One story from yesterday that I forgot to relay:
The first room on the tour of the castle yesterday was the entrance room, which had the family tree of the owners (who historically were the kings/emperors of Prussia/Germany) painted on the walls. The woman leading the tour described much of the history--who followed who to the throne, dating as far back as the 11th century. Then she went on to say:
"Then the final emperor left the throne at the end of the first world war when Germany briefly became a democracy."
That was followed by some giggles and laughters until we all remembered why that democracy was so brief. Then there was about 10 seconds of nervous, awkward silence.
Anyway, today was back to the conference--an interesting day overall, but again, little to report. After the conference, I wasn't up much for walking around, largely because it was raining/snowing pretty good and I didn't want to get wet, and I wanted to get a bit of work done as I have a conference to go to 2 weeks after I return to Chicago. So I must prepare for that.
I decided to grab a quick dinner on the way home. Realizing that I had been in Germany for 6 days and that I hadn't had a bratwurst yet, I decided to go find one. I walked around a bit and found a manned window where I could get a variety of sausages. I ordered two: a bratwurst and a currywurst. The currywurst is in essence a bratwurst chopped up, smothered in ketchup and curry powder sprinkled all over it. Now by "smothered" I mean ***SMOTHERED***! Wow..not a huge ketchup fan, but I had to try it once.
I got the bratwurst with mustard. Interesting way of cooking it--they roll the brat in dough and then fry it, so that instead of a bun, it's almost like a giant pig-in-a-blanket. It was quite nice. I enjoyed it.
I then came back and have been working. Sorry for being so boring. However, to make up for it, I leave you with this video that I saw on tv. It's not German, but it was on German tv, and I enjoyed it.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
I'm as happy as a little girl.
The 3rd day of the conference ended up being a short one in terms of science, but a long one in terms of goings-on. I did the usual--woke up and showered, checked things online, and then went and had breakfast. I then decided to walk a bit around Tubgingen, as I had a bit of time before the conference started. After a while, I headed up to campus.
The morning session was good, with me managing to avoid hurting myself in anyway. During the coffee break, somebody asked if he could take my picture for a Finnish astronomy magazine--look out, coming to a newsstand nowhere near you! We then adjourned for lunch.
In the afternoon, though, we all gathered at the bus stop and traveled off to Hohenzollern Castle. (Note: This says webcam, but I think the camera has not updated in 6 months or so.) It was a beautiful setting--castle up on the mountaintop, overlooking the surrounding valley. The bus drove us up about half way...the rest we were left to climb. That took some effort. Despite it all, it was a very nice visit.
We then headed back to town, dropped our stuff off at our hotels, and then headed to the Casino am Neckar for our conference dinner of "Traditional Swabian food." There were about 100 of us attending, and the room was well decoarated, with a jazz band playing. They decided to serve us drinks before dinner, which was nice, but poorly handled. There was a single door leading from the bar to the banquent hall. A single waitress would load up a tray with beer, then walk into the banquet hall where we were all standing (we hadn't sat down at this point) to pass out the drinks. The poor woman would get mobbed every time she came out--she could only cary about 8 at a time, and people kept moving closer and closer to the door so that they could get to her before she handed her beer to someone else. Eventually a crowd just started encircling the door she was using, throwing elbows and pushing one another to get better or maintain good position. It was amusing and sad at the same time.
Eventually, though, everyone got their drink, and we sat down for our food. It was a buffet style dinner--though with what seemed to be a very small selection. I loaded up on lettuce and vegetables, a small slice of turkey, and some fish--and that was essentially all that there was. We all sat down and ate...going through it pretty quickly, figuring we'd go back for seconds. However the waitstaff hurriedly cleared all the food, leaving bare tables. Fortunately, though, after about 5 minutes, they came back with the second course--the "hot course" as we finished our "salad course." We then had some pork and beef, some potatoes and some steamed vegetables. We then had ice cream for desert. Overall it was very good.
The only downside was that we did not start eating until about 8:30 or so, and the pace of the meal was pretty slow. Things were still going on when I left the banquet hall at 11. I wanted to get back to the hotel and get some sleep, though the coffee I had with dessert had me a bit wired.
Unfortunately, I haven't been sleeping too well since I got here. Usually in trips to places like this, I am sufficiently jet lagged that, come nighttime, I pretty easily am able to fall asleep--largely due to the concentration of the day ending and the exhaustion taking over. Here, though, I've struggled a bit. I've got no good explanation, though--I am tired, the bed is comfortable, there's no noise issue. I dunno...oh well, woe is me. I'll deal though.
