Well I am now in India. Things are good so far. The airport is crazy. We arrive and there are no jet ways; it is down the stairs, get onto a bus and get a ride to the terminal. Once we get to the terminal there are 3 people standing at the door before you get to customs. They are handing out these forms about H1N1 flu. These 3 men are wearing surgical masks. A very welcoming site. These forms need to be filled out; the problem is that there is no place to complete this task. No tables, no chairs, no counter no nada. They do not even supply something to fill the forms out with. Just nuts. So I fill this form out and get in line. A man borrows my pen so he can fill out his form (he did find me in baggage claim and return my pen). A quick aside, I needed to get shots to prevent me getting diseases when I came to India, don’t you think they should be worried about those diseases instead of H1N1? Just a thought. They have these heat cameras that are checking everyone out and I passed so that was good. I have no idea how they could tell because there was not so much a line as a bunch of people standing there. It took forever to get my bag but it was there and all is well. The other awesome thing is that India sells duty free stuff before you leave. How great is that, just get it at your end destination and you will not have to worry about forgetting it on the plane.
Oh did I forget to tell you, India is on a half hour time difference. Who does that? That should be outlawed. The streets were very quiet when I got here because it was 2:30 in the morning. On our way to the hotel we did not abide by one traffic law. We kept the speed down but went through every stop sign and every red light. The other reason for the streets being so quiet is because there is a festival on Sunday. This is the Holi festival. You are not supposed to drive from 6:00 am until 2:00 pm. So that is great fun. When I woke up this morning there were really no cars on the road. I guess they can control 1 billion people.
I am doomed here because it is just like Brittan where they drive on “the other side” of the road. I will forget to look the correct way or go the correct side of the car, something stupid. I would do ok here because I am left-handing, so shifting would not be a problem, but getting around is a different issue.. No photos just yet, but there will be some I promise. Also, it is very nice and sunny here. Probably about 25 or so. I am going to enjoy the day. From what I have seen so far (the drive to the hotel and out my hotel window), India is one crazy 3rd world country. I did see 4 people on a scooter already and there are a lot of stray (or wild (what is the term if they never had an owner?) dogs. India is really growing and doing a lot of projects. It looks like the whole place is under construction. At this point it reminds me of Venezuela. I will let you know if my feelings change. More to come.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Trains
On Friday I took the train from Salzburg to Frankfort. I really love taking the train in Europe. It s a great way to see everything and it is very relaxing. The train stations are so awesome and huge as well. They are all old buildings with great architecture. It is good that all of them did not get destroyed in WWII. I think there is something more romantic at a train station than an airport. Recently I was in the Munich train station and it is massive. It is right up there with the Paris train station. The first thing that is great about train stations are that they are usually in the center of the city so that is nice and easy to get to and get around. The other thing is that there is so much hustle and bustle going on. The trains are very fast; they reach a top speed of about 220 kmh (135+ MPH). The train I was on was 17 minutes late. I thought German trains were not late. Oh well. I really wish that America would do more trains so I could spend less time in airports and on airplanes and more time on crossing the country on a train. I think after riding the trains in India I might have a different opinion. We shall see. More to come.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Southern Germany
The town of Inzell Germany was great. I think every ski town in North America is a rip off of the towns in the mountains of Europe. Inzell is a great town that reminds me a lot of Colorado. Or is it Colorado reminds me of Inzell? The way the trees look the way the houses look. It is also the place for the 2011 speed skating world championships. They also have the world championship for Biathlon near by. There are nice rolling hills that would be a beautiful place to go for a Cross Country ski. The house is amazing and it was very nice place to stay after a week of travel. Anita & Hans were so welcoming it was a real pleasure to be there.
Hans is a huge fan of all things Olympics. It was great to speak with someone who loves the Olympics as much as I do. We were chatting about Austria and how great a winter Olympic country it is. They usually win at least one medal for every million people that live there. If America did that we would need to win 300 medals. A huge haul of medals is anything over 30 in the Winter Olympics. America now you have a goal to achieve, one medal for every million people in 3 (2 Summers and 1 Winter) Olympics.
The other thing is the medal count. Hans and I had a good laugh on how the medal count is displayed. In America it is displayed so that the country with the most medals is on top. That way America is on top almost all of the time. In Europe it is the country with the most gold medals that is on top. So for a while Germany was on top. As Hans says, “what does it matter if you win a lot of medals, you want gold ones, correct?” He does have a point and maybe we should get on the same page so that there is no dispute on who is the winning the Olympics. More to come.
#14
Once we were finished with our meetings and our long driver we arrived in Inzell, Germany. The next day we went to Austria for the day. It was a lot of fun and country number fourteen on my list of countries visited around the world. At the start of this trip I thought I was going to only go to one new country and it turns out I will be in two new ones. That is way cool. When we left Germany we were headed to Wagrain Austria. It is a town that is very popular in our circle so it was good to see what everyone was talking about. It is a great little ski town where the atomic headquarters are.
