Visit of Peter in Leeds

On Tuesday Peter Baumgartner from Danube University Krems (DUK) paid us a visit here at Leeds Met. On Wednesday evening I took him out for dinner to (one of the) oldest Pubs in the UK: the Bingley Arms in Bardsey (supposedly from 953 AD). On the way it began to snow once again while we were driving slowly up north, through Harewood. The parking area was very slippery: I could not drive up to the pub but parked the car down below. Under the thin snow layer (2cm) there was ice forming... very dangerous for walking! Fortunately there was nothing like this on the roads - the temperature was just around 0 C, and the gritters had sprayed salt. We had a nice dinner in the pub, which has a good selection of food and ales.

Opening of the Leeds Christmas Market

On Friday evening the Leeds Christmas Market (German style Christkindel Market) opened on Millenium Square. I just had finished a meeting in the Rose Bowl, so I walked down to the market as it got dark around 16:30. The arrangement of the booths is slighty different than last year, but I found what I wanted: got a Brezel with ham and cheese, then a Bratwurst, and finally some fried potatoes. There was some live music at the steps of the Civic Hall, but unfortunately it began to rain. A queue formed, when a chap gave out free beer - I joined the queue and got my pint.
Then met with Monika and Julius who were here from Austria regarding their PhD. Had a glas of Gluehwein, then we wanted to go into one of the tents. But the line was long now - and we did not want to stand in the rain. So we went on to the Victoria Pub where a few more people from Leeds Met joined us. I had to leave around 20:30, as a pile of reviews was waiting on my computer to be done.

Meeting my Friend Kevin

Kevin is the first person I knew in Leeds. His photographs about Leeds were the first images I saw from Leeds when I checked out the place on the internet, before my move from the US. I have been friends with him and his family since, and once in a while we meet for a chat in a pub. This happened this Ssturday, in the "Greyhound" in Tong, a nice oldfashioned pub. There was a lot to catch up, as our last meeting had been more than a year ago.

A pub at the shore in Hull.