We again arrived into a new location after sunset, and with new road construction it made finding our way to our hotel a little tricky. So new and redesigned, in fact, that the TomTom showed our cars position t be in grass and trees on several occasions! But with road signs and common sense, we lost little time and regained our way. Our place in Siena was right outside one of the city gates, and it was really nice especially when compared to our "Rick Steves Nightmare" in Florence. We unloaded our stuff and I squeezed the car into a tiny spot in their underground "garage" that accommodated perhaps 6 cars. After Jasmine, the international lawyer-in-training who moonlights as a front desk clerk gave us suggestions on places to eat, we headed out on the 5-10 minutes walk that would place us in the center of Siena. If you've seen "Quantum Of Solace", it's where the horse race is held. By night, Siena seemed smaller, less crowded, and cleaner then Florence. The next morning would confirm this.
It was a nice, bright morning, and the light of day enabled us to see that our hotel was in a very scenic location. We walked through the city gate and into the heart of Siena. We were told that no cars were allowed in the center, that it was a walking district. However, just like most of Italy, you have to be wary of scooters and motorcycles. Also, I guess according to the Italians, taxi's aren't cars, so you have to avoid them too! And then there are the occasional delivery trucks to dodge. Don't forget the police car too that rolls by from time to time! Yeah...not so much a traffic free zone if you ask us!!! Then there are those dangerous mothers pushing their baby strollers into you! I must've shifted my position 3 times to avoid a woman who was window shopping as she pushed her stroller. When she eventually ran into my leg, she whipped her head around, glaring at me with the iciest stare like I had bumped carelessly into her. I couldn't believe her reaction and uttered words to her that conveyed my thoughts. She continued to drill into my head with her expression, so, wanting to "fit in" and do as the locals, I gave it back to her. We visited several highlights, purchasing a card that gave us a discount at about 5 of them. We also went to a wine tasting where Radhika enjoyed herself and made a purchase to bring home. All that said, we enjoyed Siena more then we did Florence for the reasons stated earlier. It was more of a pleasure for us to walk around Siena. It was more charming, seemed friendlier, and relaxing. There's no substitute for the art in Florence, but the same can be said for everything else in Siena. We spent 2 nights there and really enjoyed ourselves. We would like a return visit here. And as usual, we got a late departure out of Siena as we were enjoying the day so much, and Cinque Terre was only 3 hours away we figured to arrive after dark again but not too late. Nice plan, but...
Monday, November 17, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Florence
We rolled into Florence later then we wanted, but Venice was so great! TomTom was good until we got near our hotel (as usual!). When it indicated we had reached our destination, there was no hotel in sight, just apartment buildings and a car repair garage. I pulled the car up onto the sidewalk a bit so I could get out and check address numbers to try to figure out where we were. The number of the hotel was found on the garage, so I was thrown off by that. I looked down to the street we had turned off of and across to the other side and saw what looked like a hotel sign. It was our place! The street name was the same on both sides. I would come to find out later that in Italy, they separate residence and business numbers that confuses a western guy like me (and apparently navigation devices)! I drove to and parked out front of the Hotel Enza, which was listed in Rick Steves travel book. I went inside, checked in, saw our room (wincing a little), and came back outside to gather Radhika and our baggage. The place was a disappointment, especially after such a nice stay at the Delfino near Venice! It was very dark, old (old can be charming, but this wasn't THAT kind of old) and worn out. It wasn't bad enough to find another place, so we just accepted it as it was and focused on everything outside the hotel. I asked the guy at the front desk about parking, but it seemed a major hassle to park on the street, paying, and moving it for the street cleaners, so I inquired about a parking garage. Not being too clear on where he was directing even though he used a map, we decided to use a garage we drove past as we neared the hotel. It's one of the problems of driving in Italy. The hotel was in a convenient location to the major attractions and art, but parking can be a big issue, which has expensive daily charges. It's one of the several reasons why I prefer to stay outside places like Rome or Paris if driving. It's less expensive accommodation, the car is not a problem, it's quieter, cleaner, and generally a more relaxed atmosphere. But, we were here, the car was taken care of, so we just crashed (with me chasing a few mosquitoes around in the room) and thought about tomorrow.
You want art? - - Go to Florence!! Man, after 3 days I had it oozing out of my pores! It was very cool to read and learn about the history of the city through the frescoes we viewed. And an impressive sight to behold with your own eyes in person is Michelangelo's "David". Fourteen feet tall and every bit perfect! The Galleria degli Uffizi is loaded with paintings and sculptures of Florentine masters. But speaking for me, my head was spinning after the 100th "Madonna And Child" or other constantly repeated religious themed pieces contained in this building (and city). I enjoyed the earlier work especially, seeing them grasp distance and perspective over the years, using light in new and dramatic ways. The buildings, churches, architecture are all fantastic. We went up to the top of the bell tower for a view of the city near sunset. It's quite lovely, even with the little drizzle of rain/mist towards the end. We were the last visitors of the day so that was nice. We walked around the city visiting some pretty sights over the next 2 days, and came away feeling pretty satisfied of the time we spent in Florence. Our next stop was Siena, just minutes south of Florence, but again we got a late start as we were getting our last glimpses of Florence from the park above the city on our drive out. Next stop - - Siena!
