where has daichi been?

seems like everyone is wondering. Anyway, I'm feeling really tired right now so the picture should give you an idea. Another zoo. Besides that, shouting with soccer fans, watching blue man group and ever so exciting s-bahn train rides with intimidating drunk hooligans.

I'll try to post more tomorrow.

supa deutschland!

So, Germany is in the Final. I went to the Peace Square to watch the game at the town center on a big screen tv. A lot of police presence, but in general most people were fairly tame. There were probably a few thousand people in the square and I think the Germans were outnumbered by Turks (or at least the Turks made more noise.) It was fun to watch despite not understanding the commentary and the tv signal being lost multiple times (which had more to do with the source as I understand from people watching the game in Montreal.)

When Germany scored the last minute goal, some rowdy fan decided to fling his cup of beer and got me nicely. Anyway, I got a souvenir worldcup 2006 cup when I got some beer (at 4 euros!, funny how I've gotten used to the 2euro beer) and some random German hat. I guess now is really the time to pick up a German jersey...

Not much else happened since Sunday, I explored the north end of the city and found a great park with paths to run on. Saw some rabbits and goats there too :) Time to go :)

dortmund zoo

I really enjoyed my trip to the Dortmund zoo this morning. The subway map was very clear to me, yet I still couldn't figure out which platform to get onto. :P Despite the day being hot and humid, the area around the zoo was wonderfully cool. The first thing I noticed was that very few animals are caged. I could see the lions and tigers within 10-20m with a small moat dividing us. It felt really nice, and the zoo was extremely clean. The only babies I got to see were these two owls peeping over their parents. I didn't notice them at first but I'm glad I did. They kept their eye on me ;) Oh, and I saw the Steinadler (the German eagle? often used on their flags and Dortmund) and they were big...

The afternoon was spent at the Dortmund Art and culture museum. I really enjoyed one particular room with porcelain plates from Holland and Germany with asian influences, as well as huge paintings on porcelain tiles. Some historical photographs and the models of the city were very cool to see, as well as a large section of cartography tools. I don't think I've seen as many incredibly detailed and priceless goblets, chalices and other church artifacts in one place.

its been a while, but I suppose that's a good thing

I'm sure I'm skipping out something, but Thursday was a long day due to some lovely people organizing conference calls right after my German work hours well to 8pm. It was a late dinner (I had a weird potato latke with smoked salmon on top + salad) but we got to see the German and Portugese fans if I recall correctly.

Friday started earlier but we also ended earlier. We found a nice trendy Italian restaurant for dinner and tried to go to bed early but didn't. Oh yeah, the Turks won. They were all over the street partying, it was fun to watch.

Saturday we had an early start, getting up at 6am to catch the ICE train to Koblenz. From there we caught a boat cruise down the Rhine River to Bacharach. We saw numerous castles, but 3-4 hours on the boat was rather boring since there was nothing really to do. We got off at Bacharach and climbed to Stahleck castle (at the top of the mountain). The castle is now used as a youth hostel, and there was a brass band practicing which was really fun to hear as we climbed all the way to the top, and the view of the Rhine was beautiful.


We both agreed we wouldn't be able to bear another 3-4 hour boat ride back so we took a local train back for 8euro? which got us back in less than an hour.

We arrived at Koln in the evening, and next door to the central station is... the DOM. Holy Magoli it was huge. I could not fit it in (really wish I had a wide angle lens.) And gorgeous. We went inside and there was a wonderful choir singing which added to the mood. A lot of young christians giving out candles in and outside. I'm not sure if the stained glass was from the past but the tiles on the ground were incredible. There were some very nice pictures outside of how much damage the cathedral had sustained. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. And yes, the tower on the right is cut off. It dwarfs the main part which is no small chicken either. We stayed in town and had good Chinese food (had duck :) and saw a LOT of people watching Holland vs. Russia at outdoor terasses along the water. I really am a city boy. It felt good to be around so many people.

