Train Station

Captured this shot after the concert with all the fans waiting for the train at the train station. I really liked all the color and movement. Hope you like too.

Yellow Ledbetter!!

Now this was a fun night I wont forget anytime soon!!

Concerts

Went to see Pearl Jam tonight. What an incredible show. Concerts in Europe you would think would be somewhat the same as in the states right? They're not. These fans are crazy and passionate about American music. We heard a lot of people talking in German between songs and then singing in English.

The Wall

Never say never. Well I honestly can say I never thought I would see the Berlin wall, but today I did. There are a few standing pieces like the one pictured above left scattered around the city. I'm happy I had this opportunity, it was pretty amazing to see.

This Old Church

Took this picture in church... sorry I dont remember the name. They call it the powder box, because it looks kind of like a makeup powderbox on the outside. I really liked the church because of the blue stained glass. I made for a very surreal look inside.

Memorials

Took in a lot of sights around Berlin, and there are a lot of memorials to visit, but this one stuck with me. It's a memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. I really liked it because this one was this huge square (probably 1/4 mile square) of these odd size blocks of various heights and sizes. Each block is meant in some way to symbolize the uprooting of the lives and families of Jews in Europe. As you walk through the memorial the floor is undulating at various heights so one minute you are standing above ground overlooking all these blocks and the next you are in a maze between them. Very cool and interesting.

This place is growing..

One of the first things you notice about Berlin is the construction. Everywhere you go there is construction taking place. It doesn't take long to figure out why. The second thing you notice here are the kids. It seems everywhere there are kids. From newborns to kindergarten, there a lot of kids here. Kids are kids no matter where you go so its fun to see kids having fun. Berlin is growing in more ways than one.

East Berlin

Staying in what was once east Berlin. Today we plan to go out and visit some of the historic sights.... all the famous biergartens!! Drinking beer here is like drinking water. Everyone drinks beer.. everywhere. I wonder if the transit system has anything to do with why people drink so much here, maybe cause they don't have to drive? Yesterday we went to a famous bratwurst stand (on a street corner under a train stop) and everyone was ordering a bratwurst and a beer... and no not a 16 oz beer either, think liters. With buses, trains and subways, whats the concern? We rode the subway to get here, and looking at the plan for today, it seems we'll be riding it a lot more.

On the Train...

Here’s a little time lapse I’ve been making to pass the time on the train ride over. Hope you like it. I’ve just been listening to some music, relaxing and taking in the scene. Thinking about this trip and how it’s almost over. In a few short days Ill be headed home. For now, I’m just going to keep the music playing and look forward to a beer in Berlin. Hope everyone who has been reading the blog so far has enjoyed it. Thanks for your comments and thanks for following along.

I'm outta here

This place was fun , but crazy. I never felt like I got myself situated or on track. We got lost a lot here and I thought I had a good sense of direction. For the most part we did get to take in the town pretty well, if even it was by accident. I found myself asking someone where Dam Square was? And they told me "you're standing in the middle of it!" That was a I feel dumb moment. But on another note I wont forget watching the Netherlands play in the world cup here either. I guess overall I cant complain...I'm looking forward to Berlin. We are off on a six hour train ride today through the countryside.

You see everything on a bike.

This is a normal mode of transportation for couples here. I've seen many couples riding like this. I also saw a mom with about a 3 year old riding in a seat behind her and what looked like a 1 year old mounted in a seat facing her on the handlebars. Dutch bikes are larger in comparison to bikes we see in the US. They look kind of funny with the high handlebars, and they seem to ride much higher, giving you a better vantage point when your riding around.

GOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!

This was the go ahead goal during the Amsterdam quarter-finals game today against Slovakia!!

I'll take one of those and one of those too...

Today we went to the Van Gogh Museum and must say it was the highlight of the day for me. Over 200 works of art, most of Van Gogh's work, but some from those he worked with and learned from. It was awesome. Many of the paintings I've only seen in books, so it was great to see them first hand and in person. Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version of the image. The picture does not do it justice, but it's a beautiful painting.

