Döner: decent...

Yesterday Dave got the keys to his new place. We brought a few bottles of wine and some classy plastic cups and helped him celebrate his new digs. The location is great! 1 1/2 blocks from Morley Field in a really nice area of North Park. His deck is destined to become the new outdoor dining mecca in San Diego. And, now we're practically neighbors again. I think I was a bit closer in Hamburg, but his new house can't be more than a mile away.

And now, on to the review! We dashed home from the döner place last night and dove into dinner. I guess the consensus was: decent.

Tj. and Bill both had the lamb. They liked the flavor, but the meat seemed to be typical gyros meat -- much more processed than what we're used to.

Dave and I each had a Geflügel-Döner -- ok, they just call it chicken. It was tasty, but I think a bit too much mint was added to the mix. Gave it an unusual flavor.

Our biggest complaint -- they do NOT serve the döner kebaps in Fladenbrot/flatbread. Instead, they use what is the most common of all possible foodstuffs here in SoCal -- tortillas....

Fine, it was like a Turkish burrito instead of a döner, but it still tasted good. (Dürum Döner is what the wrap-like döner is called, at least at all the Turkish places I know. Hey, Kebab Shop: offer both types of döner, put a bit more cacık on it -- and I'll be a regular!)

I'll go back for a lamb one next time -- oh, and for another salad, which was great. Tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, lettuce, flat bread/pita cut into triangles and some delicious hummus. (Sad when the salad was my favorite part of the meal....)

- T

Döner in San Diego?!

Tj., Bill and Dave are inside ordering - we can't vouch for 'em yet, but
I'll write more later after we chow down!

- T

Happy 4th of July

We packed a lot into just one day today....

After working part of the day today -- [why, if it's called a national holiday, are so many places allowed to be open? Couldn't we survive just one day every few months where only public transportation, convenience stores and a few restaurants were open? Who else is old enough to remember when a holiday meant businesses were closed and most people were off work for the day and could spend time with their family and friends???!!!] -- I dashed home, changed and left for the AFC Bears pool party at Steve and Mike's place.

They've really got a killer location for summer parties. There's room outside in the yard to set up a bar, a buffet area and a grill, they have a big pool, lots of seating and space.... I've been to two pool parties there -- the place and the crowd are both memorable!

After quite a few hours socializing at the party, Tj., Bill, Dave and I headed back to our place, had a quick bite to eat and then drove to Bill's office building downtown. It is one of the top places in the city to see the fireworks -- 30 floors up, just off the bay, and balconies you can go out on for unobstructed views. Here's one of the shots I took this evening.

Happy 4th, everyone!

- T

Great Dim Sum Find!

This is a shot of Chinatown in San Francisco. As long as I lived in SF and as often as I have visited the city since then, I never get enough of Chinatown (and the great food you can get there!) My favorite? Cha siu bau. Hands down. (There are a multitude of spellings and transliterations -- the one I wrote [and not the Wikipedia-preferred spelling] is the one I'm most familiar with.)

Our first day in San Francisco started with our schlepping our bags from Oakland to downtown San Francisco.

Ugh. How did they build BART in the '70s and not connect Oakland International Airport to the system? Who planned that fiasco? According to Wikipedia, about 14 million passengers traveled through the airport in 2004 -- and it must have increased since then. And still, the nearest BART stop is at the Coliseum -- about 4 miles (6.4 km) away. In order to get to the City, unless you splurge on a cab or limo, you must take the AirBART shuttle bus from the airport to the BART stop. It costs only $3 (exact bills ONLY!), but can be packed with travelers and luggage. Also, depending on traffic (and maybe the route the driver takes?), the ride can take more than 20 minutes!

When you finally arrive at the BART station, you now have to figure out the pre-paid fare card system, put enough money on the card to cover your ride and then insert (and retain) your ticket in the turnstile. Keep the card handy -- you'll need to re-insert it into a turnstile at your destination in order to leave the system....