I've reached that point in the conference, though, that I am growing more and more ready to head home. Two more days. The conference ends tomorrow at lunch time, after which I'll spend some time shopping for the girls at home. Found toy stores and chocolate stores, so I think I have all the bases covered. Still need to double check that it'll be easy to get to the airport Saturday morning...I don't want to let that one slip.
Until next time...
The morning session was good, with me managing to avoid hurting myself in anyway. During the coffee break, somebody asked if he could take my picture for a Finnish astronomy magazine--look out, coming to a newsstand nowhere near you! We then adjourned for lunch.
In the afternoon, though, we all gathered at the bus stop and traveled off to Hohenzollern Castle. (Note: This says webcam, but I think the camera has not updated in 6 months or so.) It was a beautiful setting--castle up on the mountaintop, overlooking the surrounding valley. The bus drove us up about half way...the rest we were left to climb. That took some effort. Despite it all, it was a very nice visit.
We then headed back to town, dropped our stuff off at our hotels, and then headed to the Casino am Neckar for our conference dinner of "Traditional Swabian food." There were about 100 of us attending, and the room was well decoarated, with a jazz band playing. They decided to serve us drinks before dinner, which was nice, but poorly handled. There was a single door leading from the bar to the banquent hall. A single waitress would load up a tray with beer, then walk into the banquet hall where we were all standing (we hadn't sat down at this point) to pass out the drinks. The poor woman would get mobbed every time she came out--she could only cary about 8 at a time, and people kept moving closer and closer to the door so that they could get to her before she handed her beer to someone else. Eventually a crowd just started encircling the door she was using, throwing elbows and pushing one another to get better or maintain good position. It was amusing and sad at the same time.
Eventually, though, everyone got their drink, and we sat down for our food. It was a buffet style dinner--though with what seemed to be a very small selection. I loaded up on lettuce and vegetables, a small slice of turkey, and some fish--and that was essentially all that there was. We all sat down and ate...going through it pretty quickly, figuring we'd go back for seconds. However the waitstaff hurriedly cleared all the food, leaving bare tables. Fortunately, though, after about 5 minutes, they came back with the second course--the "hot course" as we finished our "salad course." We then had some pork and beef, some potatoes and some steamed vegetables. We then had ice cream for desert. Overall it was very good.
The only downside was that we did not start eating until about 8:30 or so, and the pace of the meal was pretty slow. Things were still going on when I left the banquet hall at 11. I wanted to get back to the hotel and get some sleep, though the coffee I had with dessert had me a bit wired.
Unfortunately, I haven't been sleeping too well since I got here. Usually in trips to places like this, I am sufficiently jet lagged that, come nighttime, I pretty easily am able to fall asleep--largely due to the concentration of the day ending and the exhaustion taking over. Here, though, I've struggled a bit. I've got no good explanation, though--I am tired, the bed is comfortable, there's no noise issue. I dunno...oh well, woe is me. I'll deal though.
I've reached that point in the conference, though, that I am growing more and more ready to head home. Two more days. The conference ends tomorrow at lunch time, after which I'll spend some time shopping for the girls at home. Found toy stores and chocolate stores, so I think I have all the bases covered. Still need to double check that it'll be easy to get to the airport Saturday morning...I don't want to let that one slip.
Until next time...
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Shocking...
The room where we have the workshop is a nice room in the new theological studies building on campus. It’s in essence a lecture room, with wooden chairs and big tables. It’s nice as we can plug in our laptops into outlets that are underneath the surface of the table, so they’re open in front of us all day. As I brought my outlet converter thingy with me, I’ve been doing exactly that.
Before getting too far, let me start off this next paragraph by saying, “I am ok.” Really, I’m fine…just an idiot.
So before lunch, I reached under the table to unplug my laptop, but my computer plug starts coming out of the outlet converter…my thumb brushed the contact on my plug before it was fully out and…ZAP. A very strange, tingly, painful sensation went up my left arm, into my chest and my head. Fortunately, I felt it quickly and let go very rapidly…but it was odd. And scary. The guy next to me gave me a funny look and asked, “Did you zap yourself?” “Yes,” I said.
Ok…I don’t know if I have ever shocked myself like that before…it scared the crap out of me to be honest. It was quick and left no damage, but man…not something that I was looking to do, and not something I’m proud of. Particularly at a conference…Remember what I said about Kepler having gone to school here? He’d have laughed at me and called me an idiot.
So, I walked down and grabbed a quick lunch to take back to the conference room as I had the first talk after lunch. I got a slice of pizza and a butterbretzel…a baked pretzel, sliced in half, with butter spread throughout. Not too bad. Along the way, I made sure I could move all my extremeties and that I could remember how to talk and my vital information (name, wife’s name, child’s name, home town, etc.) I concluded there was no damage from the electric shock and was relieved.
