THE FLIGHT: On the flight to Berlin, a Texas Multimillionare (with a winery, and a telescope) invited us to
the World Cup. After sorting out his cellphone problem, and buying a GPS, Murray drove us to Leipzig in a huge van. Sadly, due to cellphone problems, friend Bob (the Fruitcake Heir) had just sold the extra
tickets to a random couple on his train. So we were hijacked to Leipzig for nothing! But I think it was an honest mistake.
LEIPZIG: The city of Lepizig was hot and wild, with outdoor World Cup parties around 100-foot screens. Fans in
team colors (flags and puffy hats were favored) drinking and shrieking. One man had two beer bottles in his pockets, and one in each hand. Another carried two open wine bottles. The racket in the train
station was deafening, and armed security huddled in groups--safety in numbers?
DRESDEN: We returned to Berlin by train, crawled into our beds, and the next day took the train
into Dresden. Downtown Dresden is covered in cobblestones. It is no place
for the wheelchair-bound! Our luggage took a beating, as we wheeled it a mile to
the hotel. Dresden has only a few (LOVELY) reconstructed churches and buildings. Their stones are black with damage from the bombs.
Modern architecture is hideous, consisting of utilitarian boxes with
improbably-colored surfaces.
ELECTRICITY: It is not easy to get an Apple G4 power cord in Germany. Not at Saturn in
Berlin (which only takes cash) and not at Saturn in Dresden, not even at KarMarkt.
I was desperate !!! when a kindly German woman at KarMarkt located the Apple
dealer for me--only a brief walk from my hotel. The cost was a painful 60 euro!
WORK: With the aid of this power cord, I finished the manuscript for "Darwin Awards 4: Intelligent Design" while Greg worked at the Supercomputer Tradeshow, or lay in bed moaning.
He suffered from fever and a sinus infection for many
days, poor baby. While he was sick, I brought him a vegetarian meal from a Kabob house, which
looked like deep-fried cheese. Greg thought was fish. He says there are countries where fish are part of a "vegetarian" diet, and it is polite to ask, "Are fish vegetables in your village?"
FOOD: Lickety split, we were sick of German food, and dying for Thai. We asked at the front desk. The
clerk was surprised. Thai? Perhaps we meant Chinese, or Japanese. But no,
"We Want Thai!" Conferring with a colleague over a restaurant book, he found ONE
Thai/Sushi place.
In an effort to increase Thai appreciation in Dresden (so there will still
be a Thai restaurant when we come back) I suggested tp the clerk, "Try it!
It's very good." He said, self-deprecatingly, "German people like German
food--meat, potatoes, sausage." It was clearly the food the clerk ate,
though he seemed amused about it.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Train to Prague, and a warm afternoon walking through the spectacularly ornate
downtown center, and gawking at the baroque castle. People spoke in English and German. We had some yummy Gnocchi.
OXFORD: Then, a Czech Air flight to London and the train to Oxford, during which
Greg's suitcase wheel peeled apart, victim of those Dresden cobblestones.
Oxford had a screechingly picturesque small-town University feel. I'd love
to spend more time there, and almost did, as I discovered it's easy to get lost!
Business trips are fun!