On The Road
Being at home has started feeling like being on vacation... it is so rare these days. I have been traveling a lot for work and yesterday I got back home from Iceland where I was visiting my family. Right now I am enjoying the fact that I have nothing that I have to do! This is rare. I am trying to forget the fact that I soon have to pack my bag again and go to Sweden for an Engineering seminar :(
Some statistics. In the last 2 months I have been in 9 different countries (Norway, USA, Japan, South-Korea, Germany, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, and Iceland).
Total of 11 this year (Sweden and Spain). A mixture of work and vacation.
I remember always dreaming of traveling a lot. Let me tell you traveling for work is not traveling and especially not when traveling out side of Europe. A typical one week travel consists of 70-80 hours of work/travel time, one kilo lost, and a truckload of follow-up work when I get back. Then you usually try to squeeze in a little bit of sightseeing since that you travel so far you simply cannot go back without being able to say you have been there. Try to do that with a 80 hour work week and "some" sleep! I have dragged myself jetlagged infront of half of the palaces in Seoul and half run in front of famous landmarks such as the Chrysler building. Oh yeah and I vaguely remember seeing the Golden Gate bridge in San Fransisco high on cold medicine...
So what have I learned during all this travel?
* You have Starbucks everywhere except in Norway and Iceland :(
* Korean food rocks (and helps you fend of any vampires in 100 km range...)
* All fashionable Korean men seem to wear glasses... designer glasses
* Being lucky and being upgraded on flights few times in a row makes your friends very jealous... ;)
* Lichtenstein has very good beer and extremely nice and helpful people
* Japanese girls like shoes they cannot walk on
* Korea and Japan have weird toilets designed for gadget freaks
* Iceland has weird toilet signs...
Women's toilet with a peeping tom?
* Trying to walk upon a Liechtensteinian mountain and depending on a bus back down is not very smart without first checking the schedule.
* Hitler is reincarnated in South Korea....
The Hitler cat
I specially liked the weird
I specially liked the weird sign, it's something I didn't see before as a toilet sign, Iceland people have the sense of humor. If a toilet sign looks like this then how do the safety signs look like? I am just curious.
Luck?
We both know luck has nothing to do with it.. its all the low cut tops and fluttering eyelashes.
Anyway, you make it sound like such a chore, Embrace the travel for what it is whether its work related or not and you will enjoy it a lot more. Maybe your just not cut out for globetrotting ?
I'm currently sitting in the T-Mobile lobby, at Starbucks, writing a presentation. I've got the sun in my face, some good music and a vanilla latte.. and let me tell you this, its much better than sharing an office with the Harris :P
Fluttering eyelash in your face
Maybe I just have better office mates than you ;)
The traveling would be fine once in a while if it didn't involve excessive work weeks.... I am not a work alcoholic like you ;)
But yes, Starbucks makes traveling a bit better! Maybe we will one day get it in Norway though I fear a cup of coffee will cost 50 kr.
I really doubt you have
I really doubt you have better office mates than me, you wish you were part of office jaunty :P
but yes, maybe if you started to really love the work you do, you might start loving the travel you do as well!
Blabbering...
I need to be able to get some work done...
Excellent post and photos,
Excellent post and photos, thanks for brightening my morning :) I'm waiting and waiting for Norway to get a Starbucks or ten, but still no luck.