You want art? - - Go to Florence!! Man, after 3 days I had it oozing out of my pores! It was very cool to read and learn about the history of the city through the frescoes we viewed. And an impressive sight to behold with your own eyes in person is Michelangelo's "David". Fourteen feet tall and every bit perfect! The Galleria degli Uffizi is loaded with paintings and sculptures of Florentine masters. But speaking for me, my head was spinning after the 100th "Madonna And Child" or other constantly repeated religious themed pieces contained in this building (and city). I enjoyed the earlier work especially, seeing them grasp distance and perspective over the years, using light in new and dramatic ways. The buildings, churches, architecture are all fantastic. We went up to the top of the bell tower for a view of the city near sunset. It's quite lovely, even with the little drizzle of rain/mist towards the end. We were the last visitors of the day so that was nice. We walked around the city visiting some pretty sights over the next 2 days, and came away feeling pretty satisfied of the time we spent in Florence. Our next stop was Siena, just minutes south of Florence, but again we got a late start as we were getting our last glimpses of Florence from the park above the city on our drive out. Next stop - - Siena!
Venice PT.2
The next morning was foggy but it quickly burned off by the time we finished the breakfast buffet at the hotel. What a great place to people watch! The international mix of our location, the situation of what is perceived as "free" food, people being time conscious. People have the most interesting expressions and behaviors at a breakfast buffet! The look on a person's face when there are no more croissants in the bin!! The searching eyes - - where's "this", where's "that"? You can see the wheels turning. "Do I want this?" "What is this?" "Where are the coffee cups?" "How do I get cappuccino out of this machine?" "Where do I sit?" "Where are my people?" And the kids running around pushing the levers of the juice dispenser, yelling what they want and don't want. The older people trying to fill their plates while keeping their fragile hips from breaking dodging the kids. But we didn't want to linger long there, so we were soon off to Venice. Such a unique place! Amsterdam has it's canals, but Venice is really one-of-a-kind. We used the vaporetto which are basically buses on water (let's just call them boats!) to get around. The transportation system is not too hard to figure out. With a map and the information at the stops, you know which one to take so you go in the right direction. We went to St. Marks Square, which is the suggested place to start you visit. It's one of the settings you see towards the end of Casino Royale. Over the course of our 2 1/2 days there, we visited many of the sights and several of the smaller islands, but one of our nicer more unique experiences was attending a concert in a church one evening. Five violinists, a cellist, contra base, and clavichord. It was fantastic! The talent was first rate and the presentation and atmosphere couldn't be beat! The group will actually tour the US in 2009, I believe. We completely enjoyed our visit and have definite plans to return again as our time there was very short. Wednesday morning we checked out before heading to Venice for our last 1/2 day, as in the afternoon we had to drive to Florence. Because we enjoyed our current location so much and found it hard to leave, we began a habit of getting to our next destination after dark, which sometimes made arrival a little more difficult. More on that later. On to Florence!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Venice!!
A deep nights sleep from the previous days festivities had us feeling good. On to a little breakfast and then deciding whether to wander around Munich some more or hit the road for Italy. The weather being cloudy and cool, we decided to head south so we could make Venice before nightfall. The drive took about an hour longer then it should've due to road construction again in Germany. There was a little in Italy too, but not enough to consider beyond the realm of what's expected. The drive was really quite beautiful, with the mountainous terrain of southern Germany and northern Italy slowly transforming into the rolling, Italian countryside.