Oh yeah, I had some Kolsch beer while I was there. I'll admit it did taste good for the first few gulps after a long sweaty day. (It was hot and humid, and that climb to the castle had me really sweaty since I stupidly didn't wear shorts.)

ice cream

today's run took me to the "port" on the north west portion of the city. It was essentially loading docks and a green water canal. Nice place to run, and there was an old train station or something that looked pretty but that was about it. 90 cent ice cream and a decent Italian dinner rounded off a busy day at work. I'm going to try to get to bed early tonight, so today's post is short. See you all. ps. I had some aplestruf or whatever its called. it'ok. I'll stick with apple juice.

Rabbits!

Dortmund seems to have a rabbit problem. hahaha. My continuation of running the east side of the city somehow turned into an exploration of the south. I ended up checking out the Westfalenhallen, a huge sports complex and a very nice 400m track. I knew the Westfalenpark was to the west, (and saw the ugly "TV tower") but as soon I started running, I noticed many holes in the ground (think giant ant hills), and then, rabbits. Big rabbits, little rabbits, all bouncing around right near the road. It was hilarious. The farther west I went, the more rabbits I would see. I had told my co-worker I'd meet him for dinner so I decided to turn back. I got a little mixed up but made it back.

We had Turkish food for dinner (did I mention there's a huge community here?) and had something that tasted like Barg at Tehran. Ended up going for a walk afterwards to walk off the food and took some pictures. And no, I don't know why there are rhinos everywhere.

And the ferris wheel? Another I don't know. And hey, I want to be blown away by food too, but its just not cutting it. Maybe in Berlin...

I had Schniztel for dinner, with a mushroom sauce and fries. The schnitzel was a bit tough but on the whole I thought it was ok. My project manager bought me a Dortmunder Thier, and it was ok. It was a very clear beer so that's probably why I drank it all. Anyway, not much of an evening as we sat around in my room watching the Germans beat the Austrians 1-0 :)

alive!

the city is alive! I just came back from an hour run; heading west and there are A LOT of people outside. There is a football game tonight, Germany vs. Austria so it appears to have brought some people out of the wood work. (There's a big party at one of the squares with a big screen tv showing the game.) Last night I was politely introduced to the Turkish community here who were busy celebrating their win just behind the train tracks where I am staying.

Work was uneventful as I was there to set myself up, and a few of them came out with me for lunch at some random Italian place. The food was ok but a fairly big portion. I also learned I'm not supposed to tip unless its dinner. oookay.

Will be back after the other co-horts return from Bonn...

ps. I found a bike rental place! It was next door to the train station! 8 euros a day :)

so very tired.

This is the view from my hotel room. Its almost 10pm CET and I'm exhausted. Its been one long day.


We had a one hour delay in our flight but otherwise it was uneventful. I loved the high speed train ride to Dortmund. It was on time, quiet and smooth. Passed out on the train for at least half an hour. Another good nap taken at the hotel once I got to finally brush my teeth.

As my project manager explained to me, Dortmund was heavily destroyed during WWII. Even after a good half hour of walking around, my co-worker and I didn't feel like we were in Europe. The architecture and shops are exactly the same as at home. Boring square buildings, department stores with Starbucks and McDonalds filling in the void. There were a few buildings that looked older but nothing older than 50 years. The town is very quiet (what do Europeans do on Sundays?) and a bit disappointing. I definitely have to find some touristy places to go to this coming weekend. After traveling 5000km, I had Subways for dinner. I know. I'm honest, I TRIED to find something to eat but it was fast food or pubs with beer, and something that looked like poutine. Can't wait to sleep like a baby tonight.

Oh. I had myself a moment of happiness. We walked by a bicycle store but everything looked new inside. Then I passed a building with a bunch of used looking bicycles inside and I was ecstatic. Rental, or to buy, it woul dbe the first place to check out tomorrow! Then I saw the door. It said post-office or something hahaha. They must be bikes for letter carriers. Damnit!
hahaha.