Zurich

Previous to the night-on-the-town, we decided to go to Zurich in the morning (err afternoon). So I picked up Steve and Rafael and off we went. It was almost all Autobahn on the way, and I managed to get past the ECU controlled speed of 212 kph and hit 215 kph! About 2-3 km before the Swiss border they had a police stop. They questioned us and checked our passports and we were good to go. At the border, we were flagged again and asked to see our passports and car docs. After all that, we didn't even get a stamp in our passports. I was a little upset. I have bunch of stamps from different places and since Switzerland is not part of the EU, I thought for sure I would get one. I guess I will have to fly in through Switzerland one time to get my stamp!

Zurich is a really nice city. Relatively small, you can walk the main areas in an hour or two. I can definitely attest to the fact that Zurich is the most expensive city in Europe. Dinner cost about 30 CHF (Swiss Franks) = $26. That's a bit much for one beer, a sausage, and some traditional Swiss potatoes (called Rosti). We then went to a Irish pub we staked out earlier. Thinking the "scene" would get better later in the night, we decided to grab a table and a few beers. How wrong we were. Apparently women do not go out to drink in Zurich. We went to another bar that seemed to have potential. Again -- not much. We went back to the hotel and commented that it was the first time in awhile we went home drinking only 4 beers.

One of the clock towers in Zurich

Lake Zurich
(click on the picture and you can see the Alps)

Sunday was a day to take pictures. We strolled up this hill I saw the day before. From here, it overlooked the Altstadt (old city) and the river, leading to Lake Zurich. We then caught a train to a mountain town called Uetliberg. Here we hiked up a little ways. There was a large tower you could climb and the views of the city, lake, and the Alps were amazing. Unfortunately, I was careless and didn't check to see what settings my camera was on. Assuming it was set to the setting I wanted, I took a ton of pictures with the Alps in the background. When I got home and downloaded all of them, I could not see the Alps at all. Apparently the setting I was on caused over-exposure and the glare from the sun whitewashed the Alps. I'm a little angry at myself for being so careless. I've been to all of these places and have not once made that mistake. It was really a beautiful place. I guess that means I'll just have to go back some day.

Clock tower in Zurich (over-exposed)

On top of the tower in Uetliberg (w/0 Alps)

Let the Parties Begin!

What a world-wind week it was (last week).

Tuesday: My birthday. We went out for dinner at a Mexican place called Enchiladas. See picture below.

Wednesday: I went to visit some friends who were about an hour or so away in Karlsruhe. Needless to say I walked in the door that night at 4:30am.

Thursday: Denise's birthday dinner at The Floating Market (Thai-Japanese restaurant).

Friday: Combined 25th Birthday Party. We started at Suite 212. There were a lot of people there, including an old boss from MBUSA who is now working in Stuttgart. We then moved on to Mutter Milch (translated as Mothers Milk). That was even more crowded but DJ was only playing House/Techno, which I'm not the biggest fan of. After 2 Cuba Libres (Rum & Cokes here), we went to Classic Rock. This was a fun place. They played a variety of old and new (mostly older) songs. The Beir von Fass (beer on tap) was pretty good also. We wrapped up the night at a place (I never got the name of it) that was smoky and crowded. We got one drink there and decided to call it a night. It was only 5:30am at the time.

Birthday dinner @ Enchiladas

Irony and/or Oddity

• Everything in Germany is "closed" on Sundays (even grocery stores). During the week most places close at 8pm (except restaurants).
  
• My gym is open 24/7/365.
• The entrance to my gym is a part of the Drive-Thru for Burger King (which is in the same building).
• Men here were sandals with socks -- in the winter!
• Apartments/houses have window shades on the outside of the window.
• People stare -- a lot.
• You can park on the street facing either way (with or against traffic).
• German guys rocking Guido blowouts as if they are from Staten Island (no offense to those from Staten Island that do not have a blowout).

Munich and Strasbourg

Two pictures from Munich. The first is a famous beer hall called the Augustiner. The second is a picture of me rubbing the nose of the boar (I did this in Florence too when I was there).

The Augustiner

The Boar

I went to Strasbourg, France this past weekend with Dirk and Belinda. It was cold and rainy -- the norm here for the past 3 weeks. There wasn't a whole lot to take a picture of. I managed to get a few pictures in before the rain came. We took a boat ride on the river that circles the city but it was raining and I am not a fan of taking pictures through glass.

Tree Lined Fußgangerzone (Pedestrian Zone)

And it begins...

2 weeks ago I ventured to Porsche. Here are a few pictures from the Porsche Museum that I promised. Like I said, it was only 2 levels and it did not include much from their current cars. They did not have my 911 Turbo 4S Cabriolet. I was moderately disappointed.

