Senior year high school ID. Ha!

This was the actual day's beginning

We started at the Haufbrauhaus for saurkraut, pretzles, potatos and sausage weiners... (and sorry, this will have to be the last post for tonight as I am tired). Stay turned for more exciting Oktoberfest 2005 style. 

Olive Oil or Popeye ; )

Why my legs in this shot gotta look like Olive Oil's? I take offense to my comment. I mean, I've been trying hard at the gym. Anyway yes, those are my lone legs on the bottom of the ride. And yes, I look funny. Do I look funny to you? You know, when I was on there, for some reason I felt I needed to hold them out. Not sure why... and now I'll always think of it, because Frank so wonderfully captured it for history.

It's more than just drinking

But, it's more about the drinking. Lesley and I did one amusement ride before we started drinking. We thought it best in that order. This thing was so much fun... and it gave sky-high view of the entire Oktoberfest grounds! In all directions. It looked so cool while hanging upside down for 3 seconds. Hmm, if I have another I'll post it. It was a good thing we started with this. The previous picture was our first tent. And let me tell ya, I thought O'fest was going to be over before we could get a beer anywhere. It took about 1 h 30 mins before getting into any place (a few failed attempts - though a German was with us)... but finally a light shined upon us. WAS IT JESUS? [Was it a baby? A BABY? I don't think so. It couldn't have been a baby. What is that thing (sorry for the tangent)] I don't think so. It was Frank's wonderful, forceful German attitude that quickly open a door for us. Still not sure what he said to the security guy at the door... but after getting in, and using his wit again, we got a seat. A seat enough for one. But that's all we needed to order beers. As long as you're not standing, you can order a beer. Or many. Than just give a tip, and those wenches are yours all night long. Seriously, they are wenches. Beer wenches. Please, don't hate. Circulate!

Let's cut to it!

OKTOBERFEST ! I really didn't want to post these pictures because it makes me sad it's over and I'm no longer there. But, for you, my fans, I shall suffer. Don't cry for me my cpoo fans! The truth is I never left you... 

Holy...

Glockenspiel! This is the well known clock tower in the Marienplatz, Munich's main square. This clock was built in 1904 and plays three times a day. It's like a big kookoo clock (spelling may be off)... which, I wanted to buy one of, buy they are kinda ugly. 

We know it's early...

But we're happy because we're still drunk from the night before. Ok, Whatev! We're just normalizing because of what we anticipate lying undormant ahead. 

MUNICH BEGINS!

Here comes Oktoberfest! Or shall I say, here are Lesley and Frank getting the party started at 05:30 am, fly-high-bruxellian-airport-style. I told them not to get so crazy yet. Kids, they just don't listen. 

Familiar building. Different view.

Hotel de Ville at night in the Grand Place, Bxl. Adrienne took this one. I don't think I got a night shot of this from this angle yet. Thanks Reen! 

Side-question:

Are Belgians inbred? No offense. Lovely place though. Oh, that energy cooling tower in one of the first pictures, it's not nuclear. Found that out this weekend. So that theory's out.

and to end the night...

A classic John face, mixed with a classic Reen face - in the elevator just before I pass out. 

Not sure what we walked into...

But, I think had something to do with the Belgian Maffia. Is there such a thing? Well... I've seen stranger since I've been here. It was fun nonetheless. It ended up being just a stop-off on the walk home. Adrienne, John and me again. 

To continue the late night...

My co-workers and friends, Lesley, Roope, Frank and myself. This was by far one of the smokiest bars in Brussels. 

This is the last night my brother was in town. It was the last night prior to Oktoberfest too. And, it was one of the last times working with Frank in Brussels. Frank chose this place for dinner and it was quite good. Le Soeur de Patron. Adrienne and John were wearing me out by this point of the trip. I had a great time but having to work in the morning and drink Belgian beers til dawn doesn't help my wrinkles. I can't wait to do it again though. 

At home?

So, on the walk to Comocomo (the restaurant in the previous 2 pictures), I saw this picture at a store nearby. It's a little blurry, but for those Philadelphians among us, it's Boathouse Row! Of the 5 pictures in the window... Boathouse Row was one of them. Neat. 

mmm...

