One lame trip!!

I went to Amsterdam last month where I'd visit some customers and then go to different cities like Rotterdam, Maastricht or Veghel. I stayed only one night in pot city and the weather was shitty. It was rainy, cold and simply no fun to be there. I had the pleasure(!) to stay at a hotel called Apollo, which was located a bit outside of the city center but it was a cheaper alternative as other hotels were fully booked. I paid like 120 EUR per night (including breakfast) but the room was shitty. The mini bar looked scandalous with only two small bottles of white wine, knocked  down and that was it. Carpet was dirty, breakfast was limited. Bathroom was tiny with confusing labels. The shower had a dispenser labelled handsoap, the sink had a dispenser labelled shampoo..so you get the picture..it was not a pleasant stay. I know what people think when I say Amsterdam..pot, alcohol and red light..well, none of those things appeal to me, especially on a business trip...well, pot does but I was not in the mood.

The next morning I went to Rotterdam, which has one of the biggest ports in Europe. You know, Nazis bombed the whole city flat in WWII and somehow the dutch managed to build one ugly building after another so the city has no charm whatsoever. To it is one of the ugliest towns in Holland. After visiting the customer in Rotterdam I went to Den Haag, which is not far away by car. They have a great Chinatown. After strolling around half an hour I went to a chinese restaurant called Fat Kee, which was fully packed and the food was nice with adequate prices.. And the service was fast..worth a visit, if you should ever get there.
The next morning I headed to Maastricht. It is a cute little town where you can stroll around in the old city. It has a nice cathedral, a nice park with water mills and a small lake. I was lucky because the weather was so nice. I must say I liked it a lot better than Amsterdam or Rotterdam.
The last day I went to Heerlen where I stayed at the Stadshotel de Paris, which is located in the city center. It serves mainly as a restaurant but it also has some rooms where you can stay cheaply.
I did not encounter anything interesting or even annoying during this trip so it was a bit boring. I can't even rant about anything here.
Next trip is going to be to Frankfurt..let's see if I can get pissed off there..!

Amsterdam..black and white..

It was a cold, rainy day in February

just a collection of photos..

Tashkent...city of chocolate-loving custom officers..

Flight: Turkish Airlines
Destination: Tashkent, Usbekistan

I landed really late around 2.00 o’clock in Tashkent. I had to fill out a declaration in the plane stating how much foreign currency I had with me. I had thousand USD on me, which I declared. ( I forgot that I had some fifty Euro hidden somewhere between the dollar bills and I didn’t declare them). The airport was a joke since we where directed straight to passport control, walking through a narrow corridor, where there were like three passport booths. So there were us 150 people waiting for at least an hour to get through passport control. When it was my turn the officer checked my German passport carefully like it was some peculiarity. He turned every page as if there was something hidden behind every page. Stupid dumbfuck! Then he just took off with my passport and went to another colleague showing him my visa as if he’s never seen one before. However, after a while he came back and I was free to pass through. My luggage was already waiting for me. Just when I was passing through the door the officer came after me and demanded again my passport. He, again took of and showed it to a colleague. They looked at it jointly, whispering stuff that I didn’t understand. What was wrong with these people? Anyway, he came back and handed me my passport saying in German: Willkommen in Usbekistan, mein Herr.

- Thank you, you dwarf! (Not that he was very small, but according to my theory, the officials in ex-communist countries are hiding their short figure by wearing ridiculously big hats.! Ok, I am still working on that theory) .

I took a taxi to the hotel, paying him ten dollars. I had a little chat with the driver. We understood each other in Turkish. The driver spoke in Usbek language and I responded in Turkish. No problem with communication! Brilliant!

I stayed at the Dedeman in Tashkent, sharing my room with cockroaches. They didn’t mind it but I did. The carpet was really dirty with unidentifiable stains. I don't know if I'm going to see Tashkent ever again but in case I do, I will break both my legs before I stay at the Dedeman again. Little exaggerated? Ok, maybe I will. The breakfast was okay and the staff was friendly so I guess, I'll give it a second chance and them cockroaches too.

Tashkent has little to offer since most of the city was destroyed in some earthquake in the 60s. Some nice parks, museums, monuments, wide streets. Big ex-communist party buildings. Ridiculosuly poor equipped shopping mall. And that was it. During my visit I met with a client who spoke excellent English and everybody else did too and I was suprised to see so many Italians in Tashkent.

Anyways, the return flight was less nice since I had some problems with the customs. Remember the dough that I needed to declare? Well, it turned out that the 50 Euros that I forgot was a major issue for the government officials in Tashkent since they treated me like some hotshot contraband dealer. 

Time: Five o’clock in the morning.
Place: Tashkent Airport Customs.
Mission: Getting out the fastest way from Usbekistan. 

I made my declaration once again stating the money that I had left in my pockets. However, little did I know that I was going to be stripsearched in a cabin in the airport. When they found the 50 Euros in my wallet they started screaming, looking at me like I was some rapist or murderer or worse a member of the national folklore team of Tajikistan.

Surprised by their reaction I didn’t know what to say so I just mumbled..but dude..it’s only fify euros..what  do you want???

They dragged me to some oficial where I went through the same harrasment.  Finally, I got so mad by their stupid reaction I started yelling: - What the hell do you want from me man???
Response from another dwarf with big hat: (and this is a true story, I swear to God) Go, buy me some chocolate..but one of the good ones eh? You know, the Swiss one!

So, that was all the fuss about??? Chocolate???

The man wants his chocolate. I rushed to the store and bought him his swiss chocolate and suddenly I was a free man!

Goodbye Tashkent! Let's hope we'll never meet again.