Oman, here I come

Ok, I am off now, for a couple of weeks, travelling to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and through Oman. Fleeing from the grey and drab winter weather here, coming back right before X-mas to get all my presents :D Cya then!

Away Games

Away games are not fun all the time, but that one was. Perfect weather combined with an terrific basketball game in the late afternoon can't be any better. Rothenburg o. d. Tauber seems to be the right spot for that.

We started the game a bit too sleepy, horrible defense was punished with some dunks and alley oops. 46:27 was the lead for Rothenburg after the first half. But we started fighting and won the game 66:67 after a 0:7 run in the last minute of the forth quarter. Yeah man!

Back @ Home 4 once

Little story to fill up the blog with some posts. The weekend at home was supposed to be calm, with some relaxing minutes doing nothing. Well, so good so far. Things changed on Sunday, when I got a ticket for the Kalkbrenner concert. Fritz was starting, getting the crowd to move, followed by Paul for another 4 hours. That was worth it. As a result, the bike ride going back to Erlangen the next morning was not about to happen on time. Never mind, Claus and I just wanted to see how far we can get. Destination reached at Bamberg, 8:30 pm, appox. 160 km. Not too bad, after all.

Summer Travelling

I've been kinda busy the last weeks - long time no post. This will be changed now... I had one day to pack all my stuff together, including a little detour via Erlangen, then hitting the road going north, cruising through Denmark and Sweden, appoaching Norway on the following day. Two relaxing weeks, two locations (island Atloy and Ulsteinvik) and a lot of relaxing time floating on the ocean, doing nothing, just chilling. This is how life's cool.

On the way back in Hamburg, I took the flight to Dublin, meeting Uwe and David after staying one night in the hostel in Dublin Downtown. Uwe was kinda speeding though the rain, hoping for better weather showing up after every turn :D But it didn't. We had fun anyway, climbed Europe's highest cliffs on Ireland's West Coast on day 2, enjoyed typical and traditional Irish breakfast or fresh and homemade served fish 'n' chips for dinner. The Giants Causeway at sunset wasn't missed at the third evening, before flying back to Frankfurt the following morning.

Getting started for the next highlight: Transalp 2011 - this time as a combination of two famours routes, i.e. 14 days and more intense. Rinkes, Tobi and I started in Oberstorf, passing Schroffenpass and spectecular Val d'Uina, riding though Vinschgau Valley and the Dolomites before approaching Lake Garda. The weather was more than excellent, the food delicious (Pizza, Spaghetti, Italian Ice Cream and fresh fruits, ähm wtf is bread??? :D) and the Italian language challenging. We had enough time for some sunbathing as well, reaching everyday's destination before sunset :) That will be different next time, promise.

Monster Trip

I've done it, biking home, from Brielle (NL) to Erfurt, 650 km in 4 days. Here are the stats and figures:



Day 1: Brielle - Venlo (210 km)
Day 2: Duisburg - Soest (130 km)
Day 3: Soest - Göttingen (170 km)
Day 4: Göttingen - Erfurt (140 km)

And, as a result of this, new wheels are needed. My ones broke down and were not able to handle the pressure :)

Limassol Meze Tavern

If you are in Limassol one time, starving, then try this Meze Tavern. I can highly recommend it :) Extraordinary food spiced with cool stories of the tavern owner ;)

Transcyprus 2011 Part 2

Monday morning. The alarm was set for 3 am :( A few moments later the taxi arrived on time. Miami @ Dallas Game 3 was watched on the way to the airport - the Dallas loss was a bad sign already! Then, delay of 6 hours at Hamburg airport (plane was hit by lightning and forced it to be checked completely). Tobi and me, we had plenty of time for an enjoyable breakfast after getting 2 vouchers each. The flight itself was horribly boring, and, landed, we struggled a bit to reach our destination Kalavasos in the evening. We rented the the MTBs there and started the tour through the Cyprian Troodos Mountains on the next morning.


Through the mountains
It took us 4 days to get to the other side of Cyprus. Going up, going down, stopping a couple of times in little villages to refill the water reservoirs at the bike and in the backpack, gasping for breath and taking some pictures we were coming the sun a bit closer - approx. 1500 meters of height was the maximum. It was hot and the sun was burning, no cloud, no drop of rain, 35°C. Some light winds and trees giving shade were more than welcome. Almost dead, we reached our ahead booked hotel in Agros on the second day (That was a bit too much under those conditions!). Day 3 was finished in Lemithou, relaxing and sunbathing at our pool :-P And all the way to Polis in the west on the forth day, seeing the sea the first time and jumping in without even taking off the biking cloths :D


Along the coastline
After spending an easy-going day on the Akamas peninsula, we had some excellent rides along the coast, to Kato Paphos, Pissouri, Limassol and back to Kalavasos. Beaches were completely unpeopled, no tourist, only some turtles were supposed to be there (but we haven't seen one). Crystal clear water was inviting us to stay a bit longer. In the evening, when the sun was going down, snakes were sneaking around and disappeared in the bushes infront of us. Pretty impressive. We finished the days with Cyprians delights: Greek Salads, Seafood, Lamb, Tahini, Houmous and Haloumi ... Simply nice!!! :)

Transcyprus 2011 Part 1

I am off now, for a little bike riding adventure. The Transcyprus 2011, starting in Kalavasos, going up and down through the Troodos Mountains and back again along the coast line in the south, finishing with a two days round trip by rented car in the north turkish part of Cyprus. I'll keep you informed later on. Cya!

