Images from the Week & HAPPY THANKSGIVING

It's a quiet & gloomy week here, and I know so many of you (at least my American friends & family) will be celebrating Thanksgiving today.  I hope everyone has a great day with their family or friends.

 

 

So just a quick post from me with some pictures from the past week.

 

Cool morning sky from my apartment window

 

 

 

The alley behind my apartment.  It's grown on me, and I find it almost charming

 Svetogorsk Mill 

 

 

 

Russian Sign of the Week:  "Thank You Working Man"

 

Good news......we have a new Belgian Bar, a 15 minute walk from our apartment.  Yea!!!!  I see us becoming regulars.

Here we are with our favorite Russian bar snacks:  Fried rye bread with garlic sauce, and a smoked, salty, string cheese (from Armenia I've learned) called Chechil.  Both require a lot of beer!

Me and my Leffe Blonde.

 

 

And Pat with his Grimbergen

Dubai

Greetings! Or, تحيات in Arabic. 

I was in Dubai for a few days last week for work meetings.  Tough gig, I know. 

But let me start by saying that I wasn't excited to go there, and I normally am excited to travel ANYWHERE!  Why?  I think because I'm not a Disney or a Vegas person, and my impression of Dubai was that it is a combination of the two.  I like authenticity.  I like crumbling buildings, old cafes,  & mixing in with the culture.  I like grit!  And in Dubai (and Disney & Vegas for that matter), it's all about "new".  It's bright & shiny & clean, and everything is manufactured to look like the real thing.  I know a lot of people love that & loves those places.  It's just not my thing.

So how did I like Dubai?  Well, I hate to admit it, but I want to go back with Pat during the Russian winter - to be warm, to be pampered, to eat well, to shop, to relax on the beach, and just do nothing.    Yes, it's a blatant display of what oil money can buy.  But, the food was amazing, the sea was warm, and the service was the BEST I have ever had!

The tall building is the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world at 830 meters

I never actually left our hotel complex - I stayed at the Jumeriah Beach Hotel and we had a dinner event at the Jumeriah Burj al Arab.

The Beach hotel was great!  Located right on the beach (Persian Gulf), 3 pools, 14 restaurants & bars, shopping, a great gym and running track.  What else do you need?

 

My room

A few more pictures of the hotel.  The lobby.....

View from above

 

Me and my assistant Marina with the Burj al Arab hotel (4th tallest in the world) in the background.

Marina insisted on a few bikini shots after we took a swim in the sea.  I reminded her that I am 13 years older than her.  We compromised by making sure the picture was a distance shot :)

 

The hotel marina

 Me, at night, at our dinner at the Jumeriah Burj al Arab

So, the Burj al Arab is known as being the 1st "7 Star" hotel.  200 suites, the smallest being 1850 square feet!  Room prices apparently start at $1000/night, and the Royal Suite (8400 square feet) goes for $28,000/night.  Lots of money in this place!

It's built on an artificial island, and to secure the foundation, the builders drove 200+ 40 meter concrete piles into the sand.  It's connected to the mainland by a bridge that is only accessible if you are staying at the hotel, or have a dinner reservation, or are willing to pay the 50 Euro entrance fee

The atrium is 180 meters tall. 

Gold plated elevators

Big fish tanks!

We held our customer event in the garden of the hotel.  This is Olga & Kirill, two of my work friends.

Marina, me, and a famous (or so I'm told) Russian comedian Dmitry Khrustalev.  I Googled him, and his name came up under several TV shows and recent movies.

Did you know Russians love to dance?  I'm not sure if it's a universal thing, but I can tell you that every event we have results in crazy dancing.

 

Pretty view from my hotel's rooftop bar.
 

Trip to Berlin - Part 2

We really enjoyed our short trip to Berlin, and I took so many pictures.  So here are a few more!

 

 

This was on the West side of the city, near our hotel.  You'll see a lot of modern art through Berlin.  I liked how it looked soft & foldable, and it glowed on even a cloudy, grey day.

 

 

 

 

 

You can't forget history while walking through Berlin.  It's everywhere. 

 

 

 

Terrible picture, but it kind of has an old time feel (just really blurry), don't you think?

 



 

Some art in our hotel (H10 Ku'damm), which I would recommend.  Great location, good prices.

 

 

The Brandenburg Gate.  Such an iconic image of Berlin, don't you agree?  Built in the late 18th century and originally the main city gate.  The gate was heavily damaged during WWII.  When the Berlin Wall was erected, it was located on the Eastern side of the city.

 

The 4 horses & chariot on top with Victoria (the Roman Goddess of Victory) is called a Quadrica.  It was removed by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806 during the French occupation of the city, and relocated to Paris.  It was returned in 1812, and it's olive wreath was replaced by the iron cross & Prussian eagle that you can see in the picture

 

And if you are over 40, how can you forget Ronald Reagan's famous speech at the Gate in 1987 ?

General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! 

 

 

This is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, or the Gedächtniskirche.  Built in 1890, but severally damaged during WWII in 1943.  there is currently an effort to repair parts of the church, but the top spire will remain damaged as a reminder to everyone  

 

 

 

 

I could resist  

 

 

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust memorial.   Built in 2004, it's a little controversial and there is no obvious symbolism related to the design (although it does look a little like a cemetery).

 

 

 

The Topography of Terror.  It's an outdoor museum located on the site of various buildings which were used during the Nazi regime from 1933 to 1945 as the headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS.

 



 

 

 

 On to a lighter note :).  Did you know that currywurst is a Berlin obsession?  I've had it before in other parts of Germany, but it originated in Berlin. Steamed & then fried German sausage, cut up & served with curry-flavored ketchup & curry powder. 

 

It's everywhere

 

 

 

So of course we had some.....

 



 

Gotta love combining exercise with beer drinking! 

 

 

A very socialist mural on what is now the German Finance Ministry building.  It was originally constructed as the German Ministry of Aviation, then the House of Ministries during the Soviet occupation.

 

The mural was painted in 1950-1952.  18 meters long, it depicts the "Socialist ideal of contented East Germans facing a bright future as one big happy family".  Hmm........... 

 

 

 

And now finally, our trip to the local market (you knew I had to find a market!).  This one is called Winterfeldtmarkt, and is in the area known as Schöneberg in West Berlin

 

This area has a notable Turkish community, and had some really interesting flatbreads and salads to try (which we did)

 

 

 A few final pictures.  A very modern bell tower in Tiergarten......

 

 

And Reichstag Building, or Parliament.

I HIGHLY recommend Berlin as a place to visit & discover if you are a traveler