Deutschland

Sooo I finally got my thesis topic sorted out: 5 weeks ago I managed to convince a company that I would be able to do some research for them without screwing it up too much. This past week the powers that be ordained that I should attend a conference on my research topic in Frankfurt-am-Main, and I was more than happy to oblige.

I had a feeling of deja vu as I got into the aircraft at Stockholm Airport - was it really that long ago that I returned to Sweden? It's been 10 weeks, but feels like an eternity... there's definitely something changeless about life here, just like in the Stellenbosch Soapbubble. Anyway, I was happy to discover I had not unlearnt my familiarity (and the implied contempt) for heavier-than-air flight, although the pilots did try their damndest to take off vertically. Continental EU flights are like that - zip up to 10 Km at 60 degree angle, level flight for 1 hour, and steep drop to landing.

Following a bumpy landing in gale-force winds, we had a 1-hour stopover at Copenhagen. On departure we passed the remains of an aircraft half-hidden in the bushes next to the runway, which made me wonder about the motives and efficiency of the company running the airport. Surely, they must have realised this rotting hulk would freak out passengers. Perhaps they hoped that the passengers would be too busy praying before take-off to notice anything except the seat-rest in front of them. More likely, it's meant to psyche up the pilots taxi-ing by: "don't mess up your pre-flight checklist, boy, or you'll end up like me here..."

We were put up in a fancy hotel, Courtyard by Marriott, which was like a little brother to THE Marriott in the centre of Frankfurt where the conference was held. Courtyard was nice, with all the associated blandness of that adjective. However, the food was fantastic, and I'm sure I would have grown fat if I had stayed a little longer. Also, it's located next to a wood, in which I wandered like a shinyhappy little bunny (albeit one with a camera and caffeine high).

At the end of the 2-day conference my colleague and I did some shopping in Zeil, the main shopping district in Frankfurt. It's a promenade, with shops on both sides, and stretches about 1 km through the centre of town. All I can say is "damn": that place really has everything, usually at reasonable prices, and puts to shame any shopping centre I've ever seen. And the brands...consumer paradise (mental note to keep the future wife away from that place, or I'll be bankrupted). Oh, and the girls are just as appealing as, if not more than, in Sweden, so bang goes another myth.

Day 4 saw us heading back to Sweden, well-fed and loaded up (colleague with gifts for a girl, me with a precious cargo of spirits). In retrospect, I'd say the conference served its purpose in that it put us in touch with trends and thinking in the industry, and wasn't the waste of time I'd feared. I'm quite motivated to get some solid experience in the field I've chosen, and barring disasters, I can see this happening.

When I got back to my town I realised once again that Sweden is a little backwater of a country, where people tend to be self-important and self-centered in a way which would not be possible with the high population density and strong economy of Germany: 9 million vs. 80 million ... game, set and match to Deutschland. However, I wouldn't trade my being here for anything else in the world, since I've become accustomed to this standard of living and my plans seem to be coming together nicely. Another victim of the first-world comfort zone, I bask in the heat of the sauna coals, deliciously unrepentant.