Vielen herzlichen Dank
I really want to thank Bridget for taking care of our home and puppies while I am away. Please give her a ring so she can get out a bit! Thank you sweetie—be home soon! Ich muss den ganzen tag an dich denken!

It's true what they say
After my meal Ariana walked down to the Römer to see the reconstructed buildings and the Cathredral. It was very beautiful. But we had to run, Sven was cooking dinner. So we entered the Übahn or subway, which was more beautiful.

There are these cool new display at every stop that tell you the times of the next trains or busses. And they are always on time!

Visiting Mainhatten
Today I was able to twice visit the City Centre.

The first visit was with Marek, the Director of the Frankfurt office, where we drove down past the Messe and Houptbahnhof and through the financial district with all the skyscrapers. We ended up parking under the outdoor shopping district and walking through it. One building was the Hauptwache, meaning high lookout post, where Frankfurters used to kick ass. Now it is a sweet restaurant. We ended up at a delicous thai restaurant where we discussed business over a Wießbier. One the way back I got my first glimpse of the Kaiserstrauße, or King's Street, which means red light district. I couldn't resist rolling down the window to ask 'Heya flossie, how much ya charge for a lube job?'.

Ariana and I went down after work so I could pick up a few hygenic items. We shopped at a big department store for my items, and then went fruitlessly shoe shopping for her impending business trip to Berlin. After no luck we ended up at the Frankfurt Café Karin, named for the EspressoPromethian woman who insisted that Germans drink coffee that is as good as the French and Italians. I had a delicous beer, I'll have to ask which kind, and a Kartoffel puffer with fresh goatcheese and herbs. Yummy!

Oh, and on the way there we viewed a rare species of Ferrari Citröen

Can't figure out this sign. I guess I'll cross that street when I get to it. It's called WippenStraße.

Frankfurt V Palermo, UEFA Cup
Annelle and I went to O'Reilly's Pub across from the Houptbohnoff last night. We had a lot of fun talking about acclamating and her new life as a German life. Guenter joined us after the match and we had lively conversation.

After two and a half Guinesses my stomach sounded like a water balloon and would swirl and splash with each step!

Dem Dogs are Good!
Here people do not walk their dogs on leashes. The dogs walk behind their owners, sometimes as far as a block. The dogs follow all traffik and pedestrian laws. And I once saw a dog light it owners cigarette. I should mention here that the dog was Gary Coleman. And yes, the title is a reference to Pete Rose's days as a spokemodel for Gold Star Coneys.

Wasserdame
Someone at work brought in a cost-effective device for lonely men. Said device was found in the the prophylactic dispenser in a public restroom. He said he was curious "was is das 'travel pussy'?".

The device is a plastic bag you fill with warm water in one end (and secure) and finish with lubrication and personal extremity in the other end. Cheap and Convenient. I should suggest to Rick Steves for his next trip through Europe's back door.

The Brunchman Cometh
Everyday at 11am a truck pulls up and plays the theme to the A-team, and everyone comes running for the Brunchman's goodies.

First day
I got to the hotel and showered and came into work just in time to meet everyone and go to lunch. We went to an Italian restaurant where I was able to order in broken German and Guenter ordered some Apple Wine, the specialty of this region. I tried my best to be productive throught the afternoon.

After work Carolina and Ariana, whom I was able to hang out with when they were in the States, took me to a cool little Wine bar where I had this incredible dry white wine and some Alsatian Tartes. Even though I was unbearably talkative through dinner Carolina and Ariana acted interested, I was definitely worried I would not get to sleep.

But alas I crashed around 22:30 local time as the television blared Werder Bremen's defeat of Levski Sofia in the Champions League.

Care in the Air
Delta screened a video on the plane which invited passengers to perform in-air 'faux-ga' as I would call it or a yoga meets eastern accupuncture meets Sting rituals. I couldn't help but laugh thinking what if I actually did these things. Everyone around me would think 'there goes that wife beater stretching his arms and massaging his face preparing to tear her apart again.

Non-Alcoholic Passionfruit Sparkler and Tiny, Tiny Tears
I owe an apology to my dear readers. My last post was a wee bit mellow dramatic. I was through ticketing and security in 20 minutes. However I was completely unprepared for 'the Sniffer' — the device before the metal detector that makes sure you are not carrying anthrax on-board — which blasted me in the eyes.

Once on-board I found myself sitting next to a young, very reserved German girl. I got situated and began to read. After a few moments I noticed tears streaming down her cheeks. I asked if she was okay and she, embarrassed, said yes. She would cry for a minute, then get her compact out and immediately fix her face. And again. And again.

Other passengers were themselves getting situated and began look around to see if there were any celebrities or terrorists on-board. What they saw and misinterpreted looked as if it were pulled from a bad episode of Dateline. A sloppy man reading his book disinterested as his young female companion cries after a series of insults. 'What would you do?' such a pogram would pose to the viewer. Mostly when my eyes met those of my fellow passengers I would see in their faces disgust and pity with infrequent rage.

Ironically the inflight entertainment was 'The Breakup' with Vince Vaughan and Jennifer Aniston...

Into the Wild Blue
I'm heading off to the face the orange-colored terror qeues and fire breathing stewardesses. Wish me luck and I hope not to be plastered or flamed against the side of a national landmark. Although I always fancied my face on the side of Mt Rushmore.

Thanks to the self-actualization tapes I realized that my personal opinions and experiences are so important that you would like to view them over the internets. In creating this blog I will try to hold true to the opinions Charles Foster Kane when he bought the Enquirer: "I'll provide the people of this city with a daily paper that will tell all the news honestly...And they're going to get the news - the true news - quickly and simply and entertainingly. And no special interests will be allowed to interfere with the truth of that news."