In Contrast

On one day, it looks like this - the sun sets as if the earth has swallowed it up. Just lay down and relax...

On the next day, it looks like this. Heavy sand storms are pushing you from one side to another. You can hardly walk, almost no visibility and the grains of sand are finding its way to everywhere. Just get the hell outta there!

Harlem Globetrotters

Last Tuesday, there was another big event coming up - the Harlem Globetrotters in Rotterdam. I went there right after work and was faced the queue waiting to get in the "Topsportcentrum". Though, no other chance than queueing up!!!


The show was terrific, those men can ball!!! Every offensive play was finished with a dunk, big defensive blocks and 4-point shots. Even the "penalty box" as punishment (comparable with ice hockey) was fun. Sometimes the show aspects were a bit too obvious, but it was worth it anyway.

Work is done!!!

So, our project on Maasvlakte is finished and the BritNed Interconnector is handed over to the customer. The crucial night: From March 31th to April 1st, 0:00 AM, the commercial operation has begun. The daily power flow can be seen here. I hope the 3 months lasting trial operation and extended support will be kinda relaxing ;)

Two nights in Paris

Not even 3 hrs of driving (I used that time for some little power napping) with the same result: I hardly understand what people are talking about. Thus, in that case, the dutch and the french language are very similiar. Yeah well, it seems to be that the dutch language is related to almost every language in the world... Let's switch the topic. Together with my friend Hagen I hopped on the high speed train Thalys (pretty luxury, but indeed uncomfortable in a certain way) to go to Paris for a couple of days. Some first pictures were taken on Friday night, during the last dry minutes on that given weekend. Additionally, we didn't find our booked hotel easily, it was kinda hidden, and soon, the next suprise was waiting for us ...

A Belgium day trip once again

It was planned to go to Belgium, somewhere and somehow, but a short glimpse outta the window made us struggle with the decision. The weather forecast didn't promise any changing. Doesn't matter, we had to leave to do at least something, crossed the border and reached Gent after a little while. Fully equipped with rain coats (more or less) and umbrellas, we started to explore the city, and hopping from one cafe to the next restaurant, just in order not to drown. No, to be serious, it wasn't that bad, and the city's beauty is simply stunning with all its churches, cathedrals, ruins, castles and tiny side streets, packed with heaps of pubs and bars. It was worth it, even in the rain.

Seeing as much as possible

What do you do when you have your parents visiting you? Right, a Holland crash course with all its traditional and cultural beauties. Here some summarizing pictures:

Pirate ship in the old port of Rotterdam.

Ceiling view inside the Posthoornkerk, Amsterdam.

Kaas winkel in Amsterdam.

Beach and dunes of Goeree, near Ouddorp.

Architecture in Gouda.

Brielle burns

Recently taken pictures on my way to work. If you ask me, it was pure luck that I survived :D

Going south to Eindhoven

Tsja what should I say? I thought as long as I am in Holland, i have to visit Eindhoven as well. No sooner said than done - a day trip to Eindhoven.

But unfortunately, I overestimated the city. Ok, it was on a normal Sunday. But I've expected at least something - and not a nothing-to-do-afternoon. Well, that's exaggerated, anyway, I was though the city quickly, everything was closed and I had no clue what to do next. So I ended up in a restaurant, having a wonderful cake served with a cup of coffee as dinner :D Remember the next time: Just go there with a concrete plan! ;)

Energierekening

You'll find that stuff if you have too much time or watch commercial breaks on television. A perfect example for the dutch language. I love it ...

Along the coastline

The Kubus Houses in Blaak, Rotterdam. One of the famous attractions in that industrial city. Hard to believe that people can live there. I'm kinda curious how it looks like from the inside, maybe I get into one sometimes.

The coastline is riddled with heaps of windmills. Huge sleices a couple of hundred metres long are used for water protection and keep Holland from drowning.

The Town Hall of Middelburg

Rotterdam @ Night

The Erasmus Bridge, having the shape of a white shining swan, spans the river Maas.

The Walk of Fame. I'm not on it yet, but one time...

Very famous in Rotterdam, and so strange to live in, the Cubic Houses!

Windmill Schiedam

Schiedam, one of Rotterdam's suburban villages, invites people for a short little walk through tiny and narrow streets. Following them, you will get to the canal and have one of those views. Neat windmills - and plenty of them!!!

White Christmas

There have been some heavy snow falls right at Christmas Eve. More than 40 cm over night was forcing everything to slow down a bit. No public transport was going :) Some relaxing days ...

White Christmas and more than -10°C.

Erfurt's inner city, Fischmarkt