My Week "Abroad"

One of the attractions of my temporary European assignment was the opportunity to visit a region of the world I had never seen before. My employer secured a project in Doha, Qatar and as the local Program Manager it's mine to manage. So, early last week I left Germany on the Qatar Airways flight for my first ever visit to the Middle East.

I think that Qatar was a great introduction to the region. I consider it one of the more moderate countries in the area. As a North American I felt very safe and with a few amusing exceptions it was very easy to do business there. But make no mistake about it. You are constantly aware that you are in a different place. So here are a few observations:

• It's trite to say it but Doha is hot. Unbelievably hot. And I didn't see anything like the worst. I believe we had a high of 43 when we were there. The previous week it apparently hit 53. It's only going to get hotter for the next month or two. The experience is hard to describe. I've been in Phoenix in summer and that didn't even come close. I liken it to severe winter cold at home. You move as quickly as you can from the air conditioned hotel lobby to the air conditioned car and then to the air conditioned office. Repeat in reverse at the end of the day. Evening temps dropped to the mid 30s which was a major relief. I can't imagine what life must have been like for the country's original inhabitants before the appearance of air conditioning.
• Construction is everywhere to an extent I have never really witnessed before. I remember thinking similar thoughts in Sydney prior to the 2000 Olympics but again this was another level altogether. Unfortunately the abundance of construction combined with the hot dry climate created a perpetual dust haze in the air. In the course of 4+ days I never had a clear view of anything in any direction. I was told the air quality is not always like this.

• The level of service in the hotels and restaurants puts most North American and European countries to shame. The only comparable experience I can recall was Hong Kong in the mid 80's. I had better not get used to it.

• The variety and quality of food in restaurants - at least what was available to foreigners - was just outstanding. I deliberately steered towards "Middle Eastern" establishments. But here is a little perspective. In one concentrated area of restaurants on the waterfront we had a choice of Lebanese, Armenian, Turkish, Moroccan and Egyptian in addition to some more westernized (and Far Eastern) places. I think that saying "Middle Eastern" there is like lumping French, Spanish, Italian, German, Polish, Dutch, Hungarian, Portugese and Belgian together and calling the result "European" cuisine. I loved the food.

• We stayed in one of the few major luxury hotels that doesn't serve any alcohol. Most do. Standalone restaurants generally do not. I didn't have a drink from the time I left until I returned to Germany. Honestly, I didn't really miss it. And also, honestly, I really enjoyed the beer I had with dinner once I got back to Nuremberg.
• I think there is a reason why I don't know of any world class Qatari triathletes. For me, in those temperatures, running outside was not an option. I saw no bicyclists at all. I think the texting drivers have taken care of the few remaining ones that may have survived the heat. Luckily the hotel had an excellent fitness facility with top of the line treadmills. I got two runs in which was probably a minimum given how good the food was.
• In case you're interested the price of gasoline works out to about $0.20/liter. It's not posted on the signs because apparently it's not all that important.

I'm going to be changing apartments later this week and I'm super stoked about it. Maybe more in my next post.

Thanks for reading,

Tom

A Little More Klezmer

Back in Germany after a great week at home. It went so fast and I did so much, what to blog about now? OK, the Generals and Admirals version:

• 28th Anniversary dinner with Kate that was made extra special when our friends Ken and Heather (caterers extraordinaire!) tipped off the restaurant without our knowledge. We were spoiled rotten. Ausgezeichnet!
• Swam 5 mornings of the available 6
• Triple Threat Triathlon training camp in Pinawa. Another great weekend with the team.
• Four bike rides,Four runs
• Caught up with the guys
• Sent flowers to my Mother for her Day and spoke to her on the phone
• Haircut, dentist and physio who told me I am 90-95% recovered

As soon as I got back to Germany I immediately set off for Bergamo, Italy again. I was reintroduced to Autobahn driving after 15 years - definitely not for the faint of heart but good to get out of one's system. But still the question loomed: What should my first return blog post be about?

Thank God for the CBC. They reminded me that there can only be one answer. And it's these guys.

