Comet Solar's Adventure in Europe

A little travel a little solar

The Solar Witch and famed solar installer Chris Mason needed a little re-energizing so they planned a trip to Munich to attend the gigantic InterSolar Expo Europe, a three day extravaganza in the city of Munich, Germany. We also decided to visit a few more places, we are going all this way... why not.

BA from SKB to Gatwick nice flight

London the first time.

The trip started in Anguilla with a short flight on TransAnguilla to St. Kitts for a rather long flight to Gatwick London aboard  British Air. All went according to plan and we arrived early in the morning at Gatwick. We spent the night at Heathrow for a flight to Munich the next day.

Fidgety after our long flight we decided to go