...more Germany

More from our latest expedition to Germany. These are just some various sites we saw and some pictures from inside a couple of the castles that we were able to tour. As most of you know we ended our trip in Mainz which just happened to be holding a beer festival. I mean, what's a visit to Germany without a beer festival??...am I right? Hopefully you are getting excited about seeing Germany because you might just be able to twist our arms to go back.

Castles and fairytales

We are back from Germany and here is my first slide show. We took so many pictures it was hard to narrow down what I wanted to show so I think I'll just keep making slide shows until I run out of good pictures! This was from our trip down the Rhine river. I tried to keep everything in order and added some shots from the river side towns and vineyards along with the castles of course. Dana usually does a better job of describing our trips so I'll let you read her account of our weekend. I'll just say that this part of Germany was beautiful. I always think of it as part of the old Eastern European block with its impoverished, war ravaged buildings and cities. From what I've seen of cities like Berlin and Munich I'm sure that impression would be somewhat reinforced but the Rhine river valley is fairytale Germany. We enjoyed touring some of the castles (we have 16 more for anyone that wants to join us!), enjoyed the small villages, relaxed on the cruise and even took in a beer festival! Wunderbar! Hope you enjoy the pictures.

For Mother Nancy

Sorry about the delay! Here is Ray Lamontagne who's music I have been a fan of for the last couple of years. He doesn't get a lot of play time but he is quite a good singer songwriter.

The Bourne Disappearance

As the charade that is the Zimbabwe elections now enters the "counting" phase I have one question...where is Jason Bourne? Mugabe has proven himself to be nothing more than a junkyard dog ready to rip the flesh from anyone he deems an intruder into his world of power and money. There are nearly constant news images of opposition supporters who have been tortured or slaughtered for having the courage to stand up for democracy and yet the West has done nothing. Gordon Brown has threatened to ban the Zimbabwe cricket team from play in Britain and has had talks with Tesco, a major food chain, to stop selling to the country demonstrating the stark contrast with his predecessor's action over talk policies. The U.S. is no doubt caught in a catch 22over the international anti-violence/anti-action stance all the while calling on America to "do something." I want to know where Jason Bourne has been all these months. Surely Mugabe can simply have an accident or be killed by a member of his own staff right? So Jason if you're listening, the people of Zimbabwe need you.

Song(s) of the Week

This song of the week is more like artist of the week, but there are 2 artists. Really it's just play whatever I want of the week. As you know we saw Clapton last weekend (awesome!) so here are a couple of songs he played as tribute to that great event. Also included are 2 songs off the new Augustana album. I really like these guys as they fit neatly into my taste of solemn pseudo-indi rock or something like that. They have a good sound. You can preview their entire album on their website here and if you order on iTunes you get a free acoustic version of Sweet and Low.

Age old problem

I'm under the impression that I've hit another milestone (30 years on Earth) and since I've looked 30 for some time now and I'll probably never act it, I figure now is as good a time as any. I think middle age is now 40 so at least I'm not included in that label yet but I will admit that I already miss being 20 something. This is turning out to be quite an event over here though. My boss took us out to eat at a restaurant her nephew is the head chef at and included are some crude cell phone pictures we took. Mine is a rib eye with ox cheek won-tons, mashed potatoes and breaded broccoli. I had a tomato salad with rare South American tomatoes that are only produced by some Dutch company now. Dana had a stuffed chicken with sweet potatoes. The desert picture is of a pineapple parfait with a sort of honey lace decor on top of it. I actually tried black pudding and sting ray. I can now turn down black pudding as an experienced taster but the ray was surprisingly good. It was quality and presentation rolled into one. Felicimo!

Dana has gotten me amongst many other things, a trip to Portugal to watch one of the Portugal World Cup qualifying games at the end of the summer and a chance to see one of the world's best players Cristiano Ronaldo in person! We planned for my birthday some time ago to see Eric Clapton who played last night at Malahide Castle. The weather was menacing for the first part of the night but cleared to make a beautiful evening. Clapton mixed some classics in with his new songs and it was a pleasure to watch one of the music legends live. Here is another very crude phone video which won't do it justice.


Thanks to everyone for their cards and gifts. I only wish that I could have received them in person.

