Entries from seikatsu tagged with 'travel'
Lihtne ettepanek: riigiametnik, ära lenda äriklassis!
Meil on masu ja riigieelarve ei tule jätkuvalt kokku. Selle taustal, kuidas jutt on kolinud nüüd juba maksude tõstmisele, justnagu poleks kulude poolelt enam midagi võtta, tuli mul möödunud nädalal üks mõte. Sisenesin Brüsselis Tallinna lennukisse ja avastasin, et äri- ja turistiklassi eraldav kardin on sikutatud poole lennuki peale. Eespool kardinat istus palju (6 tooli korda ca 12 rida = 72) toredaid Eesti soost riigiametnikke, elukohaga nii Brüsselis kui Tallinnas. Mul oli seal ka teretuttavaid, nagu igal eestlasel kipub olema,...
2008 Travel Report
Looking back at 2008 I discovered that it was a quiet one -- travel-wise that is. Mostly I have to thank Etta for her appearance in May and becoming a good excuse for some no-fly-zone right before and paternity leave after, running into the summer. Number of business trips: ~15 Flight legs: ~32 (+ 3 international trains) Days away from home: ~67 London: 41 days (including one almost-a-month with whole family again) Luxembourg: 11 days San Jose / San Francisco:...
Making wine at Crushpad
On a recent trip to California got a chance to visit Crushpad. They are a high-end winery... where you are the winemaker. Some of my friends invested in them last year and one of them has been pushing a group of us to make a barrel of our own wine together. So we kicked off the process and it has moved along, for some reason without much enthusiasm from my part. Now after being there, including a half-day Crushcamp...
Summer - over and out
It is obviously the back-to-school-and-work season now. First: I'm receiving complaints that this blog has seen just 2 posts in last 2 months... In July nor August nobody cared, including myself. If you were one of those worried about silence - I now know that you have not subscribed to the feed. My Flickr feed you receive as an automagically embedded freebie when subscribing to this blog, has actually had a full trail of mobile snapshots of what has happened...
Tallink Taxi - Service Matters
Just this week a new cab company launched in Tallinn. I've been quite happy with the one I (infrequently) use, but last night just thought I'd give them a try. And was in awe. New bright yellow car, filled with shiny new gadgets, a big screen GPS, etc. Well, that's what you get when you buy a whole fleet in 2008 and everyone else on the market has been around for 10 years plus. But what was really special was...
Le Gavroche
If you happen to be in London but feel the urge for really old-school French gourmet dining look no further than Le Gavroche. The settings resemble of an antiques store and the full two-dozen strong hierarchy of waiters (all French, bien entendu!) are so stylishly arrogant that I almost felt let down by the gray-haired gentleman who first welcomed us at the door: he was actually willing to shut an eye on my blue jeans on the condition that...
Encounters with the Really Smart Cab Drivers
In October, I had what I figured to be one the weirdest cab rides ever. Our driver in Tokyo revealed surprising knowledge of Estonia and the Baltics, which he gained through his interest in... maps. If you assumed that the brave men of this trade limit themselves to just studying local street names, think again. (5 minute video clip of that ride available on Blip.tv) Now, half a year later in London the following dialogue took place in an ordinary...
2007 Travel Stats
Just like in 2006 I took a look back to the calendar again to recap the time spent on the road (or in the air for that matter) in 2007: Number of business trips: ~28 Flight legs: 79 Days away from home: ~95 London: 67 days (including a ~30 day stretch stay, though) Prague: 8 days Luxembourg: 6 days San Jose: 6 days Tokyo: 4 days Brussels: 2 days Netherlands: 2 days Now, when it almost seems that the year...
Dominican Republic
The virtual radio silence here is excused by a lovely internet-less trip to the Dominican Republic and the busy weeks post-return. I finally managed to sort some photos from there, at least. Cheers to Carlos for thorough briefing ahead on where to go and what to see in his homeland and Rosendo Alvarez III, the Honorary Consul for Estonia there for his kind invitation in the first place....
Which Michelin gave Hakkasan Their Star?
