StringGrrl sees the World

 In the Puls5 courtyard very near where we maintain our Zurich Geocache we find the one year old Amboss Bier Store. The outlet for the craft brewed Amboss Bier is a Zurich original with a brief but significant history. Started off as a boutique label of the Masslos GmbH it has since outgrown the original microbrewer near the bend in the river Limmat at Wipkinger Viaduct. Now it's own business they have expanded beyond the Amber Amboss (anvil) and are now brewed in various contract locations throughout the area. For two years in the location of Steinfels. They were sold exclusively in 20 litre drums initially and since 2004 bottles to mostly local establishments. The booty from a recent stop for supplies, Amber, Blonde, Wheat, Spez "Barto" and StringGirl inside the Amboss shop at Puls5, just near StringGirls Geocache On Friday fans and friends are invited to drink fresh beer from tap and pay what they deem fair. Barto the operator of the store will also play a...

Always on the lookout for new dining experiences in my office away from home, I wandered past Brisket , an apparent new place in Zurich Kreis 5. Southern kitsch is immediate from the decor to the mason jar drinks glasses After perusing their menu I was really looking forward to the Coffee & Black Pepper Brisket, but was disappointed (temporarily) when it was told to us that the Brisket had sold out for lunch. Instead they offered a beef rib, or 2 as it turns out. The Beef Rib was our "consolation prize" after the lunch potion of Brisket sold out. It was not a dissappointment. The inside of the restaurant smells exactly as a BBQ joint should, of smoked meat and charred flesh. My colleague and I both ordered the Brisket, and ended up with the Beef Rib. It was a hearty lunch portion which for the price of 24CHF is about the going rate for a sit down, served lunch in the area. I look forward to a more in depth review of the meal offerings in the future as I whi...

Site map of mammoth location, This shaft was only for the extraction of the coal. Miners entered and exited from other shafts  For a recent company outing we toured the "Cokerie" at the  Zollverein Coal Mine  in Essen. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a stop on the European Route of Industrial Heritage . It is reputed to be the most Beautiful Coal Mine in the World. It is certainly impressive and worth the visit if you are in the Ruhrgebiet (or Kohlpott as some know the area for the very same reason of mines like this). The building directly behind is the Coal storage area, conveyors passed the coal directly from mine to this building Germany has done an admirable job of recognizing the importance of their industrial history, unlike most of the USA which prefers to think of Carnegie, Vanderbilt, and Guggenheim as cultural institutions that just sprung into existence fully formed rather than acknowledge the industrial history of those family names and the i...

Grilled Prawn and Squid http://www.tripadvisor.it/Restaurant_Review-g187855-d2196089-Reviews-Osteria_La_Cena_Coi_Fiocchi_Cucina_Viva-Turin_Province_of_Turin_Piedmont.html Primo piatto of Mussels  http://www.lacenacoifiocchi.it/index.html StringGirl gets attacked by the PrimoPiatto of fried seafood Fried seafood first plate Crudo Salmon and Bufala StringGirl Strikes back Victory Zabione

On our most recent visit to Torino, Italy, we had some amazing food just about every day--lunches and dinners. In fact one night just for a change of pace, I opted for discount sushi (also good) to take a rest from all the rich and widely varied Italian food.But perhaps the most surprising meal was the one I had in the grocery market, Eataly. Preserves, jarred sauces, and other condiments  Eataly is a chain of upscale markets throughout Italy, with locations in the New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Yokahama, Istanbul, Dubai, Brazil, and Seoul. There mission and manifesto , revolve around bringing quality of food, life, the world up through the sharing of Italian food culture. I went in looking only to find a reasonable bottle of wine to bring home, and left after buying a couple bottles, eating dinner, and sampling a few glasses of Piemontese wines. The surprise dinner, they were celebrating something with a limited time menu featuring this Duck Breast The duck dinner was a fe...

Lately, the eBags TLS Mini has been looking a little rough around the edges. Zippers have gotten worn due to the bags less than perfect tendency to bulge and let the sippers drag during rolling. I am resistant to retiring it as it has served me so well. But the Trunkster has me considering things differently. NO Zippers. GPS tracking and a built in scale. The scale is fairly trivial for me as the carry-on size would have to really add some cargo to go over the 70 pound limit afforded me as a platinum flier with Delta and Skyteam, but the zipperless design has me thinking. AND it can charge your phone: http://trunkster.refr.cc/HVPQP49 (use this link to let them know I sent you). Old reliable. was the best bag I had. But maybe???