Return flight from Vilnius, Lithuania - beautiful takeoff

The weather in Lithuania had been exceptionally cold, more than -20 centigrades. The flight departed around 6.00 PM, the sun was setting down and the Finnair plane was a brand new Brazilian plane and I have to say that this plane is very smooth and nice. What made the takeoff nice was a combination of cold weather, sun setting down and I could see the town of Vilnious clearly from the sky. I felt very unreal!

People in Lithuania are unreal

Two days in Lithuania and they have made an impression of life on me. Today, we had lunch at the beautiful hotel in the old town of Vilnious. I have to get back here soon! Highly recommended place for a visit!

Vilnius, Lithuania is a very beautiful city

I had the opportunity to visit the beautiful town of Vilnius today and I even got a roundtour by local businessmen that took me to a restaurant overlooking the old town and university and then finally a art exhibition in the national museum. This place is definetely a place worth the visit. I am staying in the highly ranked Holiday Inn Vilnius and I have to say that everything in this hotel works!

Helsinki weather in the end of February

Hesinki weather this week has been beautiful, but very cold..... Reaching -25 centigrades and that is very cold according to any standards. What is also interesting is the change in amount of light that Finland experiences when compared to last month the same time. It is like day and night.... and days are getting longer each day going forward.

Lithuania, here I come

This is the first time I get to visit Lithuania. I am flying from Helsinki to Vilnius and according the flight schedule, this is a 1 hour 45 flight. The flight is operated by an ATR propeller plane.

DFW terminal is the most beautiful in the world

If you have not, it is time to visit the brand new D-terminal in Dallas Fort Worth International airport. I am here again, overlooking the planes from fifth floor of Admirals Club. Awesome weather, awesome place an soon I will board flight 38 to Zurich..... Boeing 767 with nice business class.

American Airlines - second time this week a cancelled flight

Here I am again.... My flight to Dallas was cancelled and I had to be re-booked. This is where Executive Platinum comes in play... Not only did they re-book me, they also called me to let me know the change...

Back on the airport - now on my way to Atlanta

It was a quick trip home and I am on my way to Atlanta, GA. I have to say that the weather in Dallas is becoming more and more spring like and we had 70 Fahrenheit yesterday which translates to around 21 Celsius.

Chicago O'Hare not a good place during winter

Here we are again.... It is very cold in Chicago and it is snowing.. So three flights to Dallas were cancelled... One of them is mine.... Tomorrow I will have to be in Atlanta, so I hope my flight gets to Dallas tonight so I can catch my very early flight to Atlanta tomorrow morning.

Brutal wake-up to reality at 4.40 AM - Chicago here I come

I am here again at DFW airport, this time I will fly to Chicago O'hare and stay in downtown Westin hotel. According to the news, it is pretty cold in Chicago.... we will see...

Finally home in Dallas, Texas after 770 miles

The rest of the trip went quickly and the weather was georgious. We spent 770 miles on the road and I have to say that FORD Expedition is comfortable for the driver. Tomorrow, I have to get up 5.00 AM to get to my Chicago plan that departs around 07.00 AM

230 miles in one go- Eastland McDonalds stop- 130 miles left

We are having a stop at a local McDonalds place in Eastland, Texas. This is the choice as we did not see any good steakhouse on the Interstate 20... so our hunger took power and anything would do at this point in time..... And once we have our luch, the nextdoor Starbucks will take care of the rest....

Waking up in the beautiful Odessa, Texas

The second morning in Odessa, Texas is a beautiful one... the sun is shining and I thing it must have been almost 0 Centigrades (32 Fahrenheit) during the night. Today, we will have to drive back to Dallas.... we are looking for 6 hours trip.

I am in the center of oil wealth - Odessa, Texas

If you have not been, you have not seen what oil business is all about. Odessa is pretty close to New Mexico South-East corner. We arrived here very late last night, after midnight, and when we woke up in the beautiful sunny morning.... The place looked pretty nice. One thing that sticks in my mind is the smell of oil refineries, it is unreal an I am sure not healthy for anybody..... I guess it is the money that smells...... Out hotel the Fairfield by Marriott is very nice with excellent service.

