Japan revisited

It was a year ago now that myself and Eric had our big trip to Japan. Maybe it was the arrival (and departure) of the cherry-blossoms here, but I have been thinking about it a lot lately. I just had a look at our photos from our trip and remembered what a great time we had. Anyway, I decided to compile a small photo slideshow of some of the best moments of the trip, which included meeting my family, visiting Kyoto and Tokyo, staying at a Buddhist monastery and seeing our friends Kanako and Hitoshi. We did so much in the three weeks that we were there, but even then we still felt like we could have done another couple of weeks. I suppose that's the best way to leave a country, wanting more. Eric pronounced his visit to Japan his 'best holiday ever!' We will definitely be back.

Beetroot Brownies

Yes, you read right. These beauties were a baking experiment. Not my own recipe but one I borrowed from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, the chef of River Cottage fame. Anyway, he is known for his super strange but delicious recipes and this one caught my eye. I don't know if you can tell from the photo but these came out really moist and decadent. In fact, I think that is the main thing the beetroot lent to the brownies - moisture and also a faint pink hue. They were particularly good chilled for a while in the fridge. A number of people tasted it and they all gave it the thumbs up. And no, no-one could taste the beetroot. It tells you something about the trust that my friends in Berlin have in me, when they happily munch away on my baked goods even though I tell them said baked goods have very strange "secret ingredient" with mischievous glint in my eyes. Thank you kind guinea pigs! My adventures in baking continue with your help.

Chocolate and Beetroot Brownies

Ingredients

• 250g/10oz good, dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
• 250g/ 10oz unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus more for greasing
• 250g/10oz caster sugar
• 3 free-range eggs
• 150g self-raising flour (can use wholemeal self-raising, I used 550 flour)
• 250g of beetroot, boiled until tender, peeled and grated

Method: How to make chocolate and beetroot brownies

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Grease a baking tin of approximately 20x30x3cm and line the bottom with baking parchment.
2. Break up the chocolate into pieces, cut the butter into cubes then mix them up a bit in a heatproof bowl. As the oven begins to warm up, put the bowl onto one of the shelves for a few minutes until the chocolate and butter starts to melt. Stir, and put back into the oven for a few more minutes to melt completely.
3. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl until combined, then beat in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth. Gently fold in the flour then the beetroot – be careful not to overmix or it will make the brownies tough.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth over the top with a spatula. Bake for about 20 minutes. A knife or skewer pushed into the middle should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Don't be tempted to overcook them! Remove the tin from the oven and leave on wire rack to cool before cutting into squares.

Eric's new video

This is Eric's new video for his song 'Lost'. It was shot in and around Berlin on the S-Bahn. They had a great time making the video and I think it turned out great. It's already got a review from a music-blog in Ireland and has been viewed in a number of countries including Canada, Australia, Norway and Japan.

Just so you know, that is not me, as the love interest, in the video (some people think it looks like me). But, I do have a small cameo appearance at around 22 seconds standing to the left of the screen. I think my official title is Girl in Green Coat.

Hope you enjoy!

Mary and Brian's visit

So we just had a lovely visit with Mary and Brian. It was great to see some of our American family as it's been too long since we have been there last. We still managed to pack quite a few things into the three days they were here, though with all we wanted to show them, and with all they wanted to see they could have been here for a week at least. Though it was still quite cold here we got a lot of sightseeing done and I'm posting some of the photos that we took. Above are Eric, Brian and Mary at the base of the Fernsehturm at Alexanderplatz.

This is Eric and Mary at the fountain in front of the Rathaus (Town Hall).

Both Brian and Eric were in full posing form. Above is Brian showing the goat the horns of rock.

This is Eric with the famous Marx and Engels statues. He seems to like Engels better - Henry would be pleased.

This is Brian cowering in the "crotch of Communism" - Eric's words, not mine.

This is Mary and Eric walking in a tunnel underneath the Spree.

This is Brian in the DDR Museum, driving a Trabi, the East German car.

This is Eric reenacting the scorpion scene from Flash Gordon. Luckily it's only a bag of coffee beans.
Those two wee people to the right are myself and Mary walking in front of the Reichstag.

