Thursday, July 31, 2008

Chicago Indoor Racing

Last night the Retail Technology Team had a company sponsored outing at Chicago Indoor Racing in Buffalo Grove. CIR is an indoor track where you can compete in races driving high performance 'Go-Karts'. These carts are powered by a 200cc four cycle gasoline engine, and can reach speeds of up to 35 miles an hour. But I can tell you it feels much faster than that. Before racing you sign a liability waiver and watch a short training video. Then you put on a racing jumpsuit and full helmet with visor. You climb into your cart, sitting just inches off the ground with a steering wheel, accelerator and brake pedals. All participants in the race pull out onto the track and do one starting lap in a single file line. Then the green flag waves and you're off on a 15 lap race. The racing experience is very intense, and when you finish and come off the track you are exhilarated and breathing hard.

The racing format for our group was four 15 lap qualifying races, and one 30 lap final. Each driver participated in three qualifiers, and sat out for one. In each qualifier you had a different starting position, one near the front, one near the middle and one near the back. Your score for each race was based on your finishing position, with the highest points for first, and fewer points for each subsequent finish. At the end of the qualifiers, the top ten scoring drivers got to compete in the final. For the final, your starting position was according to your accumulated qualifying scores, with the highest score in the front.

In the first race, I started in 6th position, but gained 2 positions, finishing in 4th. I sat out the second race, and really needed that rest. I was surprised how physical the racing was. In the third race I started in 3rd position. I gained one spot when the 2nd place driver spun out, and finished in 2nd place. By the 4th race I had started to gain some experience with the car and the track. I started in 8th position just one car before the last, but quickly managed to work my way up to 3rd. Unfortunately, I got passed by my colleague Dave Burkhart, and finished in 4th place. However, my accumulated scores qualified me to race the final, with a starting position right behind the leader. The final 30 lap race was grueling, but I managed to maintain my position all the way through, even lapping some of the slower drivers. But I couldn't overtake the leader who by the way has raced at CIR before, and I ended up in second place on the final. But I was pretty proud of my performance and received a number of high fives.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Happy People Dancing



"Matt Harding traveled through many nations on Earth, started dancing, and filmed the result. The video is perhaps a dramatic example that humans from all over planet Earth feel a common bond as part of a single species. Happiness is frequently contagious -- few people are able to watch the above video without smiling." - Astronomy Picture Of The Day

Monday, July 28, 2008

Measure Up Monday

Four Birthday Parties in one week! With great food and birthday cake at each one. A lot of the people who read this blog attended those parties too. If any of you lost any weight after that, I'd like to hear about it. As for me, I managed to hold it to a 1 pound gain.

Lately I received a few compliments about the weight I've taken off, but I'm doing it for my health more than for my appearance. At 241 pounds with a 48" waist, I was a serious health risk. My 34.6 BMI was deep into the obese category. Now, with a 30.6 BMI, I'm almost over the edge into the just "overweight" category.

DateWeightGain/LossUpper WaistLower Waist
6/16/08219---45.041.0
6/23/08216-345.041.0
7/7/08214-245.041.0
7/14/08218+444.041.0
7/21/08212-643.040.5
7/28/08213+143.041.0

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Holly

Early this year, an aquaintance introduced me to the music of Eva Cassidy. Eva was a remarkable songstress who's career and life were cut short in 1996 by melanoma at the age of 33. I bought some of her music via Amazon mp3 downloads and really enjoy listening to it. I especially liked her cover of the Sting classic "Fields of Gold".

Wondering if a video of Eva performing "Fields of Gold" existed, I went searching on YouTube. I didn't find the Eva video I was looking for, but instead landed on this cover version.


I honestly think my jaw fell open as I listened to this extraordinary 17 year old from the UK perform her version of the song. I browsed her YouTube channel and found I liked many of the 25 videos she had posted, so I subscribed to her channel. At that time I think she had around 200 subscribers. Currently her subscriber list is closing in on 1000.

Her name is Holly Kirby, and she is a high school student living in the UK. She is studying music and plays several instruments. She also has an artistic eye for photography and video production that you'll observe in her later videos, but I think her greatest strength is in her vocal performances. She is a big fan of Loreena McKennitt and Enya, among others. You can certainly hear their influences in her music. In fact, at the age of 14 she appeared as Enya singing "Orinoco Flow" on a British television show. Holly's musical taste seems to lean toward the 'Celtic Woman' genre, but she is equally adept performing pop styles like this KT Tunstall cover, or this original song.