Using a TomTom, or any navigation device is a great tool for driving in foreign places! It does a really great job, but like almost anything else it is not perfect. We have already learned this on several occasions. I realized, with the help of my co-pilot, that I relied on it almost exclusively, forgetting common sense and sometimes even road signs! Not as bad as Michael and Dwight on "The Office", driving into a pond because the device told them to go straight, but getting "brain-lazy" and over-reliant on this technology. So, after driving past the hotel outside of Venice, and going around the block not once but twice, we parked and unloaded. Check in didn't take too long, and it being Sunday we were able to leave the car out front until tomorrow morning. So, we made sure we were happy with the room and then caught the bus in front of the hotel for the 10 minute ride to Venice. That ride reminded me so much of the area right outside the Taj Mahal in India. You basically pass through the "not-so-nice" section of town before you get to the beauty in both places. Between our hotel in Mestre and the drop off point in Venice you've got industrial buildings, railroad tracks, side roads, weeds and scrub brush. It's quite an eyesore. But arrival into the bus lot at Venice changes everything. It's twilight, so I setup the tripod quickly and get off some good shots with the best light of the day. We begin to walk, not getting far before we park ourselves at a canal side eatery for a couple of pizza slices, washing them down with a cold beer for me and a glass of red wine for Radhika. We then take our time exploring the streets and alleys, eventually hearing and following the sound of a piano. It must've been close to 9pm or so when we came upon a small square where 2 or 3 restaurants had setup places for outdoor seating. In one of them is a man dressed in a nice suit, with a black upright piano and glass for tips on top. There were several large trees along with benches underneath them. We got our first gelato at a small vendor who was just about to close, sitting on one of the benches under the Venice stars in the dimly lit square with Girl From Ipanema filling the air. I was thinking the perfect song for him to play next would be one of my Mom's and mine favorites from when I was a boy, "Moon River"...and he did! It was one of those lightning strike moments in life. I called my sister in Tallahassee, but instead spoke with my nephew as Helen was not at home. We sat there listening for a while, tipped the pianist, and began to walk back. Venice was practically empty now, being around 9:30. It was cool having the place practically to ourselves! Making some pictures along the way, we arrived at the pickup area where we caught the bus back to our stop in front of the hotel and we were in the room by 11pm. It was a nice first evening and we looked forward to our first full day in Venice tomorrow.
Using a TomTom, or any navigation device is a great tool for driving in foreign places! It does a really great job, but like almost anything else it is not perfect. We have already learned this on several occasions. I realized, with the help of my co-pilot, that I relied on it almost exclusively, forgetting common sense and sometimes even road signs! Not as bad as Michael and Dwight on "The Office", driving into a pond because the device told them to go straight, but getting "brain-lazy" and over-reliant on this technology. So, after driving past the hotel outside of Venice, and going around the block not once but twice, we parked and unloaded. Check in didn't take too long, and it being Sunday we were able to leave the car out front until tomorrow morning. So, we made sure we were happy with the room and then caught the bus in front of the hotel for the 10 minute ride to Venice. That ride reminded me so much of the area right outside the Taj Mahal in India. You basically pass through the "not-so-nice" section of town before you get to the beauty in both places. Between our hotel in Mestre and the drop off point in Venice you've got industrial buildings, railroad tracks, side roads, weeds and scrub brush. It's quite an eyesore. But arrival into the bus lot at Venice changes everything. It's twilight, so I setup the tripod quickly and get off some good shots with the best light of the day. We begin to walk, not getting far before we park ourselves at a canal side eatery for a couple of pizza slices, washing them down with a cold beer for me and a glass of red wine for Radhika. We then take our time exploring the streets and alleys, eventually hearing and following the sound of a piano. It must've been close to 9pm or so when we came upon a small square where 2 or 3 restaurants had setup places for outdoor seating. In one of them is a man dressed in a nice suit, with a black upright piano and glass for tips on top. There were several large trees along with benches underneath them. We got our first gelato at a small vendor who was just about to close, sitting on one of the benches under the Venice stars in the dimly lit square with Girl From Ipanema filling the air. I was thinking the perfect song for him to play next would be one of my Mom's and mine favorites from when I was a boy, "Moon River"...and he did! It was one of those lightning strike moments in life. I called my sister in Tallahassee, but instead spoke with my nephew as Helen was not at home. We sat there listening for a while, tipped the pianist, and began to walk back. Venice was practically empty now, being around 9:30. It was cool having the place practically to ourselves! Making some pictures along the way, we arrived at the pickup area where we caught the bus back to our stop in front of the hotel and we were in the room by 11pm. It was a nice first evening and we looked forward to our first full day in Venice tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Oktoberfest!
Up fairly early to get a good start to our day of Oktoberfest. I ran a little late for breakfast because of the mirror in the bathroom. Yeah, you read that correctly. They had one of those magnifying mirrors attached to the wall in the bathroom. A light on it too. Normally, when I use my electric shaver I can be done pretty fast. It must've taken me 5 times as long as it usually does because of that damn mirror. Whiskers that I usually miss and ignore due to my failing eyesight look like steel cables or telephone poles coming out of these manhole-sized openings in my skin!!! No one over the age of INFANT should look at their skin so closely!!! Seriously!!! Like shaving with a electron microscope!! The surface of the moon is smoother then that disgusting sight I witnessed! But I couldn't look away. I had to keep shaving, looking for every little hair, even the whispy ones, to chop them down to size. If you ever check into a hotel and they have one of those cursed things in the bathroom, treat it like Medusa!! Don't look directly at it!! Just blindly throw a towel over it and go about your business!