This is Eric and Brian in the dome at the top of the Reichstag.

To the right, beside the woman in pink, is Mary, in the dome of the Reichstag.

After all our sightseeing, Mary and Brian stopped off for some delicious crepes and ice-cream (we helped). This is Brian in post-Eis bliss, getting his back massaged by the funky plastic seat tubing.

So just some photos to give you a flavour of the visit. What we didn't get photos of were the fantastic cakes that we ate, the fabulous hats that were bought (by Mary) and the many beers that were drank. I do hope that it captured some of the fun that we had though. Truth be told it was like a mini-holiday for myself and Eric.

Thanks for the visit Mary and Brian!

Pomelo! Pomelo! Pomelo!

Meet my new fruit of the day, Monsieur Pomelo. I had never seen one before and they suddenly appeared in the supermarket a couple of months ago. (I got Eric to take a photo of it beside my head so you could get a sense of the size of it. It ain't small, that's for sure! Note the hungry glint in the eyes!) Anyway, since then it seems I have eyes for no other fruit. I am a woman obsessed (so much so I decided to blog on its tastiness)! So what does it taste like, I hear you ask. Well, it is somewhere between an orange and a grapefruit, basically like a sweet grapefruit.

It has this thick pith...

...but inside it is supremely juicy and tasty. And that's it. Not much more to say other than ooh Mr Pomelo, I love you, I do!

Happy Paddy's Day!

This brief blog is a belated Happy Paddy's Day to you all. This is the longest I've been away from Ireland - I haven't been back since October 2008! - and every now and then I still do miss things about home. Mainly the people and their wit, but also things like the beautiful Irish countryside and the way everyone speaks English (though I do find myself speaking Irish every now and then, usually when I'm trying to speak German)! Anyway, the film above kind of tickled me so I thought I would share. Big love to everyone, but especially those of you in Ireland!

Eric's Album Launch

So it was finally the night of the launch Eric's album, here in Berlin. After weeks of preparation, rehearsing and baking (see cookies and brownies above) - we were ready. We had the launch at a cool cafe near us called Cafe Hilde, which is owned and run by an Irish guy. They have music every Friday night there. It also is very relaxed and chilled out and so seemed the perfect venue for the launch.

It was a sit-down acoustic performance and I have to say that Eric was in top form. He was also lucky to be joined by several talented musicians we know here in Berlin...

...which included Shaun Mulrooney, brother of our friend Dee from Ireland, Tom Fanore, Cameron Wilson and co-producer and friend Fab Leseure.

Our friend Nina Hynes also sang with Eric on the song 'Running'. This beautiful song is a favourite of many of our friends from the album.

We were expecting about twenty to thirty people to come on the night and we ended up with about sixty or seventy. It made it a bit difficult for those in the back to hear as the place was packed out. But those who could hear seemed to really enjoy it.

This is a photo of Yael, the youngest member of the Eric Eckhart fan club.

This is a photo of me minding the video camera, with our friend Roula.

This is Yael again hanging out with her Papa, Nijen. Slightly blurred to the left is our friend Jonathan who also wrote a lovely blog on the launch.

All in all it was a fabulous night. We both said that it couldn't have turned out any better. We wish of course we could have had some of our American friends and family there too, but we felt you there in spirit. Thanks everyone for making it such a great night and a wonderful celebration of Eric's new album.

Eric's video

After much hard work Eric has finally released the first single from his new album 'This is where it starts'. For those of you who haven't seen the new video for 'Happy' here it is! Every time I see this video I makes me smile. We had such a great time making it. Also, there are funny little things like Eric's dancing and of course the swallowing of the feather. I also think it's funny that Eric looks a bit Asian around the eyes. They say that some couples end up looking like each other and maybe it's true (though Eric says it is just the bright lights)! Either way, I think it's a great video. We hope you do too!

Joe's Visit

I know it's about three months late but I finally got around to doing something with the nice photos we had of Joe's visit (most were Joe's, who had many, MANY!, fantastic shots of his journey around Germany, and some were mine). Anyway, it's do with my small, okay, not-so-small, addiction to a thing called imovie. It's a software that comes with my mac that lets me make movies. Yes, this is true! And it's one of these super easy-to-use softwares that makes you feel like a genius because really you never thought you could make something like a movie before. At least, that's how it makes me feel!

