| My Business Trip to Europe - A Commentary - Now with Pictures! |
Subject: My Business Trip to Europe - A Commentary - Now with Pictures! by bogus on 2009/12/19 19:15:38 Some of you are aware that I was on a business trip to Europe. For personal security reasons, I don't normally announce these trips to the general population. Not because I don't trust you guys, I just don't trust the unknowns who might figure it's a good time to do harm to either the Guru or my household. However, my take on Europe in general. My trip started 16 days ago with a flight from LAX to Frankfurt. The airport in Frankfurt is huge and no different really than any American airport. It strangely reminded me of Baltimore! I think it was the weather.  I then went to the small town near Frankfurt I was going to be working and staying. I don't want to elaborate on details about my work; the company is rather private about these things, so I am going to respect that and express details about the trip itself. On a whole, the German people were nice but rather distant. The visit lacked warmth, really. The country side was nice, the weather icky, the Autobahn awesome (the road is perfect. Just perfect). The highlight of the week was a visit to the Porsche Museum in Stutgard. A lovely place that I highly recommend. I will post some pics shortly. After a week in Germany, I headed to France. The companies office is in a suburb of Paris. I landed at Charles De Gaulle Airport. This is the place with all the tubes and stuff. The airport, generally speaking, is a pain in the ass! However, Paris... damn. Just damn. The city is an international treasure. The history, the architecture, the art. There are several people over the years who deserve personal thanks for preserving this place. The food... oh my God, the food. The worse meal in Paris is better than the best meal most any other place. Don't shop on les Champs Elysees!! This is like Rodeo Drive in Belair... omg... it's EXPENSIVE and not necessarily worth it. The Euro exchange is not to our advantage. The Metro works quite well. The people are passionate and warm. They are inviting and pleasant. If anyone ever has a problem with the French people, they cause it themselves. Seriously. I don't feel the French people suffer fools very well, so if one comes in with an attitude, they get one right back. Our hotel operators were so very nice and pleasant to deal with. They ran the little cafe below the hotel, too. The weather in Paris was COLD. I mean COLD. It snowed on Thursday and again yesterday. It is supposed to be like that for the next several days. From a policitical perspective, the French are, at times, out there, but socially, they are wonderful people. I highly recommend that everyone take a trip to Europe. It is a way to see the world from different eyes... and you will notice what I noticed - that America is STILL the 800lb gorilla in the room. Everywhere you look you see American movies and stars. American stars are on TV commercials and print ads. George Clooney, Kevin Costner, Sean Connery (I know, British, but....). On TV, over dubbed American shows and movies. Also, I saw a couple of Corvettes, a Ford GT (as in GT40) and a couple Harley Davidsons. Even saw a Hummer! I know we fear the loss of America... trust me, it isn't happening. If anything, America is still taking over the globe. English is being taught all over the world. During my trip, it was more common to find English speakers than not. Even the street hustlers spoke English! I will post pics shortly. |