Austria is a great place. It is very steep. When you enter the country it is about 500 meters above sea level. It stays that way for a while and then gets steep quickly. It is very rocky. Very different than any place I have been. One of the places we went was to Hans’s mother’s house. She has lived in Wagrian for almost her whole life. She is in her 80s and she still rents rooms to people. That is a big deal in Austria, to rent some of your rooms out so that you do not have to pay the full amount of the taxes on your house. She knows no English and I know no German so needless to say we solved a lot of problems. She is a great lady and very fun.
We did not go skiing/snowboarding but we did have fun. We drove up to the middle of the mountain and had some lunch. While we were at lunch there is a very fun game that everyone plays. The game goes like this; you hammer a nail into a stump using the small end of the hammer. It is very hard. The game is used to determine all kinds of things like, who pays the bill, who gets the next round or even who is better at bar games. The game was a lot harder than it looked but it was played by all.
We took the scenic way home and it was only about 15 minutes longer than the highway. It is crazy to think that even with all of the tunnels through the mountains it is just as face to drive around them. Plus there are no trucks which makes the drive a lot nicer. It was one of the best days to spend a day off in Europe. More to Come.
Austria is a great place. It is very steep. When you enter the country it is about 500 meters above sea level. It stays that way for a while and then gets steep quickly. It is very rocky. Very different than any place I have been. One of the places we went was to Hans’s mother’s house. She has lived in Wagrian for almost her whole life. She is in her 80s and she still rents rooms to people. That is a big deal in Austria, to rent some of your rooms out so that you do not have to pay the full amount of the taxes on your house. She knows no English and I know no German so needless to say we solved a lot of problems. She is a great lady and very fun.
We did not go skiing/snowboarding but we did have fun. We drove up to the middle of the mountain and had some lunch. While we were at lunch there is a very fun game that everyone plays. The game goes like this; you hammer a nail into a stump using the small end of the hammer. It is very hard. The game is used to determine all kinds of things like, who pays the bill, who gets the next round or even who is better at bar games. The game was a lot harder than it looked but it was played by all.
We took the scenic way home and it was only about 15 minutes longer than the highway. It is crazy to think that even with all of the tunnels through the mountains it is just as face to drive around them. Plus there are no trucks which makes the drive a lot nicer. It was one of the best days to spend a day off in Europe. More to Come.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
McRib is back
On our drive yesterday we stopped at McDonald's. It was the same just like they want you to believe. I could not get the ice machine to work but the coke was cold enough. The best part about our experience, it was 2 things. One that they sell beer there right off the highway. 2) They still sell the McRib. How great is that? Enjoy this sandwich of boneless ribs.
seeing the country
Well in the last 2 days we have traveled over 2000 kms. It was a lot of driving for a few meetings. The meetings went well. One of the places we stopped was Bitburg. It was a very cute town and it was really great. The food was really good and cheap. So good. Hans and I had 2 beers each and a dinner each and it was about 22 Euros. So good. While we were there we had some Bitburg beer. Hans told me that it takes 7 minutes for them to pour the beer. We were the only 2 people in the restaurant so that was good. I have no idea what the do when it gets busy. The Beer was pretty good. I do not know if it was worth 7 minutes but it was good. Just crazy.
While we were there We are the World came on and it is just brilliant. It still makes me think about all of those starving kids in Ethiopia when I hear it. I used to watch the beta tape (not VHS we were one of 5 people that had beta) of it. We recorded off HBO when it was on. I know that they remade it with new stars this year, but if it does not have Dan Aykroyd than it is no good.
The hotel we stayed in was very nice but the internet was really crazy. The internet worked but only for google sites and a couple others. I could not figure out what worked and what did not. So that is why there was no post yesterday. Al Gore if you could look into this and get back to me that would be great.
For the whole drive we saw one Porsche and one Bentley. We saw them within 5 minutes of each other. Yes, it is crazy driving in Germany and everyone follows the rules. No passing on the right, drive the speed limit (when there is one). It is the reason why the roads are safe. People follow the rules. Off to country #14 tomorrow at Austria which should be a great time. There will be pictures. I promise. More to come.
While we were there We are the World came on and it is just brilliant. It still makes me think about all of those starving kids in Ethiopia when I hear it. I used to watch the beta tape (not VHS we were one of 5 people that had beta) of it. We recorded off HBO when it was on. I know that they remade it with new stars this year, but if it does not have Dan Aykroyd than it is no good.