Sweet treats too! 

Back to Bxl

My brother, Adrienne and myself at one of my favorite restaurants in Brussels. Not so much for the food, though some of it's very good (all single, plate bigger than bite-size that go around on a conveyor belt) but for the atmosphere and the speed. You can sit down and literally start eating. Not that I'm impatient, but Brussels (let alone Europe) isn't know for speed of service. So when you're hungry, ya just wanna eat!. Come visit me... I'll take you there. 

Near the shopping and beyond

There is a lot of nice architecture in Antwerp... 

Here's the fountain I mentioned. It was actually kind of cool. 

Antwerp and gothic

Ok, I'm almost sick of the Antwerpen pictures, but here in the background is Our Lady's Cathedral. It's the largest gothic church in Belgium. Work on the church began in the 14th century, before the Golden Age in Antwerp. 

Antwerp in the back

Guess who?... C'est moi! Another picture of me in Antwerp. You know, like I said before this is my site, so I'll post as many of me as I want. I don't want my friends and family to forget me. Plus, I need to show them I'm happy, healthy and eating. This is by the river/port right before sunset... though, I don't capture a sunsite picture. 

I don't know... something in the GP

I guess I'm not so knowledgeable about Antwerp. It was a last minute choice and I didn't get a chance to read anything about it. However, this is in the Grand Place. Many of the buildings in the Grand Place were guild houses from the 1600's. The fountain in the picture, center of the square, is of Brabo. Legend has it that a giant called Druon Antigon cut off the hand of any sailor that couldn't pay the toll to sail the River Scheldt. He carried on until defeated by a Roman... Silvius Brabo... who became the Duke of Brabant. The name Antwerp, in Dutch, means 'hand throwing'. Interesting, eh? 

I'm back in Brussels...

And will soon post the rest of my pictures. I can't say that I've been that busy, but was in the US for a few weeks. You *could*say that I had time to post the rest of Antwerp or even the much anticipated Munich Oktoberfest pictures... but you know, I didn't. So, soon my friend. Soon.

I call it... 'Belgian blocks and some shoes'

another beautiful square... sorta like the Grand Place of Brussels... but not quite as nice. You can compare... there's like, a lot, on this site of the Brussels version.

Is that Jackie O. drinking sangria in the Grand Place of Antwerpen? Could it be!?

speaking of Adrienne. YO ADRIAAN! Those Dutch have such a weird language. I don't get it. Now, you get a face with the name all in one!

Shall we move on to familiar shots of this blog? Churches! We're now moving into Antwerp shots. This was a trip on the Monday after the Paris weekend. Adrienne just made it into town Sunday, and I took off Monday... so we checked out Antwerp.

or that exhausted cafe rest period picture..

or chicks in fur and heels on a scooter? Thanks to my brother's insistent attitude... she really had no choice or refusing this shot... though, she did have some bad facial gestures when he asked...

or... whatever it is my brother is doing in this shot. is this some homage to Napolean? I don't know. I gave up on wondering a loooooong time ago with him.

or see synchronized posing in front of the Louvre...

or see boats going under beautiful bridges...

unless, you want to see more pictures of fat parisian pigeons?

We'll just end the weekend with the high-speed exiting of the parking garage...

or pretending to see things on walls so they couldn't get their picture taken. why so many hate the camera?

by the end of the weekend... I think everyone was hiding from my camera...

Frenchies! ha ha... they were a good time.

Friends of Ben's... with my brother.

At happy hour. Axele and Carol are friends of my brother's when they lived in NYC... before moving back to France

I will embarrass myself as well. I didn't even know this got put on my head and a picture got snapped. It was all so quick. Excuses... whatever. It's not like it's as bad at last year's Halloween costume. If I could only find those pictures...

What's your take... is my brother still the ladies' man?

sorry, this one had to get posted. ha ha!

And the night went on... (without anyone telling me something was in my tooth)...

oh... and the night starts off to a good start. (just kidding, Mom).

oooh! ahhh! A windmill! Actually, it was quite old. But it's now a restaurant. It's up in the Montmartre area.

