In Bruges

Last week, I accompanied Pete on a business trip to Antwerp, Belgium. So on the weekend we took a side trip to Bruges near the North Sea coast. If you haven't seen the movie "In Bruges" yet, you're missing a beautifully photographed (but also violent) portrayal of this city. It is a classic old European city with canals, cathedrals, cobbled stone streets, and wonderful shops and restaurants.

The historic center is literally encircled by a canal that was at one time a moat for their walled city. It's name comes from the Viking word for "wharf" because in the beginning it was a port of the North Sea until the harbor silted in. That caused the townspeople to pick up and mostly abandon the city. That's why the center is so well preserved.

The Markt Square Belfort (tower) is the focal point of the square. With every turn you take, there's another great picture.
Horse drawn carriages along with colorful buildings add to the ambiance.

Just in front of the Belfort is a small metal model of the tower and a Braille description of the old town in 4 different languages! It was really cool.



It's Belgium, so there's a chocolate museum, Yay! The museum explains how chocolate started in the ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures. Chocolate was considered a drink of the gods. I agree. Unfortunately, we have Cortez to thank for bringing chocolate to Spain and then Europe after he ruined their culture.


Pete loved the Wall of Beer, which displays most of the 580 different brands of beer all brewed in Belgium. We tried a few of those on the wall, and loved each one.


Bruges is called the "Venice of the North" because of all the canals running through the city center. There were even more during it's heyday but many have been filled in for modern travel.

In the Church of Our Lady is one of only two Michelangelo sculptures outside of Italy. The Madonna and Child is sculpted from Carrara marble like most of his work. The sculpture was so close you could almost touch it.

Another unique building and museum is the old city hall. The city council met in the restored Gothic room from the early 1400s. The wooden ceiling is hand-painted and carved with hanging arches. Large murals along the walls show a history of big events in Bruges.

We really enjoyed this 2-day visit. During this time of year, there are far less tourists so I can only imagine on a nice, sunny summer day how many people would be here. But, this is not to be missed and it's a shorter drive for us than going from Brookings to Minneapolis.




....even the swans love it here.
Tschus!

One Year Later... We Belong

This weekend we realized it's been one year since our move to Germany. Just like we thought, it went fast. So we re-traced our first and what has become our regular Saturday walk - down the hill into the Marktplatz. We met our friends in the usual spot, walked past the Kur House and into the market.



The weather this year was more mild and almost springlike - and the flower booth displayed their fresh flowers outside instead of under a heated tent.



Friends come and go around here. Patty and Gary who came to our home about one year ago bearing beer and candy, are still here but shortly moving back to the states. But new friends have entered the scene. They are expats from England and have been living here almost 3 years.


In the market, we found fresh produce, then went to our favorite (yes, favorite) breakfast place - Halt Bar. Afterwards, some went shopping and others had a beer. As ever, people are out and about on Saturday. Then, taking a short break, we went home and re-grouped before trying a new Italian restaurant... believe it or not, we still haven't tried every one in town yet.


On Sunday, we did what the locals do... take a walk in the park. It was the same walk we have done for almost a year. It was a sunny day and even more springlike than Saturday. It seemed like the whole city was in the park that day.


During the winter, the beautiful old homes bordering the park are more visible. We passed trees with bunches of mistletoe hanging in the branches.


We passed some of the usual sites, including Pete's favorite (all along the)Watchtower. A castle in the neighboring community - one of many along the Rhine just a few miles further.


Then, it was time for coffee and cakes - a favorite pastime for Germans - in a former hospital converted into a restaurant. The hipsters hang here. But not on Sunday.



So, one year later, we toured our own city, feeling like we belong.
Tschus!

Back in the USSR.... for the first time.

Before Christmas, I was able to visit Moscow for the first time. Of course, it was mostly a business trip, and Mary was already back in South Dakota. But business is booming in Moscow. Not just the Olympics and World Cup but Malls! There are high-end luxury brand stores and malls all over the city center.

But there was also this grand old communist-era delicatessen. Back in the day, only the elite frequented this store, now it's open to everyone (so says my colleague who grew up in Moscow).
For 4 days, I only caught a glimpse of Red Square as I slowly past by its signature red brick walls (traffic is sometimes so slow, you go a city block in 15 minutes). You only have private drivers, there aren't many taxis... more on that later.

I finally got there thanks to Minnesota friend Sodie, who's also doing business in Russia in the hockey industry. It was raining and really late, but we got there using a hand taxi. Ok, what's that? Well, you walk out into the street, stick out your hand and, well, anyone with a car picks you up. And for a few rubles, drops you off where you want to go. I didn't ask questions but it was very efficient and better than walking in the rain. Probably not recommended by the local travel agencies.



Christmas is alive and well in Russia... imagine seeing these scenes even 20 years ago...













And, thank goodness, there's a Starbucks! Some things you just can't live without.



When I came home, I couldn't wait to hear the Beatles White album...back in the USSR...and imagine what Moscow must have been like in 1968.

Tschus, comrades.

Cologne - Dusseldorf - Hockey

Our good friend, Sherry Danielsen is visiting and we took a weekend trip to Cologne and Dusseldorf, just a few hours north on the Rhine. We were invited by Pete's customer to see a hockey game at the ISS Dome, home of the Dusseldorf Metro Stars.



