolis in southern Vietnam with over 7 million people; some say there are upwards of 9 million in the area. Although often referred by its present-day name of Ho Chi Minh City, many still call the place by its old name of Saigon.

A big attraction in a short trip is always about the food. The out-of-this-world traffic points to everybody in a big hurry on the go, and it seems the entire population is on their motorbikes. This also suggests everybody is hungry, all the time.

Naturally, there are many places, stalls, and street-side carts, but if you’d like to sit down under cover and see what others are eating, you might give these three places in central Saigon a try.

( Click here for more )

Joy Hing Roasted Meat, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, fotoeins.com

Hong Kong: I can eat in Cantonese

June 2012.

Yes, it’s true.

After sitting dormant in my head for years, my Cantonese has come out to play, and has been put to good use.

I can say a few words and phrases to make myself understood, but I’m not proficient enough to carry a long conversation. But I know enough to cuss if I need to, like everyone else.

It’s now halfway into my stay in Hong Kong, and I’m finding my comprehension of verbal Cantonese is steadily improving by the day. I can listen to Cantonese in conversation and I can get the gist of what’s being said. My reading and writing comprehension, however, need life support.

The important part is where my handling of Cantonese becomes particularly handy: the search for and the precise naming of food.

Here are three places in Hong Kong where I’ve adequately communicated my desire for food that “feels-like-home”:

Mak’s Noodle (Central), for the wonton noodle soup
Nathan Congee and Noodle (Kowloon), for congee
Joy Hing Roasted Meat (Wan Chai), for the barbecue duck and pork

( Click here for more details )

My Stockholm: the colours of Gamla Stan

Buildings with bright beautiful colours.
Narrow cobblestone alleys.
Street signage with few consonants.

This is Gamla Stan: Stockholm’s Old Town.

I love the mystery of trying to parse a different language, even when I’ve twisted my tongue into unrecognizably knotted grunts.

With the summer solstice in late-June, the days are long, and skies remain lit until the wee hours of the morning. You can walk through the streets of the old town by day, like other visitors who’ve come to enjoy the place. But I highly recommend you navigate the streets at night. By mid-evening, activities wind down, and eventually, you’ve basically the quiet streets all to yourself.

Gamla Stan, Stockholms ström, Skeppsholmen, Stockholm, Sweden, fotoeins.com

From Skeppsholmen: Gamla Stan with Tyska Kyrkan (German church) at right.

Gilded crown, Skeppsholmsbron, Skeppsholmen, Stockholms ström, Stockholm, Sweden, fotoeins.com

View of the Stockholms ström inner harbour from Skeppsholmsbron (Skeppsholm island bridge).

From Högvaktsterrassen (Main Guard Terrace): Riddarhuset (House of Nobility, left); Mynttorget (Coin Square, centre foreground); Riksdagshuset (Parliament House, centre background)

Statue of Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson at Kornhamnstorg (Grain Harbour Square)

Standing tall, at Stortorget (Great Square)

At Stortorget: Storkyrkan (Grand Church); Börshuset (Stock Exchange Building), now Nobel Museum

Sankt Göran och Draken (St. George & the Dragon), at Köpmanbrinken (Merchant’s Slope)

Grey rainy skies over Gamla Stan, from Skeppsholmen island

Gamla Stan and Strömmen, from Katerinavägen, Södermalm : 1130pm

Tyska Brinken at Prästgatan : midnight

At Stortorget : Börshuset / Nobelmuseet, minutes after midnight

Please do yourself a favour — go to Stockholm in the summertime. Yes, it’s expensive compared to other European destinations, but worthwhile things to see and do await in Gamla Stan, Östermalm, Södermalm, Djurgården, Skogskyrkogården, and in the archipelago (e.g., Vaxholm by boat).

• Daytrip to Vaxholm in Stockholm’s archipelago
• Say “Hej!” (and to food) at Lisa Elmqvist in Östermalm’s Saluhall market hall
• Greeting Greta Garbo in the Skogskyrokogården

I made the photos above on 25 to 27 June 2008, just after northern summer solstice. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com at http://wp.me/p1BIdT-JI.

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Something about the city breathes colour and magic.

Wide open plazas, yet compact feel for the town.

Cobblestone streets, the narrow sidewalks.

The vibrant colours of the buildings in the style of Mexican baroque.

Art, lots of it – which would fit in Mexico City just as well as New York City.

Cozy bars and restaurants of all kinds : our excellent finds include great spicy Thai at Venus Lounge, breakfast (and an expat centre?) at Juan’s Cafe, Sri Lankan at Dila’s, German and Belgian beer at Berlin Bar & Bistro.

The rich and the poor, the backpacker, and the nouveau riche. Really riche.

The sounds of spoken English heard frequently around town …

What may be unusual is the number of retirees from Canada, USA, Europe, and Mexico City, mixed with and yet separated from local residents. What’s definitely unusual is the real estate for which some places reach seven figures in sticker price. As my friend wisely suggested: rent an apartment in Manhattan, but buy a winter house here in town.

Born in this town, Ignacio Allende helped to shape the independence movement from Spanish colonial rule to create the United States of Mexico. For its historical and architectural significance, the town was declared a UNESCO Heritage Site in 2008.