The rest of the day? Not as exciting. I gave my talk and it went well…then we had a reception with the mayor of Tubingen, where he gave us German wine and more pretzels.
That’s about it. Now I’m typing this blog and have some work I need to do. That’s about it. I’m hoping to walk around a bit tomorrow morning and take some pictures and to check on how to leave this place come Saturday—you know so that if I have any questions I can get answers before risking being late for my flight come Saturday morning. We also have an afternoon excursion and reception in the evening…so that should be enjoyable.
Before getting too far, let me start off this next paragraph by saying, “I am ok.” Really, I’m fine…just an idiot.
So before lunch, I reached under the table to unplug my laptop, but my computer plug starts coming out of the outlet converter…my thumb brushed the contact on my plug before it was fully out and…ZAP. A very strange, tingly, painful sensation went up my left arm, into my chest and my head. Fortunately, I felt it quickly and let go very rapidly…but it was odd. And scary. The guy next to me gave me a funny look and asked, “Did you zap yourself?” “Yes,” I said.
Ok…I don’t know if I have ever shocked myself like that before…it scared the crap out of me to be honest. It was quick and left no damage, but man…not something that I was looking to do, and not something I’m proud of. Particularly at a conference…Remember what I said about Kepler having gone to school here? He’d have laughed at me and called me an idiot.
So, I walked down and grabbed a quick lunch to take back to the conference room as I had the first talk after lunch. I got a slice of pizza and a butterbretzel…a baked pretzel, sliced in half, with butter spread throughout. Not too bad. Along the way, I made sure I could move all my extremeties and that I could remember how to talk and my vital information (name, wife’s name, child’s name, home town, etc.) I concluded there was no damage from the electric shock and was relieved.
The rest of the day? Not as exciting. I gave my talk and it went well…then we had a reception with the mayor of Tubingen, where he gave us German wine and more pretzels.
That’s about it. Now I’m typing this blog and have some work I need to do. That’s about it. I’m hoping to walk around a bit tomorrow morning and take some pictures and to check on how to leave this place come Saturday—you know so that if I have any questions I can get answers before risking being late for my flight come Saturday morning. We also have an afternoon excursion and reception in the evening…so that should be enjoyable.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Would you like to touch my monkey?
I could not sleep last night. Have no idea why. Yes, I was working late, but even still...I stopped working, read a book for pleasure for a while, turned out the light, and just sat there, trying to sleep. So I read some more...until 2 AM. Finally I was able to sleep.
I intended to wake up early and work on my talk a bit, but that didn't happen--too tired, surprise surprise. So I got ready later and headed down for breakfast. Again a good one--sausage, sausage, yogurt and granola, sausage, and some pretzel bread. Yummy.
Then I headed to the conference center. There was a slight mist this morning, but nothing too bad. Got to the conference center, chatted with some folk, did the conference thing...nothing really exciting there.
Know what is exciting though? Two things:
1) Johannes Kepler studied here at the University of Tuebingen, where I'm speaking. I know he's been dead for 400 years and isn't going to hear a word that I say, but still, it feels like some sort of honor.
2) I had the beer that Nina's friend Judy (who spent a semester here at the university) had recommended. I went to dinner with a friend at the Ratskeller and had a Dunkel Hefeweizen. It was mighty good.
After that, I came back to my room, and here I sit, not working on my talk for tomorrow. Motivation isn't high. Partly probably due to being so tired...I dunno.
Anyway, that is all for now, meine freunde.
I intended to wake up early and work on my talk a bit, but that didn't happen--too tired, surprise surprise. So I got ready later and headed down for breakfast. Again a good one--sausage, sausage, yogurt and granola, sausage, and some pretzel bread. Yummy.
Then I headed to the conference center. There was a slight mist this morning, but nothing too bad. Got to the conference center, chatted with some folk, did the conference thing...nothing really exciting there.
Know what is exciting though? Two things:
1) Johannes Kepler studied here at the University of Tuebingen, where I'm speaking. I know he's been dead for 400 years and isn't going to hear a word that I say, but still, it feels like some sort of honor.
2) I had the beer that Nina's friend Judy (who spent a semester here at the university) had recommended. I went to dinner with a friend at the Ratskeller and had a Dunkel Hefeweizen. It was mighty good.
After that, I came back to my room, and here I sit, not working on my talk for tomorrow. Motivation isn't high. Partly probably due to being so tired...I dunno.
Anyway, that is all for now, meine freunde.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Your narrative has become tiresome...