Dallas- Abilene- there is nothing there

We are on our way to Midland/Odessa and Abilene is our midway stop. They have a nice Chili's restaurant here and I can get my Citrus Fire Chicken &Schrimp. We drove around Abilene... There seems to be a couple of universities... This is the first time for us in Abilene. The road here from Dallas is interstate 20

Winter is back in Dallas - we have snow

Talking about changes in atmosphere.... The decision-makers claim that nothing has change in the atmosphere... How do you explain the continuous snow falls in Dallas, Texas.

Dallas - Houston - Dallas with the car - was it worth it?

I decided to drive down to Houston from Dallas on Tuesday as I calculated that the time it would take me to drive to the airport, take the plane, fly to Houston, check the luggage, rent a car and get to the meeting I would have spent more time when compared to driving. The milage from my house to Houston was almost 300 miles and it took me almost 5 hours in each direction. When I returned last night, it was raining, lots of traffic and I have to admit that I was tired when I returned to Dallas. The question is.... will I drive there next time.... I do not think so... Ten hours in the car... it took me down..

The most rare dog bread in the 60s - Little Lion Dogs Löwchen

I have had the opportunity to live with an amazing dog breed the last 17 years. Our oldest boy died a month ago; he was almost 17 years old. Our three other boys, Skip, Spot and Leo are here with us and they are all from a Finnish breeder in West of Finland (Pohjanmaa). Check out our lions... they will not like intruders.... Leo specifically likes to eat intruders alive... The boys are all one year apart from each other, so there is lots of activity in our house

Weather in Dallas is dangerous

We went for the NHL ice hockey game today and I have to say that the icy roads made the trip to the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas pretty interesting. Schools have been closed today, we have got some snow and the temperature has been below the freezing point around 25 Fahrenheit. This is not typical for our dear Dallas, Texas.

New York is getting winter

It is time to go home again. The weather in New York was very warm but now there is a cold front coming up.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to have dinner in the restaurant owned by Robert de Niro.... Sweet....

I stayed in my regular hotel Paramount that is close the Time Square on the 46th street. The hotel has an art deco look and feel and I very much enjoy the way it is. I hope the new ownership does not distroy the atmosphere going forward.

I am on a direct American Airlines on my way to Dallas.

Hotel Paramount, New York - I am back

This is the third time I stay in the Paramount art decor hotel that is very close to Time Square, New York. The hotel is on 46th street and I even found my regular addiction Barnes & Noble on the same street (corner of 46th and 5th Avenue).

I also tested out a Chinese restaurant Wu Liang Ye that can be found at 36 West 48th Street second floor. The place has won awards and I do not wonder why... very nice food and I had the local hot and sour soup, Tsing Tao beer and their flavor or Kung Pao Chicken....

I can not believe it is January as the weather is so warm...

Dallas, Texas under ice storm attack

My direct flight to New York was cancelled, but fortunately I got a new flight through Washington Reagan. I checked the monitor of departing flights and it looks like half of them al cancelled, so I am very lucky. The traffic in Dallas might go to standstill today if the weather continues to freeze.

Flight Zurich - Dallas was very long

The flight was longer than expected due to strong winds. As before, business class in Boeing 767 is not bad and I got to have a good and long sleep during the flight. Unfortunately, I have only two days as I have to fly to New York City for a conference. It is going to be interesting to see if I make my flight as they are forecasting an icestorm to Dallas, Texas.

Beautiful weather in Zurich, Switzerland

The landing by Finnair was beautiful… I can not believe how green the grass is in January… it looked almost like summer. The sun is shining…. This time Finnair landed and pulled in the same terminal as my American Airlines flight is taking off… This is the first time and I have flown Helsinki-Zurich leg multiple times….

Train from Rovaniemi to Helsinki

The trip from Rovaniemi back to Helsinki was uneventful. The only improvement that I would like to see is the restaurant section on the train…. It is far too small and they have only one person servicing the whole train. We could see multiple people with no chance of getting food or to eat so they returned to their cabins. Other than that, we loved the train trip!

Hui Long Chinese Restaurant in Rovaniemi not worth a visit

Unfortunately, we had our second bad experience with Chinese food in Lapland, Finland. This time the experience was more on the service side..... Unbelievable in fact.... No interest in giving any type of service... And it became obvious why... They do not have to..... I believe the other restaurant in town is under the same ownership, so they might as well act as anybody having a monopoly.... Who cares to give service...

