Christmas Markets

It's been nice to be back in the states, especially at Christmas time and the holiday season. But I have to say, its nothing to compared to the Christmas Markets of Germany! A few weeks before I returned to the states, I visited Dusseldorf, Germany with my friends Ika and Wouter. It was a sunny but cold day, perfect for lots of gluhwein and eierpunsch, and a bunch of other tasty treats. The markets were filled great gifts, unique arts and crafts, cheery decorations, and of course plenty of food and drink. I bought a bunch of different things there, but my favorite find was this mug with a picture of Santa getting drunk!

The next day, I tripped down to Valkenburg in south Holland with my buddy Jeroen. This town is known for a huge system of caves carved out of a very soft stone. A truly unique Christmas Market was running in the caves - very cool. Also, Limburg is a pretty fun part of The Netherlands.

Gastronomica

A flashback to a splendid trip to London a few weeks ago....

Gastronomica is the name of a shop near Borough Market that sells cheese and other stuff. I thought the name sounded cool and describes my experience in London, which revolved around good food.

Food highlights:

• Avinash Uncle's garlic and onion eggs in the mornings
• Borough Market - Tasty veggie burger with mango salsa, and a fantastic blueberry cookie (yes, a blueberry cookie)
  
• The second-best masala dosa I have ever had (the best one was on the streets of India
• Mildreds - Mushroom pie, mushy peas, and mushy chips (all vegetarian, and all delicious)
  

Other highlights:

• The Magnificent British Museum
• A tool over 1.8 million years old (makes you wonder what things from our time will be in museums in the far future...)
• Exhibits focusing on Bengal
  
• Just plain cool stuff everywhere
  
• People watching: wacky Camden Market, crowded Portobello Market, along the Thames, around Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, SoHo, and on the Tube
• Bonding with my cousin Sameer while watching "Casino Royale" (get it...Bond-ing)

Its not always sunny in Philadelphia

It was a long trip back to Houston, TX from Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Houston Time / Nijmegen Time / Action
22:00 (Wed)/ 05:00 (Thurs) / Wake up to pack and clean up apartment
00:30 (Thurs) / 07:30 / Shared taxi picks me up
03:15 / 10:15 / Arrive at Schiphol Airport
05:30 / 12:30 / Depart Amsterdam
14:30 / 21:30 / Arrive Philly
17:00 / 00:00 (Fri) / Flight to Houston cancelled (dense fog in Philly)
06:45 (Fri) / 13:45 / Arrive Philly Airport
10:00 / 17:00 / Depart Philly (after 1.5 hr delay)
14:00 / 21:00 / Arrive Houston Bush Airport
16:00 / 23:00 / Arrive home (minus one piece of luggage which was lost)
02:30 (Sat) / 09:30 (Sat) / Lost luggage is delivered

The fog in Philly was vicious. Interestingly, I saw "Invincible" on the plane to Philly - its a movie about the Philly and football and Vince Papale.

But its good to be home.

P.S. If you're wondering about the title of this entry, it refers to a funny show.

Amsterdam

Another recap of my travels...

A few weeks ago Kyle and Mo came to Amsterdam to visit. All three of us were extremely tired due to lack of sleep, but that didn't stop us from having a good time wandering around Amsterdam (though it did seem like we were going in circles most of the day).

Highlights:
-Grrrrreat pumpkin soup
-Real Dutch apple pie and Grolsch in the afternoon...mmmm
-Learning how to play Hearts
-Winning at Hearts
-An out of this world milkshake

Amsterdam is one of the coolest cities in the world. I've made numerous trips there and have always had a great time even with uncooperative weather. And FYI - There's a lot to do and see besides red lights and coffeeshops.

Belgium...part twee

I spent a weekend in mid-November in Brussels, capital of the Europeon Union, and a great city in general. On my first day there my meals consisted primarily of beer, waffles, and frites. My kind of city...

Highlights:

• Touring the Cantillon Brewery/Museum, where the tour guide knew more about beer than anyone I know.
  
