Chicken Pox and Rugby

Monty has Chicken Pox. He's doing fine, it seems to be a mild case. Today we went off to Twickenham for the Premier League Rugby Championship game between Harlequins and Leister. The 'Quins won 30-23. A good day. Tomorow is the League Two final at Wembly.

A breakthrough!

Yesterday, I used my skills acquired from my last visit to catch the bus into Royal Tunbridge Wells. I did learn that standing alone along the side of a country road at a clearly marked bus stop is not enough reason for a bus to actually stop. Fortunately, they run every 30 minutes so I had time to rethink my approach and actually signaled the next one. The driver commented on the weak nature of my signal, but as he had in fact stopped, I considered it adequate. I also returned home on the bus for the first time. But the real highlight of my day way the fact that last night, with patient help from Duncan, I had a major breakthrough. I now understand the basics of cricket.

Top of the Ghurkin

Today, I got the opportunity to be a visitor to the Gherkin in London. It's actually called something else and looks like a giant 40 story Faberge egg. Duncan got me security clearance and visitor pass and I was able to sit in the top at the bar while he was in a meeting. The top is a simple bar, private and exclusive with only the glass dome of the building around it. It's really quite something. A fantastic view of the city and of the Olympic stadium, village, and surrounding buildings. I also had to 'sharpen up' as Duncan puts it. Fortunately for me we are of a similar size and build. There are pictures, but I doubt I'll be posting them.

Almost forget!

One of the first things I noticed upon my arrival at Croust House was the dread archway leading to the apartment had been recently cut and raised! I've taken pictures. Oddly, I find myself ducking through it anyway.

A blur to London

Leaving Nuremberg and Wurzburg seem a blur. We arrived in Wurzburg via train and had, for the first time, trouble locating a hotel. Seems there was a marathon Sunday and all reasonably priced hotels were booked. We also felt the effect of being without our faithful Nissan Note. The hotel we did find was a short hike though the city. We found a pub across the road and settled in to watch the champions league final. There were many unhappy Germans. The next day brought sunshine, a hike up to the fortress and mild sunburns. Then a trek back across town to the train station and our ICE train trip to Frankfurt. There were no seats so we sat on the vestibule floor. Something of a shock for $50 tickets. Kristin found a very good hotel close to the train station, and after a short stroll around the waterfront and a few more beers we called it a night. I went with Kristin to the train the following morning at 5:00 am and went back to the room to sleep. My flight was later in the afternoon, so I wandered Frankfurt a bit more and headed off to the airport. Duncan was there to pick me up and we headed to the house to see Karen , Julliette and Monty. Wish I could post pictures. They are growing! Anyway, Duncan forced fish and chips on me ( its my story) and then it was off to charge electronics and sleep. Best nights sleep I've had all trip. Kristin must have been snoring or something. Duncan dropped me at at train station this morning to take a train to Victoria Station. I took one to the Tower Bridge Station. Fortunately, I'd been there before. Found a subway and I now sit in a restaurant in London's West End, surrounded by Theatres. The Orc's Nest (game store) is supposed to be close by, and if I find it, I'll then pop back underground to Victoria Station and back to Crawley. Duncan assures me he can fetch me from wherever I end up. Good thing.

Last of Nuremberg

We are sitting about the hotel entry, soaking up the WiFi before our trek to the train station and Wurtzberg. The Champions League final between Chelsea of London and Bayern Munchen of Munich is at 8:00. Should be in Wurzberg in enough time to find a hotel and a bar/tv. We saw a lot of red and white FC Byern Munchen jerseys today. This morning we slept in, had breakfast and adventured to the Documentation Center on the grounds of the former Nazi party rallies. Well done historical museum. After we found a brewery and sampled some beers and beer distilled brandy. In a few minutes, we gather our increasingly heavy luggage and head to the train station. 10 minutes to get to the train station and another 20 to figure out where we need to be. Our German is better then it was 5 days agobut still.

7 hours of interzoo...