Mine were still ok... but I think after the night before... I was a little crooked.

they were crooked.

If you only knew what we had to go through with John's hunt for a pair of sunglasses. It was evening by the time he found a pair and... (to be continued)

I was getting really tired... so I figured I'd just use some of my brother's pictures.

another brother's pic... beautiful pigeon, right? It's like you can just eat'em up!

Another street shot. It was a very good day... and workout too.

Shizam! Street shot.

My brother took this shot. I like it, so I'm adding it here.

Can you guess what this is? Yes.. a Smart Car! Just like mine (borrowed) in Brussels.

Moulin Rouge. Last time I was in Paris, guess who performing here? Yes... LaToya Jackson! Ha!

S.C, again.

City scene from Sacre Coeur

Obvious picture.

Can I ever get sick of these shots? NO! I'm sure you all are... that's why I altered the color a little. You like this baby-poo yellow?

Another Louvre shot. Boring, yes. But I already know that.

Ah yes... and we made it to the Louvre. It happened to be free-to-get-in-day... but that was just to the downstairs. Like, we really need to rush to go to the coffee shop at the museum or something. It was an additional cost to actually see any art... and by the time we got there, there were only 20 minutes left to see anything... so we skipped it. I've been there before, so no big deal... but next time I'll take some shots and post them. blah.

My new favorite Frenchies - Axele and Benoit. Axele's from Bordeaux and met my brother in NYC when she lived there for a while. Ben is Axele's friend from Bordeaux as well, living in Paris. Ben was a super gracious host for the weekend. My brother and I managed to force them to be tour guides for the weekend and do all those dorky touristic things that you make fun of people doing in your own home town. I appreciated it all though and had a great great time with them!

From the steps of the Basilique du Sacre Coeur. Further down the steps... which you really can't see... there was a man playing the harp to 'Yesterday'. It was quite random, but sounded really great on the harp.

Sacre Coeur in the Montmartre in Paris. It's an awesome place. I went to Easter mass there like 12 years ago... I finally made it back! My brother came to visit me in Belgium and planned to go to Paris. Last minute I went with him. I had an swesome time and was so happy to have gone. I met some awesome people... who you'll soon see pictures of.

Hi all... so I decided to start off my Paris pictures with a cheesy-self snap with the Tower in the background. As you can see, this is becoming my signature shot of my travels of Europe. So what if people keep making fun of me for taking them... this is my trip, by the way...

Amy and David's (tall guy) wedding over Labour Day weekend. We all had a great time regardless of the barge crash during cocktail hour. This is the obligatory college friends photo.

Ok, last Cathedral shot. This is another postcard shot. Cool view though.

Another section of old Cologne

Outside cafe area in the old Cologne area

Inside shot. I think this'll be the last. It's hard to capture this in picture...

Statue of Mary at the one main entrance

Woops, sorry. We're back to Cologne again...I can see why it took so long to complete. This is just partial details of the one doorway.

The most I could get in on one shot...

b/w of the dome

The inside

Inside the dome with its honey-colored bricking.

The dome, with a lit-up cherry colored crucifix on top.

This structure was commissied in 1905 and took nearly 7 decades to finish. It's a mix of Gothic and art deco.

Back to Belgium... here's the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Also quite largest and one of the tallest churches in the world.

Inside shot. Again, postcard... not my skills.

Ok... no I wasn't on a flight or hot air balloon... but I did buy some postcards. This is a photo of a postcard... so you can see how impressive this is. From 1880 to 1884 this was the tallest building in the world.

This is the center spire over the center of the church and alter. The church is shaped like a cross. The church was built with such grandiose, because the bones of the three magi were transferred from Milan and the Archbishop order a precious shrine to house these relics.

You really don't get the full perspective with this shot! This is the south spire and stands at a height of 515 feet tall! There are two spires that stand next to each other on the west end of the cathedral. Check out more info on its site http://www.koelner-dom.de

Not the best of shots... this I believe is the south side. It's just so big and so tall, it's hard to get a full shot in. There was a lot of stuff going on too for the Pope's arrival. He was coming into Cologne this week for the Catholic youth pilgrimage that occurs every 4 years. This year in Cologne. So, pardon the crane in the picture.

