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.

Click here to see the rest of my pictures from Stuttgart.

Bon Voyage, Jay

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.

Bon Voyage, Jay

We did a little site seeing on our first day in Sao Paulo and visited the central market and Museu da Imigração e Memorial do Imigrante (Immigration Museum). It was fun to get an introspective on historical as well as modern Sao Paulo. The Brazilian population is culturally and financially diverse yet wonderfully integrated. Sao Paulo is the largest city in South America. The dichotomy of modern skyscrapers set among deteriorating neighborhoods is striking as you consider Brazil as a key emerging market similar to China and India. But the Brazilians seem to have a joy seldom seen in super cities and celebrate their role in the emerging world.

Click here for a couple more pictures of Sao Paulo.

Our first dining experience was Brazilian barbecue. If you’ve never experienced this before, it is a carnivore’s delight. Slabs of meat are brought to the table on skewers and sliced to the customer’s preference. As a vegetarian I was totally grossed out and tried to keep my peace for the most part. The next night we found a white table cloth steak house called Dihno’s Place with a wonderful seafood menu. I thoroughly enjoyed the poached salmon with mango sauce and the irresistible desert bar. It was so good we returned to Dihno’s twice during the week with larger and larger groups.

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.

Bon Voyage, Jay

I hope you enjoy it as much as Pam and I did.

Bon Voyage, Jay

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.

Click here for Verona pictures

Click here for Milan pictures

Watch for future posts on the Milan and Verona trips.

Bon Voyage, Jay

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.

Click here to see a slide show of Amsterdam bikes and boats.

Bon Voyage, Jay

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.

On our first excursion, we chose to wander around the city center and over to the Royal Palace. The architecture in Madrid was startling as we strolled to the Puerta de Alcalá and beyond to the impressive Metrópolis Building through to the Plaza Mayor, one of the classic European, grand plazas. We ended our journey that day at Almudena Cathedral and a tour of the magnificent Royal Palace.

We spent Sunday at Parque del Retiro (Retiro Park) and went rowing on the small lake. After wandering around the park, we set out to find the botanical gardens but were overwhelmed by the heat and lack of water. We soon learned about the Spanish tradition of siestas. During the heat of the day, businesses shut down and everyone takes a break. We found siestas added another dimension to our stay and necessary for late nights out watching Flamenco.

Our last two days were spent visiting the world famous Madrid museums. We started with the Museo del Prado which features many masterworks. I was stuck by Ruben’s Three Graces and Portrait of a Cardinal by Raphael, two of my favorite classics. Las Meninas, by Diego Velázquez and The Garden of Earthly Delights, by Hieronymus Bosch also stood out.

We visited the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía on our last day. As forewarned I was spellbound by Picasso’s Guernica, a graphic depiction of the Spanish civil war. Salvador Dali’s The Great Masturbator was a twisted insight into this genius. But it was the Juan Muñoz exhibition that amazed us. His use of three dimensional figures to depict the human condition proved to be a fit ending to our memorable stay in Madrid.

Click here to see a slide show of our Madrid pictures.

Bon Voyage, Jay

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.

Click here to see a slide show of our walk.

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.

Bon Voyage, Jay

Sunday I set out on foot to Piccadilly Circus for a theatre ticket but found my options limited. After buying a ticket for an evening revue called La Clique, I went in search of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. I got caught in a sudden rain shower and sought shelter under the portico of Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Just as suddenly, the sun broke through and reflected on the rain drops which magically filled the air with thousands of tiny sparkles.

I was soon on the path to the Globe along the River Thames through a park and across the bridge to the south side. After a mile or so I found the Globe and was delighted that “Romeo and Juliet” was playing. Although I missed the first two acts, for £5 I got a standing only ticket and realized a life long dream of watching Shakespeare at the Globe.

Click here to see the pictures of my journey to the Globe.

The following days were full of customer visits including an all day visit to Plymouth where the pilgrims left for the new world. I spent a few hours wandering through the old town district called the Barbican and then along the ocean front. I found my way back to the train station and had a delightful trip back to London along the southern English coast.

Click here to see my Plymouth pictures.

There was a strike the next day which shutdown the London Underground. We allotted extra time but had to wait in a long queue for a taxi and then struggled to travel 5 miles through the London gridlock. We arrived late but were able to meet for several hours. Fearing that we might get stranded, I visualized a taxi waiting for us. Sure enough as we emerged from our meeting, there was an empty taxi stuck in the traffic waiting for us.

I wrote this post on the plane home after watching a wonderful movie called “Last Chance Harvey” which is set in London. I watched Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson stroll along the south bank river walk where I had wandered a few days earlier and reflected on my good fortune. After all, I always end up where I need to be.

Bon voyage, Jay

On my first day in Berlin I decided to wander around to orient myself before a week at the IDUG conference and was drawn to a crowd around a bandstand. I was pleasantly surprised to see a large group of cyclists zooming past the finish of the Tour de Berlin. Although there were few recognizable teams, I thoroughly enjoyed mingling with the German cycling crowd and was amazed by some of the Berlin youth with extreme hair, dress and makeup.

My stay in Berlin was marked by the 20th anniversaries of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise of Solidarity movement in Poland and the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. Having visited all three countries, I was struck by the convergence of these events. The Germans celebrate reunification while the Poles seem to struggle with their new economy. The Chinese deny that the Tiananmen Square protests even occurred.

On my final day in Berlin I visited some of the local sites including the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. I was struck by the similarities between the Berlin Wall and the Great Wall in China and overheard a tour guide quote President Kennedy, “a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war”. I couldn’t help but think that the Chinese Emperors must have thought something very similar. Has history proved this statement true, do walls really prevent wars? At the Brandenburg Gate, built centuries ago to enforce excise taxes, I saw a large portrait of President Obama at the Kennedy Museum. Does this juxtapositioning signify that it is time to break down the walls that separate us?

As I traced the path of the Berlin Wall past a Jewish war victims memorial and on to Checkpoint Charlie, the current global transitions took on a new meaning. The Germans have it right, we should celebrate (re)unification for we are one people sharing one planet with one destiny.

Click here to see my Berlin pictures.

Bon Voyage, Jay