A Sunday in London

Regent's Park

Kite Flying and Scooter Riding

Gorilla Kingdom at the London Zoo

This camel looked hilarious

Ice Glasses and Good Times

Thuan: Are these made of ICE???

Popped collar. You know what that means...

Sloppily dancing with my new friend Janette from Amsterdam/South Africa

London Day and Night

Picadilly Circus just a few blocks from my hotel

Ice Bar: A map of the Underground in Ice

Good Morning, London

I love it when I get into the office at 10:10 AM after a night of heavy drinking and I'm the first one in the office. Gotta love PwC. :)

Look RIGHT!

I almost got hit by a car when coming back from lunch today because I instinctively looked LEFT before crossing the street. My British coworker said, "Stop!" right before it whizzed by. Damn! I HATE crossing the streets here!

Otherwise, things are great. :)

Mind The Gap

I arrived in London yesterday morning. All I can say is, what an amazing city! Way cooler than Prague!

As we were landing into Heathrow Airport, I had a great view of the city as the sun was rising. I could see the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, and Millennium Bridge crossing the Thames.

I don't know if it is the jet lag or what, but I am having trouble understanding people here. From the passport control woman to the taxi driver, to the concierge and the guy at the front desk. I kept saying, "Sorry, what?" For the most part I'd understand it the second time around. If not, I'd just smile and nod politely. I'm sure they're thinking, "Stupid American."

It's only my second time in London, so pardon my dorky tourist spirit cause I'm sure these are newbie things to notice, but I like them:

- I take the "Tube" to the office everyday day from Green Park to Holborn Station on the Picadilly Line using my Oyster card, making sure to "Mind the Gap" and find my "Way Out".

- In the Taxi yesterday, the cabbie said, "It might take longer than usual, traffic's bloody murder right now." It took me a second to absorb what he actually said. I thought, "bloody murder? That's AWESOME!" In the States we'd probably say something like, "traffic freaking sucks." How crass. Ha!

- My first time to the office, I took a taxi. Here's a play-by-play of the ride: Left the hotel and drove by Hyde Park and then passed Buckingham Palace during the changing of the guards, went by Westminster Abbey, Parliament, and Big Ben to cruise along the Thames with a view of the London Eye, all the different museums along the water, then ducked back in to the city to eventually arrive at the PwC building at Plumtree Court. (The fact that I was excited to see all of those things after 1 hour of sleep on a 9+ hour flight must say SOMETHING!)

- The cars driving on the left side of the road is still totally weird. I'm scared everytime I cross the street, even when the words "Look Right" and "Look Left" are printed on the sidewalk.

- I stare at all the posters in the Underground that advertise all the different plays and musicals currently playing. Phantom and Les Mis are STILL running. Wicked is a "New Musical" supposedly although it's been out for a while in the States, and Lion King, Mama Mia, Avenue Q, and The Lord Of The Rings are others playing. I want to go!

- Multiply the price of everything by 2. Holy S*#@!

Damn it's good to be on expense in London. :) I just gotta get over this jet lag.

A Fine Saturday with Alba

What a weekend! My friend Alba (third from the right) came to visit Prague with 4 of her friends. They are studying German in Berlin, but are students at the University of Barcelona. It was refreshing to hang out with students again. It reminded me of what it was like to be in college—being semi-naïve to the "real world," willing to meet anyone and everyone, and being as adventurous as possible on a tight budget. It's amazing how much you can do with so little money. I remember having that sense of, "What have I got to lose? I'm invincible." :) Ok, I admit, maybe I still feel that way today.

The answer to the question, "What have I got to lose?" came on Saturday and was in the amount of 25 bucks. We weren't so invincible when we had our run-in with the Czech police.

I met the Spaniards at their youth hostel and we were recommended to take the tram into the old city center. My new Spanish friends supposedly had some sort of student ticket they thought would be valid on the tram. I was naïve and figured I could just hop on and pay when I got on the tram, or even just get by without paying since it was a relatively short ride. Damn, was I wrong!