The Cologne Cathedral is amazing! It has under construction for a long time... it was decided to begin constuction in 1248. By 1300, the entire east end was finished though consectration took place in 1322. Construction slowed, and the south tower was completed in 1360. Part was completed again in 1388. Constuction continued again on putting a stone roof on the south-side isles but then was dicontinued in 1560. Construction resumed in 1842, first since the 1560 date! and the final stone was laid on the south tower in 1880. It is awe-inspiring when you see it in person. I'll see what other shots I can post.

Random fountain... this little kid-type-thing banging his drum and smoking his pipe...

A street corner in Cologne this past weekend. This guy didn't seem to care that a car was behind him and that he was dragging him and his little dog down it at snail's pace.

By the end of the night, I think this is pretty much what our vision looked like...

Lots of drinking this weekend... as you can see from the empty weisses.

Later on after the streetfest... sitting on some beer benches after an interesting experience on a rooftop bar...

Ha ha! We really did have a fun time!

This is during the street fest in Frankfurt. Tons of people and beer! A good time was had.

So, I didn't quite get cake for my birthday... but I wasn't expecting much. However, I went out! And, on the way back to my place, a gauffre shop was open... so I got one. Gauffre au sucre. Not one of the fancy ones above. Those require you to actually sit and eat it. I like to eat on the run... up the hills back to my place. I mean, I'm sweating enough to make the walk... I might as well be energized by some carbs, right? ps: gauffre = waffles, en francais... et, oui... (they really look like this!)

A local restaurant, where I'm sure Schnitzel is on the menu.

Another shot of me. Told you there'd be some more.

There was a little fest going on in this town that evening, I believe. But, after a tiring walk around the castle, we sat down on the beer benches ahead and had a beer.

This is another castle across the way. But look what I found! The Stars and Stripes! It was some boat port. Not too sure... but there were a few other countries' flags too.

Here's the small town where the castle resides. You can see the castle on the hill in the background. Do you see it? Right down the center of the street.

grounds of the castle

arches of the walk area that leads into the main entrance.

Tiny staircases inside the rooms...

Part of the remains of the castle. You can see windows... this is part of the now hotel.

No, Lesley isn't a giant. These were just some really low ceilings...

A tiny foxhole. This was the light from the camera flash. Otherwise, it was pitch black. We're not too sure where this led... thus, we didn't go down it.

This is a view from one of the tunnels. You can see how dark it was in there. This is an opening (there were many of them) where the probably fired stuff from in combat.

Amazing!, isn't it? These are some of the remains. This place was quite huge in its days, I'm sure.

A wall of the castle and the views from part of it

tunnel with some spy holes.

Frank and Lesley walking into the depths...

There are lots of tunnels and walks and hiding spaces.

Castle shot!

cheesey self-shot. I was tying to get a picture of me with the background. Oh well, worked though.

another view from the terrace looking in the other direction.

This is the view from the castle's terrace/bar... the castle is now a hotel. See the barge? That's the shipping I was just talking about.

The boat dock. amazing!

Castle. Rhine. River... you get the point. The Rhine, information enough, is still a very busy means for shipping purposes.

Finally! The castle! This was a shot to the left as we were walking into the castle... over a bridge of sorts.

Again... not good with town names. I think it begins with an 'L'.

A little town and another castle. You do know the Rhine is infamous for castles, right? Now you do.

Voila! The castle. This was actually from the other side of the river before crossing. Just setting the scene.

Ok. Change of Scenery. Setting: Boat. Task: taking car to otherside of river Rhine. Lesley and Me... nice little town behind, don't you say? This was on our way to see Rensfeld Castle. One of the most powerful castles in the Rhine... for more than 500 years... and eventually in Germany. You'll see some pics... don't worry.

There's the welcoming sign for those hills in the previous picture. Does the name sound familiar? Remember that really long-named wine I was drinking earlier...?

These are the hills where the red wine in the Rhine Valley comes from. Red wine isn't so popular in the Rhine. Maybe the climate? Not too sure.