Speaking of original songs, about the time I started following her progress, Holly began a collaboration with a gifted lyricist here in the U.S. Together they have produced some astounding original music:


I think they have a great future as a songwriting team. If she gets the right opportunities, I think Holly has the potential to make it big in the music world, but that's a big IF. There are probably thousands of musical talents that never get the recognition they deserve. Holly is very level headed about this, and has expressed in her comments that while a breakthrough career in music would be wonderful, she is currently content to continue her studies and enjoy her life as a teenager.

Recently, Holly celebrated over a year on YouTube and posted her 50th video appropriately called "Who Knows Where the Time Goes", a cover of the 1968 Sandy Denny classic. The video includes clips of herself growing up, but it is her rendition of the song that makes this one of her best performances yet.

If you don't have one yet, I recommend you create a YouTube account, and then subscribe to this young lady so you can watch her progress. I think you will see a star in the making.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Joke Friday

Dog Name Tags

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Guest Post From Jennifer

Jennifer's boys went away to a farm camp last week. Here's what she had to say about it.

July 13, 2008
Hello!

We've arrived safely at our hotel. Got a little lost which added 1 hour to the drive, unfortunately. You see, I realized that I forgot my Marriott ID at home. This is needed to get the associate rate, of course. So, I called Angie at the Courtyard and she was able to save my life by faxing an authorization form to the Fairfield Inn. However, while I was on the phone we passed our exit and I didn't realize it. Then, after turning around, I got off the highway at the wrong street. I called the Fairfield and Doug knew exactly where I was when I mentioned a Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Chinatown restaurant! He guided us in. So, now we're going to breakfast, er, dinner at Denny's. Talk to you tomorrow.

July 15, 2008
It's Tuesday night, my second evening without my boys. I think about them constantly. I hope they're enjoying what they're doing and busy enough to not be feeling homesick. Bedtime is hard, I mean for me! I slept with the blankets that they've been sleeping with since they were born.

The dropoff went so smoothly. Although we missed 2 turns on the way there, we had a cushion of time and made it with plenty to spare. We had to wait 5th in a line of cars at the end of the driveway. As one car came up, another was sent down. While we waited we talked about meeting kids from other states, finding a new friend and perhaps becoming penpals. I mentioned that I went all the way to France to meet my friend Odile. We joked about killing the chicken that was going to be dinner. And, I reminded them that they are guests and to be kind and respectful. When it was our turn, we pulled up in front of the house, took out all the bags (3 each), shared kisses, hugs, I love yous, and I was back in the car driving off. No tears from anyone. No last minute cold feet. If they were nervous it really didn't show. Except that Elliott was calling me Mommy. He only does that when he's feeling clingy. I felt good about the whole thing my entire drive home. It wasn't until bedtime that I began to miss them. It's a good thing Paul is driving us there on Friday. I'm afraid I would be speeding the whole way... I can't wait to see them again.

July 18, 2008
Friday, after a 5am stop at Starbucks for morning human fuel, Paul and I were on our way to Ohio to pick up our boys. It’s nearly a 7 hour drive and we planned to stop in a town 20 minutes from the farm to give ourselves a break before proceeding. We made it in record time! Maybe Paul was speeding. I wouldn’t know because I was fully immersed in the book I was reading. So, we rested for about 2 hours and then left to retrieve our Pride, and Joy.

If I may interject for a moment… Most of you know I am not an early riser, hitting snooze 4 times before forcing myself out of bed. However, even after going to bed at 1am, I practically jumped up when the alarm sounded at 4:20.

Paul napped during our 2 hour intermission, but I couldn’t. I read some more despite my burning eyes. Anticipation got the better of me. Once again, we missed 2 turns. The road signs are not prominent. While I wanted to be 15 minutes early, we arrived with less than 10 minutes and took our place as the 9th car in line. Fortunately, pick up moved along at a much quicker pace than drop off. We were soon pulling up in front of the house. Luggage piles were scattered across the lawn, but no kids were in sight save 2. We stepped out of the car and told a young man the names of our children.