Pentik Studio factory outlet in Posio, Finland worth a visit

It is worth while visiting the Pentik Studio in Posio. They also have a nice historical display (museum) of different typical Finnish artifacts. Posio is 50 kilometers from Kuusamo on highway 81 that takes us to Rovaniemi.

Departure from Aurinkopaikka, Ruka

It's -6 Centigrades and time to depart to Rovaniemi.... The cottage was perfect and in fact exactly what we would like to have. The cottage itself is on a very deep slope and we really enjoyed the view to Eastern Ruka slopes.... Very nicely built and located!

Waking up in a foggy weather in Ruka

Our last morning in Ruka.... The weather is very, very foggy with almost zero visibility. Today we will drive the highway 81 towards Rovaniemi. Our train will depart around 09.00 PM towards Helsinki (we have sleeping cabins).

I have to say that our rental car from Hertz rental has been more than pleasant. It is a pretty new Ford Mondeo. I really like how it drives and handles in the snow and cold weather conditions. Good choice from Hertz as a rental car.

Kuusamo has not changed during the last 10 years

I have to conclude that the city of Kuusamo is exactly same as 10 years ago, which tells me that the travel industry is not giving Kuusamo much of the success as Ruka an similar places are enjoying. We had late lunch in a local Chinese restaurant, which was a mistake.... expensive and poor quality. I guess if you are the only Chinese restaurant in town, you do not have to worry about the quality.

Year 2007 opens in deep fog on the Ruka slopes

The first day of 2007 opens very foggy with a temperature very close to zero centigrades. Today we are headed to Kuusamo, a small city around 30 kilometers from Ruka.... a perfect day to check out whether the place has changed during the last 10 years.

The last day of 2006 in Ruka, Finland

We spent the whole day skiing in the beautiful Ruka slopes .... this is the last day of 2006. It feels funny that the sun really does not get up completely and it is already dark at 03.00 PM. It is also completely dark in the morning until 10.00 AM so the effective daylight is only 5 hours and even then it is not as light as one would expect. The temperature has been aroun 0 Centigrades today and it has been snowing the whole day with almost 0 visibility on the top of the moutain.

Finnish sauna is world famous

I have to say that not having a sauna in Texas is a sad thing to me and I need to fix this soon. The nice cottage here in Ruka, Finland has a nice sauna and we have warmed the sauna 2 or 3 times a day, every day.... This is true life, living it in the way everyone should.....

Ruka winter is beautiful

The weather here in Ruka, Finland is very nice with -8 Celsius centigrades, but with the wind, I am sure it is even less than the car's temperature meter shows....

First day skiing the slopes of Ruka

I am a happy camper. I have not forgot how to ski! I was able tob get around like before without any problems. I think all of the time I spent skiing in my youth has made me to remember things forever.

Ruka has grown dramatically during the last 10 years

The last time I visited Ruka was around 10 years ago.... So things have changed dramatically during the years. The changes are for the good as there are more offeringd, the slopes are good and I really like the way things look like. The main center of Ruka has so many new buildings that one hardly recoqnises the place.

Rovaniemi - Kuusamo highway 81 (there is nothing there)

The road between Rovaniemi and Kuusamo (with Ruka ski resort) was pretty booring with really nothing to see. The only opportunity is to visit Aarikka factory shop in Posio, but the place closes already at 5 PM.... Go and figure that out.... I guess they do not want to sell their stuff...

Rovaniemi - Artic Circle on my mind

We spent almost a full day at the original Santa Claus park that is located by the artic circle in Rovaniemi. The place is a commercial heaven for the shops (it is expensive), but our kids seemed to like the place a lot.

We also visited the famous (formerly the thing did not fly) cave that is built around the Santa Claus brand. We paid 70 Euros for two adults and two kids.... That is close to 90 bucks....

Intercity Helsinki - Rovaniemi as a new experience

I have never experienced the train connection between Helsinki - Rovaniemi train. We had two sleeping cabins and the train departed Helsinki around 7.20 PM and we were arrived to Rovaniemi around 7.15 AM the following morning. I have to admit that sleeping in the train was kind of shallow..... the movements of the train caused our sleeping uneasy.

Ylimmainen, Kalaksuen kyla by Christmas

Our cottage by the Ylimmainen lake is where we have spent our Christmas for the past 26 years (I have not during the last 8 years), and this Christmas is kid of odd as there is no snow on the ground at all. According the weather forecast, the weather is going to get colder tonight with the possibility to -8 Celsius. It remains to be seen if this happens.

