Oxford, Amsterdam, Uli's Visit, Chapel Hill/North Carolina, NYC, Albuquerque/New Mexico...

Dear Reader of This One and Only True Source of Wisdom: It's been a while since updating this blog so I thought it's about time to revive this spot again. Apart from the usual work (of which I will spare you details) the last few months gave rise to some very pleasant trips I would like to document for my children and grandchildren (both still to appear on this planet, no worries).

Oxford: Yes, I finally made it to this place as well! Of course I had my doubts - will now the devil get hold of my soul, do people know how to behave in this spot, etc. But I was very pleasantly surprised: Scenic in many places; I like England and its people anyway; the city was just a little larger than I expected and what I was used to from having lived in Cambridge. Well well, I am looking forward to traveling to the country the next time! Shown here: The Camera / Christ Church College in the back.


And one of the most weird looking houses I found in the whole city: Unfortunately it is barely visible in the picture, but the whole house is leaning so much forward and to the left that it really didn't feel *that* safe a place to be in:


Next came a visit to Amsterdam with my sister, just for a day. Since pictures of buildings etc. get boring quite easily and food intake is critical to extend your lifespan here a picture of us eating at a nice seafood restaurant:


This one could be King Andreas I. on his throne:

(OK, it was just at the 'American Cafe' where we had some broodjes for lunch. Check it out when you are in Amsterdam, nice food at decent prices in a relaxed and 'stylish' atmosphere. Exactly what a stylish person like myself needs from time to time.)

Now THE day finally arrived - the biggest fan of the US that ever existed and ever will exist on this planet finally visited his favorite country! My friend Uli from Frankfurt visited me in Boston for a couple of days and we went to NYC together as well. First action - first win: A lottery ticket made Uli a rich man! Well, ok, we won $2 and the two tickets cost us ... ehm, $2 I think, but it was still a decent start on the way to the second million. (Wait, we might be making the second step before the first here...)


We decided to do some traveling together, and North Carolina / Chapel Hill was our first destination - a very nice place, late summer, still pleasantly warm. Also it was the first time I was breathing some 'southern' atmosphere, a stay in the US would be incomplete without it. Karthikeyan, an old friend from Pune, was also currently visiting Chapel Hill so three of the best men this planet has went for dinner together that night:


Chapel Hill is nice but there is only one 'Capital of the World' - NYC! Since I have never been up either the Empire State Building nor the Rockefeller Center now the time has come - my humble self, in the background the Central Park:

Definitely one of my favorite places in the world - and I'll miss it much when finally leaving town.

The last place on the list of today's travel journal: Albuquerque, New Mexico. Possibly not the first place to consider when going on a trip, but I have to say: It was very much worth seeing this quite different location, which is certainly different from most places I have been to as the 'average' European/Boston-raised guy. A visit in Tudor's group at the University of New Mexico brought me there and some pictures of the scenic environment on Sandia Peak will suffice to leave the reader in a relaxed mood when leaving this location...