Last day of the conference (Thursday)

I slept in a bit on Thursday. I didn't have a lot of sessions to attend and the conference was basically over by early afternoon. Eric and I had decided that we needed to go shopping for gifts and we would do that over lunch. But after the 1st break Eric said he had a meeting with a potential customer over lunch and would not be able to go. I saw Alan and he was interested; he pinged David and he wanted to go as well. We decided to go to the Bazaar. This is like a big building with literally hundreds of little shops all sort of selling the same thing from Turkish Delight to clothes and of course souvenirs. The fun is haggling with these guys; what a life they lead barking and selling their wares all day. Its been like this for probably 100s of years. I ended up buying some Turkish Delight, a belly dancers outfit for Edie and I got a "grandfathers" knife for Nate. I was rifling through a pile of knives and they were all obviously cheap with plastic when I came upon and old dusty knife at the bottom of a pile. The guy says, "you don't want that knife, its an antique, GrandFather's knife." But as I examined it with a wooden scabbard and definitely a hand made feeling to it I knew I wanted it.
We booked back to the hotel for the closing plenary and the announcement that next year's conference would be in Malaysia.

Wed, my presentation and the Gala dinner

I hopped out of bed full of confidence and energy. I went downstairs and setup; I was concerned that they would want me to stand at the podium; considering what happened last year I wanted to be sure that I could safely move about while talking. So I setup my laptop at a table just to the left of the podium (basically the front row) and assumed Eric would advance my slides. Once I was setup, I asked the organizer for a wireless mike, but all they could offer me was the American Idol version. I ran up grabbed a quick breakfast and came back to the room. When I got back they had moved my laptop back to the podium and I had to explain to the organizer that I was not going to use the podium. Once he finally got it, he handed me a clicker, but at that point it was time to start and I couldn't process what it was. As far as I could tell he handed me a banana...I was completely focused on the task at hand.

The crowd started to file in, and I realized it was a full house. This didn't make me nervous but rather I was psyched....my adrenaline was pouring through me. The talk went really well and several people complimented me on my delivery style. And no prat-falls!

The rest of the day was uneventful; Eric said to me that I was a player now at the CC conference. After four years, people know now who I am....what this gets me, well that's debatable for sure. With about an hour to go in the day, I decided I was burned out, and decided to take a walk along the beach boardwalk. It was really windy but actually quite pleasant. Listening to Rush on my ipod made me think of home; I'm really looking forward to this weekend: Take a Swing at Cancer a Charity softball tournament on Saturday and my daughter has the Soccer fair on Sunday. But I digress…

After my walk I hung out in my room for a while…the A/C was now working very well. I was pretty relaxed and felt very satisfied with how the day went. Then I changed into my suit and headed down for the Gala. Buses took us to the Glass Pyramid (essentially a huge convention center). I was hoping we would be in it, but as we pulled up it was dark and I realized that our “Gala” was outside. It was fairly warm and humid and I knew I was going to be uncomfortable in my suit. But I had keep my tie on until I at least received my certificates (I was getting 4).

The “entertainment” started immediately. A band with three girls, keyboard, horns, drums began to play a variety of songs, some terrifically bad, like a cover of Bohemian Rhapsody. They also did a couple of ABBA songs. Meanwhile dinner was being served; we started with a variety of Turkish appetizers, most of which were really not for me. What can I say I don’t like grape leaves and eggplant! Next was Turkish puff pastry which actually tasted like Saganaki. I ate all of that. Then came the main course, Leg of Lamb Roulade, which was SO salty. I ate some of that. Meanwhile the belly dancers came out. It wasn’t just a belly dancing routine , but they were also recreating a Turkish wedding. It actually had some synergy with an Orthodox Jewish wedding. In fact I started thinking about The Fiddler on the Roof Wedding scene. But of course the belly dancing sort of eliminated that thought ultimately.

Before dessert was served they did the awards and I went up for my four certificates. I was juggling them and it made for quite a funny scene, but it was all good fun. Once I got the awards, I immediately lost the tie and the jacket, and then dessert was served. It was a variety of Turkish baklava and Turkish delight. Finally, I got to taste the famous Turkish delight and it was horrible. I was told this was not the kid kind but authentic, what can I say, it wasn’t for me. The baklava was good, especially the pistachio kind. Then the band came back with more horrible covers. At that point it was already 11:30pm and I was BEAT. I chatted with my friends for a while, and then I literally had to run to the bathroom. Stomach problems; and there was no CVS or Walgreens to find. Now that I look back it was the Raki that they served that really bothered me. It was like Sambuca very strong liquor. I hopped on the 1^st bus back and called Eric He had left earlier and said he had some Pepto; I got some pink pills and that seemed to work for me. I didn’t go downstairs and party with the crew, instead I crashed, as soon as my stomach allowed it.

