Tuesday, January 19, 2010

European Vacation

For those who don't know, Aaron builds robots. Robots like this one:

the robot



The latest project necessitated an in-person delivery to Berlin. Never having been to Europe, I begged. I pleaded. I didn't care that January was the second-coldest month in Germany, I wanted to cross the pond. But what would I do while Aaron assembled the robot all day, was the concern? I'd make it a business trip myself, I argued.

Somehow it worked. Here are the pictures, in no particular order...

Proof of how cold it was in Berlin. Check out the icicles on the car,

icicles




the ice on the river,

really cold



and the boys in warm clothes.

cold



In Europe a "double bed" means just that.

double bed... literally



We did the tourist things, like visiting the Berlin Wall (yes, mom, I'm wearing your old jacket),

taking a peice of theBerlin Wall



and KaDeWe, the largest mall in Germany.

cotton fields at KaDeWe



But we also strayed off the beaten path by playing foosball in dive bars,

foosball in Berlin



(as in, anti-establishment dive bars where you do snuff with a Polish guy covered in facial tattoos til 5 in the morning and this is the chandelier)

best chandelier ever



and hanging out with local friends.



After 5 days in Berlin, Jeff headed home and we made a b-line to Paris.

Notre Dame at night

Notre Dame at night



Cappuccino 'stache

cappucino mustache



Catching your own dinner at a sushi restaurant

catching fish



Look, a Paco Collar!

sneaky dog



Overall the trip was fantastic. The whole time it was windy, cold, snowy, or rainy but somehow that didn't matter and the whole thing just ended up... perfect.


Oh, and the post-script for those who might accuse me of just partying the whole time: I did manage to get some work done and am proud to announce that Paco Collars is now in two pet stores in Berlin and with one distributor in Paris... woohoo!

3 comments:

Amie said...

Awesome! Looks like a successful *cough* business trip for all!

(and PS - your mom's coat ROCKS)

Anonymous said...

So much awesome! Congrats on the new European market!
It was cold and rainy for my trip also (I saw SNOW for the first time!), only one day of sun in Spain. Once I recover from the mysterious plague I brought back with me I'll get some pics up and tell you all about my encounter with an M-16 machine gun in the Paris airport ;)

PS- what is the statue with the lovely hound?

ana poe said...

Amie, I'll be sure to tell my mom you covet her old junk.

Shanda, I still think it's ironic the closest we've been to each other is on an entirely different continent. The statue is some incredibly beautiful relic at Musee de Orsey whose name I totally forgot to note (it's of a little boy and his dog, think: "Timmy and Lassie of yore")