Swedish Skies

In March, I found cheap last-minute tickets to Stockholm, Sweden where I finally got to see what my Grandpa loved so much about this heavenly Scandinavian city. The snow was just beginning to melt and the small little islands of Gamla Stan and Sodermalm were quaint and cute, brimming with blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauties!

“Kick Ass” Al Shear told me a great story the last time I was in LA. He was retelling his experience in Stockholm, or, as he called it, “the most beautiful place" he’d ever been. I asked him what about it had been so beautiful, and with his inimitable way of telling a story, he painted a marvelous picture of one night when he was with his gorgeous Swedish wife, Stella. It was summer, it was 2AM, and the sky a lavender hue. A delicate twilight illuminated the Swedish skies. They had just eaten a fanciful feast, including caviar and champagne and had just danced the night away at a nightclub on a nearby island. He recalls cascading along the glistening waters of the the Stockholm harbor, speeding past islands as the sun rose. It was in that moment he decided that Stockholm was the most beautiful place in his universe. 

Having fallen in love with this story, I went to Stockholm to see what my Grandpa's most vivid memories had told. 

Although it was not summer, it was just as magical as he remembered. 

Und der DOODLIN' Frühling beginnt!!

I am throughly sorry for being such a slacker. Everyone says "Dani, I love your blog, why don't you update it?" Like a neglected sore, I let it turn to gangrene. 

BUT, now, Dr. Keiser is here to heal the wound. 

First of all, I am faaaaaaantastic. Other than failing to update my blog, I am one happy camper because.... life is damn exciting in Europe!! I've been pretty diligent about updating on Facebook, so hopefully a few of you have been seeing my pictures and reading my quick posts. 

What Happened in Spring, Ms. Keiser? 

After returning back to Germany from California in January, I began my second semester at Jacobs University. There were some major departmental issues that threw us Global Visual Communication (GVC) Master's students for a spin, including the sudden sick leave of a primary Professor which really left us a bit in the cold. But, as adults do, we worked it out and ended up having a rather light course load for the semester which gave us the time and freedom to develop our research interests. In turn, I ended up working more as a research assistant  A close colleague of mine, Louise Elali (from Brazil) submitted our research on Google Doodles & Brand Anthropomorphism and the fluidity of Google's corporate visual identity, a topic which we presented on at a European Communications Conference in May in Covilha, Portugal. 

Spring in Bremen is a gorgeous sight to behold. Things start thawing, birds start singing, trees begin to bud little green ornaments and life in general gets better. 


Since the semester proved to be fairly light, I made traveling a main priority. 

It's happening.

After an unexplained and what has seemed like a 

"forever-in-length" sabbatical, I'm resuming my blog.

NOW. 

! Shout Out !

Yo yo yo yo! This is a shout out!!!


To: my Mom, brother, Grandpa, Auntie, cousins and family for being wonderful people who continuously give me love and make me feel super special in this world.


To my friends. I am blessed to have such extraordinary people in my life. You know who you are. 


To: 101 Cookbooks (more importantly Amanda Bradley) for introducing me to the Okonomiyaki, or the deeeeelicious Japanese Pizza which I like to impress people with (http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/japanese-pizza-recipe.html). This website is loaded with other tasty and healthy recipes (SF, represent!)


To: Martina, my host sister, for exposing me to all sorts of fun and interesting German traditions, like last nights's Kohl and Pinkelfarht tour!! An unforgettable route, meal, and dancing to a combination of German pop and American randoms (incl. Bryan Adams).

Clockwise: grönkohl (green cabbage), kartoffeln (potato), schwinefleish (pork slab?), bratwurst, pinkel (wheat mixed with bacon, groats of oats or barley, beef suet, pig lard, onions, salt, pepper and other spices. Think German haggis). 

The exact composition of the pinkel recipe is guarded as a trade secret by the different butchers and therefore varies from village to village.

Mmmm...

A Tribute to Produce Produced Around the World

H 

is for the Heirloom Tomato 

I bought in Oakland, CA.

P 

is for the most Perfect Pickle, 

or the Jewish half-sour pickle. It is perfect because it captures the most delicious stage of the cucumber-to-pickle maturation process. 