Christmas trip to Iitti by intercity train

This is the second time that I used the train... this time it was an intercity train that took us from Helsinki to Lahti. The new track has shortened the trip to only 55 minutes, which is nothing. The speed of the train is respectable, 160 km/hour and we had a cabin of our own.... the only negative side is that there is hardly any snow in Southern Finland.... with Christmas on the horizon

Finnish train infrastructure works

The early Helsinki morning is beautiful..... It had snowed during the night and I believe the temperature is around -5 celcius.

I am on my way to Turku by train... a beautiful city in the south-west part of Finland. The Pendolino (Italian make) is very smooth and fast and with all the stops, it only takes 2 hours from Helsinki.

The beauty of having an apartment in downtoen Helsinki is to be able to move ariund without a car. This morning I was able to walk to the train station. How cool is that.... In my home town.... Dallas... a car is needed to move anywhere... mainly due to the distances.

Helsinki afternoon is beautiful

I justed landed to Helsinki International airport, and the weather is nice... although it is already getting dark even if the time is slightly before three in the afternoon.

Security lines in Frankfurt in like slow motion movie

I am not sure why, but it amazes me why the security lines in Frankfurt are so slow.... I have to consider of changing my route through Zurich in future. Security is good, but when it is ineffective, it disturbs and upsets people....

Finland calling - Helsinki in my mind

Once again time to jump on a plane, now to Helsinki Finland. My partner is already there and I look forward to our joint Christmas party.... Hopefully in a Russian exclusive restaurant. We have quite a few of them in Finland. This time I will fly through Frankfurt, which is a good connection to Helsinki. They even gave me a boarding card here in Dallas for the Helsinki leg which typically does not happen. It is very mild weather in Helsinki, so we will see what the Christmas looks like.

Direct flight from Milwaukee, WI to Dallas, Texas

The Milwaukee International Airport (General Mitchell International Airport) is very nice and seemed to have been renovated recently. They have a nice hub of shops, restaurants so ideal for business travelers. Much different to many other airports. American Eagles has a direct flight from Milwaukee to Dallas and that is what I used this time. My flight to Milwaukee had a change in Chicago, which always makes the trip harder… I can recommend the route to anybody!

Milwaukee, WI was a pleasant experience

My trip to Wisconsin is over and as this was my first trip, I think it is good to explore how I felt about Milwaukee. Milwaukee is around 75 miles northwest from Chicago and is located by the lake. I stayed in downtown area; very close to the conference center. The hotel, Holiday Inn was clean, included a gym and the service was good with clean rooms. The hotel had a restaurant, a bar and it seemed that people liked the place in general.

The weather was not as cold as I expected, when I arrived to Milwaukee, there was snow on the ground, but when I left, the snow had melted away. The downtown area is around 20 minutes from the airport and it looks like that the area is undergoing huge construction.

Good experience, highly recommended place to visit, even for families.

It is winter in Chicago

I landed in Chicago, I had the opportunity to sit with an American Airlines captain. Chicago is covered with snow, which was nice to see. My change of plane was really close.... I had to run....

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - here I come

I am on my way to Milwaukee, WI for an academic conference. I have never been in Wisconsin, so it is going to be interesting to see how it is. The conference - ICIS 2006 is the number one conference in information systems science, so I am very excited about it. I am flying via Chicago and then a 75 mile jump to Milwaukee.

Finally home in Trophy Club - 3.30 PM CST

The trip is over, overall 1086 miles, 314 today. The last 200 were boring as there was really nothing there... We drove at least 100 miles on the Oklahoma side from east to west and then using E35 south to Dallas.

Overall, this was a wonderful trip and very nice to spend three days with good friends. Also, this is my first "winter drive" and I have to say that Honda Gold Wing is the king of the bikes in such weather.

North Arkansas is much further in the autumn, so next year we have to do this at least 3 weeks prior to see the full colors of fall. Also, we learnt that April would be a good time to visit Arkansas to see all of the beauty of spring.

Final stop just before Durant, OK

Now 173 miles under our belt today.....final coffee and 121 miles left.

Third day - first stop Talihina

The Talimena pass was beautiful but I have to admit that it was cold but we were able to get to Talihina for breakfast at Circle Jay traditional steakhouse

We have now driven sixtyfive miles and we are well of on our way to Dallas Texas

Mena - temerature 43 Fahrenheit

Departure, the hotel did not have any breakfast, only coffee so we have to find a place to get breakfast. It is now 7.55 AM in the morning.

