Ballroom Dancing in Blackpool with Panasonic

I will try to publish (link) some of the best high quality Ballroom video's from YouTube on this blog. The first video is a commercial from Panasonic in Blackpool. Enjoy it.

Ik ga proberen enkele van de beste hoge kwaliteits Ballroom video's van YouTube op deze blog te publiceren (linken). De eerste video is een reklame filmpje van Panasonic in Blackpool. Geniet er van.


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Viktualienmarkt, München

Early morning, I am going for a walk on the Viktualienmarkt on my way to work. It's very cold but surprisingly no snow, which is exceptional this time of the year. The viktualienmarkt is a market place where they sell food products like: fruit, cheese, meat, fish, vegetables, wild products... The name Vitualien comes from "lebensmitteln" or food products. This is a very nice place to visit during spring and summer where you can enjoy a beer on a terrace or a freshly squeezed juice. In the background you see the church of the Holy Spirit (St. Peter). I can't wait to go there again to enjoy a beer in the summer.

In de vroege morgen op weg naar het werk, wandel ik op de Viktualienmarkt. Het is zeer koud en er ligt geen sneeuw wat uitzonderlijk is voor deze tijd van het jaar. De Viktualienmarkt is een markt waar voedingsmiddelen worden verkocht zoals: fruit, kaas, vlees, vis, groenten, wild... De naam Viktualien komt van "lebensmitteln" of voedingsmiddelen. Dit is een zeer mooie plaats om in de lente of de zomer te genieten van een biertje of een vers geperst fruitsapje. Op de achtergrond zie je de kerk van de Heilige Geest (St. Peter). Ik kan bijna niet wachten tot de zomer om hier terug een biertje te gaan drinken.






Previous Munich article: Sendlinger-tor and Isartor, Munich
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Farewelled the "Kopex" town

After an overnight trip to Duke of York Islands, we are back at Kokopo.
This was the last day at East New Britain and we strolled around the town.

When I first visited here in 1995, there was few permanent buildings. No Kokopo Beach Bungalow, No Rapopo plantation; ANZ bank was operating from barrack-type house.
Now it is one of the fastest growing towns of South Pacific - it has many new permanent buildings, big shops, warehouses, as well as historical buildings - one of the oldest Catholic Churches in Papua New Guinea, Modern History Museum .....
Kokopo Market was very busy with people selling and buying the food, cloth, basket etc...
Unlike other big towns in Papua New Guinea, people mind their own business and very safe.
We wish Port Moresby is safe like East New Britain ....
After several days of re-discovering Rabaul & Kokopo, we reluctantly left the "Kopex" town.


Vunapope = "place of the Pope" is one of the oldest catholic missions in Papua New Guinea .
The cathedral has been refurbished recently.

Queen Emma portrait at the Kokopo Museum.

Japanese Fighter "Zero" at Kokopo Museum.

Sendlinger Tor and Isartor, München (Munich)

It's always nice to go for a walk in Munich. Here in the early morning you see the medieval Gothic Gates (in German Tor) of the ancient city wall. There are still three gates in the city. Here you see the Sendlinger Tor and the Isartor. They were both build early 14th century. On the Isartor you find a fresco painting which displays the triumph of Ludwig from Bavaria after the victory against the Habsburgers in 1322.

Het is altijd leuk een wandeling te maken door München. Hieronder zie je de Sendlinger Tor en de Isartor in de vroege ochtend, twee van de drie nog bestaande gotische stadspoorten. Beide poorten werden gebouwd in het begin van de 14de eeuw. Op de Isartor vind je een fresco van de overwinning van Ludwig van Bayern tegen de Habsburgers in 1322.





Previous Munich article: Christkindlmarkt, Munich
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Restaurant Van der Valk, Nootdorp

When driving around in The Netherlands and looking for something to eat, keep an eye on the Toucan. This bird is the symbol of the Hotel chain Van der Valk. Most of these hotels have a restaurant that serves good quality food at reasonable prices. All the hotels are located near highway exits. On Sunday we enjoyed the lunch in Nootdorp. We were surprised that the fried Tiger prawn starter in combination with a prawn Carpaccio was absolutely excellent. The beef Carpaccio was also very good. All restaurants have a high capacity. I can only recommend this chain when you travel around in The Netherlands. It will be very difficult to find something of the same quality for this price.