I finally finished shaving and made it to breakfast. Afterward, we walked from the pension, going around Munich sightseeing for a little while before going to the grounds where Oktoberfest was taking place. Now, naive as I am about these matters, I thought Oktoberfest engulfed the entire region if not the country based on those fine, fact-filled Hollywood resources like “Beer Fest” and (was it?) “Stripes”. I’m sure I’ve seen others, but just like when I worked in Japan on a 2 week project and those Japanese engineers I worked with thought everyone on the streets and highways shot at each other like “Ah-nold”, Stallone, and Bruce Willis, I thought Oktoberfest was an all-encompassing event. It's not! It's confined to one area in the city. However, it IS the biggest carnival/fair atmosphere I have ever seen! Rides all over the place, and not the type at county fairs in the US that look like they may fly apart at any second killing all riders and several gawkers eating cotton candy back in Bug Tussle. These were first class, huge, brand new looking rides - - and too many to count! If I had to make a guess, I would say between 70 to 100, and that’s not including the beer tents or food concessions!!!
We tried to get in one tent, but it was packed and the guy near the door said “No”. So, standing in line we gradually made our way up to the front while mostly clean-smelling people wedged up against us. I came to find out that later in the day is when the clean-smelling people really get funky. And let's face it - - this is Oktoberfest, so it's easily 80% drunk, or on their way to drunk, dudes. Just what I want, drunk, stinky dudes all up in my space!! So, we left that line after a little loitering and walked around trying to decide which one to try next. After a few dead-ends, we had success. We didn’t get in a tent, but we did manage to find one open seat at a table. You have to be seated before they would allow you to order a beer. For some reason, they will not serve you if you don’t have a seat at one of the gazillion picnic tables. So a guy was kind enough to let one of us sit, place an order for 4 beers, and as soon as the beer was delivered and the server turned his back we bolted the scene with the 50 gallon glasses of golden liquid!! With nowhere to sit, we searched and found a place with ample standing room where the sun was shining and most passersby would say “cheers” and clink our glasses! Now, these are NOT your ordinary glasses!! They have gone through stress and crash tests that would make the automobile insurance industry envious. These glasses get slammed together with such force and gusto that half of the beer shoots out like Old Faithful and as it makes it’s way back down to Earth a good portion of the airborne nectar ends up back in the glass it came out of or in one of the 5 to 10 glasses that were smashed together in not-so-perfect unison.
As we were standing and drinking, waiting for some spots to open up so we could sit down, a very drunk Italian (it was Italian week) was being propped up by his friend about 10 feet from us. The dude was in really bad shape, just dead weight to his buddy who struggled to keep him upright. Soon, there were 2 guys trying to walk the guy out of the crowd, but he didn’t quite make it. He was eased down onto the concrete and I held my camera overhead to make a couple of pictures. I was there to document Oktoberfest, and this was pretty much part of it. Well, a woman who had been selling pretzels saw me and put her hand in front of the lens and said “No Photo!” in a very authoritative way. I got a little irritated, but I got the shot I wanted anyway so that evaporated into nothing. The “beer medics” came and began to tend to him as he lay on the ground. He “expelled” a keg-load of liquid and then proceeded to roll around in it. (Nice, huh?! Guess he wanted proof for his friends that he attended Oktoberfest.) I took another picture or 2 when one of the beer patrol dudes grabbed the front of the camera as I finished shooting, which immediately and impulsively caused me to tell him to get his damn hands off my camera. He did (surprisingly), and after a brief stare down we found a place for all of us to sit. Meanwhile, the drunk Italian was carted off on a stretcher, leaving behind what can only be described as a big "smear" on the pavement.
People at a table we were standing next to got up, so we swooped in. We ran over, quickly claimed the spots, and smiled at each other like potheads finding a bale that has washed up on shore. We sat, talked with the people at the table who were from Germany, Australia, and Peru, and ordered some food and more beer. We stayed until after 8pm, several hours after our schedule for dinner, but once you manage to park your ass in a seat, you’re loath to give it up! We walked around the rides and then took the metro back to our Pension so we could eat at a German restaurant in the vicinity. It was full but we found another smaller one not too far away so we ordered, ate, and said our goodbyes back at the hotel as our friends were leaving in the morning before we would get up for our trip to Venice.
