Back from vacation. Took a nice 4-day trip to Luzern, Switzerland... which is absolutely beautiful. I keep going to different cities here in Europe and I always ask myself, "would I want to live here?" The answer with Luzern is yes. Reminds me a lot of Colorado except the city is right on this wonderful lake whose water is as clear as any pristine beach in the Virgin Islands. Problem with Luzern is that it's crazy expensive. While the franc is on par with the dollar right now... cost of goods is about twice as much as a typical store in the US.
I'll try to post some pics this week. Speaking of pics... this will be the last trip I take photos with a simple point and shoot digital camera. My Canon 40d SLR is due to arrive in a couple of weeks and I can't wait. I have a planned trip to Barcelona in March which should prove to be a wonderful place to 'break' it in.
It was a nice break and I didn't even look at a computer for a solid three days. Okay... well, I did eye one at the airport. Oh, then there was another at a Starbucks :)
I went to Nuremberg not really knowing what to expect as I hadn't had the time to read up on it in Wikipedia. However, upon arrival, I was quickly made aware of how 'advanced' this city was. The airport alone is beautifully designed and I would expect that kind of 'modernization' in a more popular city... such as Munich or Berlin. The taxi we rode in was a Mercedes - of course - and all the taxis over there are painted cream or beige. A great Mercedes feature is built-in booster seats in the back for the kids so that was one less thing to worry about.
Our hotel was about a 10-min ride from the airport and it too was beautifully designed and within walking distance of the 'Christkindlemarkt'. Walking through downtown Nuremberg really did feel like I was in that scene from Shrek with the cobblestone roads and Middle Age buildings. Bratwurst was everywhere so I was in heaven although we ended up eating at Pizza Hut two nights in a row (partly to satisfy the kids and partly for me to reminisce on my days in the US when this kind of food was readily available). Despite its 'Middle Age' feel, Nuremberg is actually a very modern city with the latest designers shops and department stores. This really was feeling like the perfect city. Part old world, part new world. I don't really like giving up the conveniences of home but I also crave the culture that Paris and other European cities offer. I think that's why I liked Florence so much... it also had a nice mix of old and new.
The Christmas market in Nuremberg made me feel like I was walking inside a snow globe. In the center of the city are all these shops selling every possible kind of Xmas decoration you can think of. They also sell handcrafted toys... you know, like the wooden toys you see in those old claymation Xmas movies. We had heard a few stories of how the German people were cold and rude but frankly, I found that to be further from the truth. Most people we encountered spoke English, were friendly and absolutely didn't mind kids at all. Coming from Paris, it was quite refreshing to see folks who smiled a lot and were outwardly friendly.
About the only thing that really bummed me out about Nuremberg is when I returned home and finally did look it up in Wikipedia. Turns out, Nuremberg was pretty much the center of the Nazi propaganda machine with huge rallies and a very prominent anti-semitic mentality. Not good. Not good at all.
The fact that I've taken multiple vacations this year is a good sign I'm assimilating well to my adopted country. These guys live, work and breathe for vacation... no kidding. My family and I are heading out to Greece next week which is a country I've wanted to visit for quite some time. So, I won't be blogging nor trading and I don't even think I'm taking my laptop (that's a gametime decision right now). The market was pretty quite today for me and I thought about entering CHK on a break of the 10:40 candle high (10-min) but didn't and missed a nice gain. See you all in a week or so!!
I'll be heading back to the states tomorrow for 3 weeks and do not plan on trading all next week. So, posting most likely will be non-existent for the next week. However, I do plan on trading the weeks after that. I hope to have a chart up later today and possibly another Rise and Fall. If not, I'll see you guys in a week.
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