Europe Recap: Jerry Springer Final Thoughts

After spending 2 weeks abroad, you've got to change. There's no way around it, you just become a different person. OK, maybe not changed but...enlightened.


That's about $700 worth of Flake...no clue why I didn't grab one and run

We saw so many different cultures, different people and a world that had been around for thousands of years before we made the world's largest iced tea in Boston. And while the difference between our culture and those in Europe is nowhere near as different than ours and say rural Indonesia--as I experienced firsthand a couple years ago--it certainly catches you off-guard. I, however, appreciated most of that culture more than much of the culture here in the States.


Mona Lisa, shown actual size!

Don't read too much into that. I wouldn't go so far as saying that the sentiments are anti-American as much as they are pro-European. It's hard to not love Europe. Friendly people (for the most part), incredible history, art, architecture, the best cars, the best beer, pubs, efficient public transportation, I could go on forever. What makes it so great, though, is how it all blends together so perfectly.


Too bad I was looking for a Chicken McNuggets Restaurant

Sure, I was on vacation. I didn't get to see the problems and ugly sides of a culture; not many Europeans would experience the ugliness when visiting Disneyland. I'm not saying it's perfect by any means, but I would take the European culture any day of the week. The second I stepped off the plane at Heathrow I knew I was going to love Europe more than I had 3 years ago. It was fantastic to be there with Katie and experience all of this with her. I think her sentiments are the same as mine and she loved Europe just as much as I did.


I swear this looks like an Imperial Destroyer from Star Wars; fitting it was in France

I guess when you step out of your home or comfort zone you can really evaluate who you are and where you come from on a much more objective basis. Katie and I came across other Americans abroad everywhere we visited and sadly, we were ashamed how many of them acted. That's not to say everyone was a douche but if we came across 100 Americans, I'd say that probably at least half of them acted like...well, Americans. I can't stand when people travel and they expect the places they travel (domestic or abroad) to adapt to them, not the other way around. What ever happened to "when in Rome, do as the Romans do..." Instead, the overwhelming sentiment is "When in Rome, do as I do at home...and if you don't like it then you suck."

You've got to surrender yourself to the situation, people. Become a part of the places you travel and take them home with you. Learn from others instead of feeling that everywhere you go you have to be a missionary spreading your culture to others that are totally content doing what they do and could give a hoot about you in their country. Show a little eagerness to learn and willingness to be part of their culture for a few days and you'll be amazed what it gets you.


I heart BMW

On the flight home, I got to thinking: could I live in Europe? Yeah, I could. I don't know how or where or why I'd live there but I could get used to being a part of the European culture on a permanent basis. I'd like to at least figure out a way that I can work with Europeans and I have a couple ideas floating around but nothing worth sharing at this time. Stay tuned...


They do the pesky mixing of booze and cola so you don't have to!

I miss being in Europe. We've been back for 2 weeks now and I'd be lying if I said I wish I wasn't there right now. I will most certainly be visiting Europe for the rest of my life and bringing back the great things from the places we visited and incorporating them into my daily life. Things like proper driving etiquette, eating smaller/healthier portions of food, walking everywhere, Cadbury Flake, courtesy, ability to speak a 2nd language, you name it.


Herr Ben trinken drei biers

Let's wrap it up, Jerry Springer style. What did I learn from Europe? Well, I learned that giving yourself 2.5 hours for a layover in Boston isn't safe. Customs anywhere outside the US is quick and painless; individual LCD screens on each seat make transatlantic flights a breeze and British Airways puts mayonnaise on everything. But besides the things learned in transit, I learned that Europe is a wonderful place with culture oozing from every building, street and monument. My time abroad was made all the better because I made myself part of the cultures I was visiting, not the other way around. For 2 weeks I was happy to be just a tourist, not an American.

I know that my car will go at least 128mph and that BMW builds the finest production cars on the planet, bar none. Driving through Bavaria gives you a real sense of identity and understanding for why BMW builds their cars the way they do and why it's the right way to do it. If you ever consider buying a BMW I cannot recommend to you enough the European Delivery option; it will be the trip of a lifetime and since you save money on the car you basically get a free European vacation out of the deal.


Crappy picture, bad-ass car

I learned that Europe is a place I feel rather connected to on many levels; a place you're certain to hear of me traveling to many times, maybe even setting up shop there some day down the twisting road that is my life. Most importantly, I've realized that I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity to make this vacation a reality. It inspires me to do more with my life so I can repeat the process in another 3 years when the uber-wagon is off lease.

Until next time, take care of yourself, and each other.