Tuesday, 1st day of the conference

Short post today; presenting tomorrow---early got to get to bed. I was asked to participate in a panel in front of the entire conference (about 500 people) on Friday. The entire conference is about IT security; it was fun; like being on a talk show. We didn't take any questions from the audience however. The rest of the day was meetings and sessions. They had cocktails and apps at around 7:30 pm and a five piece band playing. The conf organizers had about five young women walking around in short skirts trying to get people to dance; but the dancing was all ball room. Finally one guy, Murray said he could do it and galavanted around the dance floor...everyone applauded.

Tomorrow is a big day: presenting my session, a couple of meetings then the Gala Dinner at somewhere called the Glass Pyramid. I'll take plenty of pix from it!

Monday--Ruins

The power went off again on schedule, but this time came back on at around 3ish? I'm not really sure. We had let our new friend Audrey know that we were in for the trip to the Termessos Ruins. She had negotiated a round trip cab ride about 25KM outside of town for 150 Lira (about $100) including waiting for us at the parking lot. Eric was not feeling well; he had eaten a pepper at the restaurant and it had NOT sat well at all with him. Power going out and allergies didn't help him either. So he pinged me at 7:30 and said he needed another 30 min and he would see me at 8:30 instead of 8 as originally planned.
We met for breakfast (same as yesterday) and then headed to the lobby to wait for Audrey. We soon hopped into the cab and headed out. Of course the cabbie didn't speak a whit of English but managed to stop at a "convenience store" for us to buy some water. I had brought two bottles and a pear from the hotel; I would regret later not buying more water. We drove on for about 30 minutes until we pulled onto a side road, and the driver says it will be another 8km. Well this was a very harrowing ride, along a sheer cliff on a road designed for one car. When we finally arrived at the top there was a parking lot and a man took 10 Lira each from us to pay for our tickets. He gave us one map.
Now I'm too tired to even attempt to give the history of these ruins. But the Rough Guide does a pretty good job and I suggest you take a minute to read it. We started to climb and immediately I realized this was going to be a serious hike. I was wearing my running shoes, not ideal for the rocky "path" and terrain we would be navigating. We stopped many times and navigated some very shaky ruins. We went off the beaten path and came up on a well or was it a prison? Hard to tell, but one thing was for sure, if you fell in you were NOT getting out. There were ancient carvings and words written on some of the ruins; probably written more then 2300 years ago.

Audrey took some great photos...check them out!

Living in the US, you forget how far back “civilization” went outside of North America. We finally reached the top and there was a small observatory with a couple of men there. Apparently they live there 6 days a week and on the 7^th they go home. They made us some hot tea. Unfortunately, no conversations could really be made. We then started the climb down and stopped at the amazingly preserved Theatre. The tombs also were a terrific highlight; impossibly sitting on the side of a cliff. How these people were able to build these are just as impressive as the Pyramids. I mentioned earlier about the water; I was very thirsty the last hour of climbing; it is very dry and hot here so I was really happy when we stopped at a gas station on the way back and were able to supply up on water. I also grabbed what I thought was a bagel and turned out to be a bit more bready then that.

When we got back, I decided I had to hit the beach...its very rocky with a sheer drop off but the water is SO clear and warm…like Miami Beach. The hotel provides chairs and umbrellas (which appear to be permanent). I relaxed on the beach for an hour or so then headed back to figure out dinner plans. Dinner turned out to be the buffet at the hotel. Apparently the “ala-carte” restaurants do not open if no one has made reservations. Another strange custom, especially with a bunch of hungry Americans arriving. After dinner we hung out and talked, people were arriving and the conference chatter was starting.

Sunday

So the hotel had put a paper under my door: from 1-6 am "there will be a temporary black out due to maintenance on hotel and city lines. Therefore please make sure you have your taps in bathroom off to avoid any kinds of discomfort and for your safety." I don't know about you but I generally don't leave my taps on all night...
Now the A/C has been average at best here. Its HOT and clearly they are having issues with power. For example, right now I have the A/C cranking and my room is probably in the 70s at best. In the day its was blowing hot air. So I think they already regulate what people can do with their comfort. I am betting most people here don't have A/C period.
At any rate I finally crashed shortly after 12 and was woken when the power died. A black out is quite disconcerting, even if you are expecting it; no clocks no fan NADA. Luckily the room had cooled off pretty good and I was really beat so I fell back sleep. I woke up again around sunrise; the power was back on and seemed to be working ok....I closed the blinds a bit and went back again. Finally I woke up at 10. I went to shower and the switch that toggles between the bath and shower was missing. All that was there was a spring and screw. I managed to get the shower on and then headed downstairs for breakfast.

