Gaming Galore – The Mothership

Posted on by Kat

 

I love computers, but not as a gamer or coder or programmer or anything of the sort. I love them from a historical point of view. The history of computers is a fascinating one. I used to love the Computers & Business Machines exhibition at the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, but when the newly renovated museum reopened after years of being closed, this wonderful display of postwar technological history was gone, with just a fraction of its items being relegated to a much smaller exhibit on technology in general. I was rather dismayed.

So I was thus most happy to discover the Computerspielmuseum in Berlin, which details the history of computer gaming and contains an archive of 20,000 games that are currently being digitized. The museum’s collection of gaming devices is not enormous, but it is varied and illustrates how the original form and design were so simple compared to today’s complex systems. As someone who remembers the first Atari system hitting the market, I’m constantly amazed at the complexity of today’s gaming systems.

Any gamer will love this museum. Go forth and play!!

photo credit.

A Picnic…Danish Style

Posted on by Kat
The Perfect Six Pack

The Danes are known for their love of traditional smørrebrød  — open-faced sandwiches of buttered rye bread with meat, fish, or vegetables.  Aamanns Deli & Take Away in Copenhagen offers this Danish classic, yet with a modern twist. Here, they pile them high with such delicacies as beet-cured hake, pork rillettes, and barrel-cured herring. A mighty fine sandwich indeed.

photo credit.

An Old School Dive Bar

Posted on by Kat

When I was in high school, I used to hang out at a joint called Einstein-a-Go-Go…or Einstein’s for short.  Now lest you think this was any old bar, let me just give you a little taste of the groups who played there while still touring in vans and staying in fleabag motels — Jane’s Addiction, Nirvana, They Might Be Giants, 10,000 Maniacs…you get the idea.  And by the look of me now, you wouldn’t think that I would go near a mosh pit…oh, but I have…and on more than one occasion.

Fast forward 25 years to Henry’s Cellar Bar in Edinburgh.

 

With a CBGBs vibe, this is a bar is loved by locals.  Like Einstein’s, it has a great pedigree of musicians that includes Tom Waits & Annie Lenox. With a bitchin’ indie music vibe and bartenders who pour mean cocktails, Henry’s is the place to be for live music nearly every night of the week!

photo credit.

Fragrance & Feast in Paris

Posted on by Kat

Owned by the only woman in France to hold three Michelin stars, La Dame de Pic offers a unique new concept.  Chef Anne-Sophie Pic has teamed with Takasago perfumer, Philippe Bousseton, to create three fragrances that reflect the flavor pairings in her menus.  Before being presented with menus, guests first experience the notes of a signature perfume and then carry those notes into their food choices.  This is Parisian haute cuisine at its finest.

photo credit.

Old School Living Room at Allegro Hi-Fi

Posted on by Kat

If you’re walking down the street in Vienna and suddenly fancy an evening of sitting on a rust-colored naugahyde sofa with a cocktail in hand listening to vinyl spinning on old school hi-fi turntables, Allegro Music and Wine Lounge is the place to go. Vintage stereo equipment is certainly the theme of this throwback to the seventies, which offers a wide variety of hi-fi components and a cooly curated selection of vintage vinyl. Choose a record, drop the needle, and enjoy.

photo credit: Allegro