The eagerness I felt during the delay in their appearance was like waiting to hold your newborn while he’s being cleaned and weighed. A boy came into view from around the side of the house, not ours. Then another boy, still not ours. Where are they?! Finally my two sons emerged, grinning from ear to ear. Paul and I had expressed to each other a concern that Elliott might actually be mad at us. Our fear was unwarranted after a hug and even more so as he shared tales of his previous days. I let Christian sit in the front seat, partly so that he and Elliott each had a parent to focus on and could more easily take turns talking, but mostly so that I could comfortably behold them both. They had a lot to say and were enthusiastic in their telling. They confessed to feeling homesick, but it had subsided by the third day. I told my boys how proud I was of them for successfully surviving this past week.

Leaving my boys in the care of strangers for 5 whole days and 4 entire nights really helped me realize how much I cherish them. Raising children may be challenging and trying with most of my time spent doing everything for them and little for myself, yet I do not want it any other way. Home was a void, lonely and uncomfortable. Christian and Elliott are my life and when I do things for them, I am automatically doing for me. There is no doubt that their experience on the farm was priceless, but it was invaluable for me as well. Would I send them again? I would. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

~Jennifer~

Mac Update

If you haven't already seen or heard, The Cyclone team finished the Mac at 10:41 AM today. The phone report from Danny said that he was up for the last 25 hours of the race. Purportedly because they had encountered some serious weather conditions near the end, but knowing Danny, I think he would have stayed up for the last 24 hours anyway because he would want to experience every possible minute he could. Congratulations to Danny and the rest of the Cyclone's crew. Regardless of results, the experience must be awesome.

I understand that part of the Mac tradition is the partying that follows. I hope you all have a great celebration, and look forward to your stories when you return.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Mac Update


3 posts in one day. Lots going on today. The picture shows Cyclone in relation to the rest of the boats in their section. It would seem that they are not as far along as they would like to be, but it aint over 'til it's over. And there are still handicap corrections to take into account. I'm sure whatever the final result, they will all be exhilarated for having competed in the 100th running of the Mac.

Bipartite Birthdays

Janet and Mom share this day as their birthday. As the family has grown, it seems surprising how many shared birthdays there are, but actually

P(N) = [365 × 364 × · · · × (365−N+1)] / 365N

shows that you only need 23 people to have a greater than 50% chance of a shared birthday.

So Happy Birthday to Janet, and to Mom, the two people who have had the greatest impact on me. Mom guided me from diapers through dating with unconditional love that is still evident today. Janet who enabled me to be where I am today, stuck with me when I made bad choices, and continues to make dreams come true for me. I wish you both a birthday filled with love.

Measure Up Monday

Last week I saw an unexpected increase in weight. Not totally unexpected, but maybe more than I thought I'd see. This week I got back on the wagon hoping to at least trim off some of the increase. But the scale surprised me once again with an unexpected loss. Not totally unexpected, but maybe more than I thought I'd see. (Is there an echo in here?) I actually started to wonder if the battery in the scale needs to be changed. It never has been since we've owned the scale, but when I turned it over I couldn't figure out how to change it. So for now I'm just going to continue to trust the scale and report what it says. Which this morning was 212 lbs. Actually nearly 213 (212.8) but consistant with my reporting policy, I'm still calling it 212.

DateWeightGain/LossUpper WaistLower Waist
6/16/08219---45.041.0
6/23/08216-345.041.0
7/7/08214-245.041.0
7/14/08218+444.041.0
7/21/08212-643.040.5

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Mac Race Update

Correction
In yesterday's "How're They Doin'?" post, I mixed up the "same as" boats with the "slower than" boats. Drumbeat and Sociable are the boats that have a rating similar to Cyclone. Foray and Celerity are the slowest boats in Danny's section. So I estimated Cyclone's relative race position wrong.

Today's Status as of 12:30pm
I have 2 pictures. Click on them for a clearer view. The first one shows Cyclone's position relative to the 6 boats I measured against yesterday. Today, Windrunner & Madcap appear to be ahead of Cyclone. They are faster boats, so this is expected. The same rated boats Drumbeat and Sociable also appear to be ahead of Cyclone (though Drumbeat only slightly). Even the slower rated Celerity appears to be ahead. Only the slower rated Foray seems behind. But the race is far from over.


This second picture compares Cyclone with some of their rival boats. I think these are boats they race regularly, and would like to beat in the Mac. They seem to be about even with Most Wanted, but behind Vayu and Dos Aguilas. I haven't checked the ORR ratings to see if this is their expected positions.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

How're They Doin'?

