Kari & Dines Bjørner December 22, 2006The Bjørner Japan Diary
Trivia &
Photos: "Blow-by-Blow"
Late May - Late July 2006
We flew Komatsu (our local airport) - Shanghai - Macau - Shanghai - Komatsu.
May 21-25: Dines attended ICSE 2006 and gave a keynote at the "2nd International Workshop on Applications and Advances in Problem Frames", Tuesday 23 May. We met Nikolaj a couple of times! Had dinner with him at "M on the Bund" Tuesday 23rd. after a drink in the "Cloud 9" bar on the 87th floor of his Hyatt Hotel!.
"M on the Bund"
We walked the old town, visited a large both traditional Chinese medicine and a modern pharmacy, near the YuYan garden, and had tea on the 2nd floor of the teahouse on the lake there.
We stayed at the old venerable Peace Hotel (originally the Cathay), had breakfast there two mornings and breakfast other two mornings on the 4th floor, in the back of the old HSBC building on The Bund.
\textbf{Inside the former Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Building}
We revisited the Shanghai Museum, in Dines' opinion one of the greatest museums: handy, not too large, and only the best. Kari shopped around for textiles and found lots and lots! Junko, wife of Dines' colleague here at JAIST (Prof. Kokichi Futatsugi), took Kari to a special shop with Japanese design indigo fabrics.
We also visited a new artist colony up the Suzhou river. Half a hundred ateliers and galleries. Modern art, and good!
He Ji Feng invited as for exquisite dinner Monday 22nd. ICSE Banquet was short of a disaster, but met Zhou Chao Chen.
We were back, 7-8 June, for 14 hours en route back from Macau to Japan, stayed at the Pudong airport Ramada hotel.
Mid afternoon Air Macau flight, Friday 26th. Chris George fetched us at airport and took us to Tony Hoare's delightful talk at University of Macau on "The Ideal of Software Correctness". Met lots of old wonderful friends. Afterwards dinner with many of these at the Flamingo rest., the Hyatt Regency (which, alas, is closing!). Saturday off to Hong Kong, to Dines' tailor: Lee Barron, Middle Road, to order suits and shirts, some made from fabrics bought in Shanghai (a silk and linen suit with west, five shirts and a grey lightweight suit). In time, in evening, for the almost ritual "homecoming" dinner at Afonso III with 18 guests. Sunday most day raining and most day sightseeing with my colleague from here at JAIST, Kokichi Futatsugi: The Taipa Village Museum (a collection of six 1920s colonial houses along a former beach), walk in Taipa Village, a walk in Coloane Village, visit to Anita Lauder and Warren, Dines saw a Ningbo double window, nice carving - bought it a week later, it is now in Denmark! - and then lunch at a great rest.: Espaco Lisboa.
Monday at work, at UNU-IIST, like the rest of the week and Monday-Tuesday the following. Thursday June 1 Dines gave a 3.5 hour talk for e-Macau government officials. Dines also gave seminars at UNU-IIST Friday and Monday following. We went back to Hong Kong Sat. 3rd and Tuesday 6th June to fit and fetch Dines' suits and shirts.
Kari had two dresses and one jacket sewn in Macau from silk brocade fabrics bought in Shanghai.
And we dined and wined our way with many friends - including the lady staff at UNU-IIST. Great Chinese, Portuguese, Italian and fusion rest.: Clube Militar, Antica Trattoria de Ise (Isabelle), and, with Irene 'O and Bruno A. Soares, the architects of the beautiful UNU-IIST building, at M on the Bend (not Bund, but bend at Avenida Republica.
Visited Anita Lauder and Warren at her Asia Art antique store in Coloane Village:
Other photos from our beloved Macau:
Click this for photos from the Hong Kong tour.
We went three times to Hong Kong. Took the jetfoil - must have been our 1000th ride!
Strolled in TsimTsaTsui:
Had lunch at The Peninsula:
and at Jimmy's Kitchen in Kowloon, three favourites.
Many of the fabrics, several books, and some of Dines' new dresses and shirts were shipped from HKG: Their post is inexpensive: 20 kgs less than US$80.
Click this for more photos of Hong Kong .
Brief "encounter": packing suitcases and final preps. for lectures in Tokyo.
Dines gave lectures, 4 evenings, 18:30 to 21:40 at the JAIST "campus" in Tokyo. We stayed, as usual, at our favourite IHJ. Thu. am Dines went to one of Kari's texttile favourites and bought 20 diff. fabrics, 110cm by 110 cm.
Kari left Wednesday morning, Dines took her to a nearby other hotel (the ANA) and saw her off on the airport limousine, and flew SAS to Denmark.