Europe Recap Part 4: Germany (part 2)

The last couple days of our adventure were all about being tourists in touristy places. Following the Springfest excitement, the next day we walked around Munich and took in the sights. Last time I was here I was only in Germany for 4 total days, including travel time, so I never really looked around Munich. I knew Munich was a great city so I was stoked we spent the day sightseeing with a local, Sebastian.


Best view of Munich, from atop a church tower

Old architecture abounds in Munich and whatever is new or looks new was where a bomb landed during WWII. Good times! Munich is a very pedestrian city with many streets blocked off to auto access and public transportation everywhere; buses, trains, subway/underground, taxis, there's no need for a car here which is good cuz the parking sucks and is rather expensive! The shopping here is great, too, if you're into that sort of thing


One of 4 original entrances to Munich from around 1175 A.D

We stopped for a quick break at this permanent farmers market sort of thing right in the heart of the city called the Viktualienmarkt and ate the best brats, ever. These Germans really know how to make sausages. After our pit-stop it was up, up and away into this church tower that overlooks the Marienplatz. The view of Munich was wonderful, even though it was overcast and chilly.


Marienplatz from above

Our final stop in downtown was to this store that sells tracht; don't let the strange people and website scare you away, it's the real deal. Tracht is traditional Bavarian clothing like drindl dresses and lederhosen. Sebastian explained that this shop was the good stuff and the place that people from Munich go to buy their clothing, not tourists, and the quality showed; it was the best I'd seen. I tried the full get-up on (sorry, no photos were allowed in the shop) and ended up coming back the next day to buy the outfit! Yeah, it's crazy and I don't know how often I'll actually wear the stuff but I loved it and felt like it needed to be part of my wardrobe...for those special Bavarian occasions...I guess.


The best tracht in Munich, period!

A quick U-bahn train up to BMW Welt later and we were checking out the incredible BMW Welt facility near Olympiapark. They spent 500 million Euro on this facility and it shows; it's amazing. All they need to do is walk you through here once and you're a BMW customer for life.


I heart BMW

We walked through the Olympiapark on the way back where the '72 Olympics were held. It's a really nice park and facilities are everywhere. I guess you could call this Munich's Central Park and from what Sebastian told us it is used for all sorts of concerts, sporting events, festivals and so forth; it's a wonderful gem in this beautiful city. Bayern Munich used to play here until the Allianz Arena was built just a few miles from here, which is certainly a step-up for Germany's best football (soccer) club.


Katie attempting communication with swans @ Olympiapark

Hofbrau Haus for dinner that night. I wanted everyone to see HB cuz you kinda gotta see it but it's such a tourist trap and so isolated from the true Munich experience that you're cheating yourself by not going elsewhere (which we had). Everyone speaks English (hell, our waiter was Japanese), the menus are in English, it's just not "real" ya know? The traditional band was good but that's about all we enjoyed here; we'd take Lowenbrau any day of the week.


When you wish upon a star...

Our final full-day in Germany was spent near Fussen at Newschwanstein Castle. This is the castle that the Disney castles were modeled after, built by King Ludwig in the 1800's. It's about as fairytale place as you could ever imagine. The castle is nestled in the mountains with waterfalls around it, towering pine trees, a beautiful valley below and the most incredible views. The castle inside is pretty bland; I'm sure there are castles in Orange County that are more nicely appointed. But, you come here for the view and the surroundings and they were incredible. It was a damn shame that the weather was rainy and the roads were really wet because the drive down from Munich is on some killer winding roads through beautiful countryside. Next time I'm totally coming back to this stretch of pavement and having a little fun!


Not a bad view, eh?

Afterwards we drove to Oberammergau for a quick stop and shopping and then back to Munich in a big rainstorm. With the wipers going full speed and me keeping up with the traffic around me, I glanced down and we were going 100mph...might want to slow down :) I bought the lederhosen in Munich upon our return to the City, everyone did a bit of shopping and then it was back to the hotel to pack. Jen and Ben had a train to Stuttgart in the morning and we had to drop off the uber-wagon and catch a flight home at 11AM.


Location, location, location

So the following day we dropped the uber-wagon off at E.H.Harms for shipping back to the states, boarded our flight to Heathrow and 1/2 a day later we were back home. The trip was over and all that was left was some jet lag, great souvenirs, around 1000 photos combined and great memories.

Jery Springer-style final thoughts? I think so. We'll hit it tomorrow...

Europe Recap Part 4: Germany (part 1)

We're breaking Germany into two parts; I cannot be expected to summarize this place in 1 post...if you were there, you'd understand...