I finally finished shaving and made it to breakfast. Afterward, we walked from the pension, going around Munich sightseeing for a little while before going to the grounds where Oktoberfest was taking place. Now, naive as I am about these matters, I thought Oktoberfest engulfed the entire region if not the country based on those fine, fact-filled Hollywood resources like “Beer Fest” and (was it?) “Stripes”. I’m sure I’ve seen others, but just like when I worked in Japan on a 2 week project and those Japanese engineers I worked with thought everyone on the streets and highways shot at each other like “Ah-nold”, Stallone, and Bruce Willis, I thought Oktoberfest was an all-encompassing event. It's not! It's confined to one area in the city. However, it IS the biggest carnival/fair atmosphere I have ever seen! Rides all over the place, and not the type at county fairs in the US that look like they may fly apart at any second killing all riders and several gawkers eating cotton candy back in Bug Tussle. These were first class, huge, brand new looking rides - - and too many to count! If I had to make a guess, I would say between 70 to 100, and that’s not including the beer tents or food concessions!!!
We tried to get in one tent, but it was packed and the guy near the door said “No”. So, standing in line we gradually made our way up to the front while mostly clean-smelling people wedged up against us. I came to find out that later in the day is when the clean-smelling people really get funky. And let's face it - - this is Oktoberfest, so it's easily 80% drunk, or on their way to drunk, dudes. Just what I want, drunk, stinky dudes all up in my space!! So, we left that line after a little loitering and walked around trying to decide which one to try next. After a few dead-ends, we had success. We didn’t get in a tent, but we did manage to find one open seat at a table. You have to be seated before they would allow you to order a beer. For some reason, they will not serve you if you don’t have a seat at one of the gazillion picnic tables. So a guy was kind enough to let one of us sit, place an order for 4 beers, and as soon as the beer was delivered and the server turned his back we bolted the scene with the 50 gallon glasses of golden liquid!! With nowhere to sit, we searched and found a place with ample standing room where the sun was shining and most passersby would say “cheers” and clink our glasses! Now, these are NOT your ordinary glasses!! They have gone through stress and crash tests that would make the automobile insurance industry envious. These glasses get slammed together with such force and gusto that half of the beer shoots out like Old Faithful and as it makes it’s way back down to Earth a good portion of the airborne nectar ends up back in the glass it came out of or in one of the 5 to 10 glasses that were smashed together in not-so-perfect unison.
As we were standing and drinking, waiting for some spots to open up so we could sit down, a very drunk Italian (it was Italian week) was being propped up by his friend about 10 feet from us. The dude was in really bad shape, just dead weight to his buddy who struggled to keep him upright. Soon, there were 2 guys trying to walk the guy out of the crowd, but he didn’t quite make it. He was eased down onto the concrete and I held my camera overhead to make a couple of pictures. I was there to document Oktoberfest, and this was pretty much part of it. Well, a woman who had been selling pretzels saw me and put her hand in front of the lens and said “No Photo!” in a very authoritative way. I got a little irritated, but I got the shot I wanted anyway so that evaporated into nothing. The “beer medics” came and began to tend to him as he lay on the ground. He “expelled” a keg-load of liquid and then proceeded to roll around in it. (Nice, huh?! Guess he wanted proof for his friends that he attended Oktoberfest.) I took another picture or 2 when one of the beer patrol dudes grabbed the front of the camera as I finished shooting, which immediately and impulsively caused me to tell him to get his damn hands off my camera. He did (surprisingly), and after a brief stare down we found a place for all of us to sit. Meanwhile, the drunk Italian was carted off on a stretcher, leaving behind what can only be described as a big "smear" on the pavement.
People at a table we were standing next to got up, so we swooped in. We ran over, quickly claimed the spots, and smiled at each other like potheads finding a bale that has washed up on shore. We sat, talked with the people at the table who were from Germany, Australia, and Peru, and ordered some food and more beer. We stayed until after 8pm, several hours after our schedule for dinner, but once you manage to park your ass in a seat, you’re loath to give it up! We walked around the rides and then took the metro back to our Pension so we could eat at a German restaurant in the vicinity. It was full but we found another smaller one not too far away so we ordered, ate, and said our goodbyes back at the hotel as our friends were leaving in the morning before we would get up for our trip to Venice.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Driving To Munich - Sept. 26th
Okay, here comes our vacation. Some names have been omitted or changed to protect the guilty.
We left Amsterdam around 1:15pm headed for Munich. The TomTom and Yahoo Maps indicated a 7-hour drive, but that’s not accounting for stops, construction, or speeds slower than 180kph. I see NO WAY to make that drive legally and safely in 7 hours under the best of conditions. One of R’s colleagues called her on the cell phone to warn us that he heard on the news that there were long backups out of Amsterdam, but by then we were already in Germany, so whatever was happening back there, we fortunately missed it! But Germany was saving their worst for us, as it seemed every 20 kilometers there was construction or some sort of delay. The worst was 70-100 kilometers north of Frankfort, where the traffic flow was at a stand still. In Frankfort the traffic slowed to a crawl. There were many other smaller spots, and the speed limits were jumping all over the place like jackrabbits! 120, 90, 70, 100, 90, 120, unlimited, 90, unlimited, 120 - - and that was within a 90 second stretch of highway!! Where’s that highly touted German engineering we hear so much about? I say engineer better construction zones so traffic isn’t delayed 90 minutes because you squeeze 4 lanes into 3 and those 3 lanes are so narrow you can scratch the itch on the passengers nose in the car next to you as you pass!