Brief "encounter": working with students, packing suitcases - including one, 32 kgs., with Kari's fabrics!
Wedn. 6:15 am a taxi took Dines to Komatsu, a small jet up to Narrita, almost 2 hours in the Star Alliance lounge and the business class to Copenhagen on SAS. Always a pleasure. Got time also, leisurely, to use the Internet connection and sent e-mails from 34.000 feet up over icy Siberia. Kari and Charlotte to fetch me at kastrup and then via Charlotte's new home, as from August 1st, Ellesvinget i Trørød, a few hundred meters from where Charlotte spent her first 9 months! Lovely home. A few hundred meters to school for two daughters. A quiet cul de sac. With Kari to town to have lunch Thursday at Cafe Gitte Kirk
and then off to Aarhus, to the 50th anniversary dinner for 34, half of our vintage, from Aarhus Cathedral School. Next day "translocation", that is, graduation ceremony and lunch with hundreds of old-timers, then train back to Copenhagen and dinner party, Midsummer Nights eve, at our friends, the Lillieør's. Saturday afternoon a wine tasting party with our nighbours, Lise and Bendt Zinck. Dinner with Charlotte, Wei Wei and Caroline at our local splashy rest. Jægerhuset, Sunday.
Silverwedding lunch - a great affair in the best of summer weather. Monday early off the Bonn via Hamburg, and taxi to Bad Honnef. Four hours of meeting Monday and then dinner at Petershof, famous mountain resort where many statesmen met, incl. Brezhniev, Gorbatotjow, Reagan, etc. Further German Research Council meetings Tuesday and Wednesday. Home via Bonn-Berlin and Berlin-Copenhagen afternoon my regular visit to the dentist, all is OK. Friday morning my orthopedist, all is fine. Saturday we flew back to Japan.
A quiet early July.
We splurged: found a rather reasonable cost double room at the Kyoto Hyatt Regency, Sat.-Sunday, one night, 15-16 July. Train both ways. Arrived at hotel 9:30 am, left next day at 5 pm. Got room at 1:30 pm. Went straight to a texttile shop on main shopping street, a shop Kari shopped at in April. I left her there, took taxi over to the east side, and walked for two hours along "Philosophy Path", saw temples, and just enjoyed the warm and humid weather. Joined kari at the same shop. Fully laden with many fabrics. We went back to hotel, had a great Italian lunch with great glasses of wine - and chedked in. Great room. Really wonderful. Kari off to more shopping and came back 4.5 hours later. I worked for some hours in the room, on my computer, with Internet connecton so I could receive and send many e-mails. Went "next door" to the the Kyoto (Imperial) Museum, rather uninteresting, and a temple with some 1300 buddhas. Back to work. Kari home, showers, and then dinner, same rest., great - and then to bed! Up early next morning, 7 am, great breakfast, kari's best in years, she claims. I fixed extended stay til 4 pm. Then Kari off for more shopping and I for more temple and garden sightseeing. Home, shower, and Kari back at 3:30 pm as agreed. Checked out and late lunch, once more, at same rest.! We can only recommend the Kyoto Hyatt Regency.
Dines' story: Weekdays, up at 6 am, brief look at latest e-mails, replies, breakfast, youghurt and "bran" flakes, light boiled egg, coffee, off to bus/train/bus at 7:20 am. At work 8:30 am. Three days a week: 1+1+1 hour work with "students", Lunch with colleagues, home with 4:24 pm shuttle bus, home at 5:30 pm. Cocktail/drink hour with Kari, dinner, work of various reports and papers, e-mail handling, and to bed at 9 pm!
Kari's story (as told by Dines): three-four times a week at Kanazawa International Lounge, each time for typically 90 mins., doing Paper Cutting, Origami, and other kinds of handicraft work. Our shelves are decorated with fascinating results done by Kari. Also: patchworking, washing and preparing textiles recently acquired.
Week ends we still walk for 2-3 hours, sightseeing. Always new, quaint quarters to see. And we eat out 2-3 times a week, sometimes more. Sushi is still our main preference.
We are still much and dearly fascinated by many things Japanese and the Japanese:
A one hour spectacle unfolded. At one time some eight (yes, 8!) people were involved. Running hither and dither. Hushing, talking, wispering, etc. In the end the following transpired: All very difficult (Japanese for near-impossible), would require filling our three forms of near identical content, would require my physical presence, would take more than 30 days, would have to go via the issueing bank's US office, would cost US$30!
Kari sent the check in an envelope to our Danish bank which cashed it.
We plan to:
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The translation was initiated by Dines Bjorner on 2006-12-22