Anyways, below is the finished product. I had great fun making it. And best of all, it brought back lots of lovely memories of Joe's visit. I hope it also gives those of you who are thinking of visiting a taste of Berlin. Also, it's so weird looking out at the snow here and seeing the sunshine in the photos. I'm at that stage of winter where it's hard to imagine warmth and sun. It's good to remember that it does happen here in Berlin! Hope you like it. (If you are having problems viewing it, Eric recommends going to Youtube to see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQdoV20UEqM)

Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

Ah the first blog of 2010! A new year is finally here, along with a good few inches of snow and many resolutions (one of which of course is to write more blogs!). First off, a very happy new year to you all! Myself and Eric have been thinking about all our friends and family this Christmas and wishing we could have been with you all to celebrate it.

We still managed to have a grand ol' time and to expand our waistlines. We also had a nice New Year's Eve, which was spent having dinner with Eric's American friend Thomas who is over visiting. We also had some sups of bubbly and played a few rounds of Rummy. Then our German friend Sandra called in and convinced us to venture out to see the fireworks.

Now for those of you who don't know Berlin, this city on New Year's Eve is completely firework crazy and if you are in the wrong area it can be like a war zone. After last year, trying to dodge missile bangers and wading our way through clouds of smoke, I had planned spend the countdown cowering behind our sofa.

However after some persuading at the last minute I decided to try my luck and ventured out. This was all made possible by my earplugs, which actually succeeded in blocking out much of the noise. (When it comes to loud noises I'm pretty much like a cat and tend to jump out my skin). Anyway we walked down the road to Hackescher Markt by the river and I was able to withstand the celebrations without having a heart-attack.

We didn't stay out long, just half an hour or so but I got some good video footage with my camera. I have to say I do like the colourful bright sparkly kind of fireworks and we were lucky to see much of it. I made a small movie below for you all, and I hope you get a taste of what New Year's Eve is like in Berlin. Lots of love!

New Album Teaser Video

First off, I have re-vamped my music website. Please have a look when you have some time - www.ericeckhart.com.

While my producer Fabien Leseure meticulously worked on mixing the song called "Big Lie" on Sunday, I walked around the studio and its grounds with my MacBook filming the surroundings with the built-in iSight camera.

The studio is part of the Funkhaus which used to be the main radio station for communist East Germany. It is located in old East Berlin along the river Spree. Built in the 1950's, it has amazing sounding rooms, untouched from that era, but the outside is quite run down and edgy.

Using the video I shot and photos from Dave Hingerty and Kusi, I put together this video to give you a sense of the flavor of the place where my new album, This is where it starts, was made.

I fully enjoyed my time recording and mixing here. The place is choke full of history and has a strong personality that comes through its peeling paint and beautifully crafted wood panels.

Lastly, I wanted to preview some of the songs on the new album. First up in the video is "Happy", then "I Saw A Light", followed by "Lost", "Open Up", "I'm Gone" and finally "From Whence I Came".

Here it is:

Lüneburg

As far as we know, in 1847 Henry Eckhard, his wife Anna Elizabeth and their five children left their town of Lüneburg, then part of the Kingdom of Hannover and got on a ship in the city of Bremen headed for a new life in America landing in Baltimore. Last Saturday, Joe and I took a three hour train journey to Lüneburg, the first time since 1847 an ancestor of Henry had returned to the city.

The city has a population of about 70,000 but it felt like a small town as the Alt Stadt or Old Town is the focal point of the city and was all we had time to visit. Luckily, it remained mostly unscathed by the bombings in WWII so much of its 13th-15th century buildings remain.

As we entered the town, I was struck firstly by the beauty of the Ilmenau river that flows through it, shaded by weeping willows and other trees.

Our first stop was in St Johannis church which was built in the 1300's and was stunningly beautiful. It is possible that our ancestors worshiped, married and were baptized in this, the largest church in the city.