I'd be lying to you if I told you this wasn't the most anticipated portion of the trip. Picking up the uber-wagon aside, I was really stoked to go back to Germany. I don't know what it is about this place but I just lvoe it. The people are super nice, the beer is outstanding, the culture in Bavaria rules, areas of roads with no speed limit, I could go on forever.

When we arrived back in Munich from our little getaway to Salzburg we checked into the hotel (another Priceline score) that was located in central Munich right near the central train station or hauptbahnhof if you're scoring at home. My sister and brother-in-law had just landed at MUC and were en route to meet up with us for a few days during their own European adventure. First night we walked down to Lowenbrau for some food and beer. The food here is probably the best we had in Munich and their bier is some of my favorite. The menus, however, were all in German so we just sort of guessed what everything was and we scored!

Next morning we packed up the car and made the quick drive to Dachau and the prison camp memorial. I did this last time I was in Germany but felt it important that the rest of the gang see this sobering place. The weather was gorgeous which felt strange while walking among buildings that were used to kill people for no good reason. Enough of the serious shit; let's get back to vacation.


Heavy stuff at Dachau

After Dachau, we drove to a little town about 35 miles away called Landshut. This was Ben & Jen's first taste of REAL German roads in the car as we cruised between 100-120 the entire way and tried catching up to a convertible filled with naked or half-naked guys...we weren't sure, nor were we sure how great it felt standing up in a convertible going 110mph. Those dudes had to be covered with bugs and cold as sin, but I'm sure the bier they were most certainly drinking made everything OK. I digress...

When I think of little European towns I think of Landshut. Cute and colorful buildings, big church, cafes lining the streets, ice cream cones, the river running through the town; perfect. The weather stayed gorgeous and we were treated to a relaxing day in this quaint German town that has the highest church tower in either the world or just in Europe...whatever it is, the thing is HUGE. We had issues with parking, however. I was sort of paranoid about the car--not quite sure where the corners were--and when you pair that with TIGHT parallel parking everywhere and narrow streets you get a real parking adventure. We drove down this dead-end street (didn't know that going into it) and had to back the car down the street with about a foot clearance on either side. 15 minutes later we were trying to parallel park in the smallest spot we could find but with the help of 3 spotters we made it work and looked like pros, jamming our car into a space with about 6" clearance front and back. Good times.


Landshut...isn't it quaint?

Driving home at 100+ mph, we arrived back in Munich around 6 and were to meet Katie's friend Sebastian at 7 for a night of fun. This is where our story gets awfully Bavarian, awfully fast...


Sebastian and Katie hoisting a litre of the good stuff

Sebastian took us to the fair grounds where they hold Oktoberfest in the fall. There was another festival (Bavarians LOVE festivals and tying them in with bier) called Springfest. This was described as a mini-Oktoberfest. There were carnival rides everywhere, food, music, you name it. Think of a county fair, but don't charge admission: vilkommen to Springfest. We ended up at the sole bier-tent and were met with a sea of Bavarians well on their way to inebriation. We sat down, Sebastian ordered the biers and we were on the same train as the rest of the Bavarians in the tent. Sidenote: during Oktoberfest there are around 12 major tents here with the largest holding 10,000 people, the smallest 2,000. Yeah, it's sort of a BIG thing.


Here's what Oktoberfest looks like...there's only 1 tent here during Springfest

There was a band playing a mix of German tunes and classic rock(?!) and everybody was dancing and singing and having a great time. THIS is why I will come back to Germany many times in my lifetime. The atmosphere was incredible. There was this buzz, this energy in the place and it just felt..GREAT! We fed off the energy and were Bavarian for a few hours. We ended up at the front of the tent right in front of the band and were dancing on the table for an hour before the party broke up and everyone had to head home. So sad.


This is early in the evening...we're about 1/2-way from the front...just as packed behind us

We stumbled our way out to the fairground and grabbed the last ride of the night on this thing called the "Frisbee" that I probably wouldn't do sober but figured with 4 litres of bier in my belly would be a great idea. For 3/4 of the ride I was having a blast but that last 1/4 I squeezed my eyes shut and focused on a happy place; a place that didn't involve me barfing and looking like a vomit-sprinkler in midair. Too much info? Sorry. We made it off the ride and safely back to the hotel (after I lost 50-Euro somehow) and passed out. Awesome night; no regrets and I'd do it again in a heartbeat...which in Munich could be arranged as Springfest goes for 3 weeks!! YES!!


What was I thinking??!!

We'll finish this story tomorrow...