For my one and only

I've counted and we've been to 8 countries in the 10 months we've been here. That's not too bad! We've seen Edinburgh castle, the Colosseum, Eiffel Tower and Big Ben to name a few of the great sites. I've come to believe that what makes it all special is not where I've been and what I've seen but who I was able to share it with. All of these places have been unforgettable and what has made it so is my travel partner. So I wanted to pay her a little tribute and thank her for sharing this great adventure with me...plus tell her I love her along the way.

Turks!

We've been back from Turkey a few days now and after processing the trip and trying to tell everyone how my holiday was I think I've figured out what the trip was all about. I originally wanted to go to Greece this summer as a birthday gift to myself but after deliberation and concurrence with Ryan and Yunuen we decided on Western Turkey. I have to admit that I didn't know much about what I was getting into and I was a little scared of being an American in a predominantly Muslim country.

Kusadasi is a tourist town for lack of a better description on the West coast. It is near to a number of the ancient cities such as Ephesus, Didyma and Priene to name a few. While in town you are accosted by shop workers trying anything (especially the question, "where you from?") to start a conversation with you and get you into their stores. We talked to a few Turks who explained the situation to us which is basically that they work in Kusadasi for 6 months during "high" season around 15 hours/day, 7 days/week. Once you get the hang of just walking down the street you get a chance to talk to a few of them. Yusuf is the owner of a hookah bar near the bus pick up in town that we spent almost every night with. He was one of the nicest people we met, always with a smile and he even put American service to shame. Med was another young man who worked at our hotel and had brain teasers for us every time we saw him. Yunuen jokingly said we have more friends in Turkey than in Ireland and sadly, at least for a week, that was true.

We saw a number of great sites, my favorite being the library at Ephesus. We spent time on the beach and even took a boat cruise for a day. Really the trip meant a lot to me for several reasons. Obviously having Ryan and Yunuen along made it a lot more fun. Ryan and I smoked more cigars that week than I had the six months prior! I also learned to be weary of presuppositions about other people. The Turks were some of the friendlies most welcoming people we've met and I would have never gone if my travel companions hadn't wanted to go. That would have been a shame on a number of levels, but mostly because I wouldn't have learned this one valuable lesson. Surely Eastern Turkey would have been a different experience (or so I assume)...well, I guess it's a lesson that I'm "learning."

Song of the Week

This is turning into more like the song of the month so I'll try to be more consistent. The Kaiser Chiefs are probably over played now in the States but it is still a fun song to listen to.

Ruby

kaiserchiefs_ruby_...

Irish Flat #2

We are finally ready to post some pictures of our new flat. We are actually "sorted" and the place is feeling like home. We've loads more space and an extra bedroom (hint, hint). We are the top floor of a 4 story building which gives us a lot of light (2 skylights) and windows galore and a sweet view off our balcony. Green/blue carpet (not so good) is one of the drawbacks but we have a bike shed and quiet streets. We could hear the Springsteen concert the last couple of nights which was pretty cool. The cats are...well, cats and don't need much encouragement to settle in. Hopefully the calendar will fill up with visitors. See you soon.

Cambridge

We just got back from a few days with the Brits. I took what may be my last written exam...ever! I won't have any scores for 6-8 weeks but at this point I don't really care about that. We were in London for a couple of days then we took a 45 min train trip up to Cambridge to see one of my mates. Mike and I went through perfusion school together and he's now working for a company that has designed a new heart transport machine that could double the length of time a transplanted heart can be in transport. Well he was in Cambridge so we used the excuse to swing up there and say hi. See Dana's blog for sweet slide shows.

For Liam

This is my contribution to welcome back Liam. I call it the French pastry chef but I'm sure there are more appropriate names. Anyway...good to know you're back Liam. Welcome back to the good ol' U.S.A. from your mates in Ireland.

One day at a time

This has been a bit of a roller coaster week. First, we found out that we were being evicted from our apartment. The owner has decided to sell the building and gave us 28 days to get out. That sucked! Dana got hard to work and got us 10 viewings over the next 2 days and we found a new pad...Woo Hoo! It is a bit further from work and the gym but it is a "penthouse" 2 bedroom with a balcony and a fire place (pictures coming soon). Two days later I got my exam results from the boards I took earlier this month. Fortunately I passed both exams which certifies me as a clinical perfusionist (CCP). I do have quite a bit of preparing to do before my Irish exams in 3 weeks during which time we'll be moving so I'm a little concerned but we continue to push on.

