The weekend that went not good.

The plan: Weekend in Paris.

Actual events:

Left Saturday morning with my coworker Adrienne for Paris. Got to Cologne where we planned to transfer trains. The train from Cologne to Paris was reservation only and we got into Cologne too late to make the reservation. We now had the decision on whether to wait 2 hours for the next train to Paris or jump on another train somewhere else. After looking at the schedule, we decided on Amsterdam.

Before catching the Amsterdam train, I came across the worst pizza ever. Salami, mushrooms, and tuna fish. This is just more proof that if it isn't pork, the Germans don't know how to make it edible...

We got to Amsterdam early afternoon, did some sight seeing, ate excellent Mexican food (run by supposedly the only Mexicans in town), then caught a comedy show (blogged earlier). After the show, it was time to grab our stuff from a locker in the train station and find a hotel.

We got to the train station to find a large metal door in between us and the lockers.... About three feet above eye level, there's a sign showing the hours the locker room is accessible. Stupid important signs not being in plain view...

No stuff, but at least we'll have a bed to sleep in. We go across the street to a hotel. They just rented out their last room to the people that walked in ahead of us. We try the next hotel. No rooms. About 5 hotels later, we catch a bus to a different part of town. After about 10 more hotels giving us the answer: "There are no rooms available anywhere in town", we start to see the writing on the wall, this is going to be an all-nighter...

We start at an Irish pub. I'm talking to the bartender, who can't believe there are no rooms available. It's the middle of the off season and the city wasn't busy. He says he may be able to the help us though. He knows a guy. Umm… Is this help that I want? He goes off to make a phone call. He comes back. "Sorry, I can't help. My buddy works at a hotel, but he's on his couch sleeping". Well, at least I know he was actually trying to help.

Irish Pub closes up at 3am. Next up, Burger King. A Norwegian girl behind us in line decided to explain to me that drunken Dutch people are not nearly rowdy enough and that they should be louder like Norwegians. I told her she was too loud. She didn’t take me seriously and only got louder...

Burger King closed at 4. Walked 40 minutes back to the train station where we hung out until the 6am train that went back.

Not being able to sleep Saturday night caused me to miss out on two very important things on Sunday: Falafel for lunch and Heineken brewery tour. Very unfortunate.

Went to sleep around 3pm and slept straight till the next morning. Good times.

I can confirm 4 in the morning does actually exist.

I was always pretty sure 4am existed just as a late night hour reserved for 3rd dinner. It turns out, it is also considered a morning hour. I'm finding this out the hard way for the next two weeks.

When you east coasters are watching the last minutes of Lost tomorrow, my alarm will be going off. That's unfortunate...

Comedy Club

I went to a comedy show called "Me, MySpace, and iPod". They spent 2 hours mocking people with blogs. But... I thought this blog was finally making me cool...

On a non-emotionally damaging note, the 22 euro ticket included a pitcher of heineken for each person. Not bad.

German Language Update

Reading: Several hundred words.
Speaking: Around a hundred words.
Listening: 10ish words

Obviously, I never needed to develop listening skills hanging around the people that read this blog...

Austria with Holzhueter

So here was the plan: Drive from Stuttgart, to Neuschwanstien (Disney castle), to Innsbruck (Austria), to Salzburg (Austria), back to Stuttgatt. 10 hours of driving, not counting lost time.

The directions led us down a road with no name for about 20 minutes. Doubt was starting to set in right when we saw a sign in downtown Fussen for the town the castle is in. 4.2 km to the right. The street to the right looked abnormally populated with people, but I didn’t argue with the sign... Should’ve thought that through more, definitely a pedestrian only street... One U-turn and zero people hit later and we were back on our way…

Eventually, we got to Neuschwanstien. The next tour wasn’t for an hour and half though. If we wait, we'd never make it down to Innsbruck before everything closes. So, we took a couple pictures, ate and headed back out without actually going up to the castle.

In Innsbruck, we came across a street performance. The kids (some around 10 years old) had whips, so obviously we had to stop. Not only whips, they also carried flasks and would slap someone in the crowd on the back (with hand, not whip) and give them a swig. Unfortunately, Julie and I were a few rows back and didn't get the opportunity to accept alcohol from a 10 year old.

Next, we walked by a store giving free schnapps tasting. Amazingly, we got out after only buying 4 bottles...

That night we went to a piano bar that lacked a piano player. The Indian bartender, who spoke German as a third language, mocked my pronunciation... Little did he know, my English is only slightly better...

Salzburg was fairly uneventful. Ate the Austrian classics – greek salad and pizza. Checked out the Fortress Hohensalzburg – they've added ceramic tile and an audio tour since it was built in 1077.

No Kangaroos were seen during our trip...

The buses and fire trucks in germany

...are made by Mercedes. I'm impressed. I'll try to update this with a picture of a firetruck with a big Mercedes emblem on it.

Skiing in Oberstdorf

So, I had this working against me:

1) Directions that only get me to within 20 miles of Oberstdorf.
2) No idea where to go to ski once in Oberstdorf.
3) The slopes may not even be open because it's pretty warm out.
4) I still can't speak German.
5) I'm depending on the fiat to take me 300 miles round trip.

I went anyways because I figured, what's the worst that can happen? Make a wrong turn, get lost, and run out of gas somewhere in Lithuania with no way to call anyone? That would make for a good blog...

After driving for about 15 minutes past where my directions ended, I finally see a road sign with a skier on it. I pull in, take a closer look. Blast. He's a Nordic walker.... That's not right at all.



Another 15 minutes and finally the road ends at Oberstdorf. Between roaming around the town on foot to find skiing, figuring out how to rent skis and how to buy a lift ticket, an hour and a half go by. Being able to read would've helped a lot.

Most of the slopes were closed, but a smaller section of the mountain was open. Going up the lift, my ears pop. This isn't like east coast skiing. The one slope that goes all the way down the mountain doesn't look too difficult, except it is somewhat narrow with a 1000 foot drop off one side. I think I'll stick with the one blue slope where the mountain goes up on either side. After a couple hours I have my first fall. Not good. The ski got caught in the snow and twisted my knee. Time for a beer and food. After food, I went down the slope one more time just to prove I can play hurt on Super bowl Sunday. Hobbled back to the car and went home.

Went to a concert tonight.

Saw a band called "Europe". They were popular in the US in the late 80s. Their hair is slightly less poofy these days. The best part was, and Riendeau will appreciate this, the lead singer had no need for a microphone. He had a megaphone. Very awesome.

In other European news, France banned smoking in public places today. Bars and restaurants next year. Pretty surprising considering how big of smokers they are here. Go France.

Now time for sleep. I have to work on Saturday.