I’m on vacation.
Well, I’m on as much of a vacation as I’ve managed the last 10 years or so. I’ve been bouncing around a bit for the last week, and I’ll be at it a couple more.
Three days in New York City for a conference, very little in the way of relaxation, but I did manage to meet up with Peter for dinner.
Two days back home, decompressing from a long week of releasing a tiny bit of software, and I had what will probably be the last chance to hang out with Aram in a very long time.
Two days in Iceland, mostly sleeping due to continued stress relief from the previous week, jet lag, and the on set of some kind of illness. No pictures, which is a shame really, the people and landscapes were both beautiful and strangley exotic.
Just landed in Frankfurt and now on the ICE to Dusseldorf.
The interesting thing is that a week ago I was on the “high-speed express” to New York City–Amtrak’s Acela Express. And the difference is night and day. Here I sit in second class, in seats that are as nice, in a cabin that is nicer than the business class on board the American train. But the real difference in the ride itself: quieter, smoother, and faster than it’s American counterpart, this European train makes the entire process of moving between cities painless and easy. We appear to be traveling almost twice as fast, through more rolling terrain, and you begin to wonder where we went wrong in the U.S.
It sounds like you’re having a good time (except for being sick in Iceland).
I’ve only been to Europe once, but the biggest difference between the U.S. and Europe is the car culture. It’s huge here in a way that it isn’t over there. It influences how (and where) we build everything and what we subsidize with our tax dollars. The choices made in the U.S. have resulted in an interstate highway system, sprawling suburbs, relatively cheap gasoline, and big vehicles.
The choices Europe made seem to have resulted in much better rail systems and better-quality roads.
It sounds like you’re having a good time (except for being sick in Iceland).
I’ve only been to Europe once, but the biggest difference between the U.S. and Europe is the car culture. It’s huge here in a way that it isn’t over there. It influences how (and where) we build everything and what we subsidize with our tax dollars. The choices made in the U.S. have resulted in an interstate highway system, sprawling suburbs, relatively cheap gasoline, and big vehicles.
The choices Europe made seem to have resulted in much better rail systems and better-quality roads.