StringGrrl sees the World

StringGirl and Amber in Social Birmingham Michigan is a suburb of Detroit just off of Woodward Avenue (M1) , honestly we rarely eat there. But as our colleague and his wife are spending their year in the US slumming in B-ham we thought we should have a few of our team meals closer to his home to introduce them more to their long-short term home. View Larger Map The dining room Social is kind of new (I had a hard time knowing where it was as this used to be "Tokyo Sushi" for quite some time, and is still listed as the restaurant at this address (and mapped with Streetview). View Larger Map "four seasons patio" dining area used to be the Alley between this building and it's neighbor Mixology at Social is good, with better than average selection of top shelf liquor  I was pleased to arrive early and find that the rest of our group decided that we should have some cocktails. The bar at Social is well stocked with good and gr...

With the upcoming Champions League Cup game between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, many people will be wondering,"Just where the heck is Dortmund ?"   "Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund"  Hails from the city of Dortmund. Dortmund is one of the cities that make up what in much of Germany is known as the "Ruhrpott" (a slightly pejorative term for the Ruhrgebiet, or Ruhr Valley). Dortmund is a town that StringGirl and Amber know well having spent many a trip to Europe there while Eric works at  AutoForm . Dortmund is also the home of Hoevels Hausbrauerei Head downtown to the City Center of Dortmund and you find a not too new not too old, and not too posh German city. It is moderately clean, fairly busy but for the most part all I know of Dortmund is the area just south of the Hauptbahnhof which is pretty much a mall. An area that prides itself for having the largest Christmas Market Tree (that's right just the tree is the largest)...

A frequent traveler through Dusseldorf Airport, StringGirl rarely takes the opportunity to visit the namesake of the Airport. The city of Dusseldorf is one of the largest and most populace in Germany (7th), as the seat of the Rhine-Ruhr region of Nordrhein-Westfalen State it anchors the most populace areas of Germany. Johanneskirche (Johannes Church)  Dusseldorf has an interesting blend of old and new districts where very old buildings often sit nestled directly adjacent to modern architecture. A walk through Dusseldorf from the train station will expose you too many flavors of European styled buildings. Bauhaus, Gothic, Romanesque, Neo-Classical, and Modern. Numerous parks and greenspaces are located throughout the city, we found many on our way to get lost Schifffahrt-Museum im Schlossturm The Rhein with the Rheinturm (Rhine Tower) and Dusseldorf Media harbor in the back ground Looking toward the Burgplatz from the Haven The view up fr...

In Line for "x  Flight" http://www.sixflags.com/greatamerica/rides/xflight.aspx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Flight_(Six_Flags_Great_America) http://www.sixflags.com/greatamerica/rides/batmantheride.aspx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_The_Ride

Parcells 7 and 8th grade mixed Choir (superior) --> Parcells Concert Band - 8th grade (excellent)

Six Flags Great America in the suburbs just north of Chicago and west of Milwaukee is a smallish but quality Midwestern theme park. Much smaller than Cedarpoint in scale and number of rides but larger than Michigan Adventure  Six Flags Great America was the destination for Parcells Middle School for the 2013 Music in the Parks Festival. StringGirl and Amber arrive at the park I had not been there since I was nearly 15-17 years old so my memories of the park were quite vague. For StringGirl, Amber, and IssaK this was their first visit to Great America. As Parcells Middle School aims to do each year, we attended with the 7-8 grade band, orchestra, and choir students for an adjudicated music festival. The Carousel One of the landmarks of the park is the Two level Carousel at the park entrance. While carousels are not the stock and trade of the competitive world of theme park money siphoning, this carousel is a charming and large feature...