Experienced IT Master, volunteer, husband, dog parent and aviation fanboy.
So after tweaking this website blog a bit I noticed I had comments for some of my posts! Oh shit — people ARE reading this crap. That’s funny! 🙂 Sorry if I seemed to ignore you — I had the “moderated” type as all the bots out on the internet try to post stuff automatically and it’s all garbage. Didn’t realize this stuff was there!
Will check and see if I can get email notification when posts are made, though!!
[update 11/9/2006: with the new blog software, all the old comments went away ;( ]
Ahhh, Seafair!!
My friend Daniel from the Fly-In invited me to go out on his boat during the annual Seafair extravaganza in Seattle. We had a great time watching the Blue Angels. After the Blues we picked-up Claire and had great fun swimming, went to eat, and then watched the fireworks show that was new this year.
Even better was that I’m so close to the water, I just took a cab to the dock and walked back home (or at least that was the plan…it was so later after we got back that after dropping Claire off in Ballard I got off with her to save the boat a stop — she gave me a ride home. But I could have done it!)
Vid: Last pass –love the boat horns!
Vid: Fireworks, with bonus conversation about matching socks
Well, it’s done. I have officially cleared the house and am in my new digs in Downtown Seattle. If any of you see me, promise to make me never, ever, ever purchase a residence with more than 1000 Sq FT. Even with a completely agressive “downsizing” of all my worldly possesions, damn I got a lot of shit! And that house was a lot of house to clear-and-clean. And during the last run to the dump, with ever thanks to my parents for the help, I acidentally spilled a garbage can full of decomposed grass clippings that has been sitting outside my house for a year. So decomposed it was liquid. I have yet to smell a more foul odor in my life, and it was all over me. Ahhhhh, though, it’s done — still have to unpack some stuff, but that can come at my own pace without any particular deadline. There is something to be said for a small apartment where it takes you 15 minutes to pick-up stuff and the convienience store is 3 minutes away — on foot! 🙂
So on a groggy-eyed Saturday morning I keep hearing this jackhammer sound around the house. It’s driving me batty — I’m going from room to room trying to find out what the heck it is.
So I go to my office and restart my computer, and notice the sound is louder — Oh great. So I open the window and what do I find — A Woodpecker has taken up residence on my neighbor’s chimney! Whats hysterical is that it’s an aluminum chimney — so the bird just ain’t gonna see any productive work. Or perhaps he’s hot-to-trot for a lady woodpecker and showing off his manlyness…
Anyway, I got it on my camera. I had to laugh, not because it’s a woodpecker (although funny enough) but that I was searching for this noise for about 20 minutes!
OK, finally got all the Munich photos and stories all done
Click here to read and view them!
As you’ll see, the Berlin stories and photos are in an entry below, and so are all the videos.
Geez, this was as much work as planning the trip almost!
It is so good to be home
I am back from my vacation to Germany. I had an incredible time and both Berlin and Munich gave me some great stories to tell. One thing is for certain, and the reason I travel: you can always find friends wherever you go — just be yourself, share a beer, and viola!
However, it is so good to be home. Really, it is.
I took a lot of pictures and notes, so in-between loads of laundry this week I’ll be uploading and sharing the stories. Stay tuned!
OK, I’m getting some pictures and experiences up here, including some videos!!
First is my report on Berlin, which is still a bit incomplete, but getting there!
I hope to have my Munich stuff up later today or tomorrow!
Here is all the best videos I took (from my new camera of all things!!) Lots more photos to come from Munich, Berlin photos are below, but the videos are the funnest…and here’s all of them. Requires Windows Media Player, which most PCs already have, and a high-speed connection
Ride the bus along the Kurfurstendamm in Berlin. Public transport is so awesome, except in Seattle. Berlin buses were the nicest I’ve been on.
Watch German TV. This was a “springer-esque” show — gotta love the announcer guy and the look on the woman’s face at the end!
Watch the Glockenspiel in Munich. I love the crowd’s “ohh, ahh” at the start
Drink with people at the Hofbrauhaus. This was between lunch and dinner, so not much of a crowd, but still really fun!
Hofbrauhaus cheers! Short, but fun as everyone clicks their steins!
Riding the train at 200 KPH. The trains were on-time and comfortable.
My connecting train arriving in Fulda. Or so I thought. This was the wrong train — I got on it by accident. Luckily it was going to Munich as well!
Passing by Wurtzburg on the train. This town looked charming from inside, this video doesn’t do it justice — lots of church spires on the other side of the train (so I couldn’t really shoot those)
A snowy arrival of….something! Obviously some sort of publicity stunt, this was in Munich as I was walking along. Apparently there was some sort of German soccer star there as well — I had no idea. It was funny to watch, though.
What is it? More of this important jewelry unveiling in Munich, complete with TV coverage and motorcycles.
Riding the Munich Subway. The cleanest and nicest system I’ve ever been on (but the Berlin busses were nicer…)
Hello from the “Secret capital of Germany”! I’m in Bavaria after a long train ride from Berlin. It was good that the train ride was long, because I had a lot of recovering to do from a last-night party in Berlin — more later.
Berlin was BIG and spread-out. Thank GOD Munich is compact — and pedestrian friendly!! My feet thank you, Munich! This is my first real day here, and then I’ve got tomorrow and then I come home. Which actually is not that bad. Munich is so compact I’m covering a lot of ground and still having time to enjoy things.
BTW, hello, SNOW!!!!! Munich got dumped on the day before I got here, and there is about a foot of snow on the ground. It’s still snowing now. I love this — it’s perfect for me and the setting of Bavarian Germany.
Just got back from lunch at the Hoffbrauhaus! I drank 2 liters of really good beer, and am now walking off the buzz. Perhaps now I see why Munich is walkable — ahhhh, this all makes sense now. Nice planning Deutchland!
My last night I’m in a really nice hotel by the airport, so I will be uploading my photos then.
Another interesting note: you#ll see that I make fun of the Torino olympic opening ceremony and it#s music — so 80#s. Well, it must be a Europe thing, because it is ALL OVER THE PLACE here — everwhere I go it#s on the loudspeakers — I’m jazzing-out to ‘Celebrate a good time’ right now in the Internet cafe! How funny!!
Tsch
Greetings froma snowy Berlin!! Its about 32 degrees with light snow flurries. Still getting used to the fact that I am actually here. Flights were long, but the UPGRADE was nice!!! Biz class from Chicago to Brussels — yeah baby!!! Nearly did not make my flight to Berlin — Brussels airport is huge!
So I have walked the Kurfurstendamm already today — to keep the blood flowing. Went all the way to the famous KaDeWe department store. It is Berlin