Not too badly. The first picture below shows the position of the Cyclone relative to the entire race. You can see they have a long way to go. The second picture is zoomed in, and shows the Cyclone in relation to several of the boats they are competing directly with. (Click on the pictures for a larger, clearer view)




According to Danny, MadCap and Windrunner are 2 boats that should be faster and therefore ahead of them. You can see that Windrunner is ahead, but Madcap actually appears to be behind.

Foray and Celerity are 2 boats rated very much the same as Cyclone. They should all be equal at this point. Foray is about equal with Cyclone, but Celerity is behind, near Madcap.

Finally, Drumbeat and Sociable are 2 boats rated slower than Cyclone. They should be behind. Drumbeat seems slightly behind, and Sociable is being anything but. He seems to have elected to head east while everyone else seems headed mostly north.

2008 Mackinac Race Start

Today was the start of the 2008 Chicago to Mackinac sailboat race. While the 100th anniversary of the race happened 10 years ago in 1998, this is the 100th actual running of the 333 mile race from Chicago to Mackinac. Danny has been wanting to participate in this race since even before he started sailing on a racing team 5 years ago. One of his dreams is coming true today.

Some of us were fortunate enough to see him off this morning. Janet and I drove down to Navy Pier along with my mom. It was raining and breezy but the temperature was mild. Colleen joined us later, running the 3 miles from her south loop condo to Navy Pier. The weather wasn't great for spectators, but Danny said he didn't care about the rain as long as there was wind.

The boats all go right by the end of Navy Pier, and you can get a good look at them from there. Janet announced the boat over the loudspeakers, and we all cheered and waved as they went by. After they parade by, the boats head out past the breakwater to the starting area. On a good day, you might be able to make out the boats in the starting area with some binoculars, but today the best you could see was some sail outline through the fog. Here's a few pictures we snapped.

Wet weather at the end of Navy Pier

When you've just run 3 miles in the rain, an umbrella is pointless

Danny waving from the Cyclone

Headed out to the starting line


I also put together a short video using pictures and video taken this morning:

Friday, July 18, 2008

Joke Friday


Happy sails to you Danny.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Measure Up Monday - Paying the Piper

I have to admit that for the past week I have been behaving like I was not on a weight loss plan. We were staying at Colleen's condo for the week and acting like we were on vacation. We tried some new restaurants and returned to a few favorites, and I put my calorie counting aside. So now I must pay the piper, face the music, take my lumps, etc.

It could be that I'm experiencing one of those temporary weight fluctuations, or that Colleen's scale was in fact weighing me less than my home scale, or that the moon was on the opposite side of the earth this morning and the extra gravitational pull increased my weight on the scale :). But the sad news is that I'm 4 pounds heavier this Monday than I was last week. I'm not discouraged though. I'm ready to get serious again and make the necessary effort to progess toward my goal. Next week will be better, I promise.

DateWeightGain/LossUpper WaistLower Waist
6/16/08219---45.041.0
6/23/08216-345.041.0
7/7/08214-245.041.0
7/14/08218+444.041.0

Friday, July 11, 2008

Joke Friday

Before a cat will condescend
To treat you as a trusted friend,
Some little token of esteem
Is needed, like a dish of cream.
~ T. S. Eliot ~


Rules for Cats to Live By

BATHROOMS:
Always accompany guests to the bathroom. It is not necessary to do anything. Just sit and stare.

DOORS:
Do not allow any closed doors in any room. To get door open, stand on hind legs and hammer with forepaws. Once door is opened, it is not necessary to use it. After you have ordered an "outside" door opened, stand halfway in and out and think about several things. This is particularly important during very cold weather, rain, snow, or mosquito season.

CHAIRS AND RUGS:
If you have to throw up, get to a chair or bed quickly. If you cannot manage in time, get to an Oriental rug. If there is no Oriental rug, any quality carpeting is good. When throwing up on the carpet, make sure you back up so it is as long as a human's bare foot.

HAMPERING:
If one of your humans is engaged in some activity and the other is idle, stay with the busy one. This is called "helping," otherwise known as "hampering." Following are the rules for "hampering:"

1) When supervising cooking, sit just behind the left heel of the cook. You cannot be seen and thereby stand a better chance of being stepped on and then picked up and comforted.

2) For book readers, get in close under the chin, between eyes and book, unless you can lie across the book itself.

3) For paperwork, lie on the paper in the most appropriate manner so as to obscure as much of the work as possible. Or pretend to doze, but occasionally reach out and slap the pencil or pen.