Wake-up iin Mena, Arkansas

It is 07.00 AM and the night in Sun Country is over. This inn is pretty new and the rooms are nice. We will be departing towards Dallas and hopefully we will be there in good time so we have a few hours with our families before it gets darlk again.

Decision has been made - no Louisina State this time

Due to the beautiful northern Arkansas mountains and our multiple stops, we decided not to push too hard to cross the Lousiana border....

This was therefore a four state trip and tomorrow we will continue our trip to west over Talimena State Park and continue our trip to Oklahoma and then finally down to south towards Dallas. Our estimated arrival to Dallas is 03.00 PM.

Mena to be avoided if you want beer with your food

The worst possible scenario has happened. There is no beer here.... Closest private club is 5 miles away.... so you are supposed drink but eat in one place and eat but not drink in another. Fortunately, Jallu saves us for the evening.

There is not much in Mena, AR

We just arrived to Mena, AR and it looks like there is only one motel... and no restaurants besides McDonalds and Sonic.

We have driven 325 miles today, 767 miles together so 140 miles less than yesterday. The road from Hot Springs to Mena was beautiful and we could see the sun setting down in the horizon. Darkness came real quick and now at 5.52 PM it is completely dark and the temperature is around 46 Fahrenheit.

Hot Springs, AR i- here we are

Hot Springs is not even close to the beauty of Eureka Springs. We tried to stop at our regular coffee shop... but did not find parking space.. We found another one so my icecream treat is taken care of. We have now driven 275 miles and only two hours left of light.... So we have to head towards Mena....

Russelville lunch stop

We have now around 175 behind us and it is time for Chinese buffet in Russellville. The highway 7 from north going south was unreal, beautiful mountains and the sun is shining again. It is around 60 Fahrenheit. I have been in Russelville before and overnighted. This is a dry county, so bring your beers with you if you want to have a drink.

Second day - first stop Harrison

It is cold, and murky.... 37 Fahrenheit and we have our first stop at a local Shell station and we are enjoying a greasy donut and hot coffee. We crossed the Missouri border and now we are back in Arkansas. We have now driven around 65 miles.

Fourth state under gun

We will make a little trip to Missouri, which would be our fourth state under our three day trip. With some luck, we will try to cross the Lousiana border. That would be the fifth state under our trip.

Eureka Springs night is over

We had a beaufiful dinner at Bavaria Restaurant and the food was good, but not as good as in our regular place in Fredriksburg, Texas. We took a cab from the hotel, and extended limo and felt like million dollars.

The rooms in the hotel are nice and convinient and will stay here another time as well.

1886 Cresent Hotel & Spa

We got rooms from the historical 1886 Cresent Hotel and Spa and this hotel is part of the American Hotel Heritage. The hotel is on the top of a hill and very different to any of the ones I have ever seen. We got all of our three Goldwings and one Yamaha parked outside the main entrance.

Finally in Eureka Springs after 10 hours

We finally arrived to Eureka Springs, we drove 441 miles (around 700 kilometers). This place is a popular resort for people and this can be seen in the amount of Inns and hotels. Now we need to find a German restaurant so we can have our traditional dinner with beer.

Fourth stop - Pocola Oklahoma

Our fourth stop and 315 miles we are are having a pit stop at a local Sonic with coffee and icecream of course. Still at least 150 miles to go.

Third stop - Talimena scenic Drive

Our third stop after 243 miles is the first stop at Talimena scenic drive scenery stop 1800 feet above the sea level.

Second stop Sardis on Oklahome side

We have now driven 200 miles and having a rest at a beautiful lake at Sardis. Sun is shining and we still have at least 200 miles left of todays drive.

First stop Denison 100 miles behind

The first stop was our breakfast in ihop and I took my favorite Chicken Fajita omelette. The weather is beautiful, 37 Fahrenheit initially but the sun changed the weather to 57 which is nice. Denison is just before the Oklahoma border (by Red River). We will drive through Oklahoma east side to Arkansas

Wake-up 5.10 AM with 37 Fahrenheit

The morning was cruel. Wake-up and out to the cold. However, my new motorcycle pants and jacket are awesome... Warm and do not let cold wind through. I am the first one at the Starbucks.... Nowbody else is here yet.... Bunch of boys.....