Although technically not a vegetable any more, these were enjoyed at the world-famous Katz Deli in the Lower East Side of New York City.

B

is for this Beautiful Broccoli

my Aunt Pam grew in her garden in Grass Valley, CA.

A

is for that Absurdly phallic Avocado 

we found in Montezuma, Costa Rica. 

Compliments to master preparer, Marie-Claude (from Quebec, Canada).

 Y

is for the Yellowtail

Tayana and I saw at the Civic Center farmer's market in San Francisco, CA.

M

is for Bitter Melon 

(or Momordica charantia), the funny-looking wrinkly, groovy and spiky cucumber that Tayana and I also came across. Weird. 

 B 

is for Bells,

 brightly beaming in the beige baskets below (San Francisco, CA). 

P 

is for Paris the Pretentious Pineapple,

 Hawaii's hippest, coolest most "with it" pineapple. 

The pineapple on the right is definitely NOT with it.

C 

is for Crazy-Cool Catalan Cauliflower,

 and a bit of Romanesco, to the left. 

These violet femmes were found in Barcelona, Spain at the incredible La Boqueria on La Rambla.

O

is for Oyster Mushroom.

Fungi amazes me sometimes. These Neptunian delicacies came from the Montclair Farmer's Market (love) in Oakland, CA.

San Francisco and Oakland, here I come (if only for a brief visit)

Danielle Irissa Keiser 

is EXCITED for the following things 
(which do not occur in Germany):

Oysters.

Seeing my incredible, beautiful and love-saturated friends.

Lake Merrit (never thought I'd say that.)

California wine.

The Shears, the Bursells and the Kramers.

The Golden Gate Bridge. 

The rolling fog. 

Cecelia Bedelia the she-wolf princess superhuman.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 

Legit, fresh and delish sushi.

Margaritas and REAL Bloody Marys.

A Massage with Sara. 

I'm such a bad blogger

I've been MIA for over a month - wtf? I am sorry I am such a bad blogger. 

Since turning in my 3 incredibly LONG papers for Jacobs, I've been traveling quite a bit. Alrik, a very good friend of mine, came to visit after never leaving the US. After a few cold days in Bremen, we spent New Years in Berlin, went back to Bremen (where I got the flu) then hung out in Barcelona. After that, I flew home to California where I have been for the past week. 


Some trip highlights: 


Bremen: 

• Martina took us to an adorable and affordable restaurant in the Schlakte called Schröters (this is a picture of the desserts we got: schokolade granache, johannesbeere sorbet and glüwine mousse.) 

• Schüttinger's Happy Hour is still amazing (beers are 2 Euro from 5-7)
• Jacob's University is so pretty when covered in snow

Berlin:

• Weinachtsmarkt was SOOO wonderful! My friend Claudi and her bf Alex were great tour guides. 

• Mexican food in Germany is not so wonderful, although Ta'Cabron tried. 
• Fireworks are legal and crazy and scary and beautiful. 
• Bars were open till 9AM. Shout out to Bar 11 ;)
• Lots of Irish Coffee, lots of dönner
• The Bundestag was heavily patrolled for the fear of a terrorist attack 
• The temp. changed 11 degrees from one day to the next

Barcelona:

• DOES NOT DO BREAKFAST! There are no huevos or breaskfasty-like foods; only crossiants and coffee or teeny little baguettes with chorizo inside of them
• Gaudi was a brilliant, crazy and magical architect. Sagrada Familia and Park Guell were unbelievable sights to behold. 
• Tapas and wine at any time works for me. Especially when the wine is 10 Euro a bottle and shrimp croquettes and padron peppers are on the menu. 

• The light fixtures/signs that line each street are so awesome. They really put a lot of thought and energy (literally) into lighting up the streets in beautiful and decorative ways. 
• Botafumiero is the most expensive restaurant on the planet. Don't go there unless you are a bazillionaire. 
• The market, La Boqueria, was simply marvelous. The way the fish, the figs, the fruits, the candies, were stacked, ready to buy and pretty much eat, was truly spectacular. I love fresh markets. 

Oh, and I'm totally over modern art. Although the Hamburger Bahnhoff in Berlin was interesting and the Miro Museu in Barcelona was unique, I've decided that I'm just not into modern art. I don't get it, and I'm over trying to.