4) For people paying bills or working on income taxes or Christmas cards, keep in mind the aim: to hamper! First, sit on the paper being worked on. When dislodged, watch sadly from the side of the table. When activity proceeds nicely, roll around on the papers, scattering them to the best of your ability. When being removed for the second time, make all four legs flail around wildly in order to push pens, pencils, and erasers off the table.

5) When a human is holding the newspaper in front of him/her, be sure to jump on the back of the paper. Humans love surprises.

6) When a human is working at the computer, jump up on the desk, walk across the keyboard, bat at the mouse pointer on the screen and then lay in the human's lap across arms if possible to hamper typing in progress.

WALKING:
As often as possible, dart quickly and as close as possible in front of the human, especially on stairs, when they have something in their arms, in the dark, and when they first get up in the morning. This will help their coordination skills.

BEDTIME:
Always sleep on the human at night so he/she doesn't move around too much.

LITTER BOX:
When using the litter box, be sure to kick as much litter out of the box as possible. Humans love the feel of kitty litter between their toes.

HIDING:
Every now and then, hide in a place where the humans cannot find you. Do not come out for three to four hours under any circumstances. This will cause the humans to panic (which they love) thinking that you have run away or are lost. Once you do come out, the humans will cover you with love and kisses and you will probably get a treat.

ONE LAST THOUGHT:
Whenever possible, get close to a human, especially their face, then turn around, and present your butt to them. Humans love this, so do it often. And don't forget guests.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Catsit

So Colleen and Tim are off on a Las Vegas vacation, which I hope they are enjoying. I think Colleen likes Vegas even more than I do. But they have 3 cats that must be tended, so we are staying downtown in their condo to take care of them. Moving into somebody else's home for a week can be difficult. First, while most of us have places in our homes to put all of our things, we don't normally have a place for somebody else to put their things. This was the case as we arrived at the condo with a week's worth of stuff we needed. You may already be familiar with the late George Carlin's funny routine about "stuff", but suffice to say, we had to move a bunch of Colleen's "crap" to make room for our "stuff". The next difficulty moving into somebody else's home is finding things. They never store anything where you think it should be. You have to open 7 cabinets to find a drinking glass. And I still haven't found the coffee pot. I'm pretty certain Colleen's coffeepot is at the corner of Roosevelt and Wabash. I must be getting old. I'm an I/T professional, but couldn't figure out how to work the thermostat. And why is the bathroom the coldest room in the place? I'm talking about the bathroom with the killer towel rack that jumps off the wall and attacks you.

So we're living with cats again. We always had lots of cats in the house when the kids were living at home, but except for an occasional visit, we haven't had cats at home for nearly 5 years. I've forgotten the thrill of stepping on kitty litter in your bare feet. Or the way floating cat hairs can enhance a meal. And there's little doubt who's the master and who's the slave in the house. You don't see the cats cleaning up my puke, or scooping up my crap. And that reminds me, how do they get away with advertising that contraption as a self cleaning catbox? Thank God I have a cold and couldn't smell what I was digging out of the machinery with my fingers.

But it's really not that bad. Gracious and Carmel stay out of my way and Mitts is his usual sweet self, but he's sure to let you know if you're not petting him just right. He seems so cute as he watches me eat my cereal, and tucks his head under my elbow, and trys to stick his nose in my bowl!

Actually, I was aware of Mitts' breakfast habits, and allowed him the last half ounce of cereal milk. Am I crazy or what?

Monday, July 7, 2008

Measure Up Monday

I'm back from my trip, but not back in my own bed. Colleen and Tim are having a little getaway to Las Vegas, so we are cat sitting for them in their condo. The multiple flights of stairs should help keep my weight loss program on track this week.

I just spent 2 weeks eating in restaurants every day including a couple of McDonalds meals. But I also did a lot of walking and climbed a couple of mountains, so I was really hoping to at least break even for the trip and not gain anything.

I didn't have my scale or tape measure this morning, but Colleen has an electronic scale similar to ours so I used that. Janet said it weighed her about the same as the last time she was on our scale, so I'm going to have to trust its accuracy. I was pleased to see the scale read 214 this morning, which means I actually managed to lose 2 pounds over the 2 weeks I spent in Munich.

