Summer time

It's Labor day already - summer is progressing towards its final showing for the year. It's been a few very pleasant weeks.  

We enjoyed daytrips to Neskowin,

Mt. Tabor,

and Viento State Park, one of the surfing beaches in the Gorge: first time with Michaela & Skittles. We all fit into the ID.4 including all the windsurfing gear - who would have thought?!? I believe this may have been the first time that Michaela saw me windsurfing since our trip to Hurghada in 2002(!).

We spent a nice weekend in Newport. On our way we stopped in Depoe Bay for lunch and were treated to a whale showing up surprisingly close to the beach - very cool. Newport followed up with a couple of seals the next morning (sadly, didn't get a good snapshot of either.)

And, most recently, we headed to Mirror Lake on Mt. Hood for an enjoyable hike through the woods: 

And finally, we sold our Honda Fit, which served us well for the last 14 years, and Michaela got an e-bike with a trailer for Skittles! We are now all electric for our transportation needs.

Europe 2025

 It had been six(!) year since I crossed the pond to visit Laser Munich! As it happened, I was invited to attend ASML's technology conference this year, scheduled the week prior to Laser Munich: two birds, one stone. 

Unlike my last two transatlantic trips, this time the luggage arrived with me - I was pleasantly surprised! 

The morning commute to the conference in den'Bosch was as Dutch as one could imagine: by bike!

The foundational equation of lithography. 

On my way to Gruenstadt - didn't get to take THAT train, though...

The subsequent weekend was - as always - reserved for catching up with family and friends.

Friday evening: 'Alte Pfarrey' with my parents in Neuleiningen.

Saturday afternoon: 'Cafe Flo' with Christian & Markus in Mannheim

Saturday evening: 'Akropolis' with my parents in Gruenstadt.

Sunday: Reunion after 25 years! Coffee with Daniel - we are both still active windsurfers!

As the weekend came to a close, it was time to make my way to Munich, where Chris picked me up and showed off his skills as cook - his new hobby:

Yum!

The next few days would be consumed with talks and walking the exhibition floor - a great chance to catch up with folks I hadn't seen in a while!

Chris continued to surprise me with his new cooking skills.

And as that second week drew to a close, I squeezed in two more visits before my flight back on Sunday morning - a bit tight, but well worth it:

A quick stop in Bebra with Anita, touring her new apartment, and the healthiest meal (thank you!) of the trip.

A quick dinner with Jule, Juri, Zoe, & Phryne in Berlin-Tegel.

Happy to be home again!

Cafes, coffee and pastries in the Portland area

It's May already and while we didn't quite explore a Cafe every weekend, we have done pretty well so far, I think!

February 9th: Coava Coffee - one of the
'must-visit' coffee places in Portland. Was also
part of our PDX coffee tour a few years ago.

February 16th: Futura Coffee

February 23rd: Super Joy Coffee -
alas, didn't enjoy this one that much...

March 2nd: Push x Pull Coffee - allegedly one of
the top 100 Cafes worldwide!

The Fresh Pot - we were not
part of the desired demographic 😞 

March 16th: Wallflower coffee - will definitely go again, 5 out of 5 beans!

March 23rd: Water Avenue Coffee

March 30th: Cream Coffee

April 8th: MKS' Global Technology Conference in Boston. I sampled Nero Coffee on that
occasion - not part of the running for best Portland Cafe, obviously.

April 13th: Heart Coffee - back in the groove

April 27th: Carnelian Coffee - and
an outstanding Passionfruit Danish

May 9th: Kalesa Coffee - tiny space but well worth the visit, we'll be back.

May 15th: Spent a couple of days in Irvine visiting another MKS site and sampled 'the lost bean's' coffee: no pastries before 8 AM 🤯