>My mate Christoph’s 60th birthday last week. Stephan, his son who’s an architect in Ireland, cornered me a while back and said that he was going to do his usual…
The Coface Arena in Mainz holds 34,000 spectators. It’s normally pretty full, but when Bayern Munich turns up, you’re like sardines in a tin. I figured that trying to score…
Wednesday in Mainz 05’s ancient Bruchweg stadium to see a pre-season test game against Lazio Roma. 2 of Christoph’s 7 grand-kids (Grace and Freya, 7 and 5) had turned up…
…when did Sarah (second from left) grow up, then? We know Sarah – she’s his nephew’s daughter. Nicest family you could imagine – through our friend Christoph. On the market…
If there’s one football (soccer to you…) team that polarises in Germany, it’s Bayern Munich. Hugely successful (which in itself generates a huge following – who wants to go through…
…wenn ihr Mainzer seid” (“On your feet/Get up if you’re a Mainzer” – classic Mainz 05 fan chorus ) The Allgemeine Zeitung ran an article on Mainz Daily Photo the…
…” said Grace Niklas, my little Irish friend “but I’m almost 4. And then I go to the BIG school” Growing up in Dublin with an Irish mum and…
> …said Uschi. Not surprised. First time she’s flown anywhere by herself. Meet Uschi Niklas, my mate Christoph‘s wife. She retired from her job at the University clinic in Mainz…
> This one slipped through the cracks back in May when I was hobbling around on crutches and being even less focussed than normal. My mate Christoph‘s son Stephan is…
> Mr and Mrs jb enter the Annabatterie café on the Gartenfeldplatz in Mainz. Median age moves 2 data points to the right. Mean age moves infinitesimally from 23 to…
> “…and chocolate.” “And chocolate” That would be my mate Christoph at the icecream parlour in (NQM) Heidesheim. No idea how he discovered the place – it’s certainly not particularly…
> 3 of Christoph and Uschi Niklas’s 7 grandkids – Magdalena, Kalle und Lucie – at Freya’s christening the other week.
> They never had a chance, of course. The coach reckoned that it would be a sensation if they squeezed out a draw.(He said that they might have a chance…
> A very welcome sight at yesterday’s match was this chappy (I think his name’s Bernard…) who turned up midway through the first half (by which time we were leading…
> Excellent! Christoph‘s got hold of 2 tickets for today’s Mainz05 game vs Hanover. Must be do-able – Mainz 10th in the table, Hanover 16th – but Hanover’s got…
> Uschi and Christoph Niklas are just the finest people. They’ve worked all their lives to put their kids through school and into good jobs, they’re 5-fold grandparents (with another…
> Kalle – my mate Christoph’s grandson – appears to be indestructible. Falls over, bounces up. Lies flat on a skateboard and heads at high speed for the gap between…
> …Pete Dexter’s 1988 award-winning novel, has only recenetly been translated into German. Made big headlines in the serious broadsheets. This chappy is no relation. This is Dinner Trout. My…
> What an excellent evening. Kick-off was in St Quintins, with musicians representing 4 continents – a didgeridoo-er especially for Helen, an Central Asian throat-singer on byzaanchy, an African drummer…
>People get carried away by this Euro 2008 business. (Some are blissfully unaware of its existence, but that’s another story…) Overnight, park benches (these are at the Vertical Village) appear…
>Yet another sculpture dedicated to Gutenburg and his printing press. This one is near the ruined church of St Christopher in the centre of town.
>The Vertical Village doesn’t run by itself. It would all go pear-shaped if not for Mrs jb. And the janitors. From left to right – Andreas, Peter the Painter, Tibor…
> …is a friend indeed. 14 of them, in fact. The Fourteen Holy Helpers (street sign here in Gonso and the name of the chapel where Magdalena‘s Mum and Dad…
>.. said Cameron Leslie about his sisters at one stage. Could say the same about Christoph and Uschi Niklas’s 3 kids. Susie has Lucy (4) and Kalle (2) , Sonja’s…
>Crikey, they’re a fertile bunch….! Christoph and Uschi have 3 excellent kids – Stephan, Susie and Sonja – and they together have 3 excellent grandkids – Lucy, Kalle and Magdalena…
>The Lions tend to attractive good community-minded people wherever they go and Mainz is no exception. Our friends at Caffea Moguntia gifted us the Lions Advent calendar (I guess for…
>..and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, I baptise thee Johannes. Gutenberg, that is. This is St Christopher’s in the centre of Mainz, first documented in 893 as…
>Darius Niklas works for the Iveco commercial vehicle dealership as a mechanic and is on their 24 hour Roadside Assistance team. How he finds time to garden as well, I…
>That’s “Have another beer” in Ghanaian. I think Or the name of the team that had to stand in on short notice for Werder Bremen (which is one of the…
>Friday evening. 6 p.m. Mainz 05 vs. Bremen. Me and my mate Christoph. A beer before the game, a beer and a sausage in a roll with mustard at half-time.…
>…the Mulberry Tree. Morus Nigra. They were introduced into Europe to satisfy the demand for silk – silkworms just love the leaves – and were planted mostly in southern Europe.…
Mainz Daily Photo 