During my last trip to Europe I spent a day wandering around the Volksfest in Stuttgart, Germany. The “People’s Festival” is an annual event that proceeds the better known Oktoberfest in Munich. I arrived early on an unseasonably warm autumn day and parked the rental car for the day between the Mercedes-Benz Museum and the Volksfest.
I began my day at the Mercedes-Benz Museum learning about the evolution of the automotive industry in Germany. From the first Mercedes, named for the purchaser’s daughter, through the “German Economic Miracle”, I marveled at the innovation and engineering. After several hours of looking at cars, listening to the audio guide and watching historical videos, I gained new insights into these industrious, hard working people.
I walked several kilometers to Volksfest and found myself in a huge carnival complete with 2 Ferris Wheels and every kind of spinning, accelerating and dropping contraption imaginable. Being content with walking and people watching, I explored until hunger prompted me to stop at one of the many beer pavilions that popularize these historical festivals.
I was hoping that I could find something obviously vegetarian but the only option seemed to be table service and menus. The waiter did not speak english but he got some help from a nearby table. I soon bought a round for my new friends who helped me order and spent several hours exchanging stories and toasting world peace. Unfortunately I had to leave early to catch a plane but we exchanged facebooks and pix. All in all it was a wonderful day.
There are those days when the rigor of regular cycling becomes overpowered by lethargy. But I find if I just put my gear on, I can eventually overcome the resistance and roll the bike out the door. Yesterday with a cold, brisk wind in my face, I took a path I had not traveled for some time.
As I fought against the head wind I remembered riding that bike path in my early days of cycling. The parts of the ride that I used to struggle with now seemed easy. What once was the end of the path had been extended and now connected to another bike path. I took a short break at my old rest spot and ate a snack bar, remembering the first time I was there nearly 20 years ago. As dusk was approaching I was quick to remount and head back home.
The golden light heightened the autumn colors as the brisk wind, now at my back, swept me down the path. There were several groups of slower riders ahead of me. As I drafted and then cleared the last group, the wind caught me again and I accelerated down the path. The leaves swirled around me in the wind accentuated by my wheels kicking up leaves on the path. I dropped down into an aerodynamic position and pushed hard to pick up speed, muscles straining with each pedal stroke. The scene became surrealistic like out of a classic movie. The rush of the wind and the crackling of the leaves added to the drama while flashbacks of past rides floated through my minds eye reminding me of my progression and growth over the last two decades.
It is times like these that makes me appreciate cycling even more, providing a exhilarating blend of aerobics, meditation and incredible imagery.
I just returned from a busy week in Sao Paulo, Brazil where I presented at a regional DB2 conference. Time outside of work was limited and wandering around Sao Paulo is discouraged. A lot of time was spent going back and forth in taxis, but I managed to get out and enjoy this amazing city.
Our last day was a day off but an important meeting was scheduled with the local team for mid afternoon. Feeling confined to the hotel I decided to indulge in a relaxing massage in the morning. All in all it was a very nice trip but I needed to get out more. I hope to be back for this conference next year and see more of Brazil.
Last weekend Pam and I stayed on Calypso in the Santa Cruz Harbor and witnessed packs of sea lions hunting sardines. The harbor was full of hundreds of sea lions chasing sardines, jumping and bubbling in the water. I took several hours of video over three days to capture this amazing four minute minute video.
I’m home again after 3 weeks in Europe. The trip started in Madrid then on to Amsterdam and finally Milan and Verona. I had the opportunity to meet many new people and get new insights to other cultures.
The journey home proved to be a challenge. The night before my departure for home from Miilan I went to get traveling cash and discovered that my cash card wasn’t working. Bank of America’s fraud detection had blocked the card based on suspicious activity and I could not get any cash. After checking that the taxi would accept credit cards I headed to the airport the next morning with 10 Euros. Unfortunately I got confused about the times and arrived a few minutes late for my flight.
The only option was to take the next flight to Madrid and spend the night. I arranged to have cash wired to me but had to go to four locations before finding an available Western Union. Departing from Madrid the next day we arrived in Dallas late. Clearing customs and security plus some confusion on the gate caused me to miss my flight to San Francisco. American Airlines rebooked my flight home to San Jose which was delayed further by bad weather on the incoming flight.
I just uploaded the pictures Italy to Flickr and was reflecting on the lessons I learned on this journey.
I had great professional interactions and met great people.
I saw Juliet’s balcony and Picasso’s Guernica.
