Niklas

A few days ago I blogged about a child, and refused to post an actual picture of the child, out of respect for the parents' wishes.

Today, I am going to post a picture of an actual child. This is an adorable child who I have only met once in his little life. His name is Niklas. I know his parents quite well. They won't care that this kid's picture is up here.

Niklas' dad and I went to grad school together in Austria, where we did lots of hard work, and had a lot of fun. It was a very wonderful time in both of our lives. We learned very important things about German literature, translation, business, educational training, and drinking. Oh yes, there was drinking.

Beer in Austria comes in 1/2 liter bottles. It is delicious, fairly inexpensive, and available in vending machines. You can drink it in public, you can drink it in private. You can buy it in the grocery store and you can buy it from the bar. I've even had a few beers with nuns. Austrans just dig beer.

Niklas' mom is an Austrian. Now, she's not a beer drinker. But she is an ethnic Austrian, and beer is her blood. Niklas' dad, while American, is of German heritiage. Hence, beer is in his blood too. He has also had a lot of practice with beer. He knows it well.

The family just recently moved back to Austria, and it seems that Niklas is already working that family beer gene:




Isn't he just the sweetest little boy? A chip off the ol' block!

I welcome captions for this photo.