The hotel we stayed in was very nice but the internet was really crazy. The internet worked but only for google sites and a couple others. I could not figure out what worked and what did not. So that is why there was no post yesterday. Al Gore if you could look into this and get back to me that would be great.
For the whole drive we saw one Porsche and one Bentley. We saw them within 5 minutes of each other. Yes, it is crazy driving in Germany and everyone follows the rules. No passing on the right, drive the speed limit (when there is one). It is the reason why the roads are safe. People follow the rules. Off to country #14 tomorrow at Austria which should be a great time. There will be pictures. I promise. More to come.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Neil Page, meet Del Griffith
To get to Europe I need to the trifecta of planes trains and automobiles so I do feel like Neil Page and Del Griffith right now. The good news is that the dogs are not barking so everyone can rest easy.
Well I am now in Germany and life is good. The flights went smoothly. I started in Sault Ste. Marie and it is a great small airport (3 gates). Also you did not need to take your shoes off to go through security. That was really nice especially because I was wearing boots. The view from Sault Ste. Marie to Toronto was really spectacular. It was a really sunny day so you could see all of Canada.
The Toronto airport is way oversexed. They sell condoms at the magazine shops as well as in the bathroom. Who knew that the airport was such an awesome place to pick up chicks? Once they started boarding I looked around and it did not look like there were a lot of people waiting to fly. Once they closed the door I looked around and the flight was about 30% full. I am totally spoiled now because I think that every flight will be like this. When the flights are full I am going to be really upset. This is all I really hope for when I am flying a seat next to me that is empty. It makes your life so much nicer. You do not have to be nice you can flop around as much as you would like trying to fall asleep. So that was very pleasant.
The nicest part of the airplane other than empty seat was the movies. Everyone had a screen on the seat in front of them, but here is where it gets cool. It is a touch screen. Very high-tech and it worked really well. I saw the Invention of Lying which was pretty funny, and good.
Once we arrived to Germany we get off the plane and we see nothing but rows and rows of cots. It is odd until I figure out that the pilots are on strike and this them preparing for the overflow of people that have no where to go. I guess they have put the strike on hold now so it was only a one day strike but it is pretty crazy to think that we were the last flight before the strike. The one day has already created a huge mess. Something like 4000 flights were canceled. It is a good thing that I did not have any more flights. I took the train to Würzburg, and one of the stewardesses was on the train as well and we said hello. It was really nice that she noticed me. So Germany is good and the jet-lag is not too bad. More meetings with the big one tomorrow, so we shall see how it shakes out. More to come.
Well I am now in Germany and life is good. The flights went smoothly. I started in Sault Ste. Marie and it is a great small airport (3 gates). Also you did not need to take your shoes off to go through security. That was really nice especially because I was wearing boots. The view from Sault Ste. Marie to Toronto was really spectacular. It was a really sunny day so you could see all of Canada.
The Toronto airport is way oversexed. They sell condoms at the magazine shops as well as in the bathroom. Who knew that the airport was such an awesome place to pick up chicks? Once they started boarding I looked around and it did not look like there were a lot of people waiting to fly. Once they closed the door I looked around and the flight was about 30% full. I am totally spoiled now because I think that every flight will be like this. When the flights are full I am going to be really upset. This is all I really hope for when I am flying a seat next to me that is empty. It makes your life so much nicer. You do not have to be nice you can flop around as much as you would like trying to fall asleep. So that was very pleasant.
The nicest part of the airplane other than empty seat was the movies. Everyone had a screen on the seat in front of them, but here is where it gets cool. It is a touch screen. Very high-tech and it worked really well. I saw the Invention of Lying which was pretty funny, and good.
Once we arrived to Germany we get off the plane and we see nothing but rows and rows of cots. It is odd until I figure out that the pilots are on strike and this them preparing for the overflow of people that have no where to go. I guess they have put the strike on hold now so it was only a one day strike but it is pretty crazy to think that we were the last flight before the strike. The one day has already created a huge mess. Something like 4000 flights were canceled. It is a good thing that I did not have any more flights. I took the train to Würzburg, and one of the stewardesses was on the train as well and we said hello. It was really nice that she noticed me. So Germany is good and the jet-lag is not too bad. More meetings with the big one tomorrow, so we shall see how it shakes out. More to come.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The first stop -- The land of the north
So let me bring you up to speed on what is happening. We left Thursday morning on our way to Canada (country number 1). We had to pick up one of our customers (Tony) at the airport in Sault Ste. Marie (SSM). And that is where the problem started. There are 2 SSMs. One of them is in Canada and one is in America. Tony was in America and we were already in Canada. Not such a good plan to cross customs 3 times in an hour. So we waited across the border for Tony to grab a taxi and meet us over in the land of the north. That was about an hour and half delay. Other than the time it was as painless as could be. The trip went well and everyone made it safely. You just feel like a bonehead when you read the flight plans wrong.
