Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
If you’re stuck travelling through Japan there are two major rules I followed. The first rule I would call Learn like a child: if you don’t know what to do, stop and watch other people around you. Repeat what they do and reach your goal. This especially helped with using vending machines only available in Japanese. Continue reading “Vice versa”
One thing is for sure in big Japanese cities: you won’t be thirsty. Everybody that has some space in front of his house seems install a vending machine for drinks. And therefore you can walk through the streets of Kyōto, Japan and find some refreshments every 50 meters. Continue reading “Vending machines”
The most famous sports in Japan isn’t soccer, handball or rugby – it is baseball. Japan was closed for many centuries over time and there was nearly no cultural exchange. But in 1872 the country was opening up and baseball was introduced from the United States. Continue reading “Baseball”
When the European Union published the invitation to a scientific conference in Acquafredda di Maratea I had to look up the location on the Internet. I had never heard of Maratea, Italy. But as the EU accepted my proposal and invited me, I booked a flight to Napoli and took a train to that part of Italy. Continue reading “Deep down in Italy”
Funiculì, Funiculà is a famous tune and song written for the opening of the funicular that transported visitors to the top of the vulcano Vesuvio in Napoli, Italy from 1880 to 1944. It’s a wordplay with the word funicolare and the words for here (lì) and there (là). Continue reading “Funiculì, Funiculà”
If you read things about Napoli, Italy in the media it is not only pleasant: it is not only the home of the pizza, but also of the mafia. I remember pictures of vast amounts of trash in the streets not transported away because of strikes. But there is also the S.S.C. Napoli playing quite good soccer over the last years. Continue reading “Home of the pizza”
Sometimes I like to mix the topics in my life: this time I wrote a scientific paper with a friend concerning the use of IT systems in political parties. We submitted it to the conference INFORMATIK 2010 and presented it together in Leipzig, Germany. Continue reading “Conference in the east”
As a scientific paper of mine was accepted at a conference in Αθήνα, Greece, I had a problem: I went to this city before and had the feeling of already having seen everything relevant. Αθήνα is a city I also have some negative experiences with. Continue reading “Island hopping”
As I was on Κρήτη (Kriti, Crete) and wanted to see Σαντορίνη, I tried to get a ferry boat to the island. As the trip isn’t short I decided to get onboard of the Megajet, a highspeed boat going from Ηράκλειο to Σαντορίνη. A nice trip that ended not like I expected. Continue reading “Megajet”
This island of Σαντορίνη in Greece is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. It would be even nicer if it wouldn’t be that much crowded by tourists. It is in fact an old vulcano flooded by the sea. Continue reading “Santorini”