The George Hotel in Hamburg. British themed and German operated....think of this Hotel as a Club House that works. ( Barcelona chairs and a big deep sofa in the fireplace room just of the lobby-perfect to cuddle up in for those long distance calls home) Pleasant colors, (dark greys, rich browns) smart designs, solid wooden floors and modern art that brings a touch of whimsy-but never too much of "theme." Jellyfish sconces. Phillip Starck "Lounge Gun Floor Lamps" (Enlight-don't fight.) Eames rockers in white, fluffed up with British flag pillows. Looks just like home. Well, almost. But it shares the same design principles: form with function, seriousness with a wink. Located in the St.George neighborhood, a block away from the Alster-I like this place.

The port is of Hamburg was founded on May 7, 1189 for its strategic location. It has been Central Europe's main port for centuries. It is majestic. And busy-with cargo ships coming in and out, cranes awaiting to lift containers like lego bricks (the square ones) off boats the size of cityblocks. Tourists are buzzing around. Locals are gathering on the shores to watch the sunset. Waving at the incoming. Behind the docks is the "Captains Walk"-an ally of the smallest, humblest, yet most precious houses overlooking the harbor. This is were the captains retire after a long life at sea. The perfect balance of life and work. Nature, industry and humanity. Beautiful.

The Alster is Hamburg's soul. Created by damming part of the River Elbe in the 13th century, the lake and its little canals that take you through the residential backyards of Hamburg is now an integral part of the cityscape. (Hamburg has more bridges than Venice, Italy by the way...) The "Alster" covers an area of 160 hectares and is almost entirely surrounded by parks and trees. We met our friend Det, a photographer from Hamburg. I went to school with him many years ago and after catching up on 18 years of gossip we took a paddleboat ride; floating through the "white city." Then stopped for ice cream and sodas. A perfect day.

Hamburg. This is where I am this week. An amazing town...And before I share stories about the stores and designs that struck me and the people I met I wanted to share this...the plain and simple tourist take on Hamburg the second-largest city in Germany (second to Berlin) and the seventh-largest city in the European Union. The city is home to around 1.8 million people. The port of Hamburg is the third-largest port in Europe (third to Port of Antwerp and Rotterdam), and the eighth largest in the world. Hamburg's official name is the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and Hamburg is also a city-state meaning it is one of the sixteen States of Germany. Now you know.

When taking the train from Hauptbahnhof Hagen to Hamburg today-I thought these "sculptures" were very, well, helpful.

Altena in Westfalen. This is where I grew up-in the woods, the valleys and the clearings of the “Sauerland.”

San Pellegrino expresses impeccable taste by collaborating with Italian House of Style Missoni and decorating the bottle labels with the signature Missoni pattern. This is supposedly the first of a series of limited edition collaborations between San Pellegrino and classic Italian brands. Tastefully done I think. ( We emptied two of these bottles last night for dinner.)

How is this for a first day in Germany? We started our afternoon in a church and ended it in a castle. We are in Heusenstamm, a small town in the outskirts of Frankfurt.  Home to my sister Julia and her soon be be husband Wolfgang. Today it was all about their upcoming wedding day. A long weekend in October that will bring us together again...

The Gustav-Adold Kirche in the center of Heusenstamm. Build in 1922 this lutheran church is one of the newer buildings in town. Here my little sister will make the promise of "forever" on October 2nd.

Jarek and I are on our way to Germany...visiting our family & friends. My sister in Frankfurt, my mother and my brother in my hometown Altena, then friends in Hamburg and Berlin. Soooo exciting. Stay tuned for updates. Tschüss!

So, here we are in Red Lodge-tiny little town with cute stores up and down Main Street. This one caught our eye: Magpie Toys. Tall building with tin ceilings, shelves stacked high with wooden sculptures and objects, old toys, books, half of them not even for sale. Wooden guns, sling shots, rocks, horse shoe puzzles and pedal planes-all here is indeed powered by imagination—not batteries. Then there is the steaming hot cast iron fireplace with an old armchair next to it right there in the middle of it all. Magpie is humble and simple and because of that truly magical.

The owners Joel and Gloria Hardy call themselves "Purveyors of timeless toys, games, books & amusements." Both used to be teachers at the Sioux reservation near by, and started Magpie in 1991. The store's motto is: "As Good As You Remember. Better Than You Ever Imagined." Some of the toys are made by Joel right there in the store. Gloria tells me that he had crafted rocking horses and moose as well, but those where sold out when we got there. Check out the Montana flashlights...and that fantastic stick horse! (Gloria said to call or email her, their web site is down right now...406.446.3099)

When renting a vacation home or hotel room, I do expect the worst when it comes to interior design...esspecially when you make last minutes plans and you are travelling with kids and on a budget. So I was excited to find that our "home away from home" was actually a quite special, beautiful log house called the "Fin and Pin" right in the middle of Red Lodge. Build by the owner, Steve Ash himself ( with the help of his wife, his son and a skilled carpenter friend)  this house is rustic, minimal, ( meaning NO knick knack) heated by a build-in stone clad gas fire place,  there is a fully stocked kitchen, a washer and dryer and all that with enough room to sleep 6. Hah!