More news from Europe

Here's another image of the Helblinghaus. Pretty, isn't it? Today I've been at the Congress most of the day and tomorrow I will be also since I'm speaking tomorrow. This will be short and I may not get one in tomorrow. We'll see.


Yesterday evening was the Opening Ceremony of the Congress, followed by much eating and drinking. Once again I staggered back to my hotel about midnight. Honestly, I've now drunk nearly more in two days than I drank in the last year put together. So much fun, but I'm too old to be carousing this much. Tabun. That being said, the official Speaker's Dinner is tonight, so I have at least one more late night of carousing. I have to try to be somewhat responsible because I'm speaking first thing in the morning. Luckily for me, 'first thing in the morning' for this Congress is a very civilized 9:30 am.

There are some things that are so different at European conferences of this sort compared to US-based conferences that even if you were dropped into one without knowing where you were, you would know by the differences. The civilized 9:30 am start is one of those differences. 7:00 am is the start for many things at US conferences. And 7:00 am is brutal after a late night. Another difference is that all sorts of beverages, including alcoholic ones, are served on the trade show floor in Europe, which is something you never see in the US. A third difference is the timing of meals. The Speaker's Dinner this evening starts at 9:00 pm. When I'm at home, I'm often asleep by 9:00 pm because I'm such an early morning person. So not only does jet lag mess with my sense of time, but the timing of meals and events changes my normal routine into something unrecognizable. It challenges my ability to adapt. So far I can say that I've made the adaptation without too much difficulty but getting up this morning was hard. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and not worse.

This picture is a structure in the Swarovski Crystal Store. The top layer is penguins, next one down is bighorn sheep and penguins, next is deer, next is elk and bears and the bottom (which I unfortunately cut off in this image) is swans. All made out of glittering crystal. It was quite a sight.

Anyway, gotta go get changed to go to an Organ Recital in Dom St. Jakob, followed by the Speaker's Dinner. Tomorrow evening is a concert by the Haydn Orchestra Bozen-Trient. This orchestra played at the Opening Ceremony, so I'm looking forward to hearing them again.