Europe Recap Part 2: Paris

From London we flew to Munich to pick up the car (more on that later) and then immediately hopped a flight to Paris for a few days. Here's your Paris recap.


Good photo, Bryan!

Paris, the City of Lights. This should be one of the prettiest, most beautiful places on Earth with a moniker like that. Umm, not so much. Our first impression getting on the train from CDG into the City was "did they fly us to the wrong place?" The train ride was a little sketchy and both Katie and I hurried off the second we arrived at our stop, relived to be in a better, cleaner, safer place.


The Siene river and Pont Neuf

Umm, not so much. The train dropped us off in this mall that was closed (it was about 9PM or so) but still had sketchy people all around. Once we got outside it had to be better... Umm, not so much. The long and the short of it is that Paris at night is pretty F'n sketchy unless you're on Champs de Elysse or within a block of any major tourist attraction.


My favorite Spinal Tap album: Intravenous de Milo

Once morning came we left the hotel (another Priceline score) and began our walking tour of Paris, which was far more inviting and beautiful in daylight. All told we walked over 12 miles this first day from the hotel to the Louvre to Arc de Triumph to Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame and all sorts of stuff in between. We didn't realize how much we had walked until we stopped and every muscle just started waving the white flag.


Eiffel Tower view looking down

Notre Dame is one of the most fantastic things I have ever seen. The size of that church along with the amazing sculpture and stained glass are truly a sight to behold. It was a gorgeous day and the way the afternoon sun was shining through the stained glass was breathtaking. This is a must-see stop in Paris.


The Church, not the underachieving Big East school

The Louvre, too, is a sight to behold if for nothing else because of how freaking big it is. The building is shaped like a "U" and the 2 long sides are each approximately 1km long. On our second day we would go in around 7PM for the evening rate and walk it, which was not that fun as our bodies were beat from the marathon walk session the day before. The # of pieces in this museum is staggering. We walked about 75% of the museum, stopping at maybe 10% of the pieces on display for 20-30 seconds at a pop and it took us almost 3 hours. The highlights are obviously the Mona Lisa (which is really small and in a giant room with other paintings that are around 20' wide) and Venus de Milo. Venus was cool to see and the way they had it arranged was very cool. Lots of Greek antiquities and such here so if you're a fan of big name artists and paintings, you may be better served hitting up Musee de Orsay.


Does the pyramid look crooked? Don't hire me for photo editing work...

The Orsay was interesting, as well, but in a totally different way. Many big name artists here and several paintings everyone knows, but the place had a huge slant towards the French. French artists, French exhibits, stuff like that. I would have appreciated it more had it not been so overly French and full of itself. There, I said it.

The Eiffel tower is a no-brainer. The lines to get up the tower sucked, but it was no surprise. The structure itself is massive; way bigger than I thought it would be. The views of the city are spectacular and you really get a sense for how crowded Paris architecture is when viewing it from above. The city was built on top of itself several times over and there's not a meter of wasted space.


Eiffel Tower = BIG

The food in Paris was OK but expensive as sin. The food and drink here were actually more expensive than London, which was a real shocker as we had prepared ourselves that London would be the most expensive leg of the trip. We paid $19USD for a 1-litre glass of coke, which equates to about 3.5 small bottles of coke (what can I say: we were thirsty!). The last couple days we got in the habit of visiting our bakery just a couple blocks from the hotel and buying a baguette then grabbing some spreadable cheese and salami and making a lunch out of it and boy was it good. The breads in Paris are second to none and this little meal would feed both of us for about 6 Euro.


Paris from above, crammed for as far as the eye can see

After 3 days we were ready to leave Paris. We saw pretty much everything you could see and enjoyed everything here but we were ready to move on. Would I go back? Probably not. There's not enough here for me between being wicked expensive and too many big tourist trap things too see; I'd like to be somewhere I can explore a bit more and through all the exploring I did I realized that Paris was all pretty much the same. Maybe I'd try it in the summer months if I was in Europe and looking for a 2 day trip and I'd certainly love to visit other areas of France, but probably not Paris.

Next up: a little rest and relazation in Salzburg, Austria.

Europe Recap Part 1: London

Time to recap the trip of a lifetime, or at least the trip of my 31-year lifetime. We'll go chronologically starting in London and then skip the 6 hours we were in Munich picking up the car (OK, we'll blog about that one separately) and head straight to Paris. Then we'll do the drive from Munich to Austria and finish with the last few days in Munich and the surrounding areas. Sounds good? OK, here we go...