Its basically a huge buffet; I had some very thin pancakes (crepes?) and an omelet. They also had feta in olive oil and some very fresh fruits. Lots of other stuff but the Turkish feta is quite good! Of course the coffee is fantastic; served in little cups, I guess Turkish coffee is pretty famous anyway. That woke me up. By the way, I don't think they have ever heard of decaf here...so I'm really only a morning coffee drinker. After breakfast...which was really brunch I decided to go work out and the gym was right next to the spa. I went in and asked for the pricing and "Lina" a very skinny blond Russian started on the sales pitch. I decided, what the hell, when am I going to back in Turkey; so I signed up for the "Medium Packet" normally 75 Turkish Lira they had a sale for 55 Lira. It included a Turkish bath, Sauna, Peeling, Soap Massage, Spa Relax Massage and Face Mask. They wanted me to do it right then but I wanted to work out so I said I'd be back at 2pm.

I did about 1.5 hour workout in the gym (which I'm now feeling) and then showered and headed down to the Spa. Now I was wearing my bathing suit and I have had a massage before so I kind of figured I would need the suit for some of it. But Lina told me to strip down to my bikini and come back. Now I should have figured this out earlier as when I was working out earlier, everybody coming out of the spa (I could watch the entrance from the treadmill) was wearing bikinis or speedos....and I mean everybody. Now I'm one of those people who believes if you got it, wear it, but if you don't PLEASE don't. Well this is Europe and they really didn't care, including the woman who was wearing a bikini, but it wasn't a swimsuit and she REALLY shouldn't have done it. But I digress...so when I told Lina I didn't have a bikini, she looked at my suit and "this won't work--just take it all off and use this." She hands me a cloth...the material was the consistency of a runner you might lay across your coffee table. I managed to wrap myself and strolled on down the hall. Lina then 1^st directed me to sauna—she said about 5 minutes. It was really hot. But I gotta tell ya, that cloth kept my rear end safe. A woman came in (wearing her bikini) and she couldn’t sit…too hot. After what seemed like 40 minutes, I walked out and Lina introduced me to some woman who would take it from here. I guess Lina was the host. She takes me to the Turkish Bath….I did not get her name. The room was all marble, with a basin in the back. It had two tables in it and she asked me to lie down on my back. She then arranged my cloth to maintain my dignity. She must do this all the time…

Then she poured water on me. It must have some kind of softener in it, cause it felt really gentle. Well that was the end of gentle, cause then she puts on these scrubbers…and it was like she was scraping the skin off me…but it actually didn’t hurt…maybe because of the soft water 1^st. Of course she did both sides. …then a rinse. I guess the last time I was washed I was what, five years old? So you don’t really know how to react….but as you are going through it does really relax you. After she was done with the scrubber, she then goes over to a different basin and I think dipped a towel in it…couldn’t tell, cause it was kind of hard to see. Then she shakes the towel out and it starts to grow bubbles which she drops on to me. This felt really good. She then proceeds to do the “soap massage.” Well now I was REALLY relaxed. By the way that “cloth” never slipped off. Then another rinse. Then she handed me a towel and I was able to stand up and wrap up.

Next she led me into a another room with lounge chairs and quiet music playing and a fish tank. She offered me a water, and I was thirsty. She said to relax and I did…I actually closed my eyes. Then she came back and led me into yet another room. This looked more familiar; a standard massage table with soothing music in the background. The massage was called the “Spa Relax Massage Full Body” and I have had many massages which usually are Shiatsu or Sport massage. Usually they are working on muscles and sometimes they hurt! Here she started by cracking my knuckles and then did a much more gentle massage then usual including an amazing foot massage. By the time this was over I was like jello. She then led me back to the room with the fish tank and offered me tea (which I declined). Now I have NEVER had a facial. So when she started to paint on the mud, I was looking for a mirror. After she finished with that I waited until it was dry and Lina came back and led me to another room to wash my face. She said looked like Shrek (couldn’t disagree).

I went back the changing room and put on my swimsuit. At that point I decided it was time for a swim. The hotel has a HUGE pool and a private area on the beach. I decided I just wanted a dip in the pool, when I ran into my friend Eric. He joined me out at the pool and we hung out, and did the waterslide a few times.

