Another one crossed off the list: after the Bridge at Arnhem, I’ve finally managed to pay a visit to the Edersee Talsperre of Dambusters fame, or Operation Chastise at it is known. This still leaves a few WW2 places I want to visit, such as the Normandy beaches, Bastogne, El Alamein and Guadalcanal to name a few.

Like at Arnhem, I get a little chill as I try to imagine what it was like then – the sound of Lancasters skimming the ridges and dropping their loads. Here’s a little sim of what it looked like out of the cockpit:

With the difference that the bombing actually took place at night. Looking at the steep hills and embankments around the lake, I can’t helü but admire the flying skills of the RAF crews. This is of course omitting the tragedy that struck people living below the dam, who lost their lives or possessions in the aftermath. Also, more than 50 aviators were killed in an operation that actually only achieved a psychological effect rather than economic or strategic, as originally intended.

It’s actually amazing you can see where the dam was repaired following the damage:

The spot is not only discoloured, it is also missing whatever these holes are good for.

Just to imagine what it looked like with a hole in it:

Anyway, beyond all the war stuff, the entire area is pretty much amazingly beautiful, there is a national park attached and loads and loads of tourists, which is much more nice than chucking bombs on top of each other.

In terms of psychological effect and folklore, bless Carling Black Label:

and

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Carlton’s “Big Beer Ad” is fraught with desperation for the lack of ideas. Let’s throw in a lot of people, some bollockey text, and Carmina Burana is never wrong, is it? Right. I love it.

The Guinness’ “anticipation” ist absolutely perfect, nothing more to be said:

Good creative beer ads? Plenty, less so in Germany, but good thing the world is big!

Looking through YouTube, I might just declare Stella my favourite beer ad maker. This one’s great:

This is not beer, but it’s got Leslie Nielsen in it :)

…and so on. Just a few thoughts on a warm SUMMER day!

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This one is in Moreton in Marsh, home of Fire Services College. It is great to be back in the UK.

Apart from that I’d love to link to hipstamatic and the pictures on Flickr, but on the iPhone this is no small task. What a great App – not sure about the resolution, but it looks like a worthy replacement to the Lomo.

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1. I am the Majority For all the innovation I’ve been attempting to propagate throughout...

First and foremost, I was deployed to Haiti as a member of @fire, following the earthquake. We went there as a USAR team. This will problably qualify as the most extreme experience of my life, in many respects. Im am glad and thankful I could be part of the relief effort.

This is our team ready to go at Munich airport.

Going to Haiti was like going to a black  hole. We did not know what to expect. It was like a movie unfolding. This is the building where I finally realised we were there:

There are about 15 dead people in this picture, just only out of sight. It was smelly and hot. We were there for three intense days. The most stressful thing? Not the dead, or the destruction. Rather, for 10 days, not knowing what was about to happen for the next hour. We finally got home courtesy of the Belgian Air Force. (Picture Set)

Haiti was plus 30+ degrees Celsius. The week after that, I was in Warsaw, Poland. Minus 25 °C in the daytime, that is a temperature difference of almost 60 °C. We spent most of those two days indoors. It’s a shame, because I was really glad to finally be in that city – I’ll have to take a closer look another time.

Station 1, Warsaw.

Last week was all Heavy Rescue: first, three days with “grand master” Jimmy, of raddning.se, in Knivsta, north of Stockholm. Two days Bus Lift, and one day Truck extrication using a deformed, brand spanking new Scania truck. It was outside, cold, but it sure as hell beats any office job.

Finally, my very own Big Lift. This time, a situation to strike fear in the hearts of the participants :)

..and these are only the facts. Emotionally, it’s been a roller coaster ride, but that is boring. On with it.

Sets on Flickr: Haiti,  Warsaw, Heavy Rescue Sweden,   Big Lift

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Normally we use the ferry between Rostock and Gedser as it offers a direct route from Munich to our holiday home in Denmark. This time, we had to take the long route up through Jutland and Fyn. And, believe it or not, in the past month I’ve been over this bridge seven times. Well it’s well worth it in many senses, also because it is simply breathtaking.

Incidentally, with a clearance of 65 metres, it won’t fit the Queen Mary 2 (72 metres).

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In terms of tradition, my guess is that Bavaria could be seen as being similar to Scotland, at least when it comes to outfits. In any case, it’s a good pretext to get together and have a good time (and some beers too).

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A quick two-day trip took me to Bad Schwartau. Lovely to be so close to Denmark, particularly with the smell reminding me of home. I am convinced it has got to be the strongest of our senses. Here are a few pictures and even a video from the landing back  in Munich. Sad?

I am also convinced that Hamburg S-Bahn (local rail) has the worst interior design of all trains. Who ever came up with this?

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I guess I am sharing the same fate as many others, which is an information overload (as in generating) which results in intermittent failure in keeping the personal blog up to date. I wish I could have written more about the recent visit to the States, which started off in Lufthansa economy class. I sat next to some Swedish bloke who was so fat his stomach covered my multimedia control panel. What a nightmare.

Indianapolis was great, even summery. It’s just so completely different to Europe, I still can’t get over it. But since I ODed on chrome – the type attached to US engines – it was good to get out of town again last week and visit some friends down by the Autrian border.

Let’s see if I can get this rolling again. Must also engage in more photography.

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Also inclusive ein älteres Wirtspärchen, das durchaus global denkt und mal eben den aktuellen US-Präsidenten verflucht.

Alles schlagend dann der glorreiche westfälische Sonnenaufgang nach einer absolut ruhigen Nacht. Einfach fantastisch.

Achja, WLAN hätte es auch gegeben, bin stattdessen mit Handy + eplus online gegangen. Freue mich schon auf die nächste Kleinstadttour.

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