Finally, you get on the appropriate train (from Coliseum you catch either a Daly City or Millbrae train) and head to your destination -- SF!

[I'll be fair -- other cities in the US didn't immediately see the advantage of connecting airports to public transportation systems either. Chicago has both the enormous O'Hare Airport and the smaller Midway Airport. But, they didn't connect the airports to the CTA train system until 1984 and 1993, respectively. San Diego International Airport has no trolley connection to the airport -- but there are shuttle buses that run right to downtown, and the airport's already basically in the city center -- it's only 2-3 miles away from Broadway.]

Unless the airfare is much lower flying into Oakland, or you're renting a car (not recommended if you're just visiting SF), I highly suggest flying into SFO. Travelers coming through SFO fare much better nowadays -- the BART line finally connected to SFO in 2003. Also, in the very near future (August 2007), the mega-cheap airline Southwest will begin flying into/out of SFO again. Hurrah!

OK, on to food. We walked from Market down 9th to our motel in SoMa. (Is it still a motel if you don't drive there?) Room wasn't ready, but we checked in and checked our bags. Then, instead of hanging around wasting time for 20 minutes, we decided to head out for lunch!

We didn't have anywhere in mind -- just didn't want burgers or the like. Bill had done a lot of online dim sum research before we headed to SF, but unfortunately he didn't have any of the info with him. So, we started doing phone and Treo searches and, while walking toward and then through Chinatown, happened upon a few reviews for Hang Ah Tea Room -- not really a tea room, it turns out, but the 'oldest Chinese restaurant in Chinatown', so they say.

There were enough reviews to warrant checking it out -- and was it worth it.

Getting there was half the fun. You head up Grant through the Chinatown Gate. Pass the many shops (you can get souvenirs after you fill your belly!) and head up the hill. When you come to Sacramento, make a left up the hill. Go past Waverly (but come back later to see what the less commercial side of Chinatown looks like). On your right you'll see the Willie "Woo Woo" Wong Playground. (I kid you not!) Go just past "Woo Woo" and make a right on Pagoda Place. The Hang Ah Tea Room is at the end of the alley on your left, at the back of the building.

When you go in, take a good look at the old pictures of Chinatown and some of the residents from last century. Then, head into the dining area and behold the neon poster paint motif! It is a sort of lime green/yellow, I think. Don't let this discourage you. Get a table, a menu and start ordering from the a la carte section. Don't be distracted by the full meals -- a la carte is where the good stuff is! You can supplement your dim sum selections with some chow fun like we did, but it's not necessary if you like fried foods.

The three of us filled ourselves with delicious dim sum, had an order of chow fun, soft drinks -- and left the place paying about $30 total. A great deal, really good food, nice friendly service -- what else could we ask for?

- T

My New Role Model

"The people I hang out with have sense. They'll just say something like 'Thanks, I was getting a little thirsty.'" -- commenting on her habit of occasionally tossing a drink in the face of a friend, for effect

“I've dated men my age, younger than me and older. The only difference is the young ones are quicker at taking out the garbage.”

"Come on - phone sex is the biggest joke."

"I still sweat bullets if I go on The Tonight Show, but I tell myself, 'You can either have fun tonight or you can be shy and miserable.' You ask my friends or anyone I work with now -- nobody would say I was shy."

....I think Lara Flynn Boyle is my new role model....

Gay Pride in San Francisco

Our weekend in SF was excellent -- until the Monday we flew back. I ended up with the flu and flying home with a fever -- in fact, I was so delirious, I thought I saw Mr Magoo in a dress....

[some photos already posted on Picasa -- more SF stories and photos to come]

- T

Nature versus nurture versus gay bombs

Today I'm sharing a link to a buddy's blog -- you won't believe the ridiculous news story he writes about.

Apparently, from the same outfit that brought you $600 toilet seats, there is now the $7.5 million plan to create gay bombs. In an effort to distract the enemy during time of war, the military spent millions upon millions of dollars trying to develop strong aphrodisiacs that would turn enemy soldiers gay.

