Thursday, May 11, 2006

Pics from the Mini European Tour

I am back in North America after a week in the Old Continent.
It was my second time in London and I don't know if it is my luck but I've never seen rain in London. It helps that I have never been there in the winter months. On the left is a pic of St Paul's Cathedral from the Millennium bridge. Sure London is beyond expensive but one can do many fun things there for practically nothing. For instance, the white blocks on the next pic is not a giant Lego exhibit but rather art from a leading sculptor at the Tate Modern. What a great museum! I especially enjoyed the Surrealist section. I saw amazing shorts from French Surrealist artists like Man Ray, Picabia,etc.
They were made last century but remained fresh. I don't think someone who works in the City has much time to visit museums but that is a shame since London has so many great ones. I have yet to visit the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science one,etc.
I remember a great exhibit about Black British style a few years back. It seemed like a great idea. I only spent a day and half in London (that's all I can afford) but I enjoyed my time there. I don't know how different it would be after 13 hours in the office and knowing that rent is due for the week. I wonder how one can successively save in London?

Is it Venice? No, it's Hamburg! A surprisingly interesting city from the crazy Ripperbahn, basically an Adult Disneyland, to the elegant ElbeStrasse mansions, Hamburg has much to offer. I especially enjoyed Blankenese, a posh part of town near the Elbe that had a small town feel to it but that was so close to downtown. It was so quiet. What a contrast to the craziness of Ribberbahn! I am still in awe of how much Germans can drink beer. Canadians just cannot measure. I am surprisingly enjoying Germany (to visit). I am amazed at the efficiency, the marvelous cars on the street, the neat streets. I hope to visit Berlin as well. German cities really have their own identities. It's a very different model to countries like Spain , the UK, or France that have one or two big cities and a multitude of smaller ones with not much economic clout.

Lastly, a few pics from Barcelona's Guell Park designed by Gaudi and the IESE campus, it's beautiful and they serve beer in the cafeteria, which is a good thing. By the way, I really like Lufthansa, especially the fact that alcohol is free and that they actually still serve food unlike many North American airlines.

4 Comments:

At 12:23 PM, Blogger Marina said...

Sounds like a great trip

 
At 3:07 PM, Blogger ... j said...

I love weekend trips to Europe... unfortunately I havn't had the time to head out there since march :( Bt looks like you had fun, be honest, Barcelona is amazing isnt it :)

 
At 11:04 AM, Blogger angie said...

I'm glad you enjoyed Hamburg, my hometown! The weather here is fabulous at the moment! I really hope IESE works out for you!

 
At 10:06 AM, Blogger mbayisyen said...

Marina, the trip was great. Some alcohol, good food, and great friends always make a great mix!
Jacek, Barcelona is one special place.
I just don't know how much I would enjoy it at IESE since the workload is big ( think Darden).
ANgie, thanks, I had a curry wurst for the first time and it was great in Hamburg. Too bad I didn't have an Astra bier though.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home