Mass transit Amsterdam style

When you come to Amsterdam the first thing you notice is all the bikes. So the first question you ask yourself is where do I get one? We found a place called blacks bikes and for 15 euro you get a bike that will take you to reaches of Amsterdam that wont even show up on a tourist map. Now that's a problem given that we have spent about a 1/3 of our time trying to figure out where we are. Ironically the city is setup like spokes on a bike, so if you happen to take the wrong one and realize it fairly fast you wont find yourself to far off track, but if you dont and follow it to the end you could be way off from you intended destination. We have managed to do that quite often.

Heat Wave

This is Vondel Park... 38 acres of flowing green grass, trees and lakes. The perfect place to escape a heat wave. Today (and yesterday as well) the high was 83 degrees, that was hot considering the average temperature for this time of years is in the mid to high 60's. I need a cold beer!

Amsterdam

Made it to Amsterdam. Out walking around trying to get my bearings for tomorrow. Look for some pics soon. Took this one of the canal near my room.

This baby is fast and efficient.

So this is a picture of the train we rode on from Dusseldorf to Amsterdam. This thing is smooth as silk and pretty damn fast (at least I thought). The trip was just over 1 1/2 hours for 150 mile trip with a couple of stops thrown in. If there is one thing the Europeans have on Americans... its the mass transit.

So long and thanks Croatia

Well I made many friends here in Dubrovnik and have to say everyone made me feel at home. If you haven't been you need to visit this amazing country. There are many beautiful places in the world, but it seems this place goes the extra mile to make you feel like family. I lost my sunglasses in the airport terminal and had already taken a bus out to the runway to board our flight when I realized that I may have left them at the security screening point. I made mention of this to the driver of the bus who had taxied us out to our plane. He then told me to stay on the bus, then proceeded to take me back, all the while contacting people in the terminal on his radio to look for my glasses. When I returned they had an escort waiting to take me back to the screening desk where a security officer was holding them. I was escorted back to the bus and out to the plane again.
Thanks

Where's my swimsuit?

Today was the hottest day of the week so I decided to go down and take a jump into the ocean. The water was bit colder than I thought is was going to be, but after a few minutes it was great. Now I know what a guy wearing a speedo in the states feels like at the beach. I was the only one wearing long shorts and people were looking at me like what is this guy thinking, wearing those shorts. Everyone was sporting a speedo... and you know the old saying...when in Rome, you have to do as the Romans, so I went out and bought one. Just kidding.

Baby we were born to run!

Ok so it not quite a motorcycle, but man these little scooters are fun to ride. Gas no gas , gas no gas, and every once in a while some brake. Bud and I just wore these little things out. We took them everywhere like two bandits. Best part is you see them everywhere here, so it was easy to buy in and say lets go for it. I think this is the best 200 Kuna (24 dollars) I've ever spent. We have them for 24 hours, so we've already planned to go take them for a ride later tonight. Looking forward to that.

Panorama

This is not the view from my room, this is the view from everyone's room. What a place... I love it here. (click on the image for a larger view)

Now thats a Moon!

If you have not had a chance, try to take some time and go outside tonight and spend a few minutes looking at the moon... no barking ok? I've been spending so much time running around trying to keep up with daily things that I sometimes fail to take the time to notice the cool things around me. Tonight I just went out and watched the moon for just a little while. This Saturday is a full moon, I hope you get a chance to look up and see it.

Rock Walls and Steak

Went to dinner tonight to this restaurant in town with colleagues from work.
The restaurant had this cool architecture with rock walls and ceilings along with some nice wood floors. The food was great, probably some of the best we've had, and that says a lot because the food here has been really good. After that meal...I better hit the gym in the morning.

Bosnia no... Live Surgery yes!

Well I was not able to make the trip out to Bosnia today. I heard from the group that it was a great trip but a humbling one at that. The country has a 50% unemployment rate and has hardly had any recovery from the Bosnian war. I wish I could have been there to visit. It sounded like one of those life experiences, from those that visited. On a good note.. we were able to get our equipment in sync and the live surgeries ran from two locations in Croatia and three from the US. I'm glad I was able to work with all the teams involved to bring this together. Two more days and then we are off to Germany!! Looking forward to some fun out on the town tomorrow.