Remember all those shots of the valley from on top of the hill? They were from the terrace of that house/vineyard/mansion... whatever they called it.

speaks for itself.

More evidence. Who needs corporate life?!

I almost quit my job... to become a texan-looking-german-grape-picker. I kinda look lik e a natural right?

Street shot! I don't know... some town we drove through on our sojourn up the Rhine Valley. Need more info?

Ok, quick change of scenery. Here's the car I've been driving. Yes, the one in the middle. Yes, it's a car. It's Smart. Smart Car. It's on loan for a small fee from Frank, a co-worker from IBM Germany. It's been awesome... I can see so much more of Brussels with it. And when it rains, I put it in my living room. You'll soon get to see a shot of me in it... instead of a view from my balcony.

cool little shot I like... also, from the terrace. Just a bit to the right of this is where the freaky medusa-looking statue is... from the previous shot.

Just a statue on the terrace where we were eating lunch. The sun was coming from behind otherwise you'd see the valley again... you know, the one that you've see in the last 20 pictures?

Wine tasting.

The cheesey cheers shot. Funny picture though. I was joking it looks like we're on a honeymoon.

Here's Lesley and I (Frank is taking the picture) at the lunch... and me drinking a glass of Assmannshauser Hollenberg Spatburgunder Rotwein Trocken. :) I really didn't make that up. I'm not really creative when it comes to wine-jokes. I have a bottle of it sitting next to me... please, not like I'd ever remember the name of that. I couldn't even remember how to say "May I have another please?" I'm chalking it up not knowing German... not because it would have been the 8th time asking for another glass of wine. I don't look too boozed up in this shot, do I? Ah, forget I asked.

This was our terrace lunch-setting at Vineyard... Weinhof Goldatzel... I think. Correct me if I'm wrong. (I'm not expecting any feedback on this one... just take my word).

Ohhhh! And here it is! There's only so much quality you can expect in a shot when you're reaching one arm up pretending to pick grapes... and the other arm is taking the cheesy picture.

Lesley and Frank walking under some vines... I think there's one of me too... though it looks like a shot from Scary Movie 18 or something...

Sorta-closeup of some vines. The grapes were still quite small.

and this 'whatever' shot of me in front of it all... see kids, I really was there. I once went on a trip to Paris many years ago and took 13 rolls of film/pictures. How many was I in? 1. Ha ha!... so on this site you may see many more of me with varying backgrounds. Thanks Mom and Dad for teaching me that lesson.

Now this is to the left. Ah... I just love it! Really, the Rhine is a must-see if you get to Germany. I mean... just go wine tasting and get some free drink.

Another view... this is to the right (start visualising the panorama...)

The valley. It's quite breathtaking when you're there. It's just so quite... so open and gently curving, yet flat feeling. You really need a panoramic shot to get a better feeling. Oh well. Don't have one.

The arch again! voila!

Please, don't ask what town this is... I just know I snapped it from the backseat while flying down some street. It's in the Rhine though.

A gate/wall at the cloister. That's Lesley from IBM too. There'll be more of her later. Really neat arch, don't you think?

On the drive from Frankfurt to the Rhine, I was snap happy in the backseat. Here's a shot of some vineyards. The area is really beautiful. Germany was never high on my list of places to visit... but I'm glad I had the chance to go. I'm headed back, to Munich next, in September... for Oktoberfest. Stay tuned for those pictures. For now... keep looking at the Frankfurt/Rhine collection.

Just a cool, old gate at the cloister. I thought it was neat anyway.

zoomin' down the countryside in the Rhine...

More cloister. It's Kloster Eberbach... and I'm actually drinking the wine I bought from there. Cheers!

This is a vineyard/once cloister in the Rhine. Very interesting, ey?

Street festival foods... with SCHNITZEL! in the front.

A must-have shot of a schnitzel sign...

Frankfurt. Touristy area in the city center

A shot from a castle-- Rensfeld. That's the Rhine below.

The vineyard that I was just looking from in the previous picture.

I went to Germany a few weekends ago. Frankfurt and The Rhine Valley. Here's me gazing into the valley from a vineyard. The Rhine River is in the background. More to come at some point...