The military claims they've since abandoned the plan.

(The story goes on to say that the Air Force proposed this idea in the mid-90s -- but I think the enemy was already using it on my Army unit back in the 80s!)

-T

I've found Bush's base!

Albanians lined up to welcome President Bush to the capital of Tirana on Sunday.

[photo courtesy Damir Sagolj/Reuters and the New York Times]

Recent polls put President Bush's percentile approval rating somewhere in the low 30s/upper 20s. I'd assumed they meant among American voters.

Bush On Tour has been in Europe for the past week. Along with attending the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm in Germany (a beautiful seaside resort built in the 18th C. on the shores of the Baltic -- wish I'd had a chance to visit...), he has been wowing fans in Prague, Poland, Rome and elsewhere.

(To be honest, he's actually been riling up citizens in various countries throughout Europe, causing protests and political actions to erupt in places that haven't seen this much unrest since before the fall of Communism.... But we won't split hairs.)

Oddly enough, the only place he's arrived to flag-waving onlookers has been New York Washington Chicago Los Angeles Poughkeepsie Tirana, Albania.

It seems the Albanians are infatuated with GWB. Apparently, from afar, the Albanians have come to love our president. The Albanian prime minister greeted him as “the greatest and most distinguished guest we have ever had in all times.” Wow. Ever in all times? Alexander the Great, Saint Paul, Attila the Hun -- Bush is greater and more distinguished?

I was reading recently about groups in the South Pacific that worship the strangest of gods. One area of Vanuatu reveres Prince Philip (Queen Elizabeth's husband) as "simply divine". Elsewhere (on the same island, no less) there are some who worship a mythical WWII-era American known as John Frum -- it's called a cargo cult.

Albania has issued three stamps recently with President Bush's likeness on them -- they've also named the street in front of their parliament after him.... According to the NYT, even the Iraq War is popular there. Sorry Saint Paul, apparently your missionary work has been superseded.

- T

Blog and Life Revamped - Part II

This picture is from Big Springs, Nebraska. It's a small town just off of I-80 in the western part of the state, close to the Colorado border. It was one of the towns we stopped in (if only briefly), on the remainder of the January trip from Wisconsin to California.

We hit a lot of states in a short amount of time: Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, the tiniest northwest corner of Arizona, Nevada -- and, finally, California.

I really enjoyed the drive back through the center of the country. My only regret is that we didn't have additional time to stop and see more of these small towns.

Some highlights: I was amazed by how historic and picturesque Dubuque, Iowa looked. Beautiful old brick buildings in a valley along the Mississippi. It would definitely be worth another visit sometime, if I were in the area.

I would have liked to see the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln -- I've seen pictures and think the architecture alone would be worth a stop. (And not just because of its nickname: The Penis of the Plains. [Thank you Wikipedia for that bit of trivia.])

If Big Springs, NE (just off the interstate) was that photogenic, imagine what was to be found even further from the highway?

One disappointment (no offense, Coloradans!) was eastern Colorado and Denver. Not the highlight of the trip, by any means. Dusty, unappealing -- and Denver itself was pretty unattractive and ramshackle. We drove through mile after mile of body shops, strip malls, drab residential areas with little appeal. (It didn't help my overall impression of the city when we got into an accident with my newly-purchased Element in Denver. Luckily, the damage was none too severe (just some rear bumper repairs needed). We completed the drive and had the repairs done in San Diego.)

I DID really like the rest of Colorado west of Denver. What an amazing sight -- snow-covered mountains climbing up into the sky, deep valleys down below and I-70 right in the middle, hugging the side of the mountain as it heads west. I wish we'd seen more of it in the daylight -- thanks for driving through Colorado that evening, Tj.! I was in no mood to drive after having the accident in Denver....

