Dioptics Gossip

Wednesday

September is Funk Month

While Christine and her family were in Berlin, they visited her niece, Petra who has been living there for around two years with her German husband. Here she is a guest blogger for our Dioptics blog and shares with us one of her favourite places in Berlin.
If you have ever been to Berlin and did not pay a visit to Clärchen’s Ballhaus in the über cool suburb of Mitte, then either you were reading the wrong guide book or you are now in the process of booking your return plane trip there.
Clärchen’s Ballhaus is a Berlin institution. An original Ballhaus (dance hall) first built in 1913 in Augustraße, just across from the river Spree, going to Clärchens is like walking onto a film set: Parquet inlaid floors, waiters wearing black bow ties, wooden panelled walls, silvery tinsel décor draping off the art-deco lights. And not forgetting the kitschy candles melting over dusty chianti bottles which give a nod to a bygone era. Y
ou kind of expect to see Marlene Dietrich swoosh before you.
These days Clärchen’s quirky vibe attracts dance diehards of all ages to the weekly dance classes- fans shake their thing to Swing, have a tumble during the Tango or get wooed doing the Waltz. And the dancefloor is always packed. I remember taking a Swing class once and dancing with a 60 year old man, only to swap partners and end up opposite a twenty something young visitor from Paris. This bizarre mix of young hipsters and golden oldies somehow works, creating such a cheerful vibe that you just want to get your glad rags on and boogie.
Even during the fifty year division of Berlin, it was THE place to meet for East and West Berliners alike.
'Clärchens' is the diminutive of 'Clara', who was the original founder’s wife. When her husband died, she managed the premises until the start of the Cold War and then her step daughter took over the day to day running. While the street entry building (Vorderhaus) was completely destroyed through bombing during the Second World War, the new owners who took over from the Wolff family in 2004 converted the empty space into a delightful beer garden opening all day and until late. So if dancing is not your thing, then it is still possible enjoy Clärchen's excellent food- think wood fired Neapolitan pizzas, hearty soups and some traditional Berlin fare (Boulette - a meat rissole and
Berliner Blut- und Leberwurst auf Rieslingkraut mit Salzkartoffeln und Senf -
Berlin blood sausage with potato salad, sauerkraut and mustard) It is one of the last standing remnants of Berlin’s golden age of the “Roaring twenties” – imagine vagabonds, burlesque dancers and the decadence of its mobsters and millionaires. Fast forward to 2011, and not much has changed. Except that the Mobsters have gone and there's more mums dancing than millionaires.
Petra has made the move into the writing world after working as a lawyer in Sydney. Her love for Berlin has grown - the individuality of the Berliners, its hidden cafés and incredible artistic treats are just a few of the standouts. You can follow her blog about culture, travel and ideas at http://petrazlatevska.posterous.com/

Monday

Camino de Santiago

A dear customer of ours - Trish Clark took some amazing of her own beautiful frames - (All Dioptics frames are so well travelled) on the pilgrams walk in spain the Camino de Santiago.

Trish has written two books on travelling through Europe whilst staying at convent and monastery guesthouses and hotels. These books offer a unique guide to cheap, clean, safe and well located accomadtion throughout Europe

Goodnight and Godbless check out her website it is fantastic

DI & DAVE in Vietnam

All clean Dave and Di

Dave and the weaver loom

Where's Dave he is there in the middle of the statue

Dave on a model

The eyes on the boat are for protection from evil spirits

Dave in another place ner to Hue

A wise medicine woman taking a look at things through Dave

Still with the Medicine Woman

Dave getting in a good view of things

Dave bringing in the bacon

Dave and the beautiful H'mon Lady

On a bull nose in a bull market

Dave still taking a ride on a bull

Tuesday

IWAN IN IRAN

An other wonderful customer of ours took a pair of spectacles to be photographed in down town Iran. Anne thinks they should be called Iwan as it is a play on Iran and all the beautiful iwans they saw I think that is a great name for them

Anne wrote a brief description of her time in Iran it is as follows:

The Highlights. So Many. Iran has a rich culture and a long civilisation. The History (Overwhelming!) and architecture was fascinating as was the art, textiles, glass and potter. The people were very welcoming . Life is not easy for them after 30 odd years of sanctions. The markets are flooded with cheap Chinese goods. Some handicrafts still flourish. Wonderful carpets of course.

The food was fresh and tasty and I believe organic due to sanctions. Great feta cheese, divine dates and nuts.

So many important historical sites, layer upon layer, for 5000 yrs plus on top of each other. Rivals Italy and Greece. Persopolis was magnificent, the Archeamenid tombs, the Zoroastrian flame that has burned for 1500 years to name a few.And the treasury of National Jewels are unbelievable, it is a collection of the most expensive jewels in the world, collected over centuries.

There were some wonderful traditional working villages protected by UNESCO.

The Landscape is varied and always interesting. Even in the deserts. From oilfields to mountains forests and deserts.

A highlight was the amazing city was Isfahan, Paris of the east and over 1000 yrs old. Pretty gardens, beautiful ancient squares, mosques and palaces.

We were challenged by having to cover our person every day so only our face and hands showed. Tough at 35 degrees! We had to remember to wear a headscarf every time we ventures out our bedroom door. It was fun to see what the rest of our group looked like when we arrived back Dubai. And most people wear black or dark colours so returning to colourful clothes was luxury.

European vacation part two

The Ritz, Hampton Court and lunching - what a grand time was had by all.

LONDON Vacation 2009/2010 PART ONE

Dioptics does sand - Emirates sand in the Abu Dubai desert

These are the first shots of the Christine and Diane's European Christmas Vacation. The had a brief stop in the United Emirates before descending upon the cold of London.

Stopover in the desert before hitting the cold of London