When I was up here I found out the biggest bummer. I logged on to the Internet (thanks Al Gore) I went to Netflix to check it out and I found out some bad news. You are not allowed to watch movies instantly outside of the US. I was planning on watching a bunch of movies at night in my hotels but I guess that will not happen. I will just have to settle for shows that I have no idea about because they are in a different language.
On Saturday, We decided to go a different route and head to Drummond Island. For those who do know that is back in the USA. Once we got to the states we had to call customs and let them know we were here. Because there were 20 of us, it was a long process that took about an hour and fifteen minutes. Once we had cleared customs we got fuel and had lunch. The lunch was good but long. Because of the large pressure cracks in the ice we decided that it would be better to cross the ice back with the most sunlight so after lunch we rode back. Yes we went to a different country for gas and lunch. I do not know if it was worth it, but the cheeseburger was good. So now I have sailed to Canada, Driven to Canada and Snowmobiled across the ice to Canada. Next I think I want to try something different.
So I leave today and I am leaving Canada during the Canada vs. USA hockey match. I hope the pilots are not Canadian because if they are I do not think we will be leaving. It is the talk of the Olympics and everyone here is getting excited. Let’s hope for some German Pilots. Snowmobiling was a lot of fun. When finished I did a little over 100 miles which was a good amount. There was not a lot of snow so the trails were pretty bare but a great time was had by all. The days were very nice with the sun out not too cold. Now onto the next continent. The next post will have pictures, I promise. More to come.
When I was up here I found out the biggest bummer. I logged on to the Internet (thanks Al Gore) I went to Netflix to check it out and I found out some bad news. You are not allowed to watch movies instantly outside of the US. I was planning on watching a bunch of movies at night in my hotels but I guess that will not happen. I will just have to settle for shows that I have no idea about because they are in a different language.
On Saturday, We decided to go a different route and head to Drummond Island. For those who do know that is back in the USA. Once we got to the states we had to call customs and let them know we were here. Because there were 20 of us, it was a long process that took about an hour and fifteen minutes. Once we had cleared customs we got fuel and had lunch. The lunch was good but long. Because of the large pressure cracks in the ice we decided that it would be better to cross the ice back with the most sunlight so after lunch we rode back. Yes we went to a different country for gas and lunch. I do not know if it was worth it, but the cheeseburger was good. So now I have sailed to Canada, Driven to Canada and Snowmobiled across the ice to Canada. Next I think I want to try something different.
So I leave today and I am leaving Canada during the Canada vs. USA hockey match. I hope the pilots are not Canadian because if they are I do not think we will be leaving. It is the talk of the Olympics and everyone here is getting excited. Let’s hope for some German Pilots. Snowmobiling was a lot of fun. When finished I did a little over 100 miles which was a good amount. There was not a lot of snow so the trails were pretty bare but a great time was had by all. The days were very nice with the sun out not too cold. Now onto the next continent. The next post will have pictures, I promise. More to come.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
What did I forget
I am one day away from departing on my journey and I am really nervous that I am forgetting something or I will forget something. I know the one item I forget is going to be a big item. It is a long journey and I am not coming back to any place to leave stuff or pick anything up. It is going to be pretty crazy. The things that I am most excited about is seeing how many miles I will have flown when I get back. I really hope I do not get sick because getting sick sucks ass. I have all of my medicine so things are good with that but I just hope I do not forget anything. This is going to be the first trip that I have been on where I have had to do laundry in a hotel or something like that. I hope I like the clothes that I brought because I will be wearing them for 3 weeks. Let’s pray for no stains because that would be a problem. The weather is going to be so different in each place that it is going to be hard to bring the right clothes. I hope it goes well and everyone is along for the ride so enjoy.
More to Come.
More to Come.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Shots
Well today I recieved all of my shots that I needed for my trip to India. It is so crazy to think that America is so far ahead of places and you live safely not having to worry about Typhoid and Diphtheria . Well now I will not get them so that is good. The shots were not that bad. One was a little painful and she said it was because of a square needle. How does that work? Why would you make a square needle? That is crazy. The total bummer about the shots is that they only had regular band-aids and not the Scooby-Doo kind. I would have even settled for Penny Lane. She traveled a lot.
Monday, February 1, 2010
We can do this
SO it has been a long time since you have seen me but I am here and all is well. I have a big trip coming up so I wanted to get back into this before i started the trip so it would not be such a hard transition. So here is the deal, the Census is coming up and if we can get everyone to do this, it would be awesome. SO when they ask what religion you are, please write in Jedi. If we can get enough people to do it, it will make the next census. They have been doing this in other speaking countries as well. so it is worth a shot. The force is with you.
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