From May 2 -11, I was in Germany with Suffolk on an International Marketing class trip. It was an amazing group, terrific experience at the companies we visited and the sights, sounds and tastes of Germany still linger on my mind (and hips!). We started in Frankfurt, where I got to visit with my cousin’s family. We found an adorable statue in the park marked with “ICH” – German for “ME.” The sign beside it said to stand atop the pedestal and just be you! So I did – and then I did so with Cecelia and Ben. It was a gorgeous day in the park.
The group went out to dinner and dancing at a restaurant/club called – no lie – Living XXL. It was so fun! Here is a before shot of us in front of the giant Euro – and then after a few drinks and dances. Too fun!
Sunday was a most surreal day – a tour of the quaint town of Rudesheim with its many Riesling vineyards and a boat tour of the castles along the Rhine river. My favorite shot is of our picnic lunch – yes, this was lunch (white sausage, a pretzel, veggies and of course, wine).
Also, a shot of my favorite castle – it was positioned in the middle of the river so that the owners could collect the tolls on the river more easily! Coming down the hill to the left was just too much work...better to sit in the middle of the river to catch people as they come by. Clever landlords...
In town, we heard the bells ringing at the music museum, which are very amateur-ly captured on this film (click the arrow to play).On Monday, we visited Lufthansa Cargo at the Frankfurt Airport where we got to tour the cargo planes and figure out how the planes are loaded and staffing is arranged. A challenging exercise, but we held our own! I like this funny shot of me in the belly of an empty MD-11.
Tuesday we went to Adidas to work on a marketing challenge for the Beijing Olympics. More of an exercise than an actual consulting problem, but it was terrific nonetheless. We toured their brand center and I was able to successfully answer the question, “Which shoe has not changed in 27 years.” It was easy given my background! I’ve seen them for years!
After Adidas we had an authentic Bavarian dinner at the Barfuser (Barefoot) tavern in old town Nuremberg. A few beers were had, and with this size mugs, you can imagine the craziness that ensued afterward. This shot is of me and my roommate for the trip, Kerin.
Wednesday was a tour of Old Nuremberg and the Nazi Documentation Center. We were exhausted after a late night of big beers, but managed to wander around the city successfully. Our guide, however, thought we were worse than a bunch of senior citizens. (an actual quote!) Many amazing sites were a part of the sightseeing, but I call attention to the giant white asparagus, which was so delicious! It was a bit sweeter than the green stuff but still has the same effect in the bathroom if you know what I mean! LOL
Thursday was our trip to Volkswagen – a long and hard day with challenging corporate culture to cut through. No good pics there, but we did find (ironically) a lot of rabbits in town. The animal, people, not the car. ;)
Friday we arrived in Berlin – that city is so huge there’s no way I could have seen it all in 2.5 days. I saw parts of the wall, the Jewish Museum, the Holocaust Memorial (which happened to be celebrating an anniversary so we saw a cool concert within the memorial at night), Checkpoint Charlie and some of the more modern structures being built around the city. The capstone was the farewell dinner atop the Reichstag (German Parliament). The line out the door was for regular people trying to get in to tour the inside. We got a VIP pass through the side entrance. Good to have connections!
Friday we arrived in Berlin – that city is so huge there’s no way I could have seen it all in 2.5 days. I saw parts of the wall, the Jewish Museum, the Holocaust Memorial (which happened to be celebrating an anniversary so we saw a cool concert within the memorial at night), Checkpoint Charlie and some of the more modern structures being built around the city. The capstone was the farewell dinner atop the Reichstag (German Parliament). The line out the door was for regular people trying to get in to tour the inside. We got a VIP pass through the side entrance. Good to have connections!
A photos of the glass dome atop the Reichstag and the gorgeous sunset over the old castle in West Berlin.
On the homefront, things are moving along too! The furniture from Indiana is arranged in the “kids room” and ready for neice sleepovers.
The wall of mirrors has come down (halleluiah!) to reveal a very disturbing looking wall. It looks like a nasty checkerboard from all that doublestick tape and black liquid nail. We're figuring out exactly what the next step on this wall will be. The ugly wallpaper will be coming down soon too...soon enough it will be a room worth spending time in (and not just laughing at!)
Mikey has been working hard at Subaru and at home is busy trying to grow grass and making the yard look fantastic. The rain has finally cooperated and little shoots of grass are starting to show on the side lawn. He’s been a super help in the muscle category helping move furniture and keep Soxie from getting too board. Unfortunately, I haven't got any new shots of Sox at play so you'll have to go a post without a shot (shocker!). Happy Spring everyone - and fantastic adventures to all!
