Frankfurt

Everytime I come to Germany, I'm surprised by how much I love it. I had some time to walk around Frankfurt and watch the Christmas markets go up. Unfortunately, I'm just missing them here in Frankfurt (they don't open until next week), but I can see how magical it's going to be once the Christmas season is in full swing.

On Saturday morning, I walked around the outdoor markets, sipped on a cappacino and had a jelly donut (and, just because it looked and smelled delicious, some sort of pork sandwich with onions...yum!).

I love the quinessential German feel of the city, mixed with the modern shopping. This is what you think of when you think of Germany. It's quite a lovely city.

This is my version of "Ich bin ein Berliner." Eat your heart out, JFK!

Barcelona

I had always heard that Barcelona was a magical city. After visiting it, I have to agree. Think Alice in Wonderland down-the-rabbit-hole, a little girl playing make-believe, and charming Europe, all rolled into one.

The one architectural masterpiece that best embodies Barcelona has got to be Sagrada Familia. I was expecting just another cathedral (after all, this is Europe), but this was unlike anything I hadd ever seen - experienced, really - before. It was gorgeous. And not in the Notre Dame kind of gorgeous. But in a Candy Land sweetness kind of gorgeous. You literally feel like you're standing in a magical forest and there's a good possibility that you may be greeted by a sacred tree nymph.

Gaudi was ahead of his time. His use of color, texture, movement, nature - it was unbelievable. Very contemporary yet still tasteful. Of course, the cathedral is still unfinished (it's not slated to be completed for another 25 years or so). So I can't wait to come back and see it in all its glory.

A few pictures are included here, but they don't do it justice (pictures never do).

During our research sessions yesterday, our Spanish moderator asked one of the respondents (in Spanish, of course, but translated here):

Moderator: You're not from Spain, are you?
Respondent: No. But I've lived here for 13 years. I didn't think my accent was that noticeable.
Moderator: Your accent is perfect. But you look like a foreigner.

I was struck by two things: 1) that the moderator could tell someone they looked like a foreigner without fear of litigation and 2) that he could even tell he was a foreigner. It made me realize what a melting pot we are. Aside from our obesity and penchant for wearing athletic shoes, there really is nothing that makes us uniquely American. We don't have facial characteristics that give us away. But other countries are so much more homogenous that you can "tell" if something doesn't belong.

I guess that makes us mutts. And maybe a little bit boring. I'm OK with that...as long as I can still be visited by a magical tree fairy.

Galavanting through Europe

I'm off to Europe for the next three weeks (save for a quick visit to St. Louis for Thanksgiving). I'm visiting six countries and seven cities, many of which I've never been to before. This trip is for work, but I'm hoping to get a little down time to enjoy the sights.

The cities planned on my trip are Barcelona, Rome, Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, London and Lisbon. I'll send updates on my exploits and hopefully have lots of great pictures to share!

Europe, here I come!

Wake Forest in the news

I was watching some TV in a hotel room today and heard a Toyota commercial that cited Wake Forest. I couldn't find the same commercial online, but I did find the commercial below. Looks like Toyota and Wake Forest Medical Center have teamed up with using technology to study the imapct of crashes on the human body (courtesy of the game of football).

Kind of cool to hear your alma mater mentioned randomly in a commercial. Looks like Wake is moving up in the world!