Older Carrera

New Carrera GT

Wheel Hubcap

No Paint

I went to Munich last weekend. It was absolutely freezing so I didn't do much sightseeing. We were typical tourists and went to the Augustiner for a beer and something quick to eat. Later we ventured to the world's most famous beer hall, the Hofbräuhaus. The ride back was actually quite entertaining. I was able to drive the A8 (autobahn) with no speed limit and no traffic -- so of course I maxed it out. Unfortunately, my car is a US Version and is electronically limited to 212 km/hr (only 130 mph). The car physically can go about 155 mph. Oh well.

The first week

I was fortunate enough to not have to go into work last week. I was told it would take about 2-3 business days for my visa to be pasted into my passport. Since I arrived on Tuesday, I figured it would be done on either Thursday or Friday -- so I told my boss I would begin on Monday (Feb 9). Luckily, it was processed immediately and I had the passport back by Wednesday. That gave me some time to get settled.

Wednesday I went to dinner with Denise, former intern at MBUSA, who is now in the same rotational program I am in. We went to an Italian restaurant called Vapiano's. It was different in that you form a line in front of a chef, order what you want, then sit down -- almost cafeteria style but it was all made to order. It was actually pretty good. I had the Penne alla Arrabiatta (check out the link... hysterical).

Thursday I went to the gym. More on this in future posts. I began a new Waterbury workout this week. Big fan of his training methods so it should be interesting. Did I mention it was open 24/7. This is an extreme rarity in Germany.

Friday my friend Matthias took me to Zum Paulaner (like the German bier) and I had a traditional German meal -- lightly breaded pork (I remember what it is called). We then met up with a couple of Expats from Portland, Sao Paolo, and Taiwan for some drinks. We were told of an Irish pub called O'Reilly's that served an excellent pint of Guinness.

Saturday I went to the grocery store (after my workout) and then spent 3 hrs trying to find a place to eat, with Denise. First place was over 1 hr wait. Second place, no parking anywhere. Third place, private party. Finally found parking and only waited about 10 minutes for a table at a Spanish restaurant. I had tapas and a sangria -- I can't wait til summer.

Sunday I met up with some expats, Denise, and two guys she knew -- the M&M twins (Max and Moritz). We went to the new Porsche Museum. It just opened about a week ago and looks like a spaceship landed in Zuffenhausen (northwest section of Stuttgart -- Porsche HQ). It was pretty cool but it does not hold a candle to the Mercedes-Benz Museum. I was at the MB museum about a year-and-a-half ago but for only an hour. I will definitely be going there soon. I plan to post some pics of the museum as soon as I load them onto the computer. Til next time... Ciao!

Moving Day

My first blog post ever. Here it goes...

Monday/Tuesday. I say this because I moved to Germany today and my day lasted 2 days. So Monday was my flight. Like normal, I tried fitting as much as possible into the day before leaving.

First I went to the gym. The workout was a culmination of a program I have been using since September. The premise of the program is that you test yourself with maximum lifts to see what your starting point is. Then you proceed with the 16 weeks of workouts and then perform another testing day (to see improvements). The author calls this final workout "Moving Day" (the first one is "Packing Day"). Now, I did not plan it this way but you cannot miss the irony.

So after the gym, in which I went up in all 4 exercises, I picked up the last few essentials at Harmons and got ready. Cursing and screaming, I finally fit everything into my luggage. I felt I needed one last dose of New Jersey (for the next 3 months anyway) by going to the White Diamond to get a Taylor Ham and Cheese sandwich (it was post-workout).

I flew Lufthansa, which I have never flown on before, to Dusseldorf and arrived at about 6AM local time (midnight back home). I found it kind of funny, and would have taken a picture of it had I had a camera on me, but the seats were made by Recaro -- who also makes aftermarket racing seats for cars. I then had about 10 minutes before being shuttled off to my plan headed for Stuttgart. Arriving in Stuttgart at 8AM I quickly picked up my bags and met with my real-estate agent at my new apartment. I then drove to Möhringen, one of the many Daimler offices (parent company of Mercedes-Benz), where I needed to go to get my working visa.

I decided it might be best to get some food so I found an Aldi supermarket and bought some essentials -- eggs, bread, water, chicken, toilet paper. The cashier looked at me like I was crazy when I asked, in broken German, if I could use a Visa credit card.

All in all, it was a loooong day but I am now here. This week I plan to pay a visit to a local fitness center I found while googling the area. That and I need to get a mobile phone without getting roped into a long-term contract. For now.... Auf Wiedersehen (See you later)!