An unlikely vacation

Image via Wikipedia

For the past week I have been in Koln, Germany for work, but very little work has taken place. I arrived last Saturday, enjoyed the weekend with good friends, and ventured off to work on Monday morning, expecting to conduct a the training class I was sent here to do, But as things turned out, the server running the software that I am to teach decided not to cooperate with us and crashed, Mondays class limped along and Tuesdays class was in intensive care. The class was canceled and the emergency procedures ensued.  Resulting in a very idle work week for me, I showed up at our Koln office to sit for 8 hours or more, depending on the timing of what ever status meetings were scheduled.  But all was not a loss, it did give me the opportunity to meet up with fellow co-workers and friend that I only get a chance to see when I am in Koln.

It was an unlikely vacation, one that was interrupted with the working hours, but none-the-less a vacation of sorts.

Koln, if you have never been, is a vibrant city with history at every corner. It is filled with images of the past in stark contrast with the present. Yesterday I walked the city seeing centuries old medieval gates in the middle of modern town squares and gothic cathedrals towering over the skyline.

My hotel room over looks the city and is a display of modern clashing with the old, giving the viewer a sense of history and our place with in it.  From the steeples of churches to needle of the TV tower the low roof lines of the homes and business to the buzz of the city. The traditions of the old world to the invasion of the modern, Koln is a city on the move with a firm footing in the old.

I have visited Koln on many business trips, and each and every trip offers something new. I may have seen all the “sites” but each is an experience to be remembered, each offers a new glimpse in to the old city.

As I sit writing this post, my week ahead is yet to be decided, I may venture on to the UK as planned, I may remain in Koln or I may return home. The uncertainty of the week ahead is, to say the lest, bothersome but such is life. Come-what-may, I will make the best of it. The UK offers a chance to connect with an old school mate who has moved to the UK, but the opportunity to remain in Koln allows me more time with my friends and to return home would allow me to be with my family. Each has its own positive and negative aspects, and each offers me to be with the ones I love.  Remaining would not take me away from my family any longer than originally, as  planned as long they do not add on to my current travel schedule, and there is a possibility they may.

But for now I am thankful for the opportunity to spend time with good friends over fine dinners and drinks, Building stronger bonds of friendship along the way.

I will update on my Koln/UK status as soon as I know… So until than, I will enjoy my time here.

God Bless

Paul