We made Munich in slightly less than 10 hours arriving at 11pm to our Pension. We were shown to our room and decided to recharge and attack the festivities tomorrow. R’s friend from work and husband had flown to Munich, arriving by mid-afternoon and called us when they got back to the same pension we were staying at. We were already in bed reading some material picked up from the front desk when they knocked on our door. Apparently I hadn’t shut or locked it because it swung open a few inches, so after peeking inside they came in. The quasi-hammered female visitor jumped on our bed between R and me (luckily I had pj's on), while the not-so-drunk male plopped into a chair. We heard about their fun day, about a group of 4 guys who said they were in the US Army and how their so-called leader was trashed and tried to pick fights with people and then said R’s friend from work was “hot”, a remark that was overheard by the drunk American soldier’s girlfriend, who proceeded to open a can of whoop ass on him! So, we all can rest easy that all of our foreign representatives in the military are doing us proud, especially since they have had trouble meeting their quotas and have reduced standards for entry into service! The drunks left, we crashed, getting rest for tomorrows chaos.
We left Amsterdam around 1:15pm headed for Munich. The TomTom and Yahoo Maps indicated a 7-hour drive, but that’s not accounting for stops, construction, or speeds slower than 180kph. I see NO WAY to make that drive legally and safely in 7 hours under the best of conditions. One of R’s colleagues called her on the cell phone to warn us that he heard on the news that there were long backups out of Amsterdam, but by then we were already in Germany, so whatever was happening back there, we fortunately missed it! But Germany was saving their worst for us, as it seemed every 20 kilometers there was construction or some sort of delay. The worst was 70-100 kilometers north of Frankfort, where the traffic flow was at a stand still. In Frankfort the traffic slowed to a crawl. There were many other smaller spots, and the speed limits were jumping all over the place like jackrabbits! 120, 90, 70, 100, 90, 120, unlimited, 90, unlimited, 120 - - and that was within a 90 second stretch of highway!! Where’s that highly touted German engineering we hear so much about? I say engineer better construction zones so traffic isn’t delayed 90 minutes because you squeeze 4 lanes into 3 and those 3 lanes are so narrow you can scratch the itch on the passengers nose in the car next to you as you pass!
We made Munich in slightly less than 10 hours arriving at 11pm to our Pension. We were shown to our room and decided to recharge and attack the festivities tomorrow. R’s friend from work and husband had flown to Munich, arriving by mid-afternoon and called us when they got back to the same pension we were staying at. We were already in bed reading some material picked up from the front desk when they knocked on our door. Apparently I hadn’t shut or locked it because it swung open a few inches, so after peeking inside they came in. The quasi-hammered female visitor jumped on our bed between R and me (luckily I had pj's on), while the not-so-drunk male plopped into a chair. We heard about their fun day, about a group of 4 guys who said they were in the US Army and how their so-called leader was trashed and tried to pick fights with people and then said R’s friend from work was “hot”, a remark that was overheard by the drunk American soldier’s girlfriend, who proceeded to open a can of whoop ass on him! So, we all can rest easy that all of our foreign representatives in the military are doing us proud, especially since they have had trouble meeting their quotas and have reduced standards for entry into service! The drunks left, we crashed, getting rest for tomorrows chaos.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Bike Plight
Okay... I promise, I'm working on Italy. But in the meantime, a little humor.