We drove all the way through the Rockies and stayed the night in Grand Junction, CO -- then continued on through Utah the next day (another place I definitely want to get back to -- the bit we saw driving through was stunning), arriving in Vegas that evening. Bill flew in from San Diego and met us there -- the three of us had a great couple of days partying, seeing some of the changes/remodels at the casinos, gambling, eating too much.... Typical Vegas entertainment -- over-the-top and lots of fun.

We completed the trip back from Vegas the last week of January -- we got back to San Diego, I settled in and then reality (work!) started again on February 5th.

OK, now we're up to date -- I can blog in 'real time' from here on out!

- T

HDTV?

OK, we interrupt my previous train of thought for this quick request. Who among you few readers of this blog have an LCD or Plasma TV? What are your opinions on: which is better -- LCD or plamsa and why? which has the wider viewing angle? is 1080 resolution necessary? 1080i or 1080p? burn-in problems? Panasonic, Philips, Sharp, Sony, Vizio, Westinghouse?

We're probably looking at either LCD or plasma, a cable HDTV DVR box, HDMI connector to the TV, and still using our TiVo boxes for non-HDTV shows (which we will then view on the new TV).

Tips? Reviews? Things to watch out for? Any help is appreciated. I've scoured the web for data, but this is one topic where there is TOO MUCH information available -- much of it contradictory....

- T

Blog and Life Revamped - Part I

OK, first things first: what do you think of the blog's new look? I especially like the embedded slideshow of my most recent Picasa photo album. If you click on the photo, it will take you directly to the pictures.

Now for an update on my return to San Diego.

I arrived in Chicago and was met by my sister, brother-in-law and nephew. We spent my first night back in the States in Gurnee -- home of a big outlet mall north of Chicago. (Also home of Six Flags/Great America, but there wasn't much going on there the 2nd week of January!)

We drove north into Wisconsin and up to Green Bay -- then headed up the Door County peninsula to Sturgeon Bay.

Summer or winter, Door County is just beautiful. (Lots of pictures here.) It was great to spend time with my family. My parents' new place in town is just perfect for them -- all on one level, making it easy for my mom to get around and near everything Sturgeon Bay has to offer. (By the way, if you're in the market for a great year-round Door County home in Fish Creek, WI, my parents are selling their previous home. Make an offer!)

Toward the end of January, Tj. flew out to Wisconsin to join me in Door County and hang out with the family, as well. But, as much fun as I was having in Door County with the parents and my sister and her family (especially my little nephew), I was eager for us to get on the road.

Once I saw an Element, I realized it would be an ideal vehicle for me -- lots of room, fuel efficient, very utilitarian -- great as my back-and-forth-to-work vehicle, but also useful for short vacations, shopping trips, etc. Here's mine!

[to be continued]

- T

US troop deaths reach 3,000

Depressing, disgusting, unnecessary, embarrassing....

We also passed an important milestone in the Iraq War sometime during the Christmas week: more US servicemen have been killed during the Iraq War than there were victims of the attacks on September 11th, 2001.

Thank you CNN for the photo. We see far too few photos to remind us of the human loss associated with this -- or any -- war.

-T

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone!

My New Year's Eve was wonderful. Maik and Andreas had a small group of friends over for raclette, fireworks viewing from their rooftop terrace, good conversation and 'Gesellschaft'. What a great time! (I took some pictures, but left my camera at their place. Look for them to be posted in Picasa later in the week.)

I'm quickly approaching my travel date. This week should be fairly relaxed, though. I need to ship a few more things to San Diego this week. I plan to find a box tomorrow, load it up with books and computer cables and such, and mail it off.

Thursday I'm meeting up with some co-workers for another round of bowling. They're a competitive bunch -- let's see if I can improve my game a bit this time around!

Then, sometime this weekend, I will get together with my Hamburg buddies for a final, going-away dinner. I am going to miss the close friends I've made here, but I take comfort in the fact that I will be seeing most of them at some point in San Diego. (Nice to be going back to a destination that is really a tourist magnet!)

(Thank you to Fotocommunity for the photo.)

Ciao for now.

- T

Where does the time go...?

First, a bit of humor -- compliments of the Onion....