It was a good deal of emotion and a sense of pride that we entered and walked around the Alt Stadt taking in one of the most beautiful and well preserved old town centers I have seen in Germany.

We went to the gorgeous Rathaus, the current city hall which is where the friendly tourist information office is located. From there we strolled the old town center and made our way to the main beer brew pub in the town.

The brew pub is only 10 years old, but the building was centuries old and again I couldn't help thinking that our ancestors might have drank in this very building. So, with that in mind, Joe and I hoisted our steins of locally brewed bier and toasted the Eckhards!

A leisurely walk towards the end of the Alt Stadt was capped again by the sheer beauty of the buildings we gawked at and a double scoop of some of the best gelato ice cream I have had in Germany. Then it was back on the train for the trip back to Berlin.

It was a great experience and one that I was very happy to have shared with Joe as we both had visited the village in Sicily where Mom's father and his family came from as well.

There are many unanswered question about our German ancestors so Kusi and I plan to visit Lüneburg to do research at their extensive records archive to try to find more definitive information on the Eckhards of Lüneburg. Until then...

34

Yay! I, somehow, managed to sort out a video uploading problem so am now able to present my birthday blog. Yes, ladies and gentles, I am now officially 34. I knew that this day would come and it turned out to be a very pleasant experience. On Sunday morning myself and Eric indulged in one of our favourite activities, Sunday brunch, in a middle-Eastern restaurant we like just up the road from us. For those of you who are interested we had a choice, from, an all-you-can eat buffet (we were thinking of you Steve!), of different roasted and marinated vegetables, different dips, meats, cheese, bread, eggs (scrambled, boiled), as well as fruit and cake. It was, according to Eric's official food grading, very delicious.

Eric with Niko

Then we rested up before our main event of the day - a football match (that's soccer to my American relatives), Hertha BSC Berlin versus Freiburg, at Olympiastadion. We met up with our friend Tom and his son Niko (4). Tom is from the south of Germany and his team is Freiburg so we were there to cheer the minority. Both Hertha and Freiburg are bottom of the Bundesliga (the German first divison) but being a home game for Hertha, Tom didn't have much expectation.

The Olympiastadion is pretty impressive. It is the original building from the 1936 "Nazi" Olympics where Jesse Owens angered Hitler by winning 4 gold medals. The building's architecture has a real Nazi feel to it with some strange statues of presumably Ayrian athletes around the place.

Anyway, to the match. There was a good sized crowd there considering it wasn't a major game. Tom got us great seats, right in the middle and down near the pitch. We were right beside the area where the hard-core fans were (see video at bottom) so we could enjoy the atmosphere but not have to be near any of the ruckus. The fans have a good enough reputation, though Tom was pointing out some flags of local fanclubs as being facist, basically skinheads in Hertha gear.

Tom and Niko and lego set

However as you can see our section was nice and safe. I think the game was a bit much for Niko, but he played happily with his lego and was particularly excited about getting an ice-cream at half-time. We had a great time as the match ended up being pretty thrilling. Freiburg scored easily in the first 5 minutes and went on to thrash Hertha 4-0. It was the worst beating that Hertha had for a long time. For some reason though the hard-core fans were not deterred and continued singing for the whole match.

Which leads me nicely to the video. I really wanted to capture the atmosphere of the place - the sound from the fans was pretty amazing. Two things to look out for - first the kid bopping away and second the scoreboard. These fans are cheering away while their team is down 2 goals!!! Anyway, enjoy this taste of football in Berlin. We certainly did. It was a great way to celebrate turning 34.

PS Sorry, put up the wrong video the first time.

Lost in Translation

Staying on the theme of language, one of the most frustrating, and also most funny things, about being an English speaker in a non-English speaking country are the regular misunderstandings and miscommunication in our daily conversations. With our muddled German and with German people's muddled English, often with some kind of muddled sign language mixed in, we find ourselves regularly having strange and wonderful conversations that leave us scratching our heads.

The instances have been so many that it's hard to think about it now. The first that comes to mind is the time we went to a friend's gig and got talking to a woman who I thought was the hairdresser of small dogs. She was in fact in a hairdresser, but she had been trying to excuse herself from the conversation by telling us that she didn't like 'small talk'.

