13. March 2005 07:33
by Rene Pallesen
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At the end of 2005 my Mum and Dad escaped the winter in Denmark by travelling to Sydney for a couple of weeks.
They stayed here over Christmas and New Years Eve. While they were here we went for a drive up to Graemes house at Taylors Lake near Port Macquarie where we Christmas Eve cooking traditional danish Roast Duck, and Ris-a-la-mande.
New years even we celebrated at Graemes place at McMahons Point here in Sydney.
New Years day was the hottest on record...48 degrees.
Click here to see more photos from:
Christmas and New Years Eve 2005/
Slideshow
14. November 2004 12:59
by Rene Pallesen
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14. November 2004 12:58
by Rene Pallesen
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Normally Bedstemor's fest is for paid
by her children, but this year, all of Bestemor's grandchildren decided
to also treat the family in return. They chose the Italian restaurant
in the hotel. |
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It was a 3-course set menu at US$8 per person.
For starters, it was thin minestrone with salad vegetables and grated
cheese.
For entrée, it was 3 pieces of ravioli with mushrooms and white
sauce (ravioli suprisingly had cinnamon in it...)
For mains, we had a choice of either chicken or veal scallope with
fettucine...
But all our meals were served with the same sauce and somehow we all
ended up getting french fries...
When we asked the waiters about the fettucine listed
on the menu, no-one had any idea...
And our surprise dessert was a scoop of ice-cream
swimming in fruit salad and syrup.
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These breadsticks were really very
nice, although surprisingly these contained cumin, instead of Italian
herbs or cheese. |
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With Bedstemor in the middle, the oldies
at one end, we sat at the other end with Kim, Rasmus and their respective
girlfriends. Rasmus and his g-friend told us about their trip around
Asia, toVienChan and Laos. Kim and Birit had spent 6 months backpacking
around India, Nepal and Thailand. |
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In the meanwhile, there was an Egyptian
engagement party that started in the hotel lobby. The musicians stood
around the couple, playing oboe-like instruments, tambourines and drums,
whilst the guests clapped and danced to the music. It was deafening,
the sound echoing throughout the hotel. They eventually made their way
up to one of the function rooms to party all night long. |
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14. November 2004 12:54
by Rene Pallesen
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Our first sightseeing trip after arriving in Egypt
was the Citadel and the Mohammed Ali Mosque. The Citadel was once
the home of the royal family until 1870, then the military took over
this joint until the 1970s. It is still used occasionally by the military
but mostly opened to visitors although certain sections are closed
off to them.
Neither did our guide tell us much about the Citadel,
nor give us the opportunity to explore. So most of the photos here
are of the Mohammed Ali Mosque sitting on the Citadel.
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The mosque is famous for its alabaster corridors,
columns and floors. Alabaster is a cheaper form of marble that seems
to be slightly more porous and does not have the smoothness or coolness
of normal marble.
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Adam, our guide sat everyone down in one corner of
the mosque like school kids, and gave everyone some sort of history
lesson about Islam and marriage.
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The interior of the mosque was magnificent, with globes
of light hanging in multiple rings from the ceiling. In the far right
corner, there is a gilded green and gold staircase that leads to some
sort of pulpit.
Local women were allowed into this mosque, but clad from head to foot.
Female tourists were provided with a green abaayas if they
were sleeveless or wearing shorts.
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During Adam's chat about Islam and its history, René
asked for more information about the Citadel, and was rudely scolded
for not listening.
Adam did not give any more information about the Citadel for the rest
of the trip...
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Left: In another corner of the mosque was an
enclosure containing the marble sarcophagi and burial place of the
mosque's namesake - Mohammed Ali.
Right: The ceiling was also quite beautiful, but I could not
use the camera flash and it was a little dark. In each "corner"
of the dome were large arabic inscriptions in gold
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Cairo has a brown haze over the city. The buildings
are made of mud bricks.
Dirty-white and grey are the only other colours one can see.
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Apparently there is a number 7 written above one of
the doors of the Citadel. History says Napoleon and his troops numbered
each of the entrances around the Citadel as he could not understand
the local language.
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14. November 2004 12:53
by Rene Pallesen
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Khefren, Khafre's son, did not
seem to have the same desire to outbuild his father.
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His pyramid is not as tall as Khafre's
pyramid, but looks so because it stands on higher ground. |
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Each of these blocks of granite came
to about shoulder height on the average man
- they were about one cubic metre each in size. |
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The few people who tried to climb up
the pyramid were called down by security guards patrolling the area.
