StringGrrl sees the World

Back is the saddle again StringGirl hits the road (air) on her way to Switzerland. A frequent haunt for our intrepid traveler is the klm lounges around the world. Schiphols are quite decent as far as airport lounges go. Just a hint for any fellow road warriors. Even if you can't get in you might be able to hop on their wireless connection. Just know the code: klmDDMMYYYY (for example todays code is klm 12122010 ) Safe travels all! Broadcasting from an undisclosed location

StringGirl and Herr Doktor Kerausch on their way to Frau Urban A trip to Pfaffenhoffen am der Ilm just would not be the same without a visit for lunch with the esteemed Frau Urban, of the Urbanus Brewing Family.  Frau Urban runs a very small and intimate lunch spot in the city center of Pfaffenhoffen right on the market square. As we arrived this autumn "mittag" they were only just setting up the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) in the city square.  The entry way to Frau Urbans place is rather stealthy and easy to miss. There is no signage that I can point out to you, but it is in the south east corner of the square just off of Hauptplatz View AutoForm travel guide in a larger map Frau Urbans place is simple and relatively cozy, but what makes the place is Frau Urban herself. She is the only person running the entire restaurant. She greets patrons at the door; a hearty " Grüß Gott"    as we enter. She greets "Herr Docktor" personally and "s...

Munsterkirche in Ingolstadt During this here third trip to Bavaria over the years, StringGirl went to visit Ingolstadt with a colleague from AutoForm and his wife. While there she got a tour of the old city and visited the Launch Party for the Lifestyle Magazine Gladdys latest issue. StringGirl and Otto Lampert with the latest issue Gladdys The magazine hosted an event at the Weinhaus Baden in the old town center. The place was full on fashionista Germans and lots of libations and food. The stock at Wienhaus Baden The stock at the store was pretty impressive at first glance, however we never did stay long enough to discover if they had any proper Bourbon. Night in Ingolstadt Preparations for the Weinachtmarkt were only just starting with the lights and the stalls being arranged but not yet in use. So the city was not quite festively lit yet. But the city certainly was getting ready, and we could tell the city would soon be a picture perfect German Christmas Village.

StringGirl inside the Mellow Mushroom Downtown Atlanta  After rapidly packing up the trade-show rig we made our way out of the convention center to get some dinner at Mellow Mushroom Pizza. Talk about GREAT PIZZA. The four of us--Mike, Brian, Eric, and StringGirl split two mediums between us. We had the MeatEaters and the Barbecue Chicken Pizzas. both were outstanding. StringGirl in Centennial Park StringGirl and Brian in Centennial Park  We had nearly a full medium pizza to bring back with us after we stuffed ourselves silly at the Mellow Mushroom. Suffice to say that the Mellow Mushroom pizzas are hearty and filling. Brian managed four slices, Mike and I managed three. I really like the crust at MM Pizza, it was a solid whole wheat like crust baked on a stone using wood fired ovens. Great PIZZA. Try it. Sunset near the Georgia Dome Phillips Arena (where the Hawks were playing in front of maybe only 5000) Unfortunately, this time we did not get to sample ...

StringGirl in Detroit International Airport  In the McNamara Terminal StringGirl awaits her very rare domestic flight (Yay! First Class Upgrade!). The flight to Atlanta at 6:20 is not exactly prime luxury though as we had to leave home at 4:45 to get there. The AutoForm Engineering trade show booth (notice it looks the same still)  FABTECH is supposed to be one of the largest Stamping Shows in the world, not that there are that many stamping and fabricating shows to begin with. EuroBlech is probably bigger. For sure AutoForm Germany had a new booth and Espresso machine. The Show floor at FABTECH Unfortunately have not had opportunity to visit much of Atlanta. Other than the show. We did eat at Fogo Da Chao yesterday, but since StringGirl is a vegetarian she stayed home, so no photos of the carnage at the meat emporium.

StringGirl posed for this picture not long before the 600 year anniversary of this incredible clock tower in Prague. We were there in late September. the video below was from October 9th. Too bad I did not get this explanation of the clock before I was there, but glad that it was posted. That's to Boingboing .net for the post and reminder. Just around the corner from here Jan took me for dinner the last night in Prague. The place alleges to  be a medieval tavern. U Pavouka does offer a completely touristic experience of food, music, entertainment, and libations. Around 50 dollars (900 Czech Korunna) gets you a bottomless drink (I opted for Dark Czech beer) Several courses of food (chicken, duck, pork, goulash, dumplings, and more) Czech bag pipes (OK not that authentic but fun) live pirate show and dancing girls The show can be cheesy at times with live "pirate" brawls and dancing girls, but the drum and pipe group is a little infectious and peopl...

StringGirl at a Beach in Michigan (yep the US for a change) Digging through the photos to find other pix that StringGirl has not posted to the photoblog yet we find pics from Andy's Birthday and the day at the beach that preceded it. The state park at Grand Haven was the first stop that morning. To enjoy a day at the beach before heading over to GR for Andy's B-day picnic. View Larger Map A great beach with inviting sandy beaches and just perfect fresh water was a treat that day (though wind made for a nasty rip current). Then over to Andy and Melissa's house for AJ's birthday party. turning 31 (I think, since I am 40 now). StringGirl and the Birthday boy Now yer famous bro. StringGirl and her 10 blog viewers all send you another belated birthday greeting. (I know you'll probably get the Google update on this so I guess I better make it worthwhile.) Next stop on the StringGirl World tour (another stop to beautiful Dortmund Germany and Zurich). Will ha...

