StringGrrl sees the World

StringGirl makes her way out to Stryia (Austria) for a technical conference. The conference was held atop Schlossberg, a site where once sat a cloister of some sort. Now it houses a few touristic museums, restaurants, and bars. To visit the site you can either take the funicular (train that uses remotely powered cable system to travel up seriously steep slopes), an elevator from the parking structure, or stairs. The site is @300 meters above the level of the city. Some well preserved relics from older structures litter the site, with a still standing theatre that now uses a retractable roof system. And some old cellars and the odd tower here and there. Nestled among some of those older remains we found the cache. A nice sized cache in a semi urban setting.

Comfy seating in a "living room" atmosphere Recently many Delta lounges have undergone significant investment DTW is not one of them; but that is not to say that it is not a decent lounge. Located in the center of the Macnamara terminal of Detroit the Delta Sky Club lounge sits atop a bustling hub of international travel. After clearing the porno-scanners you proceed down the escalators to the "A" terminal past the mall style food court, the Fox Skybox, Duty free, and a Detroit souvenir shop you find on the left the sliding glass entry to the Delta Sky Club which serves as the Skyteam Alliance partner lounge for thos international visitors who make the cut. (Gold medallion flying international or first class or Sky team elite plus visitors). Enter the lounge after getting past the "velvet rope" You get the expected "members only" inquisition as you enter, then proceed up the escaltors to the lounge. Today was more c...

We are going to have to see if we can get the StringGirl fitted for a Dirndl in time to arrive in Munich for the Volksfest (Oktoberfest) next week. Getting packed for a two week jaunt in the Germanic Speaking areas of Europe. Will be hitting all the big ones on this trip. Austria (Vienna then Graz: for a technical conference on sheet metal forming ) Switzerland (Zurich for work, by night train from Graz) Bavaria (to couch-surf with colleagues and the celebrate Oktoberfest) Germany *(to work at the German offices of AutoForm) *distinguishing the visit to die Freistaat Bayern from Deutschland, perhaps a bit old fashioned View Larger Map Hopefully the trip is that correct magical blend of effective work (for the work that I have to do) and enjoyable down time and visiting with friends and making new ones. Hopefully some good post material for later. Tschüß ! Search for Travel Deals Outside Magazine Gear of the Year Summer 2010: eBags Mother Lode TLS Junior

If you like labyrinthine airports with long walks from hub to hub then Malpensa is for you. Milan Malpensa has two terminal buildings: terminal 1 handling much of the intercontinental traffic and terminal 2 with regional and smaller carriers. In terminal 1 StringGirl prepares to embark on her trip home from Varese. Without prior knowlwedge of the exact location of the lounge(s) we checked the SkyTeam site and found that there were several options available, specifically 2 listed should work. The Sky Team partner lounge for Air France is listed as being in Terminal 1 just after security and the duty free shops. This AM we arrive at the airport just after 5:00. The loung opens at 5:15. A long walk tells us that we have gone too far. However, signage did not. Until we risked a walk toward gates A24-39 did we find our first sign post for Air France. Inside the lounge a consistent appearance of the AirFrance lounge greets us. Semi-comfy pleatherette chairs with lit side tables...

Travel into the North of Italy from arriving over the Alps. StringGirl made the connection from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. In the background are the freshly snowed Alps and any number of mountain lakes. View Larger Map In the town center of Varese, the AutoForm sales team gathers for a photo at the monument of Guiseppe Girabaldi, a national here in the Region of Varese. For the AutoForm Sales Meeting recently held in Varese Italy, StringGirl went along to visit this area which she had not yet explored. Varese is just a few km north of Milan and not too far from the border of Canton Ticino in Switzerland.

Too often as we go about our lives we forget about the lives of those around us. Our cares are not their cares, our lives not their concern nor their ours. Too easily we slip past others, too often do we concern ourselves with just our lives and our own little problems. I wanted a beverage on the plane, I reminded a flight attendant where to find that beverage. I may have pushed too far on a person who needed some comfort instead of yet another request. It seemed a decent request, but I don't now what is happening i her life do I? Patty bailed out her colleague, she got me my beverage, and no she may not have lost here Mother just last week. But Patty, gave the right reaction, Patty was kind to me and her colleague. She gave her fellow Delta attendant an out and saved the day. Patty gets the "mydeltarewards" voucher, for her job well done. Sorry if could not help her colleague smile. Thank you Patty for you kindness to me and you coworker.

not my gate but still watching out for the customer, Alessandro and Abdul give stringgirl a pic.