Pre-Trip CRAZINESS

Dustin left for Aachen, Germany (located at the border of Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands) on March 18. He made a week-long stop (Mar 18 - Mar 25) in Boston to attend a conference and network with folks in EE-world. All in all, his trip to Boston was productive and full. He stayed with a mutual friend, Steve Purpura, for some nights; Steve and his wife, Patti, showed Dustin a good time.

Before Dustin left, however, we had quite a gathering of close friends and family at a local bar in Ballard - the BalMar. Thanks to all who came out to see us off! It was great to see you -- you will each be missed (including those of you who could not make it!). It may not have been the best planning, however, to stay out drinking with friends until 1:00am Friday night with Dustin needing to head to the airport (and finish packing) by 5:30am on Saturday. Some way, however, things worked out, and Dustin made it safely on the plane.

Julianna stayed behind for three weeks to wrap stuff up in Seattle, present a paper in San Diego, and defend her Masters thesis. Julianna's mom, Phyllis, came over to Seattle the week prior to her departure to help with cleaning the condo, preparing for the Masters defense, and packing for the six month trip. What a whirlwind!

With her Masters defense completed, the condo cleaned and ready for our subletter (close friend Nick Roumanda), Julianna took off for Aachen on April 6. Julianna's dad, Tom, flew over from Colville on April 5 to see her off. The threesome brunched at local favorite Vera's and said some sad goodbyes. Julianna's trip was relatively uneventful -- save the two-hour delay in Minneapolis (sitting in the airplane on the landing strip without being able to move because the airport was shut down for lighting), carrying 145 lbs of luggage while making two train connections (one which required 50 stairs in 5 minutes!!), and going to the wrong train station in Aachen.

Websites of interest which detail Aachen's history are listed below... (Charlemagne - aka Charles the Great - is buried here. His remains are stored in golden castes of the cathedral and are on display -- some people make pilgrimages here. Anyone interested? Said to be the Father of Europe, there is more information available about him here and here.)

• Weather
• Map
• Culture and Happenings...
  
• Pictures here and here