Category Archives: beautiful buildings

The Trappist

So I spent like two hours of my supposed-to-be-a-day-of-rest Sunday working on setting up the stupid Facebook Fan Badge that you see off to the right hand side of this column. You would think it would be so simple… in this age of technology and social networking and applications capable of hand-holding with each other. And it should be so simple. But NOooooo!

Apparently the WordPress text widget only accepts straight HTML and not the Javascript programming incorporated into the Facebook Fan Badge. And if that’s all Greek to you, then you can understand my frustration as well. I needed a 12 year old to program this for me! But instead, I struggled with building the little HTML widget myself… wasting precious time, and literally driving myself to drink.

So please, if you’re a Facebook-er, make it worth my while and click on that stupid button and be my fan on Facebook. sigh.

My friends and I met at The Trappist in downtown Oakland (8th Street @ Broadway). It’s a gorgeous bar housed in an 1870’s Victorian building, specializing in Trappist, Belgian, and other European fancy brews. Steeped in Euro-pub ambiance, the bar itself is as beautifully crafted as the beers they offer, each served at the correct temperature and in the properly shaped glass to allow one to fully experience the subtle & complex flavors.

the trappist, belgian beer bar, downtown oakland specialty bar

Trappist refers to the reformist order of Cistercian monks established in the 17th century at the La Trappe monastery in Northern France. The monks lived austere lives characterized by vows of stability, fidelity to monastic life, and obedience. The monasteries were required to be self-supporting, living off their own land, labor, & resources, and it was out of this commandment that monk-maintained breweries originated. (Wikipedia)

Today there are only 7 true Trappist breweries, owned and run by active Benedictine Abbeys: 6 in Belgium and 1 in The Netherlands. The Trappist carries beers by all seven: Achel, Chimay, Koningshoeven, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, and Westvleteren, in addition to many specialty beers not easily found elsewhere. They currently maintain 25 beers on tap and have a rotating bottle stock of between 130 – 140 different brands. Wow!

the trappist brewery, trappist brewpub

Do you know those Stella Artois commercials you see before the previews start at the movies? The bartender takes such exquisite care with preparing the glass just so, pouring the beer ever so particularly, all in an effort to deliver the perfect glass of beer. That’s how they do it here. Not kidding. If you take your beer seriously, please check them out. You won’t be sorry.

the trappist, belgian beer pub,

Zoolights! & Willy Wonka

My girlfriend and I took her 6 year old to Zoolights the other night… I’d been reading lots about it and people really seem to love this holiday light display and show. It consistently gets ranked in local editors’ picks for holiday to-do’s and gets 4 stars on Yelp. As someone who’s never even been to the Oakland Zoo (and I hear it’s quite lovely for the small zoo that it is), I was pretty excited to see this show too. And for the most part, I’d say it didn’t disappoint… just check out these lights!

oakland zoo, zoolights entrance

oakland zoo, zoolights

oakland zoo, zoolights, tunnel of light

oakland zoo, zoolights giraffes

From an artistic standpoint, these animal representations are pretty darned impressive. And the kids love ’em! If you have young children, or the maturity of a kindergartner yourself, you should definitely check this out.

Though not free, it’s for a good cause as all proceeds go towards The Oakland Zoo, a non-profit organization that depends on your support. A regional treasure for over 80 years, the Oakland Zoo’s mission is to inspire respect for and stewardship of the natural world while providing a quality visitor experience. The Zoo is open daily 10:00am – 4:00pm. And the Zoolights holiday shows run evenings through January 4th…

5:30pm – 9:00pm (Monday – Thursday)
5:30pm – 9:30pm (Friday – Sunday)

*Note that Zoo animal residents will be nestled all snug in their beds, with visions of fresh fish and steak, dancing in their heads.

And just in case you were worried, you don’t have to feel guilty about indulging in the electric spectacle, because PG&E has collaborated with the Oakland Zoo to make the lighting display extremely energy efficient through the use of LEDs (which use about 1/10th of the electricity of regular xmas lights).

Shown below is the Holiday Light Show Safari that’s set up in the zoo’s meadow. It’s a light show sychronized to a musical/theatrical soundtrack, and if I were to be totally honest (which I am), I would have to say that this was somewhat disappointing, at least for grown-ups. The lights were great, but the medley soundtrack was an awful disjointed mismash of stuff that might appeal to the sensibilities of a 2 year old, but frankly, was just plain bad. It could have been way cooler. Sorry.