First we visited Cologne's massive Dom which is one of the five largest cathedrals in Europe (depending on who's measuring). The inside is massive and there are hundreds of stained glass windows


Apparently the economy is doing just fine here in Dusseldorf. The shopping district was absolutely mobbed with people on Saturday. This was just prior to Halloween and the following Monday is a holiday in most parts of Europe.



The game was between Cologne and Dusseldorf so it was a huge rivalry and at capacity. For hockey in Germany, that's about 9,000. The crowd is just as intense as a soccer game. There was an ex-U of MN Gopher hockey player on the team and we met his wife in the hospitality area; she was the only person speaking minnesotan in the room...that was our first clue.


On Sunday, we did a self-guided tour of Dusseldorf which is really very interesting - a nice mix of historical and modern architecture. It being late October, the colors were at a peak. And of course, more beautiful churches to visit.


On the river there were 3 interesting apartments designed by Frank Geary. They are considered here as sculptures and the new landmark in Dusseldorf.

We are headed back to South Dakota for a few weeks to get re-acquainted with friends and family. Pete will be back here in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mary is staying home through Christmas. Hope to see you or hear from you over the holiday season.

Tschus!

It could only happen here...

Mary and I went out on her birthday to our favorite restaurant here in Wiesbaden, Germany. We met our friends there: a local expat American couple; the wife (patty) works for Opel – the GM sub in Germany. During dinner, a large group of men showed up and our friends immediately recognized them as some of the worldwide managers who were meeting that week at GM. As they walked by our table, Patty waved to one of her colleagues she knew from the USA and began to introduce him to her husband and Mary and me.

As I stood up to shake hands, Patty introduced him: Jerry Piecuch. We both stood and shook hands and stared in a trance. Just then Mary said: “Jerry? Pete, that’s Jerry, Jerry Piecuch!” Jerry immediately recognized us and my mind was still reeling in the years until it finally clicked…

Jerry lived in a house with me and other friends from Notre Dame high school in Champaign, IL. I have not heard-of nor seen Jerry since I left Champaign in 1978! 32 years later, he walks into a small restaurant halfway around the world, and happens to know the people we are sitting with who we’ve only known for a few months. There were at least 20 GM guys at this restaurant. If he hadn’t said hello to our friends, we might not have even realized he was sitting in the same room with us.

Jerry is now living and working in Shanghai for GM. Within minutes of us seeing each other, Mary and I were on the phone with Joan, his wife and yes, original girlfriend from Marillac High School near Chicago who would often come to visit the house in Champaign, just like Mary used to do!

There must be a name for this... karma, serendipity, absolutely unreal coincidence.
Small world indeed.

Munich - Berchtesgaden - Rhine

Post concert, we and our friends the Foreman's did some sight seeing down near the border of Austria. The town of Berchtesgaden is near Munich and nestled in the mountains. It was here that Hitler had his famous mountain retreat built, the Berghof.



It was another feat of German engineering - first they had to build a road to the top then figure out how to assemble a home there. In the picture on the right, you can barely see it at the top of the mountain.

We also visited the town of Bad Reichanall that we remembered from our first visit here about 30 years ago. The town is known for producing salt for the entire country. Of course you can buy huge chunks of the stuff for decoration.



Closer to Wiesbaden, we took a trip up the Rhine to visit a vineyard in a castle... any excuse for drinking wine in the middle of the day. This area of the Rhine is the most "romantic" with castles and vineyards everywhere.



What you see on the side of the this home is actually all a mural painting. You can even see the actual rose bush in front compared with the painted version.


And, of course, we stumbled on a wine festival going on in another Rhine town. This one had the full German a cappella oompa band... if that's possible. Check out the vineyards on the banks of the Rhine in the distance over the stage.




Now it's time to stumble home, via rail.
Tschus!

A Night with 3OH!3

Our friends from Boulder, Colorado have a son who plays in the "electronica-rap" band named 3OH!3. The band was on a European tour so Gary and Michelle decided to surprise their son Sean in Munich 2 weeks ago - needless to say, we joined. We met in the Marienplatz - the centre of Munich featuring the Glockenspiel. Of course, there were disguises involved.
After the surprise, we had Bavarian beers with Nat and Sean (the nucleus of 3OH!3)and their UK road manager. The band is recognized everywhere by kids much younger than us.



The venue they played in was standing room only and smaller than most but sold out. You can see the hand sign used by the band and fans forms the 3-0-3 symbol (303 is area code for Boulder). It was HOT and stuffy and we found refuge in the DJ booth. We looked and felt like moms and dads, which of course, we were. But, it was rockin' and we were too. From Dead concerts to electronica rap... it almost works.


After the show, most of the fans cleared out, and the band had an impromptu celebration and dance-a-thon. Nat mixed tunes on his Mac while the band and friends danced and rocked the house...much to the amazement of the German proprietor trying to close down. He gave in and let them dance on.

After all this, the band marched back on their bus for a long trip to Leeds, UK for a few festival appearances. We crashed in our hotel about 2 blocks away from the venue. As Dylan says, "May you stay forever young."
Tschus!