Hakkasan (SkypeFind reviews) has been on my to-go list for a long time. Can't even remember who was the very first to recommend it (and maybe the place was just better a year+ ago?). It is right around the corner from our London office, but for a reason or another I never made it. Now I did and what a complete disappointment it was. GOOD: Those who had 'em, praised the cocktails. Dimsum & duck appetizers were nice. That's...
Nice Welcome Surprise
At some point the Radisson Edwardian hotel I usually stay at in London started leaving me hand-signed welcome notes to the room when I arrive. Nice touch, even if common for regulars at many hotels. Now they've taken it a step further - the note speaks my mother tongue. And quite familiar in tone, I must say. ("Kallis" is usually used in the very friendly context where "darling" if not "sweetheart" is appropriate, as opposed to casual "dear"). Thanks...
Thermal Portrait Snatched From Museum
Learned at the last minute that The Tech museum across the street from the hotel I'm staying at in San Jose is opened later than I thought. Spurred through just one floor there in 30 minutes and found even that limited glimpse very cool. Cleanrooms for chipmaking, multi-G robots, hands-on 3D rendering stations for a roller-coaster ride that you can then experience in virtual form and so forth. Silicon Valley in a condensed, playful form. Presentation-wise they do one...
Emotional Hours at Wembley
The Estonia-England Euro2008 qualification game at Wembley was quite an experience. For the most part, not for the devastating game but the emotions around it. Roughly 2000 Estonians trying to outshout & -sing 84600 English supporters. Apparently, our Song Festivals are not that unique after all. A few more mobile shots here. Note to self - you actually could bring a decent camera to this stadium, no matter what the back of the ticket warning says. And a trivia...
私は東京を愛する!
Spent a few days in Tokyo. Finally. This place is now officially number #1 in my World Cities toplist. And frankly - I was sort of expecting (or hoping?) this to happen. The Skype Developer event I was attending there was a huge success with great turnout of interesting partners. Everything else in the counted few days before and after was just mind-blowing. I need to have the thoughts and emotions settle a bit to blog anything sensible. Until...
Deep Thoughts on Immigration
Stepping outside of the Kogo (highly recommended, btw) restaurant in Prague I found myself chatting with our waiter of the night who had also come out for his break. I learned that he was originally from Macedonia (ex-Yugoslavia). And that there is a notable Yugoslavian community living and working in Prague. Having a certain interest around free movement of labour in the contries we have offices in - and that includes Czech Republic - I had a few further questions....
Hang a Pet to Be Alone
A creative "do not disturb" door sign at the La Bergère Design Hotel in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The next step could be hanging small live animals on a doorknob? This is by far not the only trick they play in that place to justify the "design" part of the name. However, randomized door numbering on a floor can get quite annoying if you are really tired and would prefer to actually find your room....
Street Name as a Brand
Swallow street is located just off Regent street in Westminster. There are a few great restaurants there, for example Bentley's has definitely the best seafood (and best dressed lemons) I've had in London. Now - putting two and two together, you get the perfect brand for a restaurant street, worth designing into a logo. There are two more Swallow streets in London. Wonder if they all have good restaurants and share the brand?...
Two Feet On the Ground in London
From the London Transport website today. Thank you, Metronet, strikes are so much fun, aren't they? Fortunately, the good old tricks still work in even the busiest of metropols. Stay in a hotel close to the office. Eat out in walking distance. Preorder cabs. Remain on the the grounds where you can actually see the sky. Do not join a union....
Burgundy
Spent five days of my vacation in France to get Burgundy checkmark to the wine-areas-visited list, next to Bordeaux and French Catalonia (Languedoc Roussillon) trips from a few years ago. Chateau du Four de Vaux was our base camp pictured above. Should you ever look for a place to chill at with a group of friends - very highly recommended. As Kusti has already done some more thorough reporting (in Estonian) on our visits to Joseph Drouhin winery in...
Fair Warning
Now this is a fair warning for all of you bacon lovers. They make it of pork. Really. Makes you think what did you really have for breakfast at that last hotel which did not have a "contains pork" disclaimer clearly presented....
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