You can always count on Murphy

Just when everything was going smooth, and the comforts of paradise were beginning to settle in... along comes murphy to remind me that if something can go wrong, it will. This little puppy is a Polycom Viewstation. If working correctly it allows us to broadcast or receive images or in this case video from anywhere in the world. It seems Houston we have a problem. For some reason (TBD) this unit is not receiving the full amount of data from our remote site... or is but only every few seconds. It's kind of like watching a bad voice over chinese movie,shot in old Super 8, but live. No fun and no good for live surgery. My plan was to go to Bosnia today, but instead it looks like I'll be staying put right here. Good thing I have a backup plan... whew always good to have a backup plan.

It's about time...

Just kicking back relaxing. The weather has been a little cool but not cold and not hot. I kind of like these kind of windy cool days. Tomorrow if it gets a little warmer, I think I'm going to go down and put my feet in the ocean.

The Roads

With the mountains running down to the coast and buildings and homes perched precariously along the cliffs, it's no surprise to see a lot of the roads in this town look like this. It's actually really cool, riding in a taxi here is like an "E" ticket at Disneyland. The drivers race around this place like they are all participating in some never ending rally car race. I definitely love the people here, as crazy as they may seem, they also seem to enjoy and love life.

Check out the Band!

So what do you do when you have more instruments than you can play at once. You strap them to your neck and hang them on your feet or anywhere else you can and call yourself a band. This guy actually was pretty damn good. He sang and played while all along banging that tambourine and sounding like a three person band. I wish I only had a fraction of that musical talent. I'll have to pick that guitar up again when I get home... no excuses this time.

These dogs are barking....

After four flights over 6200 miles, and some 26 hours of being awake, I'm calling it a night, my feet are saying no more.

Excited about the day ahead and looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

Good night.

Where's my religion

Picture of Bud in front of the church in the old city.

This Old City... Cat City.

If your a cat lover... Then you'll love the old city. I've seen a lot of cats here. They actually just hang out... like this one I found on a little corner watching people go by. They seem to have no fear of people or other animals, but now that I think of it I have yet to see any dogs. Funny, it's like walking through a castle run by cats.

Dinner with AAGL

Tonight our hosts Paya Pasic and his wife Djenita took all of us to their favorite restaurant in the old city. I had the local fish, looked like trout but tasted like seabass.. excellent. The whole night was great, we ate drank and broke bread together. Djenita was born in and raised is the old city, so were all treated to a personal tour of the city from her perspective. Everyone was amazed at the history and beauty of the place as they took us around and showed us their favorite spots.

Family and the Old City.

My sister Linda with my nephew Ricardo (we call him Bud). I am so proud to be here with them. This picture really makes me happy on so many levels. Its not often that you get the chance to spend time with family, especially on trips or in places like this, so I feel very lucky to not only be here, but to be here experiencing this with them.

We Made It!!

Wow what a beautiful country. This place is like a movie set, it seems so surreal. The countryside, the people, the colors, the architecture. This is a view from our room. Bud and I are sharing a room for the next two weeks. It's going to be fun. Tonight we are headed out for dinner with the AAGL group in the old city.

Just two more flights...

Almost there. Just left Charles De Gaulle, and now flying Croatia airlines. Bud is onboard two rows back. Its a full flight and for drink service they are popping open full bottles of wine with your meal. No mini bottles here, this is the real deal. Croats take their meals serious, even it it is on a plane. Maybe there is hope for the meal service after all. I'm now running on adrenaline and looking forward to getting to Dubrovnik and taking a nap.

Was that chicken?

So airlines are getting better at a lot of stuff, food is not one of them. Tonight my choices were chicken or Lasagna. I went for chicken....Wrong! I guess if first class got the breast and thigh and business class got the wing and leg, then coach got the feet. At least thats what it looked and tasted like. The cookie wasn't bad though.

Chicago

Arrived in Chicago. Hot humid and thunderstorms everywhere. Next leg is going to be a long one. Hope to get some sleep.

Never set the alarm for a fun trip...

Well needless to say I was so excited about this trip that I hardly got any sleep. The alarm clock was set for five am but I was already awake an thinking about my day by four. I'm off to Chicago this morning then Paris, then on to Zagreb and rounding out my day by arriving tomorrow in Dubrovnik. I'll post pics when I have time along with some commentary (reading and following along is not necessary, there wont be a test at the end). I hope you find some enjoyment in this as much as I hope to.