Three days of motorcycle trip in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas

I am recovered from my European trip and ready for a three day trip with three other friends and our aim is to drive to the Arkansas mountains. The weather here in Dallas has been pretty cold the last days and it is getting close to 32 Fahrenheit during the nights. Therefore we have been watching the weather forecasts on a daily basis.

Our crew consists of thee Honda Goldwing users and one Yamaha driver and each bike is well protected of cold wind. Mine even has heated grips which are needed when I get up 5.10 AM to be at Flowermount Starbucks where we have agreed to meet. I expect us to accumulate at least 1200 miles during the three days.

Stay tuned for more...

Helsinki - Zurich - Dallas (back home)

As always, the wake-up in the morning was cruel.... 4.30 AM. The flight from Helsinki to Zurich is operated by Finnair with seats so small that you can hardly breath. The change to American Airlines flight 37 was very close, in fact most of the passangers had already boarded when I reached the gate. As before, Zurich airport is propably one of the best airports in Europe.... Friendly service and well organized. The flight to Dallas was uneventful.... However, I was surprised how tense the flight attendants were.... Specifically one lady that showed with her face that she really hates her job.... That was unfortunate.... Maybe she had a bad day as we all have every now and then.

Wroclaw - Copenhagen - Helsinki

I am on my way back to Helsinki so I can catch my flight to Dallas very early in the morning. The layover in Copenhagen is only 2 hours, so I get to Helsinki around 7 in the evening.

Wroclaw, Poland is beautiful

I was very surprised how very German Wroclaw looked like and found out later that it had been a German town before the second world war. The center of Wroclaw has lots of shops, restaurants, and very much like any European city. I definetely need to see this again during summer season!

Wroclaw - Copenhagen - Helsinki

I am on my way back to Helsinki so I can catch my flight to Dallas very early in the morning. The layover in Copenhagen is only 2 hours, so I get to Helsinki around 7 in the evening.

Sofitel Wroclaw was awesome

I have to say that Sofitel Wroclaw is one of the best hotels I have stayed in a while. Very new, good service and extremely well located. I stayed two nights in this hotel and no regrets. The only thing to complain is that Orbitz messed up the payment to the hotel and they asked me to repay it... Not my style and my wife fixed it by calling Orbitz.... so everything is OK

Blue 1 via Copenhagen to Wroclaw, Poland

The weather in Helsinki has been very cold when you compare it to the regular season. We haver had snow storm, very cold nights.... down to 18 minus Celsius and this is cold!

This afternoon I am on my way to Wroclaw Poland for one day and what makes this interesting is that I have never been in Poland before. There was no direct flight from Helsinki, so I am flying via Copenhagen using Blue 1. This is the only way to get there. The codeshare flight is flown by Cimber air, which I have never heard of.

On my way to Helsinki Finland - I heard it is raining over there

This time of the year one might not want to visit Finland.... It is rainy, iit is getting darker and overall it is murky and people are getting ready for a long winter. The weather is around 0 celsius during mornings (32 Fahrenheit) so one has to be prepared to wear warm clothes. I am sure I will get my share of autumn during my trip.

Nashville - nice experience

On the airport again. Now in the Nashville International airport. Some advice. The airport is not built for business travelers. I had to hunt down an electric wall plug to be able to work.... this place needs renovation badly. The Gaylord Opryland was beautiful and I hope to visit the place in the future as well.

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center is unreal

I thought I had seen it all.... but this place really is huge, beautiful and you need to have a map to be able to navigate the place.... I talked with one of the guys here and this place have rooms for 2800 people, which is unreal. The Gaylord Texan is not even close to the size of this one. I have visited now all three Gaylords.... I heard they are building one in Washington and I believe one in San Diego.....

Nashville - the heart of country music

An unexpected trip to Nashville.... Got to love it as I have never visited Nashville.... In fact I have never even been in the state itself. I will be staying at the original gaylord hotel Opryland Gaylord... There are only three of these as far as I know.... One here in Dallas (Grapevine), one in Orlando, Florida and this one that I will be visiting. My visit is only for one night as I have to fly to Finland on Thursday.