When we were about to get off, these two 40 year old guys wearing plain clothes came over to us and flashed some silly looking ring at us. Initially, we thought they were trying to sell us something, but they then said, "Your tickets, please."

I'm thinking, "Ok, I'll just pay for my ticket now."

When they all showed their student tickets and I said I didn't have one, they said, "500 koruna [25 dollars]. Each of you."

"Whaaaaaaat? No way!" We all figured they were kidding. My friend's "tickets" apparently were no good and they wanted to charge us a fine for just hopping on. Our first reaction was that they were phonies--trying to take innocent tourists' money. These guys look like chumps! At least they could have been dressed in a uniform or something!

I was calm and just asked, "Can we just pay the regular price? We are just tourists and we didn't know any better. We are not trying to cheat you."

"You can pay 500 each. [While pointing at each of us] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 of you…3,000 total."

"Come on. We are just poor students!"

This went on for awhile. They wouldn't let us off where we wanted, but they eventually had us get off when they saw two cops near a stop. Neither my new friends nor I had that much cash. They're all poor students, and I've had so many cash expenditures while working here, I literally had zero left in my checking account. So, going to the ATM was NOT an option.

The cops sucked. They barely said anything, but they took our ID's (It seems to be the only thing cops do, but I won't get into that discussion now). By now Alba was furious cause she was positive they were just taking advantage of us, WHICH THEY WERE.

After about 10 minutes, the cops confirmed, "Yes. 3,000 koruna. Or, we take you to jail." Other than that they said nothing. It was so aggravating cause I wanted someone ELSE to validate the fine, but everyone around us was acting like nothing was happening--completely ignoring the 6 random tourists trying to negotiate in broken English.

We felt like we were getting screwed over, so I eventually called the hotel and told the front desk our situation. Unfortunately, they confirmed that it WAS legitimate and that this fine is the penalty when you board a tram without paying.

Fine. We've already wasted an hour. I just want to forget about this. I'll pay. There's no point in drawing this out any longer. I called my buddy, Nausher, and told him the mess we had gotten into. Like a savior, he took a taxi to where we were and brought 3,000 koruna. We paid and just like that we were free to go.

Damn. At the end of the day none of us were really angry about the amount of the fine--25 dollars wasn't going to break anyone's bank--it was the fact that they weren't understanding at all. I know they're just doing their job, but it sucked being so vulnerable…such easy targets. My only consolation is that those two chumps' jobs must suck, and I hope every honest tourist they fine gives them as much hell as possible. And seriously, aren't there bigger fish to fry? Aren't there more serious crimes being committed? Bah.

Needless to say, we soon forgot and got drunk off of beer and tequila shots. Alba and her friends would try to pay me back today, but that's another story in itself!

Random thoughts:
1. I realize that story doesn't compare to the time I was in Greece, "Is BIG, no?" but I don't think anything will ever top that.
2. Drunken McFlurries are still as delicious as I remember.
3. Maybe something is lost in the translation, but for a city full of tourists, Czech waiters are typically NOT very friendly.
4. I'm getting excited to go home for a weekend. I hope it doesn't totally tire me out.

A Different Side of Praha

We found a neighborhood away from all the tourists last night. I felt like I was in a completely new city--staring at the buildings, many of which reminded me of the apartment buildings in San Francisco, only taller with bigger features. There appeared to be the occasional restaurant every few blocks and much more family-oriented, instead of being on top of one other with flashy signs, lights, traffic, and filled with tourists. I thought, "Hmmm, I could live HERE." We pulled up to the restaurant, called Aromi, and little did I know, we were in for a treat. We had all kinds of seafood, wine, chocolate soufflé, and grappa. I was drunk come dessert. :)

Ha, I actually just Googled Aromi and this came up: "Aromi is located in the heart of Vinohrady quarter, one of the most desirable residential areas of Prague, filled with restaurants and antique shops."

