Catchup with Friends in Suburbia

I don't much care for Suburbia, specifically Midwestern suburbia. Novi, Michigan was not my first choice for a training location. It is basically a mass of shopping centers and chain stores off I-96, 30 minutes West of Detroit. To me, though, it has one endearing trait. It is close to several of my Calvin friends!

Morning Run, Québec City

Plains of Abraham, where the British defeated the French
in the French and Indian War

Saturday morning in Québec City dawned clear and sunny over the St Lawrence. I slept in, then put my running shoes on and headed up the hill, into the old city. I would have had better luck with my run had the weather not been so beautiful, as I spent a good chunk of time taking pictures!

Une Soirée au Québec - An Evening in Quebec

Fall is a double edged sword. On one hand, the hills of Quebec are on fire with autumn colour that glows as the sun breaks through the clouds. I woke up to that colour outside my 13th floor hotel room Tuesday morning. On the other hand, it gets dark early. Fortunately, I'm staying at the edge of the tourist district, which means that sundown is not an end to the day!

On the Road Again - à Québec!

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A week after getting home from Europe, I was underway again heading East. For those who don't know, while I was in Europe I got a job offer from Innovmetric. They build a software that interprets laser scan or probe data and generates geometry for either verification (checking that your part is within tolerance) or reverse engineering (making a digital version of a 3D object). To get trained on the software, I had to take a trip to Canada. Quebec City, to be precise. 

Auf Wiedersehen

I hate saying goodbye. It seems so final. So instead I say auf wiedersehen, "until next time."  It wasn't easy to leave Germany on Wednesday afternoon. As the plane taxied, a squall blew in and gave me a wonderful image to remember Stuttgart by. I didn't have to cry. The clouds were tearing up for me.

Mercedes Benz

Having already been in Stuttgart a week, there was one thing I had to do before I left Stuttgart. I was in the motor capital of the world and had not visited the shrine of one of the original car makers.

Rittersport and Wein, our last day with Erin and John

Baden-Wurttemburg didn't offer its best weather as we left Stuttgart Sunday morning. That didn't matter much though, because we were going to a chocolate factory and a vineyard! Anne usually brings several kilos of chocolate with her when she comes to the States, and Rittersport is one of our favorites.

München - Oktoberfest

Prost!

One of John's requests when he and Erin started planning their trip to Germany was a visit to the legendary Oktoberfest in München. Thunder, lightning, and downpour the night before lifted as we woke up Saturday morning to breakfast in Siegertsbrunn before joining the thousands of trachten-clad people headed to the Wies'n.