Blogging Anniversary - 10 years

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A while ago I checked when I did my first blog post, in order to celebrate with an anniversary post. Well, that day came and went without any reaction from me. Better late than never, so here a reminder of my very first blog post from 24 October 2012.  The book was New Finnish Grammar  by Diego Marani. Marani is an Italian novelist, translator and newspaper columnist. While working as a translator for the European Union he invented a language ‘Europanto’ which is a mixture of languages and based on the common practice of word-borrowing usage of many EU languages. It was a suitable book to start with, being a book about letters, languages and memories. With a beautiful prose, the novel went directly to my heart.  "One night at Trieste in September 1943 a seriously wounded soldier is found on the quay. The doctor, of a newly arrived German hospital ship, Pietri Friari gives the unconscious soldier medical assistance. His new patient has no documents or anything that can ide...
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Enjoying a winter week in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy

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For the first time in years I am enjoying a real winter. We were lucky enough that the snow came just the day before we came. We had a lovely drive from Bergamot via lake Garda to MdC. Here some photos along the way.






MdC met us with a beautiful winter landscape, just like on the postcards. We have been very well treated here in Hotel St. Raphael with fantastic food and wonderful personal. Close to everything; skiing, walking, shopping etc. The weather has been mostly sunny, but we had two days of light snowing.




The village still have the Christmas decorations, which gives it a lovely atmosphere.


MdC also offers a little bit of history. Here the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph built a Hunting Lodge, which today is a hotel, Relais des Alps. Inside you still see the beautiful Art Deco/Empire style and the wall painting in what today is a kind of theatre, but earlier was the ballroom. The wall painting was made by Gottfried Hofer.



A grand ball in the Emperor's time
Maybe someone wore a dress like this? I know that I would like to!


And a last panoramic view!


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