Boeing 767 - I made business class again

If you travel extensively, the only right way to execute your travel plans is to concentrate your travel to one airliner. I fly transatlantic on regular basis and the upgrades from economy to business has worked really well with me. I get to fly more comfortably these long and tiring flights. I already miss my golf, so thursday needs to be a golf afternoon!

Zurich airport works well

Of all European airports, I really like the way the Zurich airport works. It is organized, clean, and the movement from one terminal to the other works. I just arrived from Nice, France and will be flying to Dallas, Texas.

I won't have many days in Dallas as I have to be in Nashville on Tuesday and Wednesday and then to Finland on Thursday via Frankfurt. Fortunately I have the chance to take my family to Dallas Stars hockey game on Monday evening.

Taxi fee Cannes - Nice airport - felt like somebody just stole from me

It feels like unreal.... It cost me 75 euros to get to Cannes from the Nice airport and 90 Euros to get back.... I feel this is almost stealing!

Hotel Splendid in Cannes - not bad at all

I stayed at Hotel Splendid in the very heart of Cannes. The hotel was very nice and clean, and the breakfast room had a very nice terass that you could use in the morning. The rooms are not big, no shower curtains when you want to shower.... I guess the hotel assumes you to use the bath.... which I never do. My collague stayed in the beautiful hotel Majestic and it looked like that hotel was a few notches more exclusive.

One of our meetings was in a hotel (Sofitel) that is close to Splendid and this hotel had one of the most beautiful scenaries I have seen.... It was overlooking the beautiful Mediterranian.

Monaco - a pearl I can not get enough of

I visited Monaco one night for dinner in the very famous Cafe Paris that is the building by the Monte Carlo Casino. Even if I had been in Monaco multiple times, I have never been eating at Cafe Paris and nor have I been inside the casino. Now I have done both and it was really worth it!

If you stay in Cannes and want to visit Monaco, the way to go is to use the train. It is very cheap... Under 20 Euros both ways.... and then a short walking distance from the train station to the Casino and Cafe Paris.

I would highly suggest to check out the spectacular views from the hill down to the Monaco bay... The best way to descibe this is to give follow directions: when exciting the casino, turn immediately to you left and walk around 200 to 300 meters and you can see the beautiful Monaco downtown from a distance. Do this both day and nighttime.

Cannes - Nice motorway is the way to get to the airport

My flight back from Nice to Zurich is very early in the morning and for me to get to the airrport in the morning from Cannes using cab.... the motorway is the only way

I suggested my friends that came to the meeting to visit Antibes and Les Pins with car using the coastal road. Some of them had decided to extend the visit by driving to Italy and also spend a day in Monaco.

Zurich airport lounge - a few tips of advice

i had a few hours im the Swiss lounge and I have to say that what have they been thinking about when servicing laptop users. There were no outlets for electricity and the ones that they had were built in a way that no electric connector would work Unreal....

Cannes, France here I come

My participation in the new Board of Directors that I was elected to (IAMCP international board) takes me this time to Cannes France via Zurich, Schwitzerland. I have a connection flight to take to Nice and then a cab to Cannes.

I will be staying until Tuesday morning next week. Cannes is one of the favorite places that I and my wife enjoy.... Howeever, this is the first time I visit so late in the fall.

Stay tuned....

Home sweet home - back in Dallas

Finally back from my almost one week trip. I accumulated almost 7500 base miles and 15000 overall... So I am getting closer to 2 Million club with American Airlines.

Weather in Dallas is good, according to forecasts, 90 Fahrenheit later today which means that it will be hot when we play our Thursday Golf round in the Grapevine Golf Course. The good news is that I get to stay home for at least 2 weeks! Stay tuned....

I have two European trips in front of me.... One to Cannes France and another one to Finland... two weeks later.... And of course the third one to Finland during Christmas....

A young boy still living in me - I had to test red-eye

My flight from LAX (Los Angeles) to Boston was brutal. The flight from LAX was supposed to leave by 12.15 AM, but did around 1.30 AM. It arrived Dallas around 6.30 AM and I run to the connection that would take me to Chicago and the to Boston. I spent 14 hours on this trip, a direct flight would have lasted probably around 5 hours...I was upgraded to first class on each leg so it made a world of difference.

Boston as a conference town - I am not sure it works

This is now the econd time in six months that I was in Boston for a conference. This time the conference was located in the Hynes Convention center and I have to say that it works better than the new convention center that is further away from the downtown area. The area around Prudential center has lots of things to offer to participants while the new one is in the middle of nothing...

