Underway to #itb09 In Berlin

Just a few observations:

  • I drove. I didn’t fly. Why? Because as a Hotelier I can’t fly. I never know exactly when I can leave. There is always something. Now I had to wait for a guest who was tied up in a traffic jam. After checking him in I could leave…and immediately drove into one traffic jam after another myself. Do I mind? Not at all. Nowadays I dont have to commute anymore’so I don’t get stressed by traffic jams anymore. I love driving my French built Limousine (which is something else than a ” Limo” in the USA. In 4 weeks I drove to 4 in Europe: Bern (well I drove past it to be honest), Paris, Londen and now Berlin. I even didn’t have enough time to report here about all thes trips in full. Coming soon.
  • Usually I take my Ipod. But it was frozen again. I have stated elsewhere that I’m always able to freeze an Apple thingy. Underway the Northern German radio stations offered very good music. The last hour was about Kraftwork and how many times Das Modell has been covered. Above some footage of one of the original Kraftwerk versions in English. Simple and still up to date and especially applicable to the travel and hospitality industry as a whole at itb. My association is with Cabaret depicting the Berlin of the late 20ies and beginning 30ies so well. Just after the big Depression ….
  • Speaking of the Depression: I saw train loads of BMW’s and truckloads of Mercedesses being being transported into The Netherlands and many many many Polish Vans transporting second hand cars into the direction of Poland. In addition I have never seen so many heavy transports coming to and fro the direction of Berlin in one evening. In a way it seems to level out a bit: Stock exchanges up a bit. Milan heavily beaten by Liverpool. Lufthansa agreing to pay their cabin crew (16,000 of them) an extra of 3% over 2008, plus a Euro 100 lump sum bonus plus a 4,4 %higher salary over 2009. So they didn’t strike and don’t keep up many who want to be at itb like the fresh snow did last year. I wonder how Lufthansa can earn that back with the big summer rate fight that is immanent now.

Offl

Guardian launches Open Platform service to make online content available free | Media | guardian.co.uk

I believe this is a giant step forward:

The Guardian today launched Open Platform, a service that will allow partners to reuse guardian.co.uk content and data for free and weave it “into the fabric of the internet“.

Open Platform launched with two separate content-sharing services, which will allow users to build their own applications in return for carrying Guardian advertising.

A content application programming interface (API) will smooth the way for web developers to build applications and services using Guardian content, while a Data Store will contain datasets curated by Guardian editors and open for others to use.

Guardian launches Open Platform service to make online content available free | Media | guardian.co.uk

Tech Crunch picked it up and made some comments.

Travel by Twitter (update): #Twitchhiker Day 8

twitchhiker-9-bridges-of-newcastle-upon-tyne
9 Bridges in Newcastle upon Tyne by Twitchhiker

I’m following @Twitchhiker also know as @Paul A Smith in his endeavor to “travel around the world in 30 days“. Well, actually he tries to travel just half of the world in 30 days: As far from Newcastle upon Tyne where he lives, to Campbell Island in the neighborhood of NZ, solely with the help of his Twitter followers. He reports extensively about the trip on his blog Twitchhiker (see also his site Never Odd or Even).

campbellmap
Campbell Island

Twestivals gave him the idea of linking Charity: Water as the beneficiary of donations which you can make at JustGiving.com/Twitchhiker.

You can follow him on Twit Pic, on Flickr as Twitchhiker and on Youtube as… Twitchhiker of course. Here is his latest YouTube podcast:

I posted about this trip in Travel by Twitter: #Twitchhiker is taking off – First Leg #Amsterdam and in (a copied) post: The Twitchhiker: one man on a Twitter travel mission | Travel | guardian.co.uk.

He gets an amazing coverage all around the World. Since you can follow his day to day experiences on his blog Twithchiker and on Twitter Search Twitchhiker yourself, I would like only to share some odd details with you:

Before he left the typical British habit of settling every future uncertainty in betting inspired Paul to a Betting Post with quotes and all:

7/2 Twitchhiker to reach Campbell Island within 30 days

10/1 Twitchhiker to reach Campbell Island within a week

7/4 Twitchhiker not to get out of Britain

5/4 Twitchhiker not to get of Europe

2/1 Twitchhiker to have to abandon his mission due to lack of support from tweeps

8/1 Twitchhiker to become a movie within the next 5 years.

Well he succeeded to get out of Britain within a day…into Amsterdam

I offered him shelter for the night in my small hotel in The Hague which is close to Amsterdam, but in his post Going against the Grain he understandably explains that traveling from Amsterdam to the Hague would not bring him far that day, so he choose for Paris and to sleep there in a Hostel next to:

some hulk of dutch man who was snoring like a pneumatic hammer trapped in a washing machine locked in a filing cabinet been kicked down a hill. It was very funny for the first five minute, less so for the hours that followed.

twitchhiker-before-boarding-for-new-york-city-at-schiphol
Twitchhiker before boarding for NYC at Schiphol, Amsterdam Airport

Via Germany he doubled back to Amsterdam Schiphol and Flew into New York City. From there he traveled to Washington DC

Currently Twitchhiker is being driven by a very persistent and enthusiastic Ken Morill AKA @Yenra in beautiful a open Ford Mustang that has been brilliantly tagged by Ken’s daughter:

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The Mustang Twitchhiker Logo

Also to be seen at @Yenra’s Flickr account:

mustang-side-magnet

Up to Pitssburgh

Kitchen Critic – French Fry Cups by Maxwell & Williams

A “Patatje Met” or “Frietje Met”, the Dutch version of the chips that go with the British fish, Is a portion of French Fries with …. Mayonnaise and not with Ketchup. The mayonnaise part is so typically Dutch a habit, that foreigners usually look with raised eyebrows when Dutch order their fries met (=with). This very luxurious Fries holder is a have to have:-)

In this era of healthy living a warm plate of chips has become something of a luxury. So I’m not surprised to find these national favourites are now being given a bit of glamour. Maxwell & Williams have taken inspiration from the traditional chippy paper cone and created a sculptural French Fry Cup. The tall sweeping cup is available in a pure white or a newsprint pattern and comes with a matching dip cup. An eye-catching side dish for your next fish or burger, the Newsprint pattern is available from PotsandPans.co.uk while the White is available from Havens.

Newsprint French Fry Cup – £7.50
White French Fry Cup – £6.00

Via Kitchen Critic [site has disappeared]

Glad you reached Happy Hotelier!

Hi.
Appologies to those who tried to come along this morning, Friday March 6, 2009. The server of my service provider Yourhosting.nl was down today from 05.00hr AM till Noon (local time) 7 hours! Normally they have a 98 to 99 % uptime. That will dwindle I presume.

In addition I decided to upgrade to WordPress 2.7.1, had to do it manually for one or another reason, which explains some error screens you might have encountered during the afternoon. I believe it is functioning alright now:-) Editing is soo much faster than under 2.7.0!

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