On the road again...

Our next big trip is planned! We're heading to the Aegean coast of Turkey to a town called Kusadasi. It is smack dab in the center of the "historic" region of Turkey and offers some of the more ancient sites of the Persian, Greek and Roman cultures. We are very excited because it is not only a chance to so some serious site seeing but we will be right on the coast with what look like some beautiful beaches. R-E-L-A-X!
Ryan and Yunuen will be meeting us in Dublin before we head off so you can bet there will be some serious spades lessons going on. This is our most "exotic" trip yet and will prepare us for some of our planned holidays in Israel and Africa.

Here's what's up

I've been pretty bad about keeping my blog up to date. Here's what's been happening over here in the emerald isle. I took my American board exams a couple of weeks ago (which most of you know already) and I have to admit that it was probably the most difficult exam I've ever taken. I had been preparing for the last several months but you can still (evidently) feel under-prepared when you sit down and read the questions for the first time. I have my Irish exams next month which is a completely different in format and, from what I can tell, content. I guess I'd better get back to studying.

Ryan and Yunuen are coming out in June for round 2 which will be mainly consumed by a visit to Turkey (yes, the country). We are super excited to see them again and take another adventurous trip. I have to use up my vacation time. Somehow through my visits to Rome, London, Paris, Western Ireland (twice) and the U.S. I've only used 2 of my 25 vacation days. It's a tough life, but someone has to do it!

Other than that I can't say there is much new to report. I have a 50 capacity humidor that has about 85 cigars in it so I'd better get busy. With that I'll sign off...until next time.

Back home from...home

I'm back in Dublin from my whirlwind trip home to Tucson. It was a perfect time of year to visit with the temperature in the mid-80's the entire week. I do wish I'd been able to stay longer and enjoy it after all my errands were done and it would have been nice to have brought Dana along as well. I brought home a suitcase of goodies including some special gifts from Ryan (picture included!) Thanks to everyone who was able to spend time with me and to everyone who offered even though I just ran out of time. On a bright note, I think Spring has arrived. It has been quite warm the last two days and the gale force winds have subsided.

I've been able to update our visitor calender. Ryan and Yunuen are coming in June. YES! I have to go practice my spades.

Oh Daddy!

My dad told me one of the funniest stories I've heard in a long time last night. He has a whole slew of dogs (I use that term loosely as the are dachshunds and smaller than Sharptooth) that surround him in his sleep and all have their designated sleeping spots. I guess he has been having some pretty crazy dreams lately involving hand-to-hand combat and the like. The other night he woke up and was attacking and he thinks, trying to bite one of his dogs! All he can remember is that in his dream he was fighting some guy and when he woke up he had the dog pinned to the bed. You probably have to have an intimate knowledge of my dad and his relationship with his dogs to fully appreciate the hysterical humor in all this. It actually sounds quite horrible but from my position I couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably! I mean UNCONTROLLABLY!

It'll be great to be home in a couple of weeks and see everyone. I think it'll be a while before I let my dad live this one down.

Song of the Week

Here is an oldie. I don't know for sure whether this is Men at Work or if someone covered them but the voice sounds very close. One thing I am sure about - this is pretty sweet!

men at work - down...

Photos

Jordan 2
Jordan 1
Egypt
Norway
Belgium
Florence
Venice
Athens
Barcelona
Scotland 2
Bordeaux
Rhine River
Turkey
London
Paris
Ring of Kerry
Rome #3
Rome #2
Rome #1
Edinburgh
Belfast
Newcastle

Friday Night

Last night was a big relief. We had both had a busy week where Dana took the final exam for her current class and I had to give two talks at a meeting for cardiac professionals in Dublin. This all culminated in a night at the beer garden with a Guinness and a cigar. I smoked one of my remaining two Conga Black Pearls and Dana had a 5 Vegas Miami. I'm working on converting her to the cigar from her cigarillos as I think for a woman to enjoy as good cigar is both sophisticated and sexy! Congratulations to my missus for all her hard work and acing her class!