Lok Man in Germany

Euros 2008. The term conjures up memories of the final on 29.6.2008 where an in-form Spain defeated the German team, with Fernando Torres scoring the all important goal to win one goal to zero. But for the players in the German touch rugby national team, the performance of the German football side merely served as motivation for their own European Championship which was to take place 2 weeks later. Our Euros took place just outside Paris in Massey. While the touch rugby Euros are not at a standard comparable to the top national games in the world cup, where Australia and New Zealand dominate, the teams nevertheless take this event very seriously. The German squad consisted of three teams, playing in the open mens, open womens and the open mixed competitions respectively. This is still a relatively new novelty sport in Germany, and with the exception of the womens team, most of the players are non-Germans who have been living in Germany for long enough to qualify to play under the speci...

We managed to fly from Rome to Oslo with no problems, but at that point we found that due to an airport strike, our plane to Bergen has been canceled. We then booked a flight to Stavinger, a city 180 km or so south of Bergen, a distance that we would then cover by bus. There was a quicker ferry option, but as it was late in the day, the last one had already left by the time we arrived. At the information counter at the airport, the lady told us "hurry and get the taxi to the city, you might be able to catch the last bus". From that point we found the Norwegians to be very helpful people. The taxi driver took us to the bus depot and helped us with the luggage and bus selection. As it turned out, the bus ride was to take some 4 hours (or perhaps even more). The roads were wonderfully picturesque, but at the same time they were windy one-laned highways connecting little islands, which meant that the speed was restricted. There were also 2 ferry crossings on the way, and it becam...

In May 2008 I went on a 2 week holiday with my family. It was split into two distinct parts. The first was a short cruise in a luxury vessel, while the second part was a visit to Norway. The cruise was a 6 day long affair on the Crystal Serenity, starting in Lisbon and ending in Civitavecchia, a port near Rome. Being on a cruise ship was a new sensation for me. Unlike ferries or hydro-foils or other commuter vessels that I have been on, the ship is very stable. At the port it barely moves, and even when moving the movements can barely be felt. However, there is always a sensation that I am not quite still - and when I disembark the ship I have the funny feeling that the ground is floating. Perhaps for the other seasoned travelers on the ship, this was not a problem. Having a sea view out the window and the sound of crashing waves on demand is actually very soothing, as was the a buffet breakfast at the bow. As Dad paid for the trip, we were treated to top-notch luxury and service. Cavi...

In April 2008 I was sent to Iasi, Romania for one week, in order to work more closely together with our colleagues at that site. There is also offices of Continental there, although it is very much a developing location and as such the scale is completely different to what we had in Germany. As you can see, the office block is basically a 3 storey portable. Most of the workers are recent graduates out of the univerity in Iasi. Actually, I believe that is one of the attractions of setting up an office in Iasi - a company like Continental would attract a lot of interest from the uni graduates there, as it would be one of the few options to stay at home and have a technical engineering career. Iasi is actually quite a small city, but it appears much smaller if you only consider the airport. It is an international airport because it has ONE daily flight back to Vienna. Work aside, we had a little time on some of the weeknights to look around the city and experience a bit of Romanian cultu...

There has not been much blogworthy over the last half a year - not that I haven't been kept busy though. NYE in Berlin - with Hong and Marlene we toured Munich during Christmas, went to Frankfurt to see Liang and then visited the massive NYE party in Berlin, on Unter den Linden under the Brandenburger Gate. Impressively crowded for Germany, the 1 km party had a stage at each end of its length and some pop bands provided hours of entertainment. The fireworks were good, but not up to Sydney quality. A highlight was our DIY (well, we bought and lit them) fireworks at 4 a.m. after the official fireworks at midnight. Karneval (early February) in Aachen / Cologne - my colleague Stefan lives in Aachen, which is up in Rhineland where they celebrate Karneval, generally dress up and go crazy for a few days. I went with Renat, a friend of mine from Munich, up there, and spent on night in Cologne and the rest of the time in Aachen. Captain Sparrow seems to be a popular dress-up theme these day...

Some said it was the wrong time to visit Beijing. Not the time of the year, but rather, the fact that it was one year before the Olympic games and a lot of things, even parts of the Forbidden City, would be closed for refurbishment and beautification, before China's capital opens its 'heavenly gates' for the world's atheletes and visitors. But more importantly, journalists with suspicious eyes as they inspect the details of the city to search for cracks. It would not be the full Beijing experience. In the end, it was probably a good time to go, and pity that I had not gone earlier. One does not go to Beijing to look at the adventurous designs by Sir Norman Foster - although it is interesting to hear how superstitious locals have interpreted it as a grave for the politicians, since the reflective dome is located directly behind the rear exit of the Great Hall of the People. And while I took photos in front of the almost completed Olympic stadium that looked like a birds ...

24 hour motor racing events are not at all well-known in Australia. There is the recently inaugurated Bathurst 24 hours event, but the Bathurst 1000 is much more famous and has a longer history. That starts at 10 a.m. and lasts for about a little over 6 hours, and by that time I would have usually left the TV set already. The Spa-Francorchamps race circuit is located about an hour away from the German town of Aachen, which is within walking distance of the Belgian and Dutch borders. I stayed with my colleague who conveniently owns a flat in Aachen. Driving to Spa was more or less a trip into a lush, dense forest - the race track itself is very scenic and a walk around the circuit feels like going for a hike. There are some impressive elevation changes, with the famous Eau Rouge corner rising 76 m from the lowest point of the track, over a track length of 300 m. The track then continues upwards for another 60 m to the highest point, the Les Combes corner. For me, it was very exciting to...