Tower of London with Tower Bridge in the background...the ravens were still here, don't fret

London is great. I could spend a lot of time in London seeing everything and just being part of the culture, even if that just meant hanging out in pubs and walking around town. Living here would be a breeze, albeit it rather expensive. Public transportation is everywhere, bad ass cars are everywhere, people dress nicely and are polite, the food is great; it's a fantastic city. Oh and technology is everywhere and everyone uses it, unlike here where people still don't quite get using voicemail and such (no offense to those people, but if you're reading a blog it's highly unlikely you're one of those people). On the train to Heathrow you text your flight # to some hotline like 2322 on your phone and it texts you back immediately letting you know what terminal you're at, scheduled departure time and other pertinent information. At ATM's you can "top up" your prepaid mobile phone with additional credits. The list goes on. I'm a technology junkie and this was about as fantastic a place as one could find in that regard.


Tower Bridge during the London Marathon...major PITA, but entertaining nonetheless

One of the reasons I love London is the weather. Born and raised in a cold and seasonal climate, I'm used to cold/cool weather and actually prefer it over the "perfect" weather of SoCal, which is nice but gets kind of old at times. Our weather was cool the entire time and we got rained on rather hard for 30 minutes or so but past that it was just a mostly overcast and cool 50-60 degrees; sublime. Winter here must be great with snow everywhere and the history of London omnipresent. Whenever I think of winter I imagine an old Dickens novel or Ebeneezer Scrooge sitting at the desk around the industrial revolution and it was really cool to see these places in person. It really made me want to explore more of London and England as a whole.


The Queen's crib (she was home this day, BTW)

Meeting up with Katie's friend Ema from Manchester was a good time and it was nice to spend some time in the pub drinking with a local...even though she was from Manchester at the complete opposite end of the England...you get the idea. The culture is very much built around public meetings like a beer in the pub or an ice cream in the park. Not that this is any different than here or anywhere else, but for some reason it just feels more natural over there; more like I expect life to be like.


You laugh...$10 says you'll forget the first time you cross the street in London.

Food & drink were great. We had pub food a couple of times, grocery store sandwiches and chips the night we arrived, Indian food one night and pizza another. As I like to do when traveling, I imbibe in local beers/ales and London was a great place to try out local brews including several hand-pumped ales that are surely only found in England. Everyone kept telling me before I left "have a Guinness while in London!" and while I do love Guinness it's no longer the drink of Ireland or the British Isles, it's as American as apple pie. Budweiser, Stella and Guinness are American beers no matter how you slice it; deal with it Ireland and Belgium.


Yeah I get it...I'll watch my step getting off the Picadilly Line to Cockfosters

With the incredible and stable strength of the US Dollar, we were forced to be frugal and make wise decisions every step of the way with our money. The biggest and best decision we made was to use Priceline and bid for rooms. We stayed at a super nice Hilton (4-star) in a great area about 2-3 blocks from the "Tube" for $104 /night, and that includes taxes. Do your research and save a ton of money with Priceline; your bank account will thank me.


Established 100 years before a bunch of tea was dumped in Boston Harbor

I had to splurge on one thing in London. I had read about Lock & Co. Hatters online and their sterling reputation. Established 1676, Lock has been the hatter for the royal family, Captain James Cook and all sorts of notable people over their 300+ year history. What better place to buy a proper hat! The shop is SMALL. Ladies hats upstairs, gentlemen downstairs and not much room to stretch out. But you know what? It was perfect. I ended up buying their signature "country" cap the Gil which is handmade in the shop. It rules and it looks great, if I do say so myself. I wanted to buy an authentic "Coke" hat seen below (invented by Lock in 1850) as they use this wacky contraption set on your head to fit the hat EXACTLY to the shape of your head (it has been used for 100's of years and you can see the hat/head outlines made from this machine of Princess Diana, Capt. Coook and others on the walls) but this hat was around $500 USD so I settled for the still expensive, but reasonable Gil cap. Katie also got a super fun and floppy straw hat that looks great on her, though we don't have any photos. I'm sure a summer photo will show up on here with the hat atop her head :)


Lock & Co. invented the hat seen above that you may know as a "bowler." However, it's called a "Coke" should you visit the store, just to save you a bit of embarrassment, Love :)

Leaving London was a bummer. We thoroughly enjoyed our time and I think we both wish we could have spent at least 1 more day here. I missed seeing Chelsea play due to a last minute scheduling change from Saturday to the Monday when we left but that just means I have to go back! I'd say of all the places we visited, London was a solid #2 maybe tied for first with Germany. London truly is a fantastic city with so much to see and a friendly environment to immerse yourself in the entire time you're there. I will most certainly be headed back to London in the near future to catch some football, culture and another hat from Lock & Co. Cheers!