I'm exhausted. The convention center is huge and InterZoo takes up 9 of the 12 pavilions, not counting halls 4A and 7a. For those of you who have been to SuperZoo in Las Vegas, it would likely fit in 7 and 7a. If I were interested in more then just aquatics, this show would kill me. As it is you have to travel to every pavilion as they are not arranged in any order that I can figure out. I have mixed feeling about InterZoo. The positives are of course its shear size, being in Germany, seeing companies and products I've never heard of, and seeing the global trends. The downsides? Asking if there is any US distribution and getting a "sorry, no" or the dreaded "not at this time". It's a bit like being 9 years old in the biggest toys store in the world, having a hundred dollar bill to spend, but not being able to buy 90% of what you see. I did get a chance to talk to the rep for Thrive, which was great as I had a local vendor pitch their products to me a week before I left home. I'm now registered to by from EcoTech and will likely bring in their pumps, if not their lights. Kessil lighting was pretty cool and going to be a good item. (There were more vendors with LED lighting systems then even at Aquarama last year!) I stopped by BiOrb and discovered that my former Eheim rep Sasha is now working for them, so I may be hearing from her soon. I'm not interested in their tanks much, but pet smart dropped them in favor of their own brand, so there are a lot of people in our erea who can't get the supplies any more. Might as well have the basics! Tropical is a Polish company that I'd love to bring into the US. They are registered in the US but have no distributor. Yet. 35 year old company that looks to rival Sera and Tetra. I got to see Hagen's new LED lights and was told US availability would be September. Finally, it was great to see the Tropica booth. Many pictures of planted aquariums. I even went back to take more before I left. I suppose over the last few years having been to Aquarama and Global Pet Expo and SuperZoo, Interzoo didn't feel that new and different, just larger. Was it worth it? Of course! Will I be a regular every 2 years? I doubt it. I get more tangible value out of SuperZoo and Global at this point. If I ever take the step into importation, then InterZoo would be of significant value. As it is I'm glad I've seen it. Now to catch a quick nap before Kristin gets back from whatever she is doing. Many stores are open today, so I would guess shopping with a touch of sightseeing and a dash of wine...

Interzoo!

Got both camera batteries charged, and just finishing breakfast. Soon off to the metro. Kristin's sleeping. Too much late nit partying, I suppose....

Non specific things so far

Kristin runs every morning. Eric walks around the towns every morning Nothing is open early in the mornings. Nothing is open in the evenings We seem to drive while things ARE open. We drive a lot. Gas is about $6 a gallon. Even when you are a blundering forigner on a bicycle, the Dutch are very polite in scolding you. The food has been universally good. The weather has been varied. Not a lot of rain, a fair amount of overcast, a bit of sun and snow at the fairytale castle of Neuswanstein. The alps are really tall. In germany, exit signs off the autobahn are labeled "AUSFARHT". We still find this funny. Our faithful Nissan Note doesn't really want to go faster then. 130km/hr. We are ok with this. We have come to the conclusion that without the GPS, Kristin and I would have stopped speaking several days ago.

OK, so no pictures. Yet.

The iPad wins this round. No pictures yet. Fine. For those of you following along at home, here is the route and points of interest thus far. Sunday Amsterdam Bicycle rental for transportation. Anne Frank house Red light district Monday Amsterdam Rijksmuseum Car rental Drive to Montfoort Tour of Ruineman's Aquarium Stay in Montfort Tuesday Drive to Germany Marksburg castle Drive up the Rhine End day in Bad Durkhiem (that might be the wrong name) Wednesday Drive into the Bavarian alps Castle Neuswanstein Drive to andrech Andrech monastery and brewery Drive to Landsberg Thursday morning Currently: Sitting in the hotel entry, typing

Internet at last!

This has been a whirlwind. It is currently Thursday morning and my first real opportunity to sit with a WiFi connection. Soon I hope to have more time to go back and update things. We have pictures on two cameras, t phones and at least my iPad. Which no computer, they will have to stay that way until Kristin gets home and I get to Duncan's. I am doing this through my iPad so not certain if this will even work. Going to try posting a picture next... Stay tuned.