• Drinking banana beer at this wacky absinthe bar. Banana beer tastes awful.
• Eating lots of frites, though I think the ones in The Netherlands are better.
• Checking out some fantastic modern art at the Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, though I do wish the Rene Magritte wing was open.
  
• Getting lost in this city full of magnificent old architecture and a modern, metropolitan culture. Its an amazing feeling to walk into the Grote Markt/Grand Place.

I stopped in Leuven on the way back too. This town is typically a lively college city with tons of cafes and pubs and tons of fun. Unfortunately, its quite dead on Sundays (when I went). But check out this library - one of the most beautiful libraries I have ever seen.

Belgium...part een

[I am terribly behind on updating my blog with my many adventures on this trip...here is the start of my attempt to catch up.]

I spent two weekends around the end of October and the beginning of November in the great country of Belgium, which is know for its love of fine food, quality beers, and rich chocolates (kinda like me). I first visited Bruges, which is more commonly called by its Dutch name Brugge, with my new friend Belen from Spain.

Highlights from Brugge:

• Learning how Belgian chocolates are made at the Choco-Story museum
• Eating real Belgian waffles at a town market
• Drinking some fine local white beers
• Climbing up the extremely narrow staircase of the Belfort and getting a spectacular view of the city

The next day, we went to Ghent, which is nearby, much less touristy, and a tad more quaint than Brugge. I particularly enjoyed the great architecture (old and new), more tasty beer, great food at the Groot Vleehuis, and the chill Belgian way of life.

In case I didn't mention it earlier, Belgians really know how to make good beer.
Coming soon...Brussels and Leuven

Gemutlichkeit

Last weekend I visited Germany for the second time in my life, and I must say, I had a grand time. I started the trip in Regensburg, where I stayed with my friend and former colleague Joerg Tessmar and family. Highlights from that trip include:

• Learning how to count in German from 4-year old Sebastian (the little guy in the pic)
  
• Meeting Florian (the really little guy in the pic)
• Kuchlbauer Alte Liebe (maybe the best dark beer I ever had)
• Falling asleep at a pub after a liter of beer
• Lots of pretzels
• Walking across a bridge that is almost 1000 years old
  
• A visit to Dr. Achim Goepferich's lab at the university
  

I then tripped down to Munich, where my friends Kyle and Maureen are living for a few months. Highlights from this visit:

• Viewing the city from atop St. Peter's
• Drinking gluhwein while watching ice skaters (see pic below)
  
• Hofbrauhuas (nuff said)
• Kyle's bicycle tour of Munich
  
• Pancakes by Mo
• Beer and a doughnut at a beer garden

I had a great feeling on my way home Sunday night...perhaps it was gemutlichkeit. Read more about it at Mo's blog (its where I got a lot of these links from).

I'll post some more pics on my Picasa site soon.

Orlando

I just returned from a short vacation in Orlando. I realize that Orlando isn't exactly a hot vacation spot for people of my demographic (not a kid, not a parent), but it was a great time. Actually, being on vacation was far more important than the destination - I needed some time to relax, forget about some things, and reenergize for what promises to be a busy time ahead.

Some thoughts on Orlando. Its sort of like Vegas in that all these resorts take in huge amounts of money from tourism (here its the parks, Vegas has the gambling) and spend this money on huge, extravagant complexes full of over-the-top amenties and attractions. Its like Vegas for the family.

On our way to Disney Downtown (which is full of restaurants, bars, clubs, and shops to attract the not-so-young but not-too-old crowd) I realized that driving into the Disney complex is like driving into an airport. We exited the freeway, and were following these huge signs directing us to different resorts and parks (like terminals at an airport). There are so many resorts and attractions in this complex (Disneyworld, Epcot, MGM, Animal Kingdom, Disney Downtown) - it was crazy. It took 10-15 minutes after we exited the freeway before we got to our destination.

Another thing that I found a tad annoying - everywhere you go there is a note about tipping. I guess they need that to make sure the international visitors know what's up, but I found it annoying as heck. I wish tipping could be reserved just for really good service, and that it wasn't something that was expected for simply average service.

Anyhoo, it was great getting away from home and work and relaxing for a bit.