Eurostar, Thayls, Cologne

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If any of you ever get the chance to take the Eurostar from London to Paris or Brussells, make sure you do. It is a thrilling experience. To say the train moves along is an understatement. It is like flying along the ground. A quick ride to Brussels still left me five minutes late for my connection to Cologne. No worries. Another train to Cologne came along the next hour. I got to Cologne, found my hotel and headed downtown to see the city's stunning cathedral. You're looking at a close up of the cathedral door handle and a shot of the facade of the church. Notice on the facade that my photo doesn't even come down to the doors. The cathedral is absolutely massive, the largest church I've ever seen. The inside is dark, but the stained glass windows are incredibly beautiful and reach at least 60 feet into the church. It looks German, if you know what I mean -- stark, imposing, beautiful. Cologne has a completely different feel than London. Firstly, it is difficult because I don't speak German. Obviously, everyone here speaks English, but it can be intimidating to walk along the street and have no idea what the stores there sell if they don't have a picture. The bakery was easy to spot. The pretzel boys were very cute and I'd bring some home to the kids if they would last. I had dinner at one of the many brauhauses that serve Kolsch, the local beer, and by what I can tell, the only thing served. That's OK because it is delicious, as was the saurbraten I had. The reason I'm here, Orgatec, begins tomorrow, so it's off to work, but in a decidely different location. I'm now watching a German horror movie, which, if you can believe it, is even scarier than if it were in English.

Respecting the old, celebrating the new

Photos: top left, clockwise -- The first photo is of a modern art exhibit at the British Museum. What you're looking at is too collections of mummified animals stuck on the end of a pole. But look at the shadows on the wall. They make the heads of a man and a woman. It was very cool. The next is a very classic piece from the Parthenon. Amazing in scale. Below that is a massive head that looks as if it is made of some type of plastic, but incredibly real. It is at least five feet across. Under this is a bust of Julius Ceaser (half at least).
Chris headed home this morning so I was off on my own today. I decided to head to Herod's department story. Everything I looked at cost a fortune. Nothing I picked up cost less than 350 pounds. Nothing. That's about $700 to us. Prada boots. British made barn jackets, etc. So I headed over to the Victoria and Albert museum, but didn't go in. Didn't sound too interesting, so I had lunch at a nice Thai restaurant. Good Tom Yum soup and Pad Saew. So I got back on the Tube at Knightsbridge and headed to the Tottenham Road station. The Tube system is absolutely amazing here. Very, very easy to use, clean, and trains every few minutes. I was headed to the British Museum, one of the things I really wanted to see while here. It was well worth the time to visit (since it is absolutely free to get in). The place is absolutely filled with the world's treasures, from Greece, Egypt, Assyria, etc. It was fantastic and a good place to go alone. I spent five hours on the first floor alone. I was surprised to find modern sculpture mixed in with the antiquities as well. Hopefully these few pictures give you an idea of the juxtaposition (mine, not the museum's). There are about four floors in total, plus special exhibit areas. There was a good special exhibit on Hadrian that was sold out. Oh well. My feet were barking after seven hours at the museum. I headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest, then off to get some fish and chips. I went to one of my favorite local pubs, the Prince Edward, for a few pints. Now off to bed and on the Eurostar and Thayls to Cologne tomorrow morning. An excellent trip so far.
Rob

Football in the UK

Well, we just got back from the Fulham v. Sunderland football match and what a time. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever done and certainly the most intense sporting event I've ever been too. We started the day at the Fulham team shop to buy a scarf and a few buttons. We were already wearing the team's black colors as well. There was a statue unveiling of Johnny Haynes, one of the finest Fulham players in the 1950s and 1960s. We were right up front. Muhammad Al Fayed, who owns the team and Harrod's department store (and is Dodi's dad) was at the event. Very cool. Then we walked down the street until we found a pub and ended up sitting with three guys from Sunderland, which is in the north of England. Obviously, these guys are passionate about the game. They got up at 6 a.m. to get to the stadium for the 3 p.m. kickoff and apparently were drinking all the way. Chris and I were perfect diplomats for the U.S., explaining the passions associated with collage sports compared to pro in the U.S. We bought each other a few rounds of beer and one of the guys pulled off his Sunderland jersey and handed it to me. What a nice gesture. The problem: Anyone in the Fulham stands with the opponents colors on gets kicked out (and gets beat up, from what I understand). So I stuffed it in my coat arm for the entire game. No one saw it and now I have one of the coolest souvenirs of the trip. The game itself ended in a 0-0 tie. Still, it was exciting throughout. The stadium, called Craven Cottage, was built in the 1700s. Incredible old pitch. And to imagine, it was built nearly 200 years before we even started playing American football. The chants, singing and support of the teams was amazing. What an experience. Now we're off to find a place to watch the "other" football -- MSU vs. OSU. Not sure if we'll succeed.
Rob

more photos

First night fun, great second day

Chris and I had a blast the first day/night here. Went to a few pubs and found this one call the Ploughman. They had quiz night on Thursday so we hooked up with this couple to help them answer a few questions. He was Irish and she was Scotish. Very nice. We closed the pub down at 11 p.m. -- they all close and 11. Yesterday we also walked all through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park to Buckingham Palace and on to Big Ben and Parliment. This moring, we took a very cool 4 hour bike tour. Here's a few of the sites we hit.

We're there/here!

Well, I'm here and Chris should be on his way. Nice, uneventful flight, but long. 7+ hours from Chicago, but no one was sitting next to me, so I could stretch out. Passed the time by watching movies and drinking Jack and Coke. The next video is of the Tube station at Heathrow. The Tube was packed with people on the way to work, but it is a very easy and efficient way to get around London. There is a Tube station just around the corner from our hotel. The third video is the street leading to the hotel. Very nice Bayswater neighborhood. I'm typing this from a nice little coffee shop. There is a nut behind me though. He just busts out laughing for no reason. Something must be amusing him. Maybe it's me. More later.

Today's the day

Chris and I had a nice lunch yesterday to plan out the itinerary of our trip yesterday. Yes, we're both leaving today. I'm flying through Chicago to Heathrow on United and Chris is flying through Detroit to Gatwick on Northwest. When I dropped him off at Meijer after lunch, I said, "See you in London." How cool is that? I managed to pack 10 days worth of stuff into one carry on bag (7 dress shirts, one suit, dress shoes. 10 pair of underpants, socks, etc. The bag feels like a sausage. If the zipper fails, I'm sure my clothes will fill the airplane. Look for a new post tomorrow morning. The Kirkbride brothers should be together again in London.
Rob