Red Eyed Demon

Oooh, boy. There is a reason the red eye from California is always a bad idea. I learned this lesson years ago during a trip to my friend Denelle's wedding. You just don't have enough time to sleep. The flight from SFO to ATL was only a little over 4 hours - but you lose 3 coming back. And the flight is always packed. I was seated in a center seat of hell and hadn't thought to bring a neck ring pillow... so, I spent the trip ever hunched over my lap trying to sleep while folded up like a cell phone or with my head nodding to the left, the right, the front. Ugh.

It was a strange trip - and I'm still asleep so I can't promise to make much sense. I didn't meet up with Tracy in SF - the work day ran very long and we couldn't jibe on phone calls. I didn't see anything of SF except the hotel and the site I went to. This is business travel after all.

Anyway, I booked the 11:35 flight home because today (Friday) is a day I requested off for a friend's band that is coming into town. I wanted to make sure I didn't get booked for anything so I took the whole day off. Then when this last-minute trip came up, I didn't want to spend my vacation day traveling so I chose the red-eye of doom.

We didn't even board until midnight. A passenger on the incoming flight on my plane was caught smoking in the restroom on the tarmac at JFK. The guy is Russian and claimed he doesn't speak English and didn't know... yeah, right. Nobody bought it. But I really felt for the guy - he was traveling with his family and the cops confiscated his tickets to the next destination! But I pity him because I suspect he was on a flight from Moscow to JFK to SFO to ???. Of course, you can't smoke on planes anymore. And you may or may not know that you can't smoke anywhere in JFK. So by the time he was on his flight to SFO he was probably really jonesin'. And then his flight was delayed on the tarmac. I think he just cracked.

Well, it seems the entire police force was called out - 6 cops showed up to deal with this guy. It was really overkill. All the Delta folks were positively outraged. Outraged! I thought they overreacted. But I guess as a smoker I can relate. I really don't think it's smart for major airports - particularly major connecting airports like JFK, LaGuardia, LAX, etc., to not offer any smoking whatsoever when passengers can be coming in from 10, 15, 20 hour flights before connecting to another. How about an outdoor pen area that doesn't require leaving security but isn't "inside" ? I don't know... give a guy a break.

Anyway, got back at 7:30 a.m., took effing shuttle to effing park&ride, drove home in rush hour traffic, walked into house and into bed by 9:30. If I had taken a 9 a.m. flight from SFO today, I would be getting back around 4 p.m. today. I'm not sure sleeping until 2:30 really was worth it. In fact, I'm sure it wasn't.

P.S. For some reason, even though I have at last topped 75,000 miles, I am still not Platinum. There is some confusing language about miles earned in 2006, earning Platinum in 2007. Of course, it's 2007 now so Delta needs to update their site. Because they suck!

San Francisco!

Welcome to California!

Truth be told, I don't think I'm going to have time to see the city apart from the view from my hotel window. It's 6:30 p.m. and the sun is quickly sinking. Adventuring out would mean doing so solo and I don't think I'm in the best area for that. Not far from the Wharf, but not close enough to hoof it - I'm near Grace Cathedral but ... well, you know.

The flight was pretty unremarkable. I laugh at 41/2 hours now that I've spent so much time on the grueling ATL-CPH flight of misery and back. Though I'm pretty miffed with Delta. I booked my flight last week and requested seat 26F - window seat in an exit row. I'm tall, my legs are long and I like to lean on the window when snoozing. Plus, I'm quite capable of opening the exit door in an emergency.

Well, I shlubbed to my seat only find a couple in seats 26F and E - and they had the tickets to match. Delta had "upgraded" me between when I checked in from home at 11 a.m. and when I boarded the flight around 2 p.m. Sigh. Only the upgrade was a seat at the front with a little leg room but no place to stow my bag. I don't care for those seats because I like to have my belongings close at hand. Sure enough, it was a late and choppy start and the seatbelt light didn't turn off for 45 minutes, ensuring I couldn't take my pills at the right time and generally pissing me the hell off. Delta didn't really upgrade me, they just put me in a seat I would NEVER have chosen for myself because I like to keep my bag close. Gee, thanks.

Then I find out that while I'm finally on a Delta plane with individual TVs and video games and movies, etc., Delta requires you to pay $5 for games, $2 for headphones, $$$ for movies, etc. It was a real rip off and felt exceedingly cheap and pathetic. In short, Delta sucks.

But I'm so very close to Platinum - in fact, I should already be Platinum this moment but apparently Delta's site doesn't update very quickly... because they suck.

Um, yeah, back to S.F. - I have lovely memories of the city from childhood and wish I had the time to really look around. This is a Hello Kitty mecca, too. But I'm tired after going to the Sound of Urchin show at the Masquerade last night. And traveling. And the awful debacle with airport parking at ATL!

