Forthcoming Posts

Munich, Germany.

So, as it turns out, I forgot how much internet is a pain in the ass in Western Europe. It's pricy and hard to come by. Compound that with the fact that the German keyboard has a slightly different layout.

I've had to type every 'y' and apostrophe at least three times.

What does this mean, with respect to my posting more on this blog? I probably be doing a big dump of information in two or three long posts after I get home. Of course, Wi-Fi has been pretty common at hostels¹ here, so perhaps some ultra-portable computer might be a good idea for next time.

1. I finally figured out the best way to identify Australians. The pronounce the word 'hostel' with an accent on the last syllable, like hotel. Actually, it kind of makes sense...

Industrial Heart

Dortmund, Germany.

I arrived here in one of the industrial hearts of Germany, spending the Thanksgiving holiday with my friends. We wandered around in order to find a few ingredients for the big meal. Turkeys are not huge here, no sweet potatoes, pretty much just threw together a recipe for stuffing.

Should be interesting.

As for Germany (well, Dortmund, anyhow), it's pretty clean and efficient. Actually, it's amazingly clean and efficient. The train ride from the Düsseldorf airport was on time, to the minute, and so pristine you can eat of the...well...alright, not that clean, but pretty damn clean.

Dortmund is a pretty bland city, when it comes to architecture, but the Christmas market is shaping up to be something pretty spectacular. The tree easily rivals the one they put out in front of the White House, or Rockefeller Center. They start things up tonight, but we'll be heading over there on the weekend.

I'm starting to shape up my plans for the rest of the time here. I'm currently thinking about heading to Berlin for a few days, and then down to Munich. Other than that, not much else planned out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wiping off the Dust, Kicking off the Rust

Minneapolis, MN

Man, it's dusty around here. All this stuff just lying around, collecting dust from all those readers coming through here, looking for some new content. Yep, the vast horde that is my readership is just kicking up all sorts of dust.

That's right, hordes.

So I've been away for a while. It's been tough, what with working and all. Imagine that, I don't get out as much as I used to.^[1]

Fortunately, I'll be heading back out into the world this week. It won't be for a long time, but it will be somewhere new (for me, anyway). I'm headed off to Germany on Tuesday. I'll be heading to a town called Dortmund, via Düsseldorf. That's about all I have planned for right now. I have two weeks in country, and no idea what I'll do with most of it.

Ah, to travel again. The more people ask me what I'll be doing the less comfortable I get. I prefer not knowing what I'll be doing. There's no pressure to see everything, or go everywhere. Not having a real agenda feels good.

It should be a good time. I'll take in some sites, enjoy time with my friends who've moved there, and try to do the usual: find a tango joint and see how the locals do it. Maybe even dance at one of those places. I do feel like I've a better grasp on this whole tango business.

At least I'll take pictures.

[1] Nor do I really write much, it seems. At least this is the 100^th post.

2006 in Pictures

2006 was a crazy, long, eventful year. Here's a handy little way of reviewing my year in pictures.