Europe trip begins here

WHERE?!?

  I´m sitting in front of Lake Chiemsee, in the Bavaria region of southern Germany, listening to bossa nova.  The ´foothills´of the Alps are the backdrop, sheer granite and intense mountains coming out of the flat valley.  This is where I´ll be working next monthö for now we´re just in passing, having spent the last few days with the senior beadle (bob) at a sports trade show in nearby Munich.  Quite fun- blondes in bikinis, motorbike demos, odd new products which cross-breed scooters and camera tripods.  The event was 5 or 6 indoor football fields worth of goods & services, all designed specifically for the enjoyment of us hedonistic humans.  Fun - image - adrenalin - all require a lot of creativity these days.

TWISTs

  Then there was Amsterdam, about a week ago.  For a place that is associated with hedonism it sure is classy; the 17th century buildings and canals merge with the drug & sex culture in a very natural, unselfconscious way.  Not forced in-your-face profit oriented abuse of our mischivious desires like the kind of hogwash in Las Vegas.  It´s Isla Vista meets european San Fransisco, with bikes everywhere, funny sounding trams, and cozy coffee shops (ahhhemm...)  definitely worth an extended visit.  A random coincidence was stumbling into my friend Lauren Slater - we just happened to be on the internet at the same time, found out we happened to be in the same city, met at Haagen Daz ten minutes later, and went dancing.  Its sure to become one of the techno-buff urban myths...  Serendipity through the internet is a groovy thing indeed.