I wanted to go out for dinner and so did Eric. We decided to take the bus to town….however after about 20 minutes waiting we decided to take a cab. There don’t appear to be any rules to the road here….they just weave in and out without signaling. We got to downtown and it was like one big open market, selling cell phones, and bags and tourist items, and really no restaurants other then kebab and gyro places as well as Burger Queen. We were getting ready to just buy one of those gyros when we came upon Kalekapi Gidi which appeared to be a real restaurant. The host runs right up to us and in English starts by saying they have an English menu. Well that was a plus. He proceeds to walk us through the entire menu in the following manner: “If you like you can have chicken kebab; if you like you can have lamb leg,” etc. He then ends the whole thing by saying if we don’t like the meal its free. After that sales job, we decide to sit down. They don’t appear to have any seats inside, but it was pretty comfortable. Then as we sit down the waiter calls us over and asks us to try the lamb leg. He takes a fork gives it to Eric, and he trys it. Then he gives the same fork to me; I taste…wow so tender!! They say this is the Antayla specialty. Of course the fork went right back into the lamb; the community tasting fork….remember Josh you are not in the USA! Anyway the lamb was served with rice, peppers and tomatoes as well as an amazing home-made pita bread. We also got a salad with Feta (they call it white cheese), tzatsiki, and another red dipping sauce. The whole meal was about $45 each. Interestingly they don’t really sell liquor at restaurants outside of the hotel; and I didn’t really see any bars. Now next to us was an ice cream guy (Dondurma); I had an unidentifiable ice cream flavor (it was like a real mild red fruit flavor) in a kind of Ice Cream sandwich. The sandwich wasn’t chocolate it was like a sticky cone…tasty but annoying to eat.

Now I’m back in the hotel; looks like Eric, Audrey from Intel and myself are going to some ruins tomorrow for some history!!

Oh and apparently they didn't fix the problem so we are in for another blackout tonight.

Internet connection is too slow to post pix right now; will do as soon as I can find some reasonable connectivity (and power).

Travel Day

Spent all day going from Munich to Antalya --really hoping for a decent sleep tonight.. I have got to learn some Turkish!! And what is with the Eggplant...I am really in trouble if everything is served with with one of the worst vegetables ever. The hotel has a couple of things in common with the Shilla in Jeju; really bad entertainment; so far many unidentifiable items on the menu; and loud music that is still going at 11:48pm.

I do have a nice suite... Gonna try and crash...tomorrow I have no plans...we'll have to see what is on the agenda. Might be a beach day.

Munich

Urghh...3:42 am and I can't sleep. Too late for sleeping pill, so I'll probably just write up the day now. I just don't do well with time zones...

So today went very well at work....I can't say enough for my German hosts in Paderborn....they went WAY overboard to make me feel welcome. My flight was at 4:5o and they drove me to the airport. Paderborn is a small city, but still has some charm; the team is proud of the work they do and of their city. Here is a view of the city from my room.
My flight was slightly delayed, but I arrived at the Munich airport with time to get to my hotel and await my old friend from college. Audra and I had been friends at Emerson but had only reconnected via social media recently. When I knew I would have a layover in Munich we arranged to meet. Since its the night before Oktoberfest, I decided that I didn't want Bavarian food. So we went searching for some decent Italian. First place she wanted to go was actually closed for a private party...then we walked on for a bit more and found a fun and active Pizza and salad place called L'Osteria although the service was typically "German" the pizza and salad were decent and the conversation fantastic. We decided afterwards to go somewhere else for dessert and coffee....actually we both had Hot Chocolate but I wanted to have Apple Strudel and cream like in the scene in "Inglorious Bastards." The place was called The Drugstore and it sure delivered!!
By now it was close to 1am and had a plane to catch in the morning; of course I should be sleeping but I'm off to TURKEY in a couple of hours!!

The Flight and Day 1

I'm writing this from the Best Western Arosa in Paderborn. I just got back from a pretty good German...I mean Bavarian dinner at the Ratskeller Restaurant. I had the mixed grill and potato soup. The meat was kind of overcooked but the soup was excellent. The beer of course was fantastic. The group I was with was three colleagues from our German offices; we discussed culture, politics and business. I most enjoyed the walk around the town after dinner with my colleagues. We looked at the cathedral which partially dates back over 1200 years. The name of the city derives from the name of river Pader and the fact that this river's mouth is in the town.

I have to say that my flights were all on time but completely exhausting. Nothing remarkable happened, and I would recommend Lufthansa if only for the free drinks and the ontime performance. But to have to take three legs to get to Paderborn was ridiculous.

Tomorrow I fly to Munich after another day of work; I have plans to have dinner with an old college friend who lives in Munich. Its also erev Yom Kippor and Oktoberfest eve. All of this makes for what will likely be a very memorable evening.

Dusting off the blog

For the 4th straight year I'm off on an adventure overseas for the International Common Criteria Conference. First I have a crazy couple of days in Germany. When I land in Frankfurt tomorrow morning, I have to change and fly to Munich-- then I have to fly to Paderborn. I'll crash at the hotel for a couple of hours then head in and work for a few hours. Dinner with a colleague, then work all day Friday in Paderborn.
Friday night I fly to Munich where I have a heck of a lay over. I'm meeting an old college friend for dinner (she just happens to live in Munich). That evening is also the start of Yom Kippor. After dinner I will be fasting, but I won't be going to Shul. I have an early flight the next day, and I have to say, fasting on a plane, in business class is a challenge I am up for!

Much more later...but welcome back!!