You know how when you travel you should always bring your tunes? Say for the case where someone is no longer on the flight "for whatever reason" according to the Captain. Then they have to go looking for his bag. And you sit. Maybe for two hours. Well next time I recommend you have the foresight to bring "Toronto's only Balkan-Klezmer-Gypsy-Party-Punk Super-Band" They're called The Lemon Bucket Orkestra and they were on their way to Bucharest where they were invited to play at the International Romany Music Festival. They told the plane they had raised enough money to buy all their air tickets by busking for a month. So maybe the rest of us are in the wrong line of work. The YouTube Video is good but it doesn't do the moment justice. These guys played for half an hour and I must say, they are very good at what they do. If you hunt around you'll find more clips. Now, if only Steve Jobs was still alive maybe he could have gotten them to fit in your shirt pocket.
Here's a link to the CBC News story http://www.cbc.ca/news/offbeat/story/2012/05/16/lemonbucket-orkestra-toronto-flight548.html
Oh, yeah. I missed my connecting flight to Nuremberg and had to wait in Frankfurt an extra two hours which screwed up my evening big time. The "concert" was my only compensation. It didn't cost Air Canada a dime, airline management didn't have a clue it was happening and the musicians were actually a source of revenue. Sigh.

From Nuremberg I wish you a joyous Christi Himmelfahrt Feiertag, which Kate deduced is Ascension Day (It's also Father's Day here). And thanks for reading.
Tom

First Times and Comebacks

And probably not at all what you're thinking

I'm closing in on age 55. I consider myself fortunate to have seen and done a lot of things in my first 54 years. Maybe I've seen and done it all. Yeah, right! I do have a certain amount of curiosity in me and I think that to some degree we all seek out new experiences, hopefully for the entire time we stay on the planet.

As an example, earlier this year Kate and I spent a week in Maui, our first ever visit to the Hawaiian Islands. It was a terrific experience and one I'm sure we will repeat in some fashion. Last week in Milan I was also able to experience a first: one far less significant and far less pleasant.

On my Euro sojourn I am making it a point to run as much as possible. Unlike swimming and biking it's very accessible and requires little in the way of special equipment. Late night's notwithstanding, the best time to run is in the early morning. So last Thursday I set off around 6:30am in a totally foreign city. And it went fine.

When I got back to my hotel I made use of the in-room coffee maker as I was looking for something wet, caffeinated and containing some calories post-run. The coffee was instant, not a serious problem, the best coffee in the world was only a few steps in any direction as soon as I had showered and dressed. But there was something about the sugar. They hadn't put enough in the envelope. The texture seemed "off". I took a sip.

For the first time ever and thanks to my 54 year old eyes, I was drinking coffee with artificial sweetener. It's horrible. Far too sweet and with that bitter aftertaste. And the worst part? I was getting none of the calories I had been seeking in the first place. In hindsight I should have just poured it down the drain and started over. But that's not how I'm wired. I regard it as my manly duty to consume every culinary error I make. These serve as reminders never to make those errors again. That night I laid out the packets for the following morning using my reading glasses. No further problems. I just can't believe people use that stuff by choice.

Which brings me to comebacks. Kate will not believe this but earlier this week at my apartment the dust bunnies were visible to the naked eye. My naked eyes in fact. So I hauled out the vacuum cleaner and gave the place a once over. I can't say how long it's been sine I've vacuumed but I have a sense that Kate could ballpark it with some accuracy. The good news is that unlike my unsuccessful bathroom cleaning incident a couple of weeks back, the results of last night's cleaning were self-evident. It appears this will become another one of my Germany rituals.

Thanks for reading,
Tom

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Happy Labour Day... Aus Deutschland!

Many of you may be aware that May 1 is a holiday in much of Europe. I believe that in Spain and Greece it is marked by protests and demonstrations. Here in Germany, so far as I can tell, it is marked by grilling meat and leaving town.
Our office was closed so my day was pretty much my own. The weather has been spectacular every day since I got back from Italy. Today has been sunny, dry and sort of mid 20'sC. Just about ideal for everything. I woke up at my leisure around 7, had a light breakfast and after that settled went for my run.