Als je rondreist in Nederland en je zoekt iets te eten, let dan op de Toekan. Deze vogel is het symbool van de hotelketen Van der Valk. De meeste van deze hotels hebben een restaurant dat goede kwaliteit serveert tegen redelijke prijzen. Alle hotels liggen dicht bij autosnelweguitritten. Vorige zondag genoten we van de lunch in de Van der Valk te Nootdorp. We waren echt onder de indruk van de gefrituurde Gamba combinatie met Gamba Carpaccio als voorgerecht. De rundscarpaccio was ook zeer goed. Ik kan deze restaurants zeker aanbevelen als je rondreist in Nederland. Het zal zeer moeilijk zijn iets beter te vinden aan deze prijzen.

Duke of York Island Adventure

On the next day, we have set sailed for Duke of York Islands. Duke of York Islands are group of 13 islands lie between New Britain & New Ireland on the St. George's Channel.

Today's main destination was Mioko Island, some 45 minutes boat ride from Kokopo. After we left our bags, we have departed again for snorkeling, and then fishing on the way. Not long, Dominic has caught a big Barracuda !!

After the marine activities, we have done a nature walk from the tip of the island to the Guest House. Mioko Island is where Queen Emma has set up her first plantation in 1878 and remains of her resident & Pool can still be seen in the jungle. (Photo below: remain of Queen Emma's swimming pool)

The flat walk can be done by any age group, and is full of attraction, history, tropical flowers, houses and curious local people etc...

The village life is very simple, people don't have anything luxurious yet have everything to live.

The trip was adventurous, heart-warming & educational.

Duke of York can be visited as a day trip if you want a modern comfort & hot shower, but if you really want to feel the village life and its hospitality, it is worth visiting by a overnight trip.

The next day, sea was very calm. When we are leaving the Duke of York, dolphins were chasing the boat and jumping as if they are saying "Goodbye and please come again !!"

Village Tour our of Kokopo

We have visited a village called Menebonbon outside of Kokopo.

The village is 45 minuets away from kokopo on the hill side towards the tip of Gazelle Peninsula and have living with substitant agriculture with Copra/Cacao as cash crop.

When we visited, villagers were busy cutting the Copra (dried Coconut). The cut Copra is dried in an oven in the village and later sold to the Copra factory in town before being exported to overseas.

After the "factory inspection", we have moved to a nearby house. The ladies were already preparing the today's lunch called "Aigir."

Aigir is traditional dish in Rabaul area and it is similar to the "Mumu" in a way that they use heated stone for steaming the food, but it is unique in its own way and ingredients.

The biggest difference from Highlands "Mumu" is Aigir use full of Coconut Milk.

Heated stones are placed on top of the Banana leaves and coconut milk is boiling up.

Then you add Taro, Chicken, Aibika, etc... and cover it up with the Banana leaves.

After 30 minutes or so, delicious Aigir is done !!

Sweet taste of Coconut milk is absorbed in all the ingredients and all I could say was "Oh, its beautiful !"

The village is situated on the hill looking down Warangoi Bay (on the other side on Tokua Airport) and blessed with nature. When I carefully look around, I could see Avocado, Paw paw, Cacao, Star Fruit, Coconut... everything was there.

Village visit experience is something you should not miss in Papua New Guinea,　and I can say that Menebonbon is one of the "secret treasures" of Rabaul/Kokopo.

The Harbour of Zeebrugge, De haven van Zeebrugge

We were invited to Zeebrugge by friends we met in Japan. For us this was the first time we visited this harbour. It was a cold day but sunny enough to go for a walk with the group. Zeebrugge harbour is very efficient in container handling. The container ship you see on the picture is the Hatsu of 300m long which holds 7.000 containers.

We waren uitgenodigd in Zeebrugge door vrienden die we ontmoet hebben in Japan. Het was de eerste keer dat we de haven van Zeebrugge bezochten. Het was koud die dag, maar toch was er genoeg zon voor een wandeling te maken met de groep. De haven van Zeebrugge is zeer efficient in containerverwerking. Het Hatsu containerschip op de foto is 300m lang en heeft een capaciteit van 7.000 containers.