Pretty blue tree.

You still with me? I hope so, ’cause we’re just getting to the really cool stuff. Below is the entrance to Candyland, which is where the carnival rides are: merry-go-round-where-you-can-ride-a-tiger, airplane spinny rides, little racecars, and of course, the launching point for the mini-steam train, the Snowball Express.

This is the view of the bay from our train ride… and yes, you have to pay extra for this. But aren’t you used to the whoosh of cash flowing through your hands these days? And remember, it’s for a good cause. This, truly, was my favorite part of the night. Do ride the train, but do dress warm!

oakland zoo train, view from train ride

The ultimate experience was travelling through the tunnel of light… it totally reminded me of that scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory…the psychedelic boat trip…

“there’s no earthly way of knowing
which direction we are going
there’s no knowing where we’re rowing
or which way the river’s flowing…”

Watch it here. It’s AWESOME.

tunnel of light, oakland zoolights train

Which reminds me: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, this Friday night 8pm (doors at 7), at the aptly named Paramount Theatre in Oakland. Part of their wonderful classic movie series… pay five bucks to see a great work of art, in a great work of art, with pre-film entertainment to boot. This is one of the best deals in town. I love the Paramount. More on it during Art Deco Days…

“A Season of Brotherhood and Generosity”

Tonight the Obamas presided over the National tree lighting ceremony in Washington D.C.

Here’s how we did it, Oaktown style….

And if this doesn’t get you in the mood, I don’t know what will.

city center tree lighting, christmas elf

There were elves performing magic tricks that astounded!

Christmas elf, magic elf, city center tree lighting

Free hot refreshments to warm us from the insides… including hot chocolate, spiced cider, churros, and real roasted chestnuts! That’s pretty darn festive.

City Center Tree Lighting Ceremony

The Oakland Jazz Workshop performed some lively numbers, especially with the accompaniment of this young talent… the girl had some pipes. And she was only ten! (And ten months).

oakland jazz workshop, city center tree lighting

Of course, Santa was there!

santa, oakland city center, santa at city center

The Golden Gate Boys Choir and Bell Ringers performed a number of holiday carols… pretty impressive.

City Center Tree Lighting Ceremony

tree lighting ceremony, oakland city center, city center tree lighting

And after the lighting of the tree, the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir came out to really kick things into high gear. Fantastic. And if you missed this performance, you can catch them this Saturday night, December 5th at the lovely Paramount Theatre, 7:30pm.

gospel choir at city center, city center tree lighting

You feelin’ it yet?

Are you feeling it?

That holiday spirit I mean.

I thought I kicked things off pretty well yesterday, and I’m going to keep the energy flowing… or at least I’m going to try.

I thought it would be fun to document some of the more spectacular holiday light displays around town and decided to start at one of my very favorite places in Oakland, Mountain View Cemetery. Their display is a little kitschy, but that’s kind of what it’s all about isn’t it?

I saw them unpacking the lights and wrapping the trees last weekend when I was there for a jog… young men on step ladders stringing trees, and others placing Santa and his reindeer in their arc around the entrance fountain.

The sign says the “Circle of Lights” display will be up each evening in December from 5 – 9pm. There’s even accompanying holiday music if you tune into the FM station listed. All I can say is I was there at 5:05pm today, and while a few things were lit, the reverential circle was certainly not. Bah humbug. Here are a couple shots, but clearly I’ll have to go back…

holiday lights at mountain view cemetery, oakland holiday lights

holiday lights at mountain view cemetery, gothic church, oakland holiday lights

Keep tuning in for more holiday cheer, unless you’re feeling Scroogey of course… because I’ve got lots of joy to spread around. I’m hoping to make it to:

  • The official city tree lighting ceremony with the Mayor downtown tomorrow (5pm Thursday the 3rd at City Center Plaza)
  • The Zoolights display at the Oakland Zoo (Starts Friday… it sounds pretty cool and I’ve never seen it)
  • The lighted yacht parade on the Oakland/Alameda estuary this Saturday
  • And much much more

Plus I’ve got snowflake how-to’s, cookie recipes, Santacon!!, and who knows what else. Let’s have some fun, eh?

Oh yeah… and Art Murmur is Friday! So I’ll cover some non-holiday stuff too for you Grinchy types.