I left the house at 11:30 a.m. for a 2:10 flight. Half hour drive to the airport and because this is a short trip I was going to splurge for the fancy covered parking. Well, the lot was full. As was the economy lot South. And the economy lot North. And all parking everywhere. How can this be one of the biggest and busiest airports in the world and they can't accomodate parking??? I finally got into the Park&Ride lot about 1 p.m. - and it was more than half an hour in line to get in. Ridiculous. Luckily, the shuttles were lined up AT the row being filled so there wasn't much of a time delay on getting to the terminal. But I was sweating bullets this morning, convinced I was going to miss another flight. Eeeee! But I learned a good travel lesson - Wednesday is the busiest travel day at ATL. One to grow on.

So, it looks like instead of checking out Pier 39, I'll be ironing, doing some work catchup and maybe watching a little TV. Superstar!

A picture is worth... yada, yada, yada

Yep. This is how I enjoy art. At The Belvedere, where the Gustav Klimt work lives. Can't take pics of that though.

Apparently, I simply have no desire and no time to blog about Vienna (ignoring that I spent 90 percent of this past weekend at home with a bum back...) If you know me at all, you know I have the memory of a goldfish. (That's actually a new one - I used to say hamster, but a co-worker chose the more apt title above.) Holy parenthetical already.
Sigh. I'm busy. And not feeling particularly motivated to blog about travel this week. And last week. And the week before. Sometimes life is like that. Especially when you start getting some semblance of a life. Semblance, I said!
So, I'm just going to throw up a bunch of pics and not spell check the names and not offer links. Maybe some day I'll clean it up, but if I can't remember how to spell sachartorte today, how will I remember in a month? What was I talking about?
On with the show!

German demo diva Kim shows off the famous sachartorte of Vienna. It's pretty good... just a very sugary chocolate cake with a chocolate glace on top.



No, it didn't snow. There was some sort of strange tourism fair going on that was pushing Salzburg skiing in the winter. Complete with ski slope and snowboarders, for real.

A view from St. Stephenspladz - the huge church with the spire of doom that rises to heaven. It really goes all the way to heaven. I didn't climb it but that's what it looked like. You can't see it in this picture. Heh.


Near one of Friederichs Hundervasser's buildings. No, I don't think that IS how you spell his name. As Lars says, Fucking Google It. Cool architecture that is socially-minded and funky. But the d00d hates straight lines so even the floors are uneven. Not so much. And, yes, it does say Toilet of Modern Art. It cost 60 Euro cents to get in and it looked more like a Toilet of Minimal Cleaning. Rip off.



That is not Mr. Hundervasser. Picture interloper!


I don't know. Obvy, the cafe is closed. Why THAT Belushi?


Kim at one of our many cafe "breaks." Delicious, smoke-filled and delicious. "Vienna is for Smokers."


The best open-air market I've ever seen, despite the same 10 stalls seeming to repeat over and over and over. It's big. And full of fabulous things that one wants.


I do not want this. Marzipan. The Huzz. But it sure is perty.



At the Cafe Kafka - of course we had to go in. All the coffee in Vienna was wonderful. But I have the tastes of a goldfish as well as the memory. I have no idea why the face.


I just like flower shops... especially when they are called Blumenhaus.


I spotted this little number on some tourist materials before we ever got near the Belvedere. I was so happy to see her in real life. I wish I had one at home.


Heidi Klum owns Vienna. Her frighteningly frantic smile was on every billboard, in every window and hiding in the strangest places. The Klum is scary in Vienna.


Horses waiting. Like they do.



Seriously, it looks like this all over the place. Vienna is beautiful.


The Belvedere... in between the art you can look at... more art. Overwhelming and magnificent and I felt naked without my petticoat and wig.


I guess Austrians really don't like Gavin Rossdale. FGI.


This picture should be up further. I am lazy so it can stay where it is.


Uhhhh... erm... uhhhh...


At the meter pub - lowercased because I can't be bothered to find the real name of it. But everything was served in meters - food and beer both. And it was good... this is how we convert the U.S. to the metric system!



They weren't fooling around with the ketchup. Obviously, we'd had a couple meters by this point.



So, Vienna rocked and was good unto me and I holdeth it close to my heart for all time. I saw the Klimt, I saw the Hundervasser, I ate the bratwurst and the sachartorte, I drank the cofee - "the Vienna melange" - and I ,,, lost this right before posting. Don't remember what else it was I wanted to say. But visit Vienna. It's a good thing.

P.S. If you want an automatic update on this site, get Google Reader. Fucking Google It, man.

Bags: Who's counting? At least I got mine. Kim's were sent to Spain - to two DIFFERENT cities in Spain.

Flights: It takes 11 hours to get from Vienna to Atlanta. ELEVEN hours. I lucked out and got 3 center seats to myself. Awwww, yeah. The flights to Denmark and to Vienna from Denmark were fairly unremarkable.

P.P.S. I am less than 2,000 miles from going Platinum with Delta. I'll be pulling those miles on Wednesday and Thursday, baby! Now if I could just figure out a way to use the miles...

