Return from Euro-IX Berlin

I don’t know whether it’s just hotel living or the exposure to different cultures but it’s always nice to come home after a trip overseas. For the first part of this week I was at Euro-IX Berlin. It was the usual useful meeting of Internet Exchange Point operators from mostly Europe but also around the world and I always get a lot out of it.

Our hotel in Berlin put on a fabulous spread for breakfast every day and indeed I took along a bottle of HP Sauce knowing that outside the UK you rarely find such condiments at the table. I knew however in my heart of hearts that the bacon and sausage on offer that would go with the HP were not going to meet spec. They didn’t. After the first day I stuck with croissants and fruit. Very sensible really.

I also find myself making up sandwiches for lunch. These conference hotels always put on a substantial buffet but just think about it. How many of us have a large lunch at work every day (ok outside of France, Spain, Italy etc 🙂 ). We usually have a sandwich or similarly light nosh. So in Berlin I took some bread and whatever meat was on offer and just made a butty.

Dinners I am ok with. Usually international fare served up in every country and accompanied by moderate amounts of beer and wine in keeping with being compos-mentis for the next day of conferencing (bed by 11pm etc :)). However how many of you go out for dinner or to the pub on several consecutive nights when you are at home? Right.

So whilst we all enjoy a bit of travel we all like to get home to our own comfort zone. In very recent memory I recall coming back from consecutive trips to Bucharest and Toledo. After having had a week of rich living I was beginning to suffer (I’ll leave it to your imaginations to decide how). My first action back in the UK was upon leaving Luton Airport to stop at the services on the M1 and purchase a cheese sandwich and a pint of milk. After consuming said items my constitution returned to normal. Hey presto. Amazing really the effect of a cheese sandwich and a pint of milk.

On the trip to Berlin the recuperation began the moment I entered the BA lounge at Telgel Airport. Then when on board the captain welcomed us over the tannoy saying it was “lovely to have us aboard” my shoulders began to relax.

I’m not really a big fan of British culture especially when abroad but there was something very comforting in that use of language. You aren’t going to get it anywhere else. It was as if Sgt Wilson from Dad’s Army was at the controls. Lovely.

The trip home was greatly assisted by technology – Uber. It’s got to a point when travelling that its a real disappointment to arrive somewhere that doesn’t have an Uber service. The rest of the day was beans on toast, hot bath and early to bed to avoid the Apprentice on TV (which really annoys me).

ThatsiffornowfolkscatchyalaterofftoDurhamtoseethekidsthisweekendandthenYorkforaPylonsgig.

PS check out my talk at Euro-IX Berlin about getting stuck in a lift.

PPS the featured image is of some grappa being poured for me at the Aigner restaurant on Tuesday night