I had romantic dinners in Madrid and rode a bicycle in Amsterdam.
I extended my travel plans repeatedly and had my credit card number stolen.
I was ill prepared for unfortunate events and made poor decisions under stress.
I am home again and very happy to be here.
In my travels around Europe, I found myself in Amsterdam for the weekend after visiting some customers. Although it rained on both days I took the opportunity to wander around a bit and go on a bicycle tour.
Like all big cities Amsterdam is teaming with traffic. But the Dutch are committed to bicycles and there are bike lanes through out the city. Since I was bit nervous in navigating the city, I opted to take an organized tour with Yellow Bike Tours. We went on a leisurely three hour tour around the city with frequent stops for pictures and descriptions by the tour guide. There were a dozen or so people in our group from all across Europe, China and the US. It was a great way to see Amsterdam and I would recommend it for even novice cyclists.
I also wandered aroumd by foot between the brief periods of rain and stopped at several sidewalk cafes along the famous Amsterdam canals. There was plenty to see and lots of picturesque spots. It seemed like everywhere I turned were plenty of boats.
Amsterdam is very tourist friendly and everyone speaks English. Between all the bikes and boats, it’s a perfect place for Green Wandering.
When the opportunity arose for a mini vacation with Pam in Madrid, we both jumped on it. Sometime the universe aligns and you have to seize the opportunity. I was asked to present a sales workshop in Madrid just as Pam was ending an extended contract, We found an airline ticket within our budget and arranged a long weekend together in downtown Madrid.
Pam arrived on Friday afternoon as my training session ended. We shared a delightful dinner with a colleague and his wife at the Sanxenxo Seafood Restaurante. Pam and I walked to the restaurant then got a little lost on the way back, but had fun finding our way to the hotel. We had fresh seafood each evening in different parts of the city and stopped to sample tapas and Sangria at scenic sidewalk cafes.
The high point of our dinning experience was a small restaurant across from Retiro Park, called La Gamella, self described as an eclectic mix of Ibero-Anglican influences reflected in its “contemporary fusion cuisine”. From the start when our server, Jens recommended a wonderful, little known, Hedricks Gin, we were impressed. We were delighted as the staff split and served our appetizers and main courses individually with a grand finale of chocolate lava cake and porto. We savored every bite while chatting with the owner, Theresa and Jens about our respective journeys.
One of the things I love about Santa Cruz is breakfast at Aldo’s which overlooks the mouth of the harbor. My first visit to Aldo’s was nearly 30 years ago and I have been a regular customer since then. When we first started spending time on our 27′ sailboat, Calypso, we would gaze across the harbor towards Aldo’s and talk about walking around the harbor to have breakfast. Over the last year, we have incorporated this morning walk into our regular weekend routine.
Last weekend we had a wonderful breakfast and struck out to walk the mile or two back to Calypso. We decided to take some time to capture the images of the harbor.
We stopped for a few minutes at this picturesque spot down the hill from Aldos.
The walk up the west side of the harbor is full of hidden surprises.
The harbor stretches north almost a mile and provides additional small craft berths. “J” Dock is at the end of the harbor and like the sign says, THERE IS NO DOCK LIKE J DOCK.
The walk down the east side of the harbor ranges from the power boats and small crafts of the upper harbor to the commercial fishing center of the lower harbor.
Back at Calypso, our 27′ sailboat which is berthed across the channel from Aldo’s.
I’m spending a few days on Calypso and then off to Madrid next week for 2 weeks. Check back for more pictures and stories about wandering around in Europe.
I began my day at the Mercedes-Benz Museum learning about the evolution of the automotive industry in Germany. From the first Mercedes, named for the purchaser’s daughter, through the “German Economic Miracle”, I marveled at the innovation and engineering. After several hours of looking at cars, listening to the audio guide and watching historical videos, I gained new insights into these industrious, hard working people.
I walked several kilometers to Volksfest and found myself in a huge carnival complete with 2 Ferris Wheels and every kind of spinning, accelerating and dropping contraption imaginable. Being content with walking and people watching, I explored until hunger prompted me to stop at one of the many beer pavilions that popularize these historical festivals.
I was hoping that I could find something obviously vegetarian but the only option seemed to be table service and menus. The waiter did not speak english but he got some help from a nearby table. I soon bought a round for my new friends who helped me order and spent several hours exchanging stories and toasting world peace. Unfortunately I had to leave early to catch a plane but we exchanged facebooks and pix. All in all it was a wonderful day.