Things I love in this photo: Katie, London, Big Ben & Parliament, my Lock & Co. cap

Welcome home

So we arrived back to the USA last night via Los Angeles International Airport. After going through customs at 3 international airports in Europe, I can officially say that customs and security in the US is head and shoulders worse than anything out there.

I'll give LAX the benefit of the doubt in that it has to be one of the biggest--if not THE biggest--entry points into the USA, but still... How about Heathrow? That has to be the largest entry point into Europe and it was sure packed enough to lead you to believe it so. From the time we got off the plane, cleared customs and grabbed our bags, it could not have been more than 20 minutes; the majority of that time spent waiting for bags. Last night, from the time we got off the plane and were outside waiting for a ride it had to be at least an hour due in large part to a haphazard and overly redundant system of checking and re-checking the same document 4 times.

Whatever. It is what it is, but you just hate ending your trip on the sourest of notes: immigration at LAX.

Oh and a special side-note. I won't get all political on you, but as you're walking down the tunnel to immigration at LAX from the Bradley terminal, you are greeted with pictures of President Bush and Vice President Cheney hanging above the moving walkway so you cannot miss them. No offense to either guy, but with the current state of affairs around the world and the overwhelming popularity of the USA abroad (my sarcasm font wouldn't work for those previous statements)...do we really want the first thing foreigners see when entering customs the photos of these two guys?? If I were a foreigner, the sight of Boss Hogg and Rosco P. Coltrane would surely deter me from wanting to proceed further. Wait...maybe that's their way of keeping people out of the states and controlling immigration... Good play, USA...good play...

So, posts all next week on the trip with photos now that I am back on my "mothership" system and have uploaded the 600 some photos I took. Needless to say, there are some real winners.

Talk to you soon...

Munich rocks

So, I'm not gonna type much right now and probably will wait until I get back to really post up all the good stories and photos from this trip, but I had to step in for a moment and proclaim Munich as one of the coolest places on Earth.

Last night we went with Katie's friend Sebastian who lives here in Munich to the Spring Festival. It was explained to us as a "mini-Oktoberfest" which was surely a good sign. It turned out to be one hell of a party. There were probably about 1500 Germans in the beer tent (this was no tourist thing; you had to be local to know anything was going on and what it was) that was located at the Oktoberfest fair grounds. By the time we left at 11PM (when the tent closed) I had downed 4 liters of Augustiner Bier, which is a Munich beer that does no advertising and does not export their beer outside of Munich. Talk about a local brew!

Dancing on tables, singing, toasting, making friends with Germans; it rocked. You really get a feel for the culture and the heartbeat of the city when you experience something as fun as that festival. Lord knows how many liters of beer were poured last night, but it's safe to say they floated a few hundred kegs before the night was through.

OK, tomorrow is our last full day before we fly back. We're off to the castles in the South and to Oberammergau for a pretty little Bavarian town that everybody pictures when they think of Germany. You'll see photos when I return to the US.

Schuss!

Holy sh*t I love driving in Germany

We flew out of Paris this afternoon after spending the morning enjoying a little shopping and our last baguette and cheese DIY lunch kit, which was tres bien.

But, past the baguettes and cheese, I was done with Paris. We were there for a little over 2 days and that's about all I need to see of Paris; no real desire to head back. People were pushy, sort of rude, in a hurry everywhere and didn't seem too interested in trying to work with our Frenglish. No hard feelings because I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, but it was time to head off to a better and friendlier place: Germany. But wait just a second...we were in Germany for about 4 hours after getting baggage and catching a train back to Munich and BMW Welt, then we hopped in the uber-wagon and drove to Salzburg, Austria where I'm typing this from right now.

Oh, and drive we did. Once we hit A-8 (the Autobahn stretch between Munich and Salzburg), all bets were off and the car said "let's have a little fun, Herr Mills." So, we got the old girl going and sh*t was it a ride to remember. The wagon is a beast. Let me say that again: A BEAST. It drives so perfectly, so quickly, and is so well-equipped it has validated my decision choosing between a wagon and a sedan. I'm gonna love this car, that's for sure.

It is so built to be the Ultimate Driving Machine, it deserves every letter of that moniker it bears. The orchestra of cars weaving in and out of traffic at warp speeds began right on cue and we, in turn, joined the symphony. We only hit about 130mph before we decided to call it good and chill out around 105mph for those areas without a posted speed limit; it was dusk/night, after all, and safety first. You have no idea how freaking insane and awesome it is to legally drive your car at 130mph and have a squadron of other German cars along with you for the ride. We got passed by X5's and 5's traveling at probably 130-140mph and I remembered after the 1st pass at 100mph why I did European Delivery again and will probably be back here in 3 years to do it again...

