September at Schnitzelbahn

Hard to believe we're almost at Oktoberfest time again! Before we know it the Christmas markets will be up.

While we managed to fit in a short weekend trip or two (can't wait to show you the pictures from the Hopfenland!), Herr J and I have mostly have had our heads down, focused on work.  He's in the final stretches of a multi-year project and I've had meetings around Germany for 2 weeks, and am headed to New York for a couple of weeks of work. 

So, the dirndl sits unfinished (the skirt is made, but not yet attached to the bodice), we have hundreds of photos to sort through, and many great German goods awaiting a taste test. But we did just finish packing and cleaning, and capped it off with a quick radler tasting. Few things taste better after a hot day's work than a cold beer!

A couple of those trips were to Frankfurt, where we had a beautiful sunset.  One thing I do like about Frankfurt are the old villas - most now are hotels or offices - and the greenery. This view was out of my hotel window.

Wishing you all a good start to the school year, a good jump back into work after summer holidays, an escape from the heat, or just a really great September!

Have you seen... [laughing babies]

We are evolutionarily disposed to love babies.  And laughing with a baby is good for you.  That's why this guy has almost 200 million views.  It even has an entry in Wikipedia!.

Something about tearing paper must drive babies to laugh.  This one has made 24 million people smile...

 ...and this baby laughs so hard he falls over!

Finally, what happens when you multiply a laughing baby by four?

Pigeon Crap Office - nice view

I had previously shared my new office adventure, complete with pigeon crap and feathers on the floor...

However, I must admit that the view is quite nice from the sixth story.  On clear days the Alps are faintly visible:

The above photo is looking left out my windows.  The windows are facing southwest, so I get a lot of sun too.

Looking right, towards the center of the office building complex, I have a view of Building #48.  (I'm in #29):

If I zoom out a bit, I can almost forget that I'm at work:

Note:  the photos are bracketed (5 @ -2, -1, 0, +1, +2) then merged and tonemapped in Photomatix.

Hopefully this winter I will get a clear day and can capture some white peaks out there...

Have you seen... [talented rabbits]

Move over, Rover.  Rabbits can do tricks too.  Who knew?

This one is the cutest letter-opener ever:

And these rescued rabbits are very trainable - kudos to the rescuer too:

Wikipedia says litter training is possible too.  I had no idea.

Siemens Real Estate - my office with pigeon crap

I, together with my program team, had to move to a different office space recently.  Due to recent business changes, Siemens Real Estate was shuffling spaces in some buildings at the Neuperlach Süd complex.

In theory, the move would be easy:  we would stay in the same building, just going from the thrid floor to the sixth.  We would pack and label our things on Thursday, and Friday morning would find them in the new place, ready to be unpacked so we could get back to work quickly.

I was in for quite a shock that Friday morning.  First, I noticed that they put me in an old printer room!  You can see the sticker on my bright yellow door (upper right), although it's somewhat overshadowed by the huge NO SMOKING sticker right in the middle!

Looks inviting, huh?  Could be mistaken for a broom closet.  One colleague asked if it was the bathroom...

So, with my new key, I would just unlock the door and get started.  But... the lock was bolted over!

As it turns out, it is permanently UN-locked, so I could enter my new digs.  (Makes sense, I suppose, since a shared printer used to sit in here.)  Of course, that means I cannot lock my office!  This goes against security regulations, and I'm surprised nobody has filed something somewhere about it.

Unfortunately the inside failed safety regulations.  Let me explain.

Being now on the sixth floor, the first though was:  how's the view?  Yes, I CAN see the outline of the Alps if it'S not too hazy.  nice!  However, when looking down at the floor under the window, it looked a little like this...

Look at the corner/floor.  Is that... a pigeon feather... and pigeon sh*t?  Must make a closer inspection:

Yup.  That is definitely a pigeon feather and considerable bird droppings.  The room gets a lot of sun, and used to have big electronics in it.  So I'm guessing that people left the windows WIDE open rather than cracked.  Then the pigeons found a vacation house.

Cultural note -- for those not familiar with the German windows, here's the deal:
- Handle vertical, facing down:  window closed and locked
- Handle 90 degrees (horizontal):  can swing the window open fully (hinge on the side of the window engaged)
- Handle vertical, facing up:  can crack window open from top (hinge on the bottom engaged)

This is important, because most buildings do not have air conditioning, so sun blinds and a breeze are your primary means of climate control.  Here is (dark, sorry) a photo to illustrate, with one window in each position:

I'm surprised that it is acceptable in Germany to have me sit in an uncleaned office with pigeon sh*t lying around.  (Does Siemens Real Estate not include cleaning in the move service?)  Given that the U.S. government tells us about diseases associated with pigeon droppings, I'm pretty sure German health standards would not allow this.

Hopefully my German health insurance covers histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, and psittacosis!

There is a fourth window to the left that you can't see.  This does not have window shades.  Ironically, I *know* that this is not allowed by regulation here.  You must be able to shield the sun to both control temperature and to reduce glare and prevent eye damage.  Right now, I'm baking!

But at least I'm alive.  The pigeon feather wasn't sitting all alone on the floor.  It had the company of two huge dead insects:

The second photo is even more interesting due to the tiny shell lying next to the bee.  Huh?  I did not move or pose any of these things -- it's exactly how I found them.

They did leave a large, double size bookcase in the room for me.  Unfortunately, it had not been dusted since Helmut Kohl was German Chancellor.  It made a good blackboard though:

As it turns out, facilities maintenance sent cleaners a day or so later.  So the pigeon crap was mostly removed (although there are some remnants that I will have to clean myself).

The doorlock is still, well, locked -- so I can't secure my room.  Not the most productive environment.  However... the view is good (see below).

Hope you're having a better day at the office than I am.  Thanks for nothing, Siemens Real Estate.

Walking a dog from the Animal Shelter

Frau A and I have walked dogs at the main animal shelter in Munich and recently went back.  It's in a suburb called Riem and is reacheable by train plus a 15 minute walk - a little farther than the English Garden or Nymphenburg.

The "tierheim" (literally translated: animal home) opens at 09:00 daily, at which point you can sign out a dog and take it for a walk.  They ask that you walk your dog for at least one and a half hours to get them a lot of exercise.

There is already a line of people waiting at 08:50! Many arrive early to make sure they get their favorite friend.  We just asked for any two dogs that needed to get out.  While we were waiting, Frau investigated the small pond where all sorts of birds were starting to wake up. (Geese, ducks...)

Included in the mix around the small pond are hens!  We wonder how they got there, and if they lay eggs...

The queue eventually got to us and we received two dogs, then headed out onto one of the trails in the area.

Riem is the place for horse farms and riding areas in Munich.  There are lots of walking & riding paths through woods and along the farms here.  We paused on our path at a creek to give Frau A's dog a drink and relax a sec.

This guy is smaller than we usually get, but he was very sweet and had a lot of energy.

Also along the path was a small childrens' playground, with one of the longest playground slides we've ever seen!

The quaint farmer's houses along the trail had lovely flowers in a warm morning sun.

The horses and colts(two of them right here!) were out grazing peacefully too.

It's a great way to start the day, for both us and the dogs.  We'll go back to make more friends soon.

Have you seen... [cat & dog bloopers]

Frau A loves cats.  So I found this YouTube video that has fantastic examples of cats... just being cats.

In the case of dogs, you're not always sure if it's the dog or the owner that is silly.