So I guess I'm not the only one who'd like to live there. I'd want to live there if I were a student or a resident of the Czech Republic. A study abroad program would have been amazing in Praha as well. However, for now, I still prefer living in San Francisco.

Hefeweizen from the Bottle?

I felt like a student again--backpacking through Europe on an overnight train. Friday night I hopped on a train to Augsburg, Germany to visit my good friend Philip. I was in a sleeper car for 9 hours and eventually arrived at 5:30am on Saturday. I was so tired but still very excited to be there.

Phil recently moved into a new apartment. The funniest thing is that he built his own "closet." It's actually just a shelf he built in his room, but it looks like a display at a department store. I pretended to go shopping through his clothes and tried things on.


I wish I spoke German cause Saturday night a bunch of Philip's friends came over to celebrate his birthday. Everyone spoke English but they were speaking German to each other the whole time. I wonder if it's annoying for them to have to speak English to me. They're probably like, "You're in Germany! It's your turn to speak German with an American accent!" It was still fun though since I've met most of Phil's close friends on previous visits.


That's Phil's roommate, Matthias, with a bunch of pretzels someone brought. German pretzels are sooo good. Phil also made Leberkäse, which translated means to liver cheese, but has neither liver nor cheese. It's the ham/spam looking thing on the plate in the picture above.

It was interesting, we bought a few cases of beer and I cracked one of the hefeweizens open and started drinking out of the bottle. Everyone kept on asking me, "Don't you need a glass for that?"

Me: "Nah, it's ok. I'll just drink for the bottle. Everyone else is."

German: "No, there's a special glass for the hefeweizen."

Me: "I know. It's ok though. Thanks."

After a while it became quite apparent that it was ill-advised, if not unacceptable, to drink the precious hefeweizen straight from the bottle. Moritz also showed me how to properly swivel the last few drops while pouring to get all of the yeast that settles on the bottom. The hefeweizen glasses are pretty sweet.

I woke up thirsty the next morning so I had another beer. Phil thought it was funny to drink beer for breakfast so he took a picture (you can see the Erdinger Hefe-Weizen glass).



Oh, how the Germans love their beer. Oh, how I love beer. Beer beer beer.
I hope to go to Munich in late September for Oktoberfest. Anyone care to join?

Harry This, Potter That!

My god, Harry Potter is truly an international phenomenon. Everyday, every meal, we talk about Harry Potter. One team member bought the book and finished it and now another one is reading it. Yet another just bought the first Potter book and started reading it. The whole team went to watch the movie last weekend. For some reason, I'm just not that interested. I'm sure they're entertaining books, but I've never really been into fantasy/fiction novels that much. Who knows, maybe I'll read one and get hooked.

A similar phenomenon, although on a smaller scale, happened with The Da Vinci Code back in 2004 when we were studying in Maastricht. Everyone was reading the book and raving about it, so I decided to read it. I was entertained but not that impressed. Oh well. I hope I don't sound too bitter.

Not a Vacation but Drenched

Exploring a city the second time around has more moments of deja vu than you'd expect. A few friends and I explored much of the city yesterday. It was like reliving a long lost dream. (I came here with Adam and Andrew Peeples May 1, 2004, the weekend the Czech Republic officially joined the EU). Prague is still beautiful, yet it is still VERY touristy and a little bit less exciting this time around because of a few things.

1. I'm WORKING here. Usually when I'm in a foreign city, I'm on vacation. Call me lazy, but after a 60 hour work week, I'm lacking some of the typical drive to be adventurous. Although, I think this is just the case for Prague because we've developed a daily routine. Work, eat, sleep, repeat. I find that I DO feel that energy and excitement when I contemplate visiting Barcelona, Vienna, Bruges, London, Budapest, or Germany. Also, I'm so glad that I've been to Prague and Europe prior to this trip. I'm already becoming a bit numb to some of the charm this city has to offer, and I'd hate for this to have been my first experience in Europe. This is Lisa's (a team member) first time in Europe so she wants to do all those backpacker-type things, yet she is working here and therefore already is developing a different perspective of the city. Also, she's with many of us who have already "been there, done that."