Anyway, we sightsee Salzburg tomorrow and just take it easy. Paris was a real ass-kicker and we walked our asses off and could use a break and a city center that is about 1/4 mile wide and 1/2 mile long should do the trick.

I'll post some photos
tomorrow as we don't really have much to share with y'all. Until then, gtuen nacht!!

Paris is for lovers...and people who like to walk

Oh ho ho!! Oui! Oui!! Tres manifique baguette! (that's all the French I know...)

So we dropped the car off yesterday, 10 minutes after they gave me the keys. So sad. But, we hopped a quick flight to Paris and arrived last night.

First impression of Paris after getting off the plane, boarding the CEC train to the Des Halles stop and getting lost looking for our hotel that was just 2 blocks from the train stop? GET THE F*CK BACK ON THE PLANE!! Sketchy, to say the least, with 2 mean/weird looking dudes that even meanier/weirder dogs on the train and all sorts of unsavory folk up until we made it into the hotel. This part of Paris (1/2 mile from the Louvre) is no place for Americans around 9PM at night, that's for sure.


Wouldn't you Louvre to be here?

Never ones to buy into 1st impressions, we gave Paris a 2nd chance this morning and were glad we did. The weather was super cold (probably about 40-45 this morning with brisk winds) but it got lovely by the end of the day and we ditched the coats in favor of sweaters and sunglasses. We walked around 12 miles today (per our calculated route in the guidebooks afterwards) and damn are our feet tired! We went up in the Eiffel Tower which is pretty damn cool and imposing, to be sure.

It looks way bigger than it does here...and far more French


Walking back to the hotel, we ended up at Notre Dame (the church, not the Touchdown Jesus school) and that place is incredible. Un-freaking-believable. I've never seen anything more amazing in my life. My camera has all the interior photos so you'll have to wait, but suffice it to say that this has to be the most amazing church in Europe and words--nor a few pictures--can do this place justice. You truly have to come here and see it for yourself, catholic or not. I caught myself several times strolling through the interior of the church mutter "holy sh*t" as I stared at the ceilings that appear to be about a mile high and the length of the church that seems endless. The stained glass should be a new world wonder...

This place is tres manifique

After 12 miles of walking, we're calling it a day. We picked up a baguette, some formage (cheese) and warm coke as the Europeans don't seem to know what ice is--nor the proper storage and service of carbonated beverages--and eating in the hotel room and getting some well deserved rest. BTW, food--rather drinks--are stupid expensive here in the city of lights, WAY more than London which was/is a total surprise. We ate at a cafe in a park about 1/4 mile past the Louvre and shared a 1L bottle of coke. The price? 12.50 Euro. For those of you scoring at home, that is $19.72. Oh and it's not just that place, it's everywhere. I am yet to see a 250mL bottle of coke (a small bottle or regular can) for less than 2 Euro in any restaurant; it's 4 Euro in the mini bar at the hotel. Beer is around 4 Euro for 250mL and you don't really get any breaks for buying in bulk; 1/2L will cost you around 8 Euro and it's sh*t beer, not the real deal like in Germany. Sidenote: a 1/2L of beer (Hofbrau, Spaten, Becks, you name it) at the Munich airport costs 3.8 Euro; talk about a country that has their priorities right. Myself and my bank account can't wait until we head back to Munich.

You can now clean the $0.10 of Coke or Sprite off your monitor and keyboard.

OK, tomorrow is museum day (Louvre and D'Orsay) and Moulin Rouge and more 2-Euro Cokes...if we shop around!


Paris is for lovers...so when in Rome...

M-2531Z

Mein Auto

Ho hum day. Caught a flight from LHR to MUC. Rode the train into Munich. Oh yeah, and picked up a new BMW. Here's the only photo of the car I have (right now) since my camera can't upload photos for a little while. I give you: M-2531Z. We immediately parked the car in the garage and hopped a flight to Paris so I won't see it again until Thursday but sh*t is it cool and BMW kicks some MAJOR ASS with the BMW Welt and European Delivery program. More on this later...in my 3rd country today and I need some rest.

OK, bedtime. I'll send more tomorrow, I promise... In the meantime, here's me freaking out eating a pretzel at BMW Welt and me giving the old girl a good once over.

Day 1: Disaster averted...

