travelling

I'm going to Antwerp this weekend. We're going out with Chess, the company I work for.

Raoul and Petra will pick me up in a little while.

Sunday we went to New York all day. We did some shopping, I bought a jacket and new shoes. We walked around Times Square and Madison Garden. In the evening we went out the two of us.

The weather Monday was really very good; it was almost like spring. We had coffee at the Promenade at Battery Park, looking out to the Statue of Liberty. We were taking our luggage with us.

We also saw Ground Zero, and the reconstruction that was going on there. It was the first time since September 11th that I was in New York. The very first thing I did when I was the first in New York in 1998, was going to the World Trade Center to the observation deck. It is really sad.

Sasha's bus to Washington was at 16:30 o'clock, my train to the airport (Newark) as well.

I had a very pleasant flight. After an hour flying or so the person next to me asked me: "excuse me, are you perhaps a programmer?" He saw me reading the book Cryptonomicon, which is a big hit among computer people. He was a programmer too, so we talked quite a bit. He and his girlfriend were flying back from a holiday in Europe, in Paris they actually got engaged. Cute.

The plane landed on schedule in Newark Airport. There was a big line before Immigrations so that took some time. I didn't have any problems with my passport.

When I went past the customs the first thing I saw was a Starbucks shop. This was too tempting to resist, so I had a double espresso to compensate for the six hours time difference. Then I called Sasha on her mobile, she was in the bus from Washington to New York.

The airport in Newark consists of a couple of terminals that are connected through a monorail. I have very nice memories of both the airport and the monorail. In 1998 Sasha and I stayed in a motel near the airport, and we always transferred at the airport when we were going to and from New York.

The traintrip to Secaucus went smoothly, except for the fact that at first I pronounced the name of the place completely wrong so nobody knew where I wanted to go.

It was great to see everybody again, that needs no explaining.

We had dinner together which was very cosy. Jonathan and Irena have a barbecue (being Americans :)) and that made for a great dinner, with the rakia and red wine. Went to bed quite late.

So it's "se-CAU-cus", not "SE-Cau-cus".

Oh yes -- this time I want to be on time, so I'm leaving now. My plane is at 13:30, so plenty of time to wait in lines, get coffee, a magazine perhaps...

I'm trying something rather revolutionary: I'll travel light.

Because I'm going back on Monday, I would have felt quite silly to bring my large backpack or the huge huge suitcase I used in Bulgaria. So, I'm bringing only hand luggage.

Tomorrow I'm flying to the States! I'm very happy I can be there for Sasha's birthday. We'll stay with Irena and Jonathan, in Secaucus, NJ.

This time I don't have a lot of things to pack, so I hope I can go to bed earlier than the previous time I was preparing for a long trip.

I'll go into the city now for some small things.

Next weekend will be Sasha's birthday (February 21st) and I'll go to see her then.

At the end of the afternoon I went to Amsterdam and picked up my ticket.

I'm back in Haarlem now. Milena and David brought me to the trainstation, and at 17:00 o'clock my train left. The trip went smoothly; I was listening to the radio and reading a book that Joris gave me for my birthday, 'Cryptonomicon'.

I was in Haarlem at 21:30 o'clock.

Milena and I went for a walk in the city this morning. We did some shopping and we had coffee, and later beer. There was a Starbucks in the main street of Frankfurt.

We had a really good 'bratwurst', a German sausage.

I took some pictures.

The square 'Alter Oper', with a huge soccerball.

A lot of musicians on the main square of Frankfurt (where David & Milena got married), in front of the city hall.

Musicians are leaving.

Shopping street.

Making bratwurst.

And... eating bratwurst.

The traintrip yesterday was wonderful. I don´t think I´ve ever been in a nicer train than this ICE. Quiet, fast, comfortable... it´s almost like a plane but with more space for your legs. I talked with a fellow-passenger until Duisburg, then I read a bit. The four hours to Frankfurt went quick.

David & Milena picked me up from the trainstation, and gave me a great welcome. We had some drinks at home, and we went out to a pub around their place later. We had German beer, of course.

The computer here in David and Milena´s house has a German keyboard, which is pretty much the same as a regular one expect that the `y´ and `z´ are switched -- a bit confusing.