Kingdoms of Bones

I went to the Paleontological Museum and came across a door with a sign on it. Being illeterate I wondered in and sat down.

There was a lecture about ecology and I spent the next 1.5 hours ignoring the lecturer but did read the screen. I learnt about the aims of paleontology, diversity, niches, taxonomy and fossil records.

After 1.5 hours, my patience was flagging and I made no execuses and left.

For lunch, I had a classic 4-sausage dish in a guidebook-recommended restaurant which I enjoyed greatly. I was joined but a deaf and virtually dumb coupled who signed throughout the meal. I wonder if there is an international sign language....

In the afternoon, I wondered over to a cinema showing orignal versions and saw Kingdom of Heaven. Ridley Scott confirmed his reputation as a director of blockbusters, even though the Balian character was unrealistic, i.e. how does a humble blacksmith come to have superb swordsmanship, great leadership, and knowledge of anti-siege techniques.

However, the acting was good and the action was moving and I thought the anti-war message was unusual for a Hollywood blockbuster, as was the low-key ending.

In the evening, I went to the basement Ratskeller museum, by the Old Town Hall to be serenaded by a musician playing Austrian music on a keyboard.

Neuschwanstein

We went to Neuschwanstein, the castle built by the mad Prince Leopold II, which was used as a template by Walt Disney for the Disneyland castle.

It looks a lot more impressive on the outside than the inside.

Leo died before finishing the construction.

Unfortunately, for EUR 8, you get a guided tour for 30 min where you are led to about 6 rooms before being kicked out through the Memento Mart, which every historical building seems equipped with.

Admittedly the rooms are ornate and I'd like to link to a few photos but photography is banned.

Enjoyed Englisch Garten

We wandered around Munich and ended up in the Englisch Garten.

Although we didn't see any nude sun-worhsippers, we did find the bier garten complete with oompah band.

We also checked out the modern street architecture.

Dinner was in a little restaurant in the suburbs with the new season's asparagus as a starter.

Munich in May

I decided to go to Munich for a long weekend to visit C.

So, eschewing the red eye, I took the sleepy eye coach to the airport which arrived at 0230.

The airport was packed but I managed to lay on the top of two rows of chairs that were back to back.

I managed a few hours sleep and woke around 0600.

I sampled an "American Breakfast" which seemed to be made in heaven and hell, comprising fruit salad, pancakes and sauaages.

The Easyjet flight went up and came down on time.

After getting out at the train station, I treked North to find the hotel. It looked close on the map but it seemed to take ages to get there but it was probably only 2 km away.

The hotel was compact but modern. The receptionist confirmed my 30 euro / night deal from HRS.

The room was so compact that I only had a single bed.

For lunch, I followed by Rough Guide and sampled a pork knuckle - fatty but comforting.

I met C in the Mariensplatz.

We had duck alfresco nearby.

Sudoku mania

It's a phenomenon: Sudoku strikes.

People are puzzling on the platform, puzzling over printouts from the Net, buying books of grids and now there's a TV program with live Sudoku.


What is this meme you ask? Well, dear reader, it's a crossword with missing digits and no clues.

The aim is to fill in the blank spaces so that each row, column and 3x3 square has one and only occurence of a digit in the range 1-9.

It's a crossword for the ignorant, no cryptic conundrums or torturous terms.




Now, if only I could work out the last 2 digits, I could complete a line!!

What I want to know is how to spell these things: su-doku, sud-oku, sudo-ku, or sudok-u.

Maybe it's really 7 letters: sudokhu....