StringGirl with AutoFormers Guido, Silke, Alan, and Brian Prague's Celestial Clock

StringGirl on Charles Bridge in Prague Prague Castle Charles Bridge

Prague is a beer city. The beer of the city is Pilsner Urquell. Went for a beer with Jan from work, and he introduced me to a Pilsner Urquell served Mliko style . The beer is tapped from vats, not kegs, direct and unpasteurized--cepujeme nejkratsi cestou (apologies for the lack of appropriate accents). In some pubs, like this one, the beer comes direct from brewery via tanker truck and into vats that are visible under the bar. Yes the beer is foamed heavily, and no it is not the sign of a bad pour. Don't worry it is only considered a half beer when the foam is up to the rim like this so you are not paying for the foam. However, the pleasure is in  rapidly imbibing the cool foam, which is where the aroma lives. In fact Jan was a little bit scolding me for pausing to take the picture, lest this perfect "Milk" beer settle into a regular pour. StringGirl is too young to drink.

 StringGirls first visit to the Czech Republic (or for that matter any portion of Eastern Europe) is so far tainted only by less than good weather. It has been raining since our arrival here-sometimes quite heavy. In the photo above she poses in front of the National Museum. Wandering around Prague in the rain does not allow one the ease to pull out the guide book for very many of the pictures. So we are not sure what the building behind signifies, but it looked nice so here it is. This grand church is in the Castle of Prague. High on the hill looking over the river and the old town. StringGirl got a boost from me and the camera had to sit on a rock pylon. One of these days I should consider a tripod (a small one like the Gorilla Tripod ) but until that time. Balancing the camera on a few coins from my pocket to control the angle and a hope that the wind does not knock the thing over will have to do).

The area near Witten am Ruhr, is the home of Coal mining in Germany. Here the seams of high density coal needed for smithy work, as well as general heating, and iron work was found in abundance right at the surface. The Gallery above was dug immediately into the seam and made it straight through this hill. The seam of coal here is seen clearly high  in this rock face just above the gallery shown above. However, After only 50 meters into the gallery that seam was at waist height. To reach the deeper coal, angled shafts like the one marked by this hoist frame. This hoist was used up until the 60's. Producing coal even during the major modern coal work in nearby towns like Dortmund and Essen.

After having been coming to Dortmund for over 8 years only just made it to our first Borussia Dortmund Futbol match at Signal Iduna Park.  StringGirl Poses in her new outfit in front of Signal Iduna Park (the biggest Futbol stadium in Germany).  In here seat in "The Temple" we look to the south wall (the Yellow Wall) with 25,000 fans in the standing area where the die hard BVB fans keep the crowd going all game loong. The Fare in the VIP area. Currywurst, Schinken (ham), and Rosti potatoes. Real Gourmet!

The moat outside the gate to Emperors Palace Still finding photos from the last few trips while trying to get back to the flow of work and school. StringGirl as usual has been very busy. I found these from the Tokyo Trip and upload them. The Emperors Palace was a short walk from the Tokyo Prince Hotel and worth a moderate walk on my last morning in Tokyo. The weather was already pretty warm that day, and sun was up quite early 6:00AM. Joggers were already making their rounds of the 5km loop around the Palace. StringGirl just had a leisurely walk from the hotel, there she passed a few nice little parks. After dodging the surprising number of homeless sleeping everywhere around the parks she did find this nice little garden and pond. For the most part it is impressive that they did make sure to dedicate a fair portion of this very densely populated city to green space. Japanese serenity at garden between Minato Ward and Emperors Palace New meets old in this shrine at the foot o...

Biot is a small village perched high above the Cote D'Azure in France. Located only a few klicks away from Nice and Antibes it was our stop for purely touristic endeavorer before heading off to the Beach in Antibes. Sheri and the Girls stop for a short while in the streets of Biot Biot main street is pedestrian friendly and full of charm View Larger Map Famous for its glasswork we stopped to have a look at some of the local crafts shops to see what we could find. We found some nice Wine Glasses (stemless) as well as many other beautiful items we were afraid to buy and ship. We chose to take the wine glasses home. not our exact glass (ours are green and lavender) but same make and style The city map of Biot shows just how into their local crafts they are. It was tiled mosaic.

StringGirl visits an old shrine in Tokyo Visiting Tokyo you get to see the old and the new: sometimes in harmony and sometimes not. In this case the Temple shown here is relatively intact in the middle of some prime real estate (near some big hotels and many office parks). Shrine shown with the Tokyo Tower in background The modern and the ancient sit side by side here. Beautiful temples and shrines, sqeezed in between office parks, hotels, and busy neighborhoods all add to the bustle that is the Shinbashi area. This tree just inside the gate was planted in 1879 by US president Grant Ulysses S. Grant stood at this site and planted this Nepalese Cedar. Through the gates you can see one of the busy streets in the area. In fact just about 1/4 mile further down the street the original outer courtyard gate still stands, spanning the street and still being frequented daily (just outside the Starbucks). The Tokyo Tower at night, over the grounds of the Prince Hotel