Europe Travelblog  -

+ 8 - 21 | § ¶Non!

France has voted against the new European Constitution?  Why?  What does this mean?

Although some analyzed the run up to the vote in terms of a reaction to America, the general interpretation I'm getting here in Europe is that the motivation for the vote wasn't America; it was about France and Europe.

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+ 16 - 16 | § ¶Manchester Pictures

Here are the long-awaited pictures from our trip to Manchester last weekend:

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+ 11 - 18 | § ¶The Apartment

Jenny did a great job finding our apartment.  She came to Hamburg before I did, so she ran all around Hamburg looking at various neighborhoods for nice furnished apartments, and we ended up choosing the first one she saw.

It's in a nice neighborhood, less than a kilometer from the lake and about one kilometer from her work and my German class.  Our bank, supermarket, ice cream stand, and subway stop are all within walking distance, so it's a great place to experience car-less city living.

The building dates from 1875, according to numbers above the outside door, but it was bombed to a shell in World War II.  It was rebuilt well, and it has a lot of charm and character.  Some of the apartments Jenny saw were much more sterile, but this place has warmth. (more)

+ 14 - 16 | § ¶Weekend in Manchester

Jenny and I just spent the weekend in Manchester, England.  She's still there, actually, as her conference doesn't finish until tomorrow.  However, I came back last night to return to my normal life: the newly-minted expat.

Manchester is a nice city.  The funny thing about Manchester for me is that I had been there before, but I often forgot that when talking to people about our visit.  In 1997 on my three-month trip across Eurasia with my friend Eugene, we spent a night in Manchester visiting one of his friends.  We didn't sightsee at all while I was there (Gene stayed an extra day and actually saw stuff), so I recognized absolutely nothing.  It was somewhat spooky knowing that I had been to the place before but had no distinct memories of it.  I felt like a Manchurian Tourist.

This time, though, I was enough of a tourist that I'll be able to remember it well.

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+ 12 - 18 | § ¶In over my head

German class went well today, so I was feeling confidant.  I felt like I could learn any language I wanted to learn.  I felt like I could even learn more than one language at once.

So, after class, I got excited when I noticed a Russian class on the cultural center's calendar.  I studied Russian for about 3 years each in high school and college, but that was a long time ago.  I remember the basics, but I've forgotten enormous amounts of vocabulary and grammar.  I'd love to refresh my Russian skills, and this class seemed like it might be a golden opportunity.  I didn't know if the class would be basic first-year stuff or advanced conversation and literature, but I decided to crash the class and see if I could pick up some useful conversation.

Nope.

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+ 17 - 10 | § ¶Time to Escape

I've been in Hamburg for eight days, and it's time to move on.

Actually, there's nothing wrong here, but I will be heading to another country tomorrow morning: the United Kingdom.

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+ 12 - 16 | § ¶Alice? Who the F*** is Alice?

Ahhh, the joys of having our own DSL.  Until today, we'd been the beneficiaries of the (unintentional?) generosity of a couple neighbors who had left wireless internet access points open and unsecured.  Thank you NETGEAR and richard, whoever you are.  We don't need you anymore, and now we are able to call home for free.

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+ 15 - 14 | § ¶Happy Morning

Living in Europe.  Waking up at 7:30 for a 5-mile bike ride around Außenalster lake in the brisk morning air.  Expecting my wife soon to return from a short business trip to Amsterdam.  Preparing for my second day of German language classes.  Listening to U2 on iTunes.

It's a good morning.

+ 21 - 6 | § ¶Separated again

After just four and a half days of being together, Jenny and I are apart yet again.  This time, however, we're at least on the same continent.  Jenny has a meeting for work in Amsterdam today, so I'm alone in our nice Hamburg apartment.  Fortunately, I have a neighbor's insecure wireless connection and CNN International to help me stay connected to the world.

Jenny might come home tomorrow, but she might have to be in Rotterdam or Aachen tomorrow; we just don't know yet.  That woman leads a crazy life.

+ 7 - 19 | § ¶Ich bin ein Schüler

I started my German classes today.  After three hours of German language a day, five days a week, for four months, I should be able to speak the language pretty well.  I definitely have a long way to go.  I did fine with some words and phrases, but I have to spend a lot more time just using the language before I'll be quick at replying to basic questions like "What is your name?" without long pauses and awkward stares as I parse it all out.

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+ 4 - 24 | § ¶Stade

Today we visited the small city of Stade.  Stade has a long history as a merchant city, but I'd never heard of it until Jenny looked for day trips in Lonely Planet.  We didn't spend much time there, but it was invigorating to be a tourist again for a few hours, in addition to trying to make a life here.
 
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+ 13 - 19 | § ¶Two Wheels

We just returned from our second bike ride of the day.  It's really nice to get out and get exercise on a bike. I think I'll ride a lot here - probably to my German class during the week and for exercise on the weekend.  It's sad that we don't ride that much when we live in St. Louis, because we really enjoy the ride.  Perhaps having a car in America plays into too much laziness.  Then again, St. Louis is much more humid than Hamburg is (it was actually chilly and rainy today here), and Hamburg is much less hilly than our neighborhood in St. Louis.

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+ 6 - 21 | § ¶Shopping Day

We spent much of the day out and about shopping for everything from a printer to pot holders to bicycles.  The bicycles have the potential to be the most useful purchase of the day, because we plan to use them for everything from sightseeing along the North Sea beaches to getting groceries.  I hope to lose quite a bit of weight while here (or just work off the beer, wurst, and wine), and we don't have a car, so I think we'll walk and bike a lot.

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+ 14 - 14 | § ¶Friday the 13th

Today is supposed to be a day of bad luck, but things have gone pretty well for me so far.  The biggest event of the day shouldn't ever have been necessary: I got all my luggage.

My American Airlines flight from JFK to London-Heathrow left about 45 minutes late on Wednesday.  I didn't think it'd be a problem.  After all, that still left me over an hour to change planes.

I forgot to take into account Heathrow. (more)

+ 8 - 20 | § ¶I've Arrived

I got into Hamburg a few hours ago.  The trip over was mostly uneventful, but the first two legs of the three-leg flight were each delayed.  Unfortunately, that meant that my checked baggage didn't get to my last plane in Heathrow.  I guess Monty Python knew what they were talking about.

I don't think the full meaning of living in Europe has set in yet.  Of course, the change and stress will be mixed in with living somewhere I don't know the language and not being gainfully employed for a while.  Oh well.

+ 18 - 10 | § ¶What's your Political Typology?

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press has updated their "Political Typology," their "effort to sort voters into homogeneous groups based on their values, political beliefs and party affiliation." They aim to look deeper than the typical Republican/Democrat and Liberal/Conservative spectra.

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+ 14 - 17 | § ¶Moving to Europe

In five hours, I'll leave on a flight to Europe.  I won't be back for quite a while.  In fact, I'm actually moving to Europe this time. 

Jenny moved to Hamburg, Germany a couple weeks ago, and I'm leaving today to join her.  She has a temporary transfer through her company, Stereotaxis, to be the Account Manager for their two installations in Germany for 6 or 12 months.  We probably won't know until October how long we'll be there.

So, I have put my career on hold for the chance to live in Europe for a while (it'snot really a sacrifice).  I'll do an independent study project for my Master's Degree in Computer Science, study German, and perhaps do some part-time work for my employer (who is generously allowing me to take a leave of absence).  I'll probably find a good Java-based open source project on which to keep my skills sharp.

Since a large portion of my posts here are about politics or European travel, I expect to be posting a lot more once I'm there.  We hope to travel most weekends, so I expect to have a lot of new pictures in the Gallery soon.

This should be great.