No Sausages, Just Vienna

I've been meaning to post some sort of feed that will make updates obvious to my small circle of readers. But I've been far too busy for that of late. Still, it will happen eventually.

I'm in the conference hall right now, between demos. I've just had a sandwich and I'm waiting to go on again in about 45 minutes. Vienna, what little I have seen, is lovely. I am really starting to look forward to having Friday and Saturday to look about. Kim and I have booked a much cheaper hotel for these two nights and I'm relieved to know I won't be spending a fortune on accomodations.

I know for sure that I must see some of Gustav Klimt's work in person and I am also looking forward to just sitting in one of the many cafe's and enjoying the people watching. It is day 11 of working and I'm doing fine. Had a great Chinese meal last night! Before that it was Mexican! Before that we went to a Viennese tourist trap type place with classic Austrian accents and such. I tried the venison with cherries and gnocchi - delish! The Viener Schnitzel is not so good in this city, despite the name.

I will say the food here has been pretty great over all. It's a very cosmopolitan city.

Wien = Vienna

Right. So I'm in Vienna. I've got not photos to post just yet because it has been a mad dash to get ready for our exhibition. And it's been a bit of a nightmare for some folks so it's been tense and difficult. Not at all as positive as our last expo.

I'm so exhausted I don't even feel excited about my sightseeing days at the end of the week. I'd rather be heading home, really. A week in Denmark before coming here has pretty much done me in on suitcase living, foreign languages, foreign food, foreign outlets and all the attendant crap. I want to curl up in my own bed and not have to set the alarm!

So, you see, traveling for a living is beginning to eat away at me more. I think it's just been so very busy and so very stressful lately. I really just want to relax and have a beer or 9 and not have to think about working... which I have had to now since I left Atlanta Sunday evening -- a week ago. I think that's another reason we're all getting cranky; this is day 7 straight of working under tough conditions with long days.

Now, I'm just finishing up for the day and it's after 8 p.m. and I've been here since 9 a.m. I want dinner but I don't want to have to go out with a big group and spend 21/2 hours doing it.

So, let me finish up and escape!

Same, Same, Different

This is the amazing view I had upon my arrival here Monday evening.

Well, I can tell I'm bored by the pictures I've taken. There have only been a handful and I'm even repeating myself. I've been pretty tired during this trip and haven't felt a desire to venture out into Aarhus more than absolutely necessary. I've been in bed and asleep by 10 p.m. each night and up before 6 a.m.

And today has been my longest day at work in the Denmark headquarters - from 8:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. as we prepare for our big exposition in Vienna. But it was a good day overall and we did actually move forward in the end. And the boss ordered pizza for us all -- granted, it was Danish pizza but it was still the best I've had over here so far! I just didn't have any of the pizza with shrimp on it.

View from my digs.

I have also managed to avoid going out to eat - last night I went to Mad&Vin (Food and Wine, and a play on Magazine, I think) after I hopped off the bus. Bought some solbaer preserves (black current) and some "mature" Irish cheddar (I hate the immature cheddar - so rude!) and some fresh bread. It was a nice European dinner and it required no vexing attempts to avoid mayo and get the attention of wait staff.

I don't think I'll make my curfew tonight. It's already close to 10 p.m. and I need to wind down a bit before turning it. Strangely, as much as I didn't want to come to Denmark again this week (Come On! It's my SIXTH trip here in SIX months - a guaranteed 15 hours travel time minimum!) I find I'm feeling pretty relaxed about it, pretty comfortable with my existence here, which is usually neither relaxed or comfortable. But I'm used to the frustration of not understanding Danish, I'm used to the currency, the bus schedule, the drunken revelers here on the Aboulevarden. It is what it is. That's something.

Good night.

Wait a second... I'm in Denmark? Again?

It seems as though I just wrote about returning from Denmark... oh, wait. I did. Here I am back in the (Danish) saddle again. Suffering from a cruel dinner even as I was amazed to find cafeteria lunch was a Danish success featuring some real treats: potatoes with scallions and spices that were perfectly cooked, my favorite pickled beets (pickled in sugar and vinegar and chopped, these puppies are vaguely reminiscent of cranberry sauce) and some kickin' pork loin. But no... the evil that is take-out has struck again and I am once again cursing the gods of Aarhus cuisine.

Eh, well. It's a living.

The flight over was pretty fine. I really dig flying KLM to Amsterdam and then to Billund and then an hour taxi. It sounds bad but it actually feels better than flying Delta to Copenhagen and Cimber to Aarhus and then a half hour taxi. Plus, damn it, those KLM mini-TVs make the world a better place. Shanghai kicked my tired tush so bad, but I loved every woozy minute of it.

In case you can't tell, I have now been awake 21 of the last 24 hours. Hooray for red-eyes in coach. But, I'm here! So the hardest part is over. And in just a few days I get to go to Vienna! Woohoo!