Hola Mejico!! De aquí pronto nos veremos..

What was that song from that chick? Ironic? I think it was Alanis Morissette. You know where four of them sit in a car and sing about life being ironic. Well, I dont think she had me in mind when writing that song but  some readers of this post, (although there aren't many, I am quite aware of that but I will pretend to have millions of true followers.), I was telling some posts ago how sick I was of this whole travelling life and guess what..management thought it would be a good idea to send me even farther..I am really getting suspicious..I think they are trying to get rid of me. Maybe coincide with one of those crazy pilots?

By the way, that was really sad and crazy. I used to fly that route a lot back in the days with Germanwings. From Düsseldorf to Barcelona. I can't imagine the terror that the people had to go through. And their families...what are they thinking? me, being a dad of a 4 year old daughter, I think I would go berserk! I mean, somebody fucked up something, somewhere so this crazy muthatrucka was able to get a pilot license. Somebody needs to account for this tragedy.

Anyways, so management thought it would be good for me and for the business of course, to visit Mexico and Chicago. I was assigned with these new regions and they took away from me Macedonia. What a relief!! Really???, I mean, really??? take away a country with what..3 mio people and give me a freakin' continent with half a billion people???

So first stop is going to be Mexico D.F at the end of April. First time for me to fly overseas so you can guess how excited I am. The flight itself will take like 20 hours with one stop in Frankfurt. And then in June I will be visiting windy city. Well, since childhood we were bombarded with endless Hollywood products so I could tell a city when I see it on TV. But of course, it is not the same. I started to read on the web where to go and what to see. Of course, I will be busy with work but in the evenings I will have plenty of time to see the city.

But first, Mexico D.F. as a spanish speaker I don't think I will have it difficult over there. I was a big fan of mexican food so I am really looking forward to those tacos, quesadillas, and whatnots. If anyone has good tip for a good restaurant in Mexico city just hit me up.

I still have a Balcan trip to make in May so that will be next but until then stay safe everybody.

Its a bird, its a plane...no, it's just me wondering where to fly next! well..at least I get to collect miles!!

Düsseldorf...Altbier and japanese culture..what a combination!

Although not far away from my hometown Cologne I have to admit that I never really cared for this city while I was living in Germany. I was happy in my own little world and there was no curiosity whatsoever on my part to see the Capital of North Rhine-Westphalia. Besides when you grew up in Cologne you had to listen to all those rivalries between the cities, which are separated by 40 km along the River Rhine. Actually the rivalry between those cities started centuries ago and it was mainly a commercial conflict. But over the years the beef reached ridiculous dimensions when they started arguing whose beer was better Altbier or Kölsch or who celebrated Fasching (sort of Mardi Gras) better. It got even worse when the English declared Düsseldorf as the Capital of North Rhine-Westphalia after WWII although Cologne was bigger.
So when I went to Düsseldorf this year to spend a week for the exhibition I had mixed emotions. I stayed at the Business Wieland Hotel in the city center and I must say it was simply perfect. The staff is really friendly trying to help you with any problem that you have. The rooms were beautifully designed and it had a very good location. Breakfast was great too. I enjoyed my conversations with the receptionists as they were great guys. Always friendly. So I have only good things to say about the hotel itself and if I should ever go back that will be the only hotel where I'd stay.
Düsseldorf was pretty cold but that didn't stop me from exploring the city. The 'Weihnachtsmarkt' was great and I drank some tasty 'Glühwein', which made me forget about the freezing weather.
One night we went to a restaurant called Riva at the harbour, where the food was great although a bit expensive. But the ambience was great and I was in good company so I could not bitch about anything. The 'Altstadt' of Düsseldorf is quite nice and worth a visit but not as nice as the one in Cologne.
However, one thing that Cologne has not is a Japanese quarter. Düsseldorf has one of the biggest japanese communities in Europe, which is based on the fact that there were a lot of Japanese companies. There are some splendid japanese restaurants where people cue up at lunch time.

So overall it was a nice experience except for the one I had at the REWA grocery store across the street of the Hotel where they confused me for a thief because I took a bottle of Vodka from the liquor cabinet and gave it to my friend who was going to buy it. One of the employees saw me taking the bottle and the next moment I didn't have it anymore so he must have thought another wino stealing our liquor. He came after me with his colleague asking where I had put the bottle of Vodka, which caught me by surprise. I got mad, yelling to them that they can't accuse me out of nowhere and showed them my friend who had the bottle in the shopping basket. The clerk got all red on his face and started to blubber apologies and he disappeared to his back-office faster than you could say 'asshole'!
So..Düsseldorf is nice..nice restaurants..nice people..but KÖLSCH-beer will beat Altbier anytime, anywhere. no arguments there!