High-Speed China

It’s nearly a year ago that I first used China’s new high-speed rail (HSR) when travelling from Beijing to Hangzhou. It was a fascinating experience. A New York Times article again drew my attention to the perhaps most ambitious infrastructure project a single nation has ever undertaken. It also made me dig out the one and only photo of a train I took. And no, I have no idea who this person is.

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Japanese food

The food has been one of the major perks of our time in Japan. The variety, the freshness and the dedication and love with which almost any meal is prepared is second to none. Since arriving in New York, we took a variety of ramen stops and enjoyed one kaiseki dinner. It’s been OK, but no match to our time in Tokyo.

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Beef avocado sushi, near Shibuya station

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Peabody Terrace

I spent two days in Boston last weekend, visiting a friend. Partly thanks to its universities, Boston has plenty of modern architecture. I found this great brochure (Boston Modern: The Spirit of Reinvention) only after walking around town but plan to return to the city with it in my bag. One of these modern gems I managed to find on my own is Peabody Terrace in Cambridge, next to the Charles River.

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New Tumblr

I’ve been doing a fair bit of research in connection with the book project I’m working on. Trying to find footage (both still and video) from post-war Japan (which for the convenience of the project is loosely defined as the first three decades after 1945) has become a bit of a hobby along the way. Instead of posting too much of this on this blog, I have decided to put all these little snippets up on a new Tumblr called “1945-1975 Japan”, to be found at postwarjapan.tumblr.com. Enjoy!

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Voter’s dilemma

I haven’t lived in Germany for many years, so I am not really confronted with the consequences of my voting behaviour. This has made me a very opportunistic voter in the past; going on wahlomat.de and making my cross at whichever party suits me best based on the website’s questionnaire.

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