I now have a number of routes to choose from. Since today was about speed rather than distance I elected to go to Marienberg, a park not far from here. It's about a 15 minute easy jog to and from my place. Once there I ran a half hour of hard tempo - 7:00-7:20 pace. I admit, I was totally showing off. At that pace I was passing all of the runners and I passed more bicycles than passed me.
After the run I fixed myself a generous brunch. Then it was off to the laundromat. I should say that I have now found the laundry room in my apartment complex. To the best of my reasoning I believe that mid 20th century criminals were sentenced to wash clothes there. I opted for my usual laundromat half a kilometer down the street. It's bright, it's clean, it accepts paper money, it even has its own web site and Facebook page! You can be friends with my Waschsalon.
I must say I now have it all worked out when it comes to laundry. Got my machines, got my tunes. My friend Charmaine gave me a book of NYT Sunday crossword puzzles and I was totally crushing this one. Good times. I wish to point out that I showered before I headed off to do laundry, a courtesy not necessarily extended by all of the patrons.

Laundry done I went off to the Old City in search of dinner. In honour of Labour Day I chose sausages grilled by someone else, Sauerkraut and Wheat Beer. All eaten out doors at a typical spot: the Goldenes Posthorn. Family (and Paul) will not be surprised to learn that sausages, beer and sauerkraut provoke a similar reaction on both sides of the Atlantic.
Afterwards I treated myself to Gelato (3 flavours) and took the subway home. Then I started a Blog Post. Which brings me to right now. I hope you had as good a May 1 as I did.

Three more sleeps until I head home.
Thanks for reading.
Tom

Back "Home" in Germany Again

This blogging really takes commitment. Life rolls along and then you realize you haven't posted anything  for a few days. I'm correcting that right now. It's not as if nothing has happened! So here are a few facts:

• I was in Northern Italy (on business) from Wednesday afternoon until Friday evening. I  stayed in Central Milan and made a day trip to Bergamo on Thursday
• The day I left Milan it was 27C and sunny. The following day back here in Nuremberg it was 31(!). Summer arrived in this part of Europe with the flip of a switch.
• The TV cable in my apartment had to be updated. Germany switched over to digital TV last Tuesday.
• Outdoor pools in Nuremberg opened this weekend. There's one not too far from me that looks really nice. I need to find out what the hours are
• My blog now has over 1000 page views. Thanks everyone. I'm not sure what the number is if you eliminate my views and my mother's.

And some observations:

• I now have more German TV stations to watch than I did previously. The number of other than German language stations remains the same (0)
• 

  

  It would be unfair to only include
  this photo of the Duomo in Milan

  Milano is admittedly one of the most important commercial and industrial cities in Italy. It's not particularly appealing. Once you see the Duomo (under renovation), the Galleria (truly spectacular apart from the McDonald's in the centre) and the Teatro alla Scala (refreshing because people still dress up to go see a performance there), it's really not that nice at all.







• On the other hand, on a clear day you can see the Alps from Milano. And Bergamo itself is right at the foot of the Alps. They are beautiful.
• There are a lot of Italian restaurants in Germany. I have yet to see a German restaurant in Italy.
• Flying time from Munich to Nuremberg is 20 minutes. Time spent checking in, going through security and boarding is considerably longer. Lufthansa still feels obligated to do a beverage service (?!). I was in row 19. The drinks only made it to row 17. Somewhere out there is a beer with my name on it that I will never get to know.
• The sun and the hot weather absolutely transform the city of Nuremberg. All kinds of people are out and about and the outdoor restaurants and cafes are packed. It's a great atmosphere.
I actually have other things to write about. Sometimes I just feel like I need to save something up for a rainy day. It's Sunday night here in Nuremberg and on Friday morning I'll be flying back home (Winnipeg, where my family is!). One of my friends described this as "time off for good behaviour" and another described it as a "conjugal visit". Clearly I need new friends.
Thanks for reading,
Tom

And Now for Something Completely Different

No, not Monty Python.

