September 2007

From the 17th through 19th we had RailsConf Europe 2007, the actual reason I’m over in Germany – big thanks to ELC for bringing me over for the conference!

One handy German institution is the area set aside in many bakery shops as a Stehcafé, or ‘standing-cafe’.

Warming us up for RailsConf EU 2007, the Berlin user group organised a ‘Bratwurst on Rails’ BBQ/meetup at a local pub.

Würst is the German word for sausage. My first true würst is Berlin’s entry in the field – currywürst.

I visit Potsdam’s Sanssouci, the palace (or perhaps I should say set of palaces) and accompanying grounds which together form one of the most impressive displays of royal grandeur in Germany.

A long day of walking around Berlin checking out the sights historical and old, including going up the Reichstag cupola and a nice walk though the Tiergarten.

A fab evening in the excellent Pergamon Museum of Ancient Stuffs on Museum Island.

Well, after a good sleep, a bunch of fruit, and a quick chat to some friends who were online, I was feeling mostly recovered, so I headed up the Fernsehturm TV tower to orient myself to Berlin.

Food poisoning fun in Cologne… and dragging myself through the process to get to Berlin.

Arrive at Frankfurt bright and early, and head out to Mainz to catch a river cruise up the Rhine to Cologne – via a bazillion drive-by castles, churches, and half-timbered houses.

Zip out to Raffles for the obligatory expensive cocktail and do a quick geocache before heading out to the airport and on to Frankfurt.

Hot on the heels of my visit to the Night Safari, day 2 in Singapore saw me negotiating the public transport system and heading out to the Jurong Birdpark.

After heading back to base for a nice cool shower, it was time to make my way out to the famous Singapore Night Safari.

Up to the Botanical Gardens for some quality plant time, via lunch and rubber duckies.

With a full trip ahead my first task in Singapore was to go buy a new camera to replace my battered old S60. Full steam ahead to the Sim Lim Square bazaar!

Will gets rather lucky with the flight to Singapore!

Luther and I trek around Melbourne for a few hours, taking in the sights/sounds/lunches.

Well, you expect things to go wrong at some point, but that didn’t take long: my next flight, from Melbourne to Singapore this afternoon, has been cancelled (or if you like, delayed 16 hours)...

Getting up at 3:30 in the morning is about as much fun as it sounds…

Off overseas for a month… time for a new blog!