Slept solidly last night, waking up around 7 AM local time. I’m sure that’s an anomaly, though, reflecting how tired I was from jet lag. I expect to start getting up around 5 AM or so starting tomorrow.
I showered and got dressed and headed downstairs to get some breakfast. The hotel has a breakfast buffet that is included in your stay. I was curious what it was going to be like. Turns out it is fantastic. The selections included eggs, sausage, more sausage, priscutto, cheeses, breads and rolls, jams and jellies, cereal, fruit salad, and whole fruit. Plus coffee! (By the way, the Germans love their coffee. Love it—coffee and espresso shops abound. You wonder if I am displaced…) After stuffing my face, I set out to walk around a bit and see what this place is like in daylight.
First thing first, I walked out to find the entrance to this old castle (schloss) about 150 feet to my right when I stepped out of the hotel. Gorgeous. It’s at the top of the hilltop and overlooks the whole city. It now serves as a museum, but you are able to walk around the grounds a bit—I may explore more in the next day or so. I was still able to enjoy the view and take in a large brass band that was playing at the university on the hilltop across town. Quite loud, but quite good.
I then set out down the hill and into the large square where the pub I visited last night was. As I walked down I saw a familiar face—Sasha Krot from the University of Hawaii. Now, Nina usually gets quite nervous when I mention that I saw Sasha, because it’s usually followed by “and I’ve got another conference to go to.” Not the case this time, though—for now… ;)
We chatted for a bit and decided to walk around and check out the sights. We walked to the university and through the streets, seeing the different shops and restaurants that were there (and closed—most places are on Sunday, apparently). We talked science quite a bit, then stopped for some coffee before heading back to our hotels. I needed to work on my talk and rest a bit before the conference reception in the early evening.
(Side note: just saw a commercial for “Deutschland’s Next Top Model mit Heidi Klum” that had Heidi Klum yelling at some woman in German. It was amusing.)
I then went to the reception for the conference. Pretty uneventful, to be honest—not necessarily a bad thing, mind you. We had different finger foods: meatballs, cheese, croissants stuffed with pork product, etc. Also drinks—though no beer! I was disappointed, though I did get to have German Riesling, which is never bad and then some espresso at the end of it all.
Overall, I’d have to say it was a pretty uneventful day, for which I apologize…it meant no interesting stories, no getting lost, no lugging suitcases all over town, no horrible language issues leading to eating questionable food. And for that, I apologize. I’ll try harder tomorrow.
I showered and got dressed and headed downstairs to get some breakfast. The hotel has a breakfast buffet that is included in your stay. I was curious what it was going to be like. Turns out it is fantastic. The selections included eggs, sausage, more sausage, priscutto, cheeses, breads and rolls, jams and jellies, cereal, fruit salad, and whole fruit. Plus coffee! (By the way, the Germans love their coffee. Love it—coffee and espresso shops abound. You wonder if I am displaced…) After stuffing my face, I set out to walk around a bit and see what this place is like in daylight.
First thing first, I walked out to find the entrance to this old castle (schloss) about 150 feet to my right when I stepped out of the hotel. Gorgeous. It’s at the top of the hilltop and overlooks the whole city. It now serves as a museum, but you are able to walk around the grounds a bit—I may explore more in the next day or so. I was still able to enjoy the view and take in a large brass band that was playing at the university on the hilltop across town. Quite loud, but quite good.
I then set out down the hill and into the large square where the pub I visited last night was. As I walked down I saw a familiar face—Sasha Krot from the University of Hawaii. Now, Nina usually gets quite nervous when I mention that I saw Sasha, because it’s usually followed by “and I’ve got another conference to go to.” Not the case this time, though—for now… ;)
We chatted for a bit and decided to walk around and check out the sights. We walked to the university and through the streets, seeing the different shops and restaurants that were there (and closed—most places are on Sunday, apparently). We talked science quite a bit, then stopped for some coffee before heading back to our hotels. I needed to work on my talk and rest a bit before the conference reception in the early evening.
(Side note: just saw a commercial for “Deutschland’s Next Top Model mit Heidi Klum” that had Heidi Klum yelling at some woman in German. It was amusing.)
I then went to the reception for the conference. Pretty uneventful, to be honest—not necessarily a bad thing, mind you. We had different finger foods: meatballs, cheese, croissants stuffed with pork product, etc. Also drinks—though no beer! I was disappointed, though I did get to have German Riesling, which is never bad and then some espresso at the end of it all.
Overall, I’d have to say it was a pretty uneventful day, for which I apologize…it meant no interesting stories, no getting lost, no lugging suitcases all over town, no horrible language issues leading to eating questionable food. And for that, I apologize. I’ll try harder tomorrow.
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