DateWeightGain/LossUpper WaistLower Waist
6/16/08219---45.041.0
6/23/08216-345.041.0
7/7/08214-245.041.0

Friday, July 4, 2008

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Well, my optimism about the successful upgrade of the restaurant Wednesday night was a bit premature. One of the issues we encountered the night of the upgrade was that the store manager had reopened the system before we started. Upgrading the software on an opened system had some ill effects that were not immediately apparent. Once the cause of the ill effects was determined, a solution was devised that required me to return to the store last night for another overnight adventure. Fortunately, the solution was successful and the store is back to normal. An unanticipated benefit of this is that I now have spent 2 days staying up all night and sleeping during the day, so I am almost back on a Chicago time schedule. :)

My first week here I parked the car and walked everywhere. After Janet arrived last Friday I began to make much more use of the car, driving around Munich and to our other sight seeing destinations. Also, this week I needed to drive between the hotel and the restaurant or office. So I have gotten a little more accustomed to driving in Germany. Today I felt confident enough to attempt driving to the office without using the GPS navigation system. I was doing quite well until I missed my exit from the A95 for the office, and had to drive several kilometers beyond to get to another exit. I could have gotten back on the A95 and found my way back, but I had noticed the northbound lanes were all stopped due to construction and I didn't want to get stuck there. So I had to resort to using the GPS to get to the office after all.

I've made some observations about driving in Germany that will be useful if I should ever return. Their stop lights are only on your side of an intersection. There isn't one mounted across the street like at most US intersections. That means you must stop well back from the intersection in order to see the light change. Driving on the Autobahn is an interesting experience. There are a couple of rules you must obey:

Do not pass on the right.
Do not drive on the left unless you are passing.

The speed limit on the Autobahn changes by time of day and traffic conditions. Typically it is 100 or 120 kph (62 - 75 mph). But at times the speed limit is completely removed, and you are allowed to drive as fast as you dare. It is at these times that you are well advised to obey the "keep right except to pass" rule. I've had cars fly by on the left that were easily doing 200-240 kph.

Tomorrow I return home. I'm scheduled on a 12:20pm flight from Munich that gets me into O'Hare at 3:14pm. I wish the actual flight time was that short. It's too much to hope for another first class upgrade, but I can't complain about flying in business class. I hope you all enjoy a fun and safe 4th of July. See you soon.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Counting Down

It's Thursday morning here. Last night we did the software upgrade at the Kirchheim restaurant. I arrived there around midnight, but we didn't get started until about 2am because the store stays open until 1am, and then they must complete their daily close procedures.

The upgrade worked without any serious problems. There were a few unexpected hiccups, but they were manageable. The last time an upgrade was done here, it was a disaster. So many things didn't work, they had to close the store for a while until it could be straightened out. It was that experience that led to a test lab being established, where new software and configurations could be tested before being installed in a live store. Validating the lab setup and helping to test the update is one of the reasons I'm here. It paid off with a fairly painless upgrade last night. The restaurant opened on time this morning, and is conducting business normally.

So now it's a countdown to my Saturday departure. We'll be providing onsite support today and tomorrow, and then I'm done. It will be nice to be headed home.

Kirchheim McDonalds

Open for business

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Kirchheim bei München

Monday I moved to a different hotel in Kirchheim. It is closer to the restaurant where I will be working most of this week, but farther from the office where I still have a couple of days to work. It takes about 3 times as long to drive as it did to walk from my other hotel. The Eschenhof hotel is a quaint European style hotel. It is not very big, and neither are the rooms. At 8pm the desk clerk goes home for the night so you'd better be checked in by then.

The Eschenhof Hotel
Yep, the whole thing fits in one picture.

Being a European style hotel, it includes a morning breakfast that consists of cereals, breads, yogurt, fruit, and some sliced cold cuts.

Breakfast dining room


Breakfast at the Eschenhof

It also means that you wont find some of the amenities that American travelers are used to, like bottles of shampoo, cream rinse, and mouthwash in the bathroom.

Or soap.

Or washcloths.

Or air conditioning.

Or screens on the windows that you try to open because there's no air conditioning.

There is free wireless internet access, but the signal is so weak, I could well be leeching off some poor guy's home network. My last trip to Munich I stayed at another hotel in this area. At that time I didn't notice whether it had air conditioning since it was late October, and I was more interested in the heat. However, I stopped by that hotel today, and found out they do not have air conditioned guest rooms either, so I guess I'll be staying where I am. It's only 4 more nights, and one of those I'll be in the (air conditioned) restaurant all night, so I think I'll survive. Fortunately, I prefer warmer room temperatures.

We are on schedule to upgrade Wednesday night, so I don't forsee any delay in my return Saturday. I'm looking forward to coming home.