OK, so we made it to London...which was no easy feat. Our flight left LAX @ midnight, 2 hours later than it was scheduled. No big deal; we should still have enough time to make it to our connection in Boston.

Wrong.

Rough weather slowed us down and we arrived at our gate and looked 2 gates down and saw a Boeing 777...our plane, as it were. Look at the watch: 8:55AM. Connection leaves at 9:00AM. F*ck.

The flight attendants make an announcement that the 3 people on our flight that were off to London should be let through to the front so we push through and run like mad 2 gates down as the people at the gate are waving at us furiously and one is holding the door open. We get there, give them the tickets and I ask "are our bags going to make it?" to which she replied, "I'm just trying to make sure YOU make it...who knows about your bags."

So, we enjoy our 6 hour flight and get through customs and wait for our bags...and they start their trip around the carousel at LHR. Relief, to say the least.

We can give American Airlines all the crap they want for the FUBAR situation back in the states but I gotta hand it to them: they came through when we needed them to. We're pretty impressed that as the doors were closing to the jetway and the push-back not 7 minutes after we sat down, our bags magically made it on the flight.

Anyway, London today and this city is the bacon, no doubt about it. I'll post some photos later but I screwed up. Not only did I forget my headset for Skype but I brought the wrong USB cable for the camera so I cannot transfer any photos on my camera to the laptop. I did (oddly enough) bring the right cable for Katie's camera so I will be showing her photos until I get home and post my photos.

OK, no idea what time it is I just know I'm a tired ass mofo. I will post more tomorrow.

Ta!!

Auf Wiedersehen!

There comes a time in every young man's life when he must travel overseas to pick up a new car...or just backpack across Europe...whatever...
- Bryan Mills

The time is upon us. It is go-time. All systems are a GO for launch over to Europe to pick up the new car. It has been a frenzied last couple weeks with work and planning and what not, but I think we're ready to get up and go. I'll have to do some work while I am overseas (not really a big deal) but with the connectivity/transparency I have setup with my personal and business life, most people won't even realize that I'm gone.

If you know me, you know that I cannot be disconnected from the digital world at all. With that said, I'll be blogging while over in Europe for the next 12 days. If this adventure is anything like my last extended overseas vacation, it should be a pretty entertaining read.

To recap, here's the itinerary...

4/10: Fly to Boston en route to London
4/11: Arrive late in London, grab a Guinness...pass out
4/12 - 4/13: Dilly dally in London trying not to buy much stuff due to the weak-ass US Dollar, aka the Steve Urkel of currencies. I will, however, be splurging for a belated birthday present and buying myself a fine hat from the oldest hat shop in London (founded 1676) James Lock & Co. Hatters.
4/14: Hop on a flight to Munich...go to BMW delivery center and pick up the car...drive car out the front door, make a left turn and park it...hop on a train back to MUC and fly to France
4/15 - 4/17: We're visiting some off-the-beaten-path city in France named Paris...I'll let you know what it's like
4/18: Fly back to Munich, pick up the car and drive to Salzburg, Austria and look for the Von Trapp family. 71.7 miles from Munich to Austria...should take about 40 minutes to get there :)
4/19: Relax in lovely Salzburg and enjoy everything Salzburg has to offer
4/20: Take the scenic route back to Munich and meet up with my sister and brother in law
4/21 - 4/22: BIER...lots and lots of the best bier on Earth...drive all around Bavaria in the BMW and let the car experience freedom before having its nuts cut off and sent back to the no fun zone, aka USA Freeways
4/23: Hop on a plane and get back to LA with loads of photos, souveniers and hopefully no parking tickets :)

We're super stoked, we have everything all set up and now we just gotta get the hell out of here. So gang, keep checking back here as I'll be posting regularly and I guarantee you'll dig it.

Auf Wiedersehen!

T minus 30 days

30 days, folks. Katie and I leave for Europe in 30 days. Are we going to see Big Ben and Parliament, like Clark Griswold and the family? Yes. Is that the reason we're going to Europe? No. We are going to Munich, Germany to pick up this...

Yup, a BMW 328i Sport Wagon, though mine is blue...and cooler, but that goes without saying. Extra storage for surfboards, dogs and outdoorsy stuff, NOT KIDS you life-in-fast-forward-thinking people.

We fly first to London for a couple days, then off to Munich to pick up the car, then turn around and fly to Paris for a few days, then fly back to Munich and drive to Salzburg for a couple days, then back to Munich and meet up with my sister and brother-in-law in Munich for 4 days and then we're back home. I hope I covered the whole itinerary; that was a wicked-long sentence.

More details to come...