We currently have 3 bikes. Radhika's bike from the US that I now ride because mine was stolen in May, a bike she bought from a co-worker that she now uses, and another one from a male co-worker who left Amsterdam for the UK. We were supposed to pay 65 Euros for that one, which I would ride. It came with 2 locks and a child seat (for when Vince visits). Well, several weeks before he departed, the owner dropped the keys to the bike locks down the elevator shaft at work! So we waited to pay until facilities could check the bottom of the shaft and retrieve the keys. Correct! They didn't find them. So, he's in the UK by now and I check into the cost of removing the locks. I let him know the 65 Euros has climbed to triple that amount due to lock removal and replacement! After our vacation (this was a multiple month affair!), he emailed saying for us to just take the bike, which was stored in the bike shed at the office. We got it into the back of the car and I carried it up the stairs to the apartment so I could work on it. I hack sawed one lock off, but the other two just laughed as I drew the saw over them. All the saw did was make them shiny, but didn't chew a molecule of metal off the locks! So, I'm looking into a bolt cutter, but it seems they don't carry them here (perhaps due to rampant bike theft?). So I can rent a small grinder at their version of "Lowe's". However, the 24-hour rental has been out over 10 days, and the guy at the store is thinking the renter is on a bike-stealing spree! In the meantime, I went to ride my bike late yesterday to pick up the IPOD at the Apple Store but the rear tire is flat and won't hold air, so I beat feet. When I return, I carry my bike up to the apartment and put it in the guest room with the other one I'm trying to cut the locks off of. It's raining the next morning, so Radhika takes the car into work. She notices that one of her new mittens that was in her coat pocket is missing, so I tell her, using her bike, I will ride the route she took home last night and look for it on my way to the "Dutch Lowe's" (called Praxis) for the replacement inner tube and tire for my bike. So, after the rain stops, I head out, riding slowly, checking out the ground, looking for the mitten. As I near her office, the chain snaps on her bike and deposits itself in the middle of the road that I was crossing. So, I'm "skateboarding" the bike the final 10 minutes to and past her office, as the Praxis is 2 minutes down from her building. I buy the stuff for the bikes, and walk and "skateboard" the bike all the way back to the apartment (maybe 2 miles) and carry it up to the guest room, where ALL 3 OF OUR BIKES are in different states of disassembly!! Three bikes and not ONE road-worthy!!! But that's NOT the "kicker" (good word to use and you'll see why in a second). The front of our building has maybe 6-8 concrete stairs that lead up to a small platform where the door to the inside is. The platform is not big enough to hold the bike while I open the door, which requires to hands, one to turn the key and one to pull the handle. So I parked the bike in front of the apartment, went up the stairs to open the door and turn on the light in the stairs. Well, some "hero" thought it was a prime moment to jump on this unattended bike and ride off. This Goober saw me walk it up to the building, not knowing it had no chain. All I saw as I turned was his legs whipping around on the pedals going nowhere as he lost his balance and fell. I got down there just in time to utter a few expletives and kick him square in his ass as he scrambled to his feet to flee!! I just needed that dude on the Spanish Channel who covers soccer games to holler "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL" to complete the nonsense that just occurred. And I didn't give him a push pass with my instep or the top of my foot; he got the full toe of my Reebok's. Made a thud sound like I imagine smacking a goat with a sheep would. I think my foot helped him up actually (in a very uncomfortable way) and I may have to throw out those sneakers due to contamination! He ran down the street, turned a corner and was gone. I stood there with a smile on my face. No one was there. No cars, no pedestrians. No one to share a laugh with. He could've been on World's Most Stupid Criminals. But, I'll know him if I see him again, for sure. Such fun in Amsterdam, right!!?
We currently have 3 bikes. Radhika's bike from the US that I now ride because mine was stolen in May, a bike she bought from a co-worker that she now uses, and another one from a male co-worker who left Amsterdam for the UK. We were supposed to pay 65 Euros for that one, which I would ride. It came with 2 locks and a child seat (for when Vince visits). Well, several weeks before he departed, the owner dropped the keys to the bike locks down the elevator shaft at work! So we waited to pay until facilities could check the bottom of the shaft and retrieve the keys. Correct! They didn't find them. So, he's in the UK by now and I check into the cost of removing the locks. I let him know the 65 Euros has climbed to triple that amount due to lock removal and replacement! After our vacation (this was a multiple month affair!), he emailed saying for us to just take the bike, which was stored in the bike shed at the office. We got it into the back of the car and I carried it up the stairs to the apartment so I could work on it. I hack sawed one lock off, but the other two just laughed as I drew the saw over them. All the saw did was make them shiny, but didn't chew a molecule of metal off the locks! So, I'm looking into a bolt cutter, but it seems they don't carry them here (perhaps due to rampant bike theft?). So I can rent a small grinder at their version of "Lowe's". However, the 24-hour rental has been out over 10 days, and the guy at the store is thinking the renter is on a bike-stealing spree! In the meantime, I went to ride my bike late yesterday to pick up the IPOD at the Apple Store but the rear tire is flat and won't hold air, so I beat feet. When I return, I carry my bike up to the apartment and put it in the guest room with the other one I'm trying to cut the locks off of. It's raining the next morning, so