I do like Boston as a town, lots of nice places, good food and the approximity of the sea. The only huge problem is still the traffic as the "big dig" still has lots of issues.

Boston Logan airport has seen its best days.... and the Admirals Club is not even close to the one that I visited earlier this week (Los Angeles International Airport LAX).

My flight back to Dallas is via Chicago O'Hare, and will be in Dallas around noon time. My wakeup in Boston was 3.00 AM.... sweet....

Hotwire.com - I am too old for that

I used www.hotwire.com first time in my life when staying in Boston. I wanted to be cheap so my client would not have to pay for the ridicolous 400 dollar night what the hotels in downtown Boston are asking for. Guess what... I got what I wanted, a cheap hotel that was cheap in every respect... A Howard Johnson hotel where I could get to my room through a dumpster.... Also, the room was supposed to have wireless connection.... It did but nobody did not tell that outgoing SMTP traffic would not work... So I could read my email, but not send anything.... sweet..... Also, the first night the hotel lost its electricity....

The question is.... Did I learn anything.... The answer is.... Yes I did and that is that I will not use hotwire.com anymore as it will not let you choose the hotel until you pay it... So you are "buying a pig in a bag".

The second lesson is, which I should have learnt by now, is that when you want to be cheap, you will have to deal with crap in one way or the other....

LAX and I-405 to Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach

The drive from LAX airport to Fountain Valley was smooth, but it amazes me how much traffic there is on these roads. If I lived here, I would not want to live far from the office.... The weather in Southern California is as always.... Sunny with nice cool breeze....

My hotel, Disneyland Hotel in the heart of Disneyland has seen its glory days.... The public places like gym etc. Has broken equipment, and to me that is not acceptable. If one provides those services, at least an effort should be done to maintain them. I am sure this hotel is good for kids, but I am not sure it is good for business travel... That remains to be seen when the conference starts.

One my way again, this time to Southern California

Well, that was 5 days of beeing at home and now I am on my way again. One of the largest software vendors in its own domain has its User Group meeting in Anaheim and I will be staying in the Disney hotel... sweet... My daughter asked whether she fcould come.... using her pressious look..... please daddy.... Unfortunately it is just business...

Tomorrow on Sunday I will play golf as part of the conference.... It will be interseting as I have never played in California before....

As before, American Airlines is taking me to LAX, and I am currently enjoying the refreshments of Admirlas Club...6.30 AM

American Airlines via Zurich to Dallas

I prefer flying from Helsinki to Dallas via Zurich mainly due to American Airlines service to me as executive platinum member. The flight from Helsinki to Zurich is operated by Finnair (code share with American Airlines). American flies to Dallas in an older aircraft but when you fly business it is slightly better food etc. Than the newer Boeing 777 that has a real first class.

Kotka - the place where I grew up - what has happened the past 20 years

Kotka - the beautiful city by 60 miles east of Helsinki

The last part of my trip I spent in Kotka, my home town. This town is not only part of me, but also the home of my close family. I have to say that visiting my home town makes my so calm and happy.

Turku - a beautiful city by the south-western coast

If you visit Turku from Helsinki, make sure you use the very effective railroad that connects most Finnish cities with each other. Turku is one of the most beautiful summer cities in Finland mainly due to its long history and academia. Sea is also a huge factor that I specifically appreciate. The distance between Helsinki and Turku is about 100 miles so using the new Pendolino traines is very efficient.

Spot - our new lion dog entered in our lives

I am extremely happy that the breeder of extremely good lion dogs. Our 4th lion dog was delivered to us from western part of Finland and he spent one night with me in our Helsinki residence. The following morning I took him to Finnair cargo to be delivered to Dallas Fort Worth where my wife would pick him up the next day. According to my wife, the flight had gone well without any incidents.

What is interesting is that Lufthansa is the only air carrier that accepts dogs to be transported during the summer. Must be good for their business. Now we have four male dogs in our household..... They are protective, so be aware....

Taking care of family business in Finland

The real reason for my Helsinki trip was to participate in the confirmation of my 15-year old god son Jere. In the ceremony, my task was to be part of the blessing of Jere and I have to say that I am proud of him and what he has become. After the ceremony, we had his relatives and friends to participate in a traditional coffee party with lots of traditional Finnish bakeries.