We noticed the granite blocks further up the pyramid seemed smaller.
The quality of the workmanship worsened as the pyramids neared completion
and smaller blocks were used. |
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Just imagine - these pyramids would
have once glinted in the sunlight like diamonds in the desert. Kefren's
pyramid was once covered with a smooth and shiny layer of limestone.
Unfortunately, most of the limestone has been stripped off, used in
mosques and palaces. Only a small portion remains at the tip of Khefren's
pyramid. |
14. November 2004 12:45
by Rene Pallesen
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We did not have a lot of opportunities to explore
the city of Cairo. Our hotel was located on the other side of the
Nile from downtown Cairo, so there was not a lot happening.
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In Cairo, we noticed a lot of large carcasses hanging
along the streets outside the butcher shops. Most of the shops and
restaurants were closed due to Ramadan, but Sunday heralded the last
day of Ramadan, so many were preparing for the final feast.
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We tried in vain to find a restaurant for the family
to eat dinner, but no such luck. However, we did try to stop for some
beers at a small café along the Nile - no beers because it
was still Ramadan till that night, so we settled for some softdrink
and hot potato chips.
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The city of Cairo looks hazy and grey, with all the
buildings a muddy colour.
It was nice to sit by the Nile.
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The view from our Hotel Pyramisa at sundown.
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14. November 2004 11:13
by Rene Pallesen
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In 2004 Australia was being drawn into the war in Iraq. A lot of Australians were opposed to the war, but the politicians wouldn't listen.
On a nice sunny day several hundred thousand people gathered around Hyde park in the middle of the city to demonstrate and express their opinions against Australia entering into the war.
I was of the belief that the war was a mistake in the first place and was totally unjustified, so I was decided to join the demonstrations and at the same time see if I could take a few photos.
Click here to see more photos from:
The 2004 Anti War demonstrations/
Slideshow
27. March 2003 10:56
by Rene Pallesen
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Andy and Tink had their first baby...a little (and very hairy) girl names Mia.
This was also one of those periods where I was checking out what it would be like to have a beard.
27. March 2003 10:50
by Rene Pallesen
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My grandad passed away in 2003.
He was getting old and was getting tired of living so he decided to end it.
27. March 2003 10:47
by Rene Pallesen
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With EDI I went on a field trip to visit one of the big containerships in Botany Bay.
It was facinating to see the size of those ships.
27. March 2003 10:38
by Rene Pallesen
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I celebrated Christmas and New Year with my parents in Thailand.
We spent the time in the Northern Part of Thailand in the Golden Triangle around Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
We rented a car for a couple of days and got to see a lot including all the hill tribes that still to this day live in this part of Thailand.
Click here to see more photos from:
Thailand/
Slideshow
27. March 2003 10:29
by Rene Pallesen
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In 2003 Kenneth got married to Anica. I was asked to be the best man by Kenneth.
The wedding took place at a homestead in Sofala three hours drive west of Sydney.
It was a wonderful weekend surrounded by wonderful people.
Click here to see more photos from:
Kenneths Wedding/
Slideshow
22. March 2003 12:56
by Rene Pallesen
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10. January 2003 10:53
by Rene Pallesen
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My mum and dad spent some time in Sydney over christmas and New Year.
While they were here I raught my dad how to absail.
And for Christmas I gave my parents some tickets for the Sydney Harbour bridge walk (they gave Arumi a ticket too).
1. November 2002 11:19
by Rene Pallesen
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My brother passed away in the end of 2002. He had been suffering badly from his disease for almost a decade and eventually it got the better of him.
I still miss him a lot even though we weren't close when he was alive....but I still feel him close to me to this day!
I still light a candle for him once in a while.
His two biggest wishes in life was to become a professional tennis player...he was a pretty damn good player and I never played against him because I didn't have a chance.
His second biggest wish was to get himself a girlfriend. This is one of the last photos that was taken of him.
I still blame the psychiatric system in Denmark for what happened. They were too focused on treating his disease with medication and never paid any attention on teaching him to live with his disease and provide quality in life.
I still love him very much and I really miss him. I also regret that I wasn't there more for him.
He always looked after me and he has never hurt anyone.
This is the last family photo that was taken.
I would appreciate if you click here to see some of the photos from my brothers life:
May he not be forgotten
26. October 2002 11:12
by Rene Pallesen
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