Radhika takes the car into work. She notices that one of her new mittens that was in her coat pocket is missing, so I tell her, using her bike, I will ride the route she took home last night and look for it on my way to the "Dutch Lowe's" (called Praxis) for the replacement inner tube and tire for my bike. So, after the rain stops, I head out, riding slowly, checking out the ground, looking for the mitten. As I near her office, the chain snaps on her bike and deposits itself in the middle of the road that I was crossing. So, I'm "skateboarding" the bike the final 10 minutes to and past her office, as the Praxis is 2 minutes down from her building. I buy the stuff for the bikes, and walk and "skateboard" the bike all the way back to the apartment (maybe 2 miles) and carry it up to the guest room, where ALL 3 OF OUR BIKES are in different states of disassembly!! Three bikes and not ONE road-worthy!!! But that's NOT the "kicker" (good word to use and you'll see why in a second). The front of our building has maybe 6-8 concrete stairs that lead up to a small platform where the door to the inside is. The platform is not big enough to hold the bike while I open the door, which requires to hands, one to turn the key and one to pull the handle. So I parked the bike in front of the apartment, went up the stairs to open the door and turn on the light in the stairs. Well, some "hero" thought it was a prime moment to jump on this unattended bike and ride off. This Goober saw me walk it up to the building, not knowing it had no chain. All I saw as I turned was his legs whipping around on the pedals going nowhere as he lost his balance and fell. I got down there just in time to utter a few expletives and kick him square in his ass as he scrambled to his feet to flee!! I just needed that dude on the Spanish Channel who covers soccer games to holler "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL" to complete the nonsense that just occurred. And I didn't give him a push pass with my instep or the top of my foot; he got the full toe of my Reebok's. Made a thud sound like I imagine smacking a goat with a sheep would. I think my foot helped him up actually (in a very uncomfortable way) and I may have to throw out those sneakers due to contamination! He ran down the street, turned a corner and was gone. I stood there with a smile on my face. No one was there. No cars, no pedestrians. No one to share a laugh with. He could've been on World's Most Stupid Criminals. But, I'll know him if I see him again, for sure. Such fun in Amsterdam, right!!?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Coming Down From The High Of Vacation
Man...back 36 hours from our 19 days away from Amsterdam and it's like it all was a dream! Now the nightmare of a global economic free fall with the US leading the way down, darkness until 8am, and earlier each afternoon as winter inches closer, getting caught in the chilly rain on a gray, overcast day, dodging a micro burst of wind followed by golf-ball sized hail that had the Dutch gape-mouthed, a ticket for parking in the same damn place we've been using for the last 8 months requiring a visit to the Parking Bureau where I fill out a form explaining the mistake they made, and the usual rigmarole of grocery shopping has made Italy as foggy as the inside of Sarah Palin's skull. Have I regaled you yet with the tale of the checkout procedure here? It's quite similar to the US procedure with 1 major exception. As the item is passed over the scanner, it slides down to the bottom of the platform. You bring your own bags to the store which I really like, but you have to bag your stuff quickly, always cut short to pay the cashier, and when that's over if you're lucky only half of your goodies remain to be collected. But, time and the cashier waits for no one, and the next persons stuff comes zipping down the platform, and as you're trying to protect your remaining items, the cashier slides a dividing board over to keep your stuff from mingling with the new stuff. But the next person and their icky purchases are dangerously close to you and yours, and time is running out! You have to toss your stuff in the bags "by any means necessary" and get to one of the round tables they have set up in the walkway so you can place your bag or bags down and start rearranging everything correctly for the walk or bike ride home. If you have glass bottles, frozen items, bread, it all becomes speed packing and you hope your bread doesn't get assaulted by the other food. I usually lose a few slices in the middle of the loaf. If you're buying eggs - - well - - you just think you're a bad ass, don't you? It doesn't seem like a very efficient system...needing 2 places to bag your groceries, but that's Dutch-style. And woe is you if all the tables are taken, you squeeze in with others, or you drop something. Unlike in the states where I hit Sam's once every 2 weeks or so, I prefer almost a "drive by" approach here where I get in and get out as soon as possible with no dilly-dallying and keep the items down to as few as possible. "We're out of peanut butter? - - yeah...next time...tomorrow maybe....gotta go!" Bim-Bam-Boom on gone!
I've got plenty of pictures to go through to add to the blog with stories to go along with them. Just trying to decide whether to include details or just "nutshell it". You know...went to Italy, it was gorgeous, the end! I'll get to that soon. If you have a preference, let me know. But don't cry to me if you don't "vote", and you wanted "short and sweet" but I'm requested to give up the funny (hopefully) stories and do so. That's how a goofy, Russia-watching soccer Mom becomes Vice President!
I've got plenty of pictures to go through to add to the blog with stories to go along with them. Just trying to decide whether to include details or just "nutshell it". You know...went to Italy, it was gorgeous, the end! I'll get to that soon. If you have a preference, let me know. But don't cry to me if you don't "vote", and you wanted "short and sweet" but I'm requested to give up the funny (hopefully) stories and do so. That's how a goofy, Russia-watching soccer Mom becomes Vice President!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