Often there is just misunderstanding through mispronounciation. When the weather was hot here during August I learnt a new German word 'schwül', which means 'humid'. Which can be very easily confused, if your lips aren't puckered enough when pronouncing it, with the word 'schwul' which means 'gay'.

One of the hardest things for a German speaker is the pronounciation of the letter 'w'. I was once talking to a German friend who has had bad luck in love and was feeling cynical about men and meeting Mr Right. I was saying how hard it is to make oneself vulnerable and open to another person when one is feeling wary. She said 'wunerable, wunerable. Agh! I can't even pronounce this word.'

Or sometimes the translation just comes out sounding funny. I was commenting on the full moon to my new friend Sibylle and she said 'oh yes, I feel so furry'!

Anyway, this is all par for the course with living in Berlin. And very entertaining it is too. I will leave you with a popular ad here in Germany for Berlitz, which shows the perils of mistranslation.

New old video

Hi all. Sorry for the slowness in blogging lately. I was digging through some of my stuff here in Berlin and came across a video that our friend Emma had done for me a few years back. It was used for some of my gigs. I would have it projected behind me as a played a couple of songs for added effect.

I decided to edited it down as it was 10 minutes long and use it as a video for "This Long Goodbye" from my last CD. I posted it on Wednesday on YouTube and Facebook and good a lot of lovely comments. It is meant to tie people over until the new album is ready, hopefully at the end of this month.

Emma shot this video on 8mm film in four locations in Dublin including Heuston Station which is the main train station in Dublin if you are traveling to the West and South of Ireland.

So, here it is - drum roll................

Back by popular demand

Word has reached me through the grapevine that a new blog is long overdue, and well, yes, how true this is! After 90 or so blogs I was needing a bit of a break. But I'm back now, not with a blog on our summer in Berlin (which was busy and fun), but with a blog on something that has been on my mind for the last while - linguistic lubricants.

Let me elaborate. Basically in the last year or so, on our travels and in my attempts to learn a new language, I've discovered that every language seems to have a phrase or word that the locals use more or less all the time. It's usually sprinkled in among the conversation, not quite as a filler as much as to help the conversation along.

In my cultural investigations I have come up with three examples of this, from Germany, Japan and Ireland (but of course!).

EXAMPLE No. 1 - The German 'Genau' (pronounced 'ge-now')
This is something every foreigner who comes to Germany seems to notice, the German use of the word 'genau'. If you eavesdrop on any conversation here in Berlin (which I kind of like doing) you are bound to hear this word at least once, if not ten times. They absolutely love it. The literal translation is 'exactly'. Germans when speaking English will often say 'yes, of course', which is the same thing. It can come across as sounding condescending in this translation, but it's not meant that way at all. It is really an affirmation, a way of saying 'hey, we are on the same wavelength', kind of like 'you, got it!' or 'right!'

EXAMPLE No.2 - The Japanese 'Ne'
Japanese people really use this word alot. When we were in Japan in April I pointed it out to Eric, he really was amazed by how it was used. The meaning changes depending on how you say it. If said with an upturn in tone at the end it means 'isn't it? or 'right?' If said just normally it means 'right'. So, for example, you might mention how hot it is by saying 'atsui, ne?' and to agree with you the person will nod and say 'ne!' And this can go on and on so that in the end you get a lot of 'ne'ing, which is kind of funny. But hey, it works!

EXAMPLE No.3 - The Irish 'Janey Mackers'
Actually this isn't really a conversation lubricant as much as a really Irish phrase. In fact, I think it might be a country-Irish phrase, and I, for one, love it! It also comes in the shorter, plainer Janey Mack form, though I have been known to lengthen it to 'Janey Mack Attack'(!) I actually didn't realise that I used it that much until my German friend Sandra asked me one day 'what is this Janey Mackers you speak of?' For those of you who don't know, it means 'wow!' or 'gosh!'

So next time you want to sound like a local (from Germany, Japan or Ireland) or you just want to bring a little multicultural flair to the conversation why not try one of the above? If someone surprises you, give a good old 'Janey Mackers!' or if want to agree with someone just nod and say 'genau' or 'ne'.