2. I'm here for (at least) 2 months. There's little sense of urgency right now. "Ehh, we'll go check that out next weekend; we're here for a couple months!"

3. It is SO touristy. I struggle to pick out the locals. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places.

4. Cobblestones are cool, but they are cooler underneath the tires of my bicycle in Maastricht.

5. I'm here with coworkers. My team has quickly become my friends, but you also have to realize we work all day and eat dinner together everyday. I expected this, but there's not much opportunity to socialize outside of our team, let alone have private eWu time.

6. Meeting people outside of work is hard. We're not staying in a hostel where everyone is looking to meet fellow travelers.

That said, I'm still happy to be here. Check out the view from the PwC office! :)

We got caught in a summer downpour when walking back to the city from Prague Castle.

I'm not used to the rain anymore cause we had a dry winter in SF this year.

On a side note, there's a small casino connected to the hotel, and I've been playing blackjack the past three nights. Down a few hundred CZK, but it's fun and you get a free beer each time you go.

Groggy Mornings and Different Work Styles

I keep waking up with eyes bloodshot, face poofy, and groggy as all hell. NO, I haven't been hungover every morning. I've been getting 8 hours of sleep too. I guess it's the 9 hour time difference and the fact that I've kept the blinds closed so it's pitch black when my alarm goes off. I've never been a morning person, but this is kinda ridiculous. Maybe I just need to sleep in this weekend.

I find it interesting to compare the different work styles between the New York staff, our London team member, and my West Coast work style. The East Coast team has a very distinct style, even in their coding, that is consistent across all staff, and the West Coast has more variety amongst our staff in the way we code and get things done. Maybe I feel this way because the New Yorkers have all been working together for a few weeks/months already and I'm the new guy. At the same time, there's more to it than that. It's difficult to explain, and I'm not happy with my sad attempt to do so.

We actually work 12 hour days so I don't get to see much during the week except for when we go to dinner, which have all been pretty good. Our hotel, The Marriott, is walking distance to the main square and Charles bridge, so I think once the weekend rolls around I'll be wandering and exploring quite a bit. But from what I have seen, when you allow yourself to rise above and ignore all the tourists and graffiti at street level, Prague just has so much Eastern European charm.

The weather has been great, partly cloudy in the 70's. People said it was hotter last week. I agree with the rest of the team when they say they don't want to be here when it starts getting cold. Being the only Californian, I'm the biggest weather wimp now.

FYI, I talked to my seniors and sounds like realistically, I'll be here till October (at least). I mention this only because EVERYONE has asked me this question.

Apologies for not posting any pictures yet.

Getting Reacquainted with Praha

I arrived in Prague yesterday afternoon after 18 hours of traveling. The flights were easy, the layover was annoying, but I'm used to airports by now. I was totally jetlagged when I got to the hotel and crashed for a couple hours with the Tour de France on in the background. My buddy David from the London office arrived later last night and we walked around and had dinner. I hadn't seen him in about 2 years! You'll be happy to know I had a couple Pilsners, some sausage, half a ribeye, and heavy yet delicious mashed potatoes. The food here is HEAVY and buttery. A far cry from San Francisco for sure! The food is still cheap but not as cheap as it was in 2004.

The only other thing worth reporting is that the PwC office here is suhweeeeet. They have a cafe with a bunch of tables set up on the roof and you can see the whole city and Prague castle in the distance . I already took some pictures before everyone else got in this morning. :) I wish you all could soak up the view and this city with me. I had to close my eyes a few times and reopen them just to remind myself where I am. I could get used to this.