Iraq Now Longer Than WWII

The war in Iraq has now lasted longer than the U.S.'s involvement in World War II. What do you think?

And now for a quick round of catch-me-up.

First (foremost) -- I'm on my way back to San Diego. After a lot of deliberation, I've decided to head back to Southern California and leave my job, good friends and interesting life here in Hamburg.

It was not an easy decision -- there is so much more to see, so many more places to explore in Europe. But, love will out in the end: with Tj. and Bill living their lives in San Diego, the need to return to SD grew and grew.

I'm still in Hamburg through the holidays. I will spend Christmas with my family in Niedersachsen, then work the three days "zwischen den Tagen" between Christmas and New Years with my last day at work being the 29th.

I get to spend New Years Eve together with my buddies Maik and Andreas here in Hamburg -- I will miss them very much and hope they'll get a chance to visit SD in the near future.

Then I have just over a week before catching a bus to Frankfurt on the evening of the 8th of January. I fly the morning of the 9th from Frankfurt to Dublin, then from Dublin to Chicago, where my sister and nephew will meet me at O'Hare!

Our plans are to spend the evening and night in Gurnee -- home of Gurnee Mills, where I can get a quick overdose of US shopping before heading to Door County, WI on the 10th. I know my parents will be waiting at the door for me -- I can't wait to get to Sturgeon Bay and spend a few weeks catching up and just generally spending time with them. One of my plans for returning to the US is that I get back to see the family much more often. We're tight-knit, even though I am always far away -- I would like us to be able to spend more time together now that I'll be at least on the same continent.

A few weeks later, Tj. will fly in, we'll spend a few more days with the family and then start a roadtrip back to San Diego! This all depends on my getting a car while I'm in Wisconsin.

One of the great dilemmas I've had living in Hamburg has been not having a car. It meant, of course, that I was dependent on the subway, the DB, other people (thanks Dave and Frank!) and on my feet to get around -- but it also meant I didn't have a car payment, insurance, parking hassles, gas prices, etc to deal with. All in all, though, it is next to impossible to live in the US without a car. Unless you are in a few of the great cities with reliable public transportation (SF, Chicago and New York spring to mind), you are more or less 'required' to reach places by car. So, I'm in the market for something reliable AND fun when I get back -- leaning towards a Jeep Wrangler! (Not so great for Wisconsin or the ride back through the US in the middle of the winter, but GREAT for life in SD!)

I've been lucky enough to secure a position with IKEA SD, the store I worked at before leaving California for Hamburg 1 1/2 years ago.... It will be interesting to see how things have changed, who is there, who has left, who has come back (I understand I'm the 3rd or 4th person to do so!)

OK, I also make a New Year's Resolution here, in print: I vow to update my blog at least once a week -- more during exciting periods, such as my first impressions upon returning to the US and the roadtrip back to San Diego. I want friends back here in Germany (and throughout the "Old World"!) to be able to keep up with news and what's happening in my life. So, stay posted -- there will be more to come! Remember, you can also see the latest pictures I've taken at the link above to my Picasa site.

On a very sad note: one of my dear co-workers here in Hamburg has passed away. On Thursday, December 21st, the head of our office came in unexpectedly while on vacation. He called us together to make a brief announcement -- Kathrin Paulsen had been found dead of natural causes in the seaside rental cottage where she was spending the holidays in Denmark.

Kathrin and I had just been talking during our office Christmas party about the plans she had made for the trip. She was looking forward to reading through a stack of books she was bringing with, was stocking up on groceries and a case of wine. She said she didn't care if it was cold or warm, wet or dry -- she was mostly looking forward to getting away from it all and catching up her reading and relaxing. She was eager to get on the road early the following day and get started on her vacation. My heart goes out to her family, who will undoubtedly find it hard to believe, as I do, that someone so caring and intelligent is no longer with us.

And, finally -- to everyone near, far and unknown but reading this post: A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to you and to those you hold dear. Einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!

- T