I just have to give a big shout out to former Winnipeger, MNTC alumna and our #2 son Mark's former teammate, Sarah-Anne Brault. We can now say that we know someone who has stood on a World Cup podium! This past weekend Sarah finished third at the race in Ishigaki, Japan. I would have to say I was surprised to hear the news. Not because Sarah doesn't work hard or doesn't deserve it. She does both. In spades. But she's only 22 years old and hasn't been racing the distance that long, let alone at World Cup level. I hope this is indicative of further success to come.

I took this picture of Sarah-Anne at Kelowna in 2011 when she won the National Championship

I think our family has known Sarah-Anne for as long as she's been in triathlon and I can say without a doubt that you will not meet a finer young woman anywhere. Smart, friendly, modest, organized and driven. She was and continues to be a role model for all Manitoba triathletes. The last time Kate and I spoke to her was last August in Kelowna, just after she had just won her first National Championship. She had all the time in the world for us and seemed as interested in Kate's race earlier that day and in my upcoming Ironman as she was in the fact she had just defeated the #1 ranked woman in the world a few minutes earlier. Just a super person all around.

Oh yes. The race was actually won by Canada's Kathy Tremblay, her first WC win and much deserved after many years on the National Team. Elles sont vite ces Qébecoises là! I can't claim any personal connection to Kathy but I know Mark has met her at a couple of camps and swam with her at least once.

Here is a link to a race video re-cap: http://www.triathlon.org/news/article/canadas_kathy_tremblay_scores_debut_world_cup_victory_in_ishigaki/

All the best to Sarah-Anne.
And thanks for reading.
Tom

My Biggest Germany Disappointment To Date

Well,

I'm being treated OK!

First things first. Here's a photo.Please don't be alarmed, I'm not being held against my will and there have been no demands made. It's just that my friend Ryan doesn't believe I'm in Germany. So the photo is of me with today's paper. Yes Ryan, I could have Photoshopped it but frankly, who has the time?

Now the next item of business is a food photo. Kate is  really good at these. If you've ever seen a Picasa album of one of our vacations you can't help but to have noticed at least one photo of every meal she has eaten. I on the other hand feel really self conscious about taking a picture of my meal, especially when I'm by myself. But yesterday I was having lunch at a weird time when it wasn't very busy at a place in the Altstadt (old city) called Zum Spiessgesellen. It's in the Rathaus (City Hall). So when the staff wasn't looking I pulled out my cell phone, turned off the flash and snapped this. They called it Kalbsrahm Gulasch. Now with my Hungarian heritage I was only slightly offended but the Spaetzle (dumplings) were so good that I forgave them. The accompanying Kellerbier needed no apologies.

So, to the subject at hand. I am not disappointed by the weather, my work situation, my exercise opportunities or my ability to communicate. I'm happy with my accommodations, my transportation and the cost of living. My only disappointment to date is this:

This is all purpose cleaner that I bought on my boss's recommendation. Today was cleaning day at Dr. Koenig's flat. The place that needed it the most is the bathtub, the place where I shower once per day, maximum twice. Now if you look closely at the label you will see a happy frog. The implication is that the frog is happy because the cleaner is made with orange peel and  therefore environmentally friendly. Well the frog can be very happy because he neither bathes nor showers and I presume that if he does he's not bothered by a little dirt in the body of water he uses. This human on the other hand would like to see his labours rewarded by a bathtub that is cleaner when he finishes than it was when he started. No such reward was obtained. I started with the cleaner in a pail of water and gradually increased the concentration until I was using it full strength on the schmutz in question. Despite applying all of the elbow grease that my uninjured shoulder was capable of laying down there is now no evidence whatsoever that any cleaning has taken place.

Tomorrow I will be back to the supermarket in search of a more effective bathroom specific cleanser. True, it may be somewhat less "green" but I swear as God is my witness I will get my bathtub clean if I have to wipe the smile off that frog to do it!

Update: In a previous post I said that my love of beer did not necessarily mean that I drink a lot of it. Well on Friday I met up with an old friend for dinner. One thing led to another. And another. And ...who's counting anyway?! It was the weekend and I'm in Bavaria.

Thanks for reading,
Tom