Man, I could get used to "trinken an dem platz". Gemutlicheit fur alles! Sitting in the open air and having a (good) beer amongst the jovial masses sure helped with the jet lag (which was significant, by the way - slept for 13 hours the 2nd day there). Oh, and, in addition to beer, the Germans are big on sausage. See what they have in the subway? Fast food meat.
Business meetings were punctuated by wine at lunch and a castle tour in the afternoon. Very congenial.
Then, off to London, where more castles awaited. Well, more like a fortress, not so much a castle. The Tower of London was pretty cool to see, as was Tower Bridge. Crazy to think, though, that the Tower of London was built in 1066 by William the Conqueror, who was... a Viking! British history is so convoluted. I never knew, for instance, that King George III who was King of England during the American Revolution ... was German! From Hannover, where I was at the very beginning of the week. I'm not really sure who English people are, exactly, ethnically speaking. Seems like a melting pot, way before America became one.
More history: The Globe Theatre and The George Inn, both frequented by Wm. Shakespeare, are still in operation. The fish & chips at the George were especially good.
A cruise on the Thames produced some great views of Parliament and Whitehall.
All of this London sightseeing occurred after 4 days of business meetings, and was a well-deserved reward for hard work, I must say. And it was nice of the Royal Guards to bid me farewell in Heathrow as I was boarding.
Oh, I would be remiss if I didn't include my contact with a long-lost relative in Germany, standing outside an ancient church. Can you see the family resemblance? There's a lot to be said for genetics. :)
Next up, Boston in 2 weeks. Stay tuned.
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