On my way back from Philly…. a pleasant trip well less than 24 hours, met really nice people.
Getting to Philedalphia
In my hotel room in Philly in front of the mirror.
In a weak moment of last year I somehow agreed to speak to the MIT Alumni Club in Philadelphia. Not that I do not usually very much enjoy such events, but I am usually that busy that it really always comes at a moment where I should be doing something else. And as usual even knowing long before I was not really prepared for it and it gets worse, when the day came bad weather hit the east coast and now I am sitting at Logan waiting for my departure. The 12:00 flight is leaving now at around 14:15 and the 12:30 is scheduled for 14:40… I am not even standby on the 12:00 flight and on a huge list for the 12:30 flight that is supposed to leave soon afterwards. The plane of the 12:00 flight is already at the gate. If the captain gives permission (assuming Philadelphia is open enough) we might be boarding soon….
It turns out all went perfectly well. The captain gave permission, there were spots even beyond the standby list and I got out on the first flight pretty much at the time of my original flight and I arrived at 15:58 in Philadelphia, even a few minutes before planned. Once arrived I figured that the Marriot and the Renaissance Hotels are not the same and that nobody had made a reservation. I had assumed the Wilkens (my hosts) had done it and they assumed I had taken care of the reservation myself as I did for the flight. Anyway, of course there was room and I am sitting here, using the expensive network and will soon take a shower and review my talk to be ready for tonight. I think it will be fun.
The talk went very well, I had a ton of questions and only few people blinking with sleepy eyes. It was fun and time and again the lesson is, you need to do this more often.
FN Event Berlin – Angekommen
The flight to Berlin, via Zurich, went very smoothly and the public transportation to my Hotel at Check Point Charly was very effective and easy to find.
I checked in but of course was much to early to get my room. I left my luggage at the hotel and took a stroll along Charlottenstrasse over the Gendarmenmarkt and along the Humboldt university to the Neue Wache Unter den Linden. This reminds me very strongly about my visit to East Berlin in the early eighties where there was demonstration of military presence in this spot. I watched the ‘Wachabloesung’, where I saw for the first time soldiers march in ‘Stechschritt’. The pictures left an impression on me and not sure why I connected them with Nazi Germany. At the time it was completely unthinkable that Germany at any point soon could be one again, but of course you know the story it happened practically overnight in 1989.
I walked along the alley towards the Brandenburger Tor and enjoyed snooping through the books being offered second or third hand along the side of the road. I found a whole bunch of von Doderer books which I had to buy and added a nice version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from the Insel Buecherei. Then I had to taste an ice coffee from thr local DD, which was as bad as in the US, and finally found the restaurant we are going to meet at tonight, Im Tucher am Tor. I got myself a Currywurst and enjoyed reading my new book. Wireless was also provided and I checked e-mail and wrote this post.
Berlin – FN Event
This weekend there is going to be an FN event in Berlin. Hmmm FN … I have heard that before but could it really be. Yes it is after 26 years the Front Nachrichten Zug of 1985-87 meets for the first time. Twelve of the total 30 are scheduled to arrive. Marko Pietruck my best buddy from the army days has organized the weekend with a starting evening in ‘Am Tuschel’ very close to the Brandenburg Gate. On Sunday we will meet at 10am for a boat trip. I booked an unholy early flight to Berlin on Saturday and hope to spend a nice Saturday in the city. My return is booked for the last hour on Sunday. I am sure it is going to be an adventurous trip.
Y E A H !
How old are you?
The day before yesterday Ana went shopping with Blake. When they got to the register the cashier looked at Blake and asked him the usual question: how old are you? 42, says Blake without hesitating and reassuring voice. The cashier starts laughing and Blake with her…. then he says: I am kidding I am seven. She looks at him and then asks Ana: is he really seven?
Blake loves his brothers’ clothes
Color
Our Tiger, Blake, had a blue coolatta. “My havorite color.” — Blake
Yard work
Worked today in the garden and am reminded that it can be harder than a long squash match. Everything hurts…. but I moved three huge bushes from an ugly to their new very nice locations. My hedge now is nice and dense and gained at least 10 sqmeter of valuable space for the kids to play.
Five guys
Gettong a dog at five guys … with two horns on her head.