So those are my thoughts for today! Hope all of you are well!

Also, if any of you have any other examples, thoughts etc, please post in the comments section.

Finished recording my new album

Me in the recording studio. These photos were taken by my drummer for the album, Dave Hingerty.

After 14 days in the studio and a few extra at my producer's (Fabien Leseure) apartment, the new album is finally finished recording. We will begin the final mixing in about a week. But, we had done rough mixes of each song as we finished them over the last few weeks. I had passed on taking the rough mixes home to listen to, waiting instead until they were all finished to then take them home and listen as a whole album in the track order I had in mind.

I play a lot of electric guitar on the new album. Notice the Russian sign above my head.

So a couple of weeks ago, I sat with my MacBook and headphones and had a good listen. Keep in mind, some of these songs I haven't heard in nearly three weeks and had forgotten exactly how they sounded.

Me and Fabien in the studio. He is setting up my vocal microphone.

My first reaction was lots of smiles and a sense that we had achieved something very special for this album. It was more than I could have hoped for and a joy to listen to. These songs are my babies, so it was with a lot of pride, a good dose of humility and a huge nod to my producer that I was so thrilled listening to them take off and fly and come into their own. Can't wait to share them with you!

There was a lovely upright piano in the studio, that belongs to Fabien's partner Nina Hynes, that I played on one song and Fabien played on a number of songs.

Sounds of the city

Well, I am now back from my retreat in the German countryside where I spent ten days cycling, walking, sitting looking out the window, writing and sleeping. That sounds like I was quite active but to tell the truth a lot of that time was spent indoors. It was a bit intense at times being on my own for that long and having all that time to think. It really was quite the psychological detox. How and ever, I came back to Berlin feeling really good and with a renewed appreciation for life in the city, though a big part of my heart still loves the countryside.

While I was in Stolzenhagen I got a real kick out of taking in all the sounds around me, just things that I would never hear in the city. Most of it was animal sounds, otherwise the place was pretty quiet. There was some funny ones like the donkeys who belonged to the woman downstairs, who sounded uncannily like a group of heavy smokers having a good laugh. We also passed a sheep that Eric said sounded like Kathleen burping. Must have been something in the grass.

Anyway, having returned to Berlin I have taken my ultra sensitive hearing with me. There is, of course, the ever-present noise of traffic. It's like a distant hum that quietens down at night. But there are lots of other sounds which I am finding quite endearing such as the opera singer across the road who sings in the late afternoon and the little girl in the next apartment block who practices her violin. There is also a constant stream of people going to and from the park beside of us, parents and kids mostly, sometimes happy, sometimes not. And there are also a lot of birds around here, probably because of all the trees, some who mimic car-alarms and some who just plain tweet. I think I am enjoying all these sounds because it is just a reminder of all the bustling life around me, which is really summertime in Berlin.

Taking a Break

Tomorrow we are off to the apartment of a friend of mine, Liz, out in east Brandenburg, out by the German-Polish border and I have to say that I can't wait. After nearly a year and a half in the city, and after months and months of saying 'let's go to the countryside' we are finally getting to ditch the bright lights of Berlin for greener and more importantly, quieter surroundings.

Liz's apartment is in the sleepy 'dorf' or village of Stolzenhagen. There are about 200 people as far as I know and a large part of that is a co-operative made up mainly of artists. My friend Liz is American and also happens to be a wonderful artist and performer. In fact she originally visited Stolzenhagen when she took part in a dance festival there a few years ago.

Now herself and her husband have an apartment in the village in the old schoolhouse (pic above), which they kindly offered to us while she is in Berlin having her baby (she is at this moment one week overdue).

Anyway, we are so looking forward to taking our break from city life, I think me in particular. Having grown up in the countryside I go through stages when, if I am away from it for too long, I get cravings for forest and fields and peace and quiet. Eric is actually coming back to Berlin for a week to record his album while I stay on in Stolzenhagen. I plan not to do too much, maybe just some reading, writing and mainly staring out the window at the wonderful green view and breathing in the fresh countryside air.