Boxing Day

Today is the 2nd Christmas Holiday here in Germany, or Boxing Day in other
countries. Since we had our Christmas last Monday, the actually Christmas
day was rather quiet. With a break in the weather I finally made it out the
door and spent some time in a park nearby. They even had some bison and
boar on display.









It was still well above freezing, so the everything was pretty muddy.
Not like the US, where a winter storm seems to chase the other.
I can only imagine being trapped in an airport not being able to go anywhere.
I am going to travel to the Blackwood forest on Sunday, but I am sure the
trains will run fine. We'll see.

Frohe Weihnachten!

Frohe Weihnachten!
Merry Christmas!

Jet Lag

Damn jet lag, I am still waking up at 5 in the morning, even when I stay up
late. I hope it will fade soon. Today, I went to the 'big' city a couple of miles
away.
Unfortunately, I didn't brink my camera so I have no photos of the
Christmas market. I got some last minute gifts and I also stopped at
the dSPACE office to say Hi. They had a little party, so it was good timing.
I basically made the stop to put a face on some names I usually interface
with email and phone.
The drive back was not so great. It was kinda cold and it drizzles water on the
street which could ice over. Nothing compared to Michigan, I guess. I heard
they are getting pummeled by snow. .......... I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

Hallo Deutschland

I made it!
After a late start, I finally arrived in Frankfurt this morning. The flight
was uneventful and borderline boring. Since the plane was an older
747, it didn't have individual entertainment and I was not in the mood for
a bunch of Christmas movies. So, I used my Macbook to watch
'Forgetting Sara Marshall' (2.5/5) a not so funny comedy.
The food on the flight was typical and space crammed as always. But,
I survived and found myself dazed at the baggage claim waiting for my bag.
After waiting endless minutes, watching the same luggage commercial over
and over on a screen on the wall, I finally snatched my bag and walked through
the unattended customs station. Strange, not customs cop in sight. Nevermind.
I proceeded to the train station, bought a ticket and while I was waiting for
train I helped myself to a nice 'Koernerbroetchen mit Salami' and a bottle of
'MezzoMix'. Ahhhhhh......feels good.
After a short train ride to Warburg, I crashed on my mom's couch. It seems
flying always wears me out.

Couple notes: Here is the luggage commercial they played at the baggage claim:

It's flying time......

I am on my way to Germany. Well, almost. I am sitting at Detroit airport
and waiting and waiting and waiting. They already have my flight listed
at delayed. Great! Traveling in December, awsome!
Actually, I think the inbound plane is late. I looked at flight tracker
and it shows that the flight is 1/2 hour late. If that is all, that wouldn't be
too bad. Otherwise the weather is fine for flying. A bit gusty and windy,
but it is suppose to subside in a couple of hours, so I don't expect too
much of an delay. We'll see.
Thanks to terminal Wi-fi, I can surf the net and I even found an outlet to
keep the Macbook charged and happy.
See ya later.... The next blog entry is probably from good old Germany.

More Schnitzelwagen Ratings

The Schnitzelwagen Rating is going national :)
Since I spend a couple of days in Peoria last week
I might as well give some Schnitzelwagens to the restaurants I went to.
First place I went to was Sushi Gawa on Friday for lunch. Sushi Gawa
is always a great place for sushi and this time was not different. Great
sushi and great agedashi tofu. Four Schnitzelwagen (4/5)
Friday night we went to Sizzling India. This place has been around for
a while, but I haven't been there for a couple of years, mainly because
the service was subpar. This time it was a lot better. The food was good
and the waiting staff attentive. 3.5 Schnitzelwagen (3.5/5)
Saturday, Angela, Jim and I went to a small hole-in-wall grill on Pioneer
Parkway. I believe it was called Chicagoland Grille. The sausage and beef
sandwich I had was awsome. The taste reminded me of some of the some
sandwiches I had up in Chicago. Great place for lunch. 4 Schnitzelwagen (4/5)
For dinner on Saturday we went to Kobe Steak House on Willow Knolls.
We opted for the teppanyaki style food without the song and dance.
I had shrimps and scallops. The scallops were perfectly cooked. The
shrimp was a bit overdone and the Agedashi Tofu missed the great
sauce I am used to at Sushi Gawa. Overall a solid 3 Schnitzelwagen
experience. (3/5)
So there it is. The Schnitzelwagen guide for the carnivore branched into
Illinois.

What I like about flying

A strange headline, isn't it. Usually, flying commercial these
days is annoyance, frustration, and not a pleasant experience
at all. So, for a change I will list things I like about flying.
But first, a word about Thanksgiving. I went down to Peoria to
visit friends and to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. The food
was great as always, thanks Angela, and I had a great time altogether.
I met up with some old friends and enjoyed a relaxing weekend.
I even avoided the Black Friday sales rush, to see on the news
that people got trampled to death or shoot, just to snatch the $29.99
DVD player. Unbelievable.
But back to the enjoyment of flying. Here are some reasons why
I like flying:
- I like the fact that I can be in Germany in 8 hours and not spent
2 weeks traveling by boat.
- The moment when you pass through the cloud cover and there is
nothing, but blue sky above you and a sea of white clouds below.
- The acceleration on takeoff
- Seeing a 747 take off, amazing that that beast can fly
- Flying over a city at night time.

So the next time you are sitting crammed in an airline seat, waiting
on the tarmac for hours to take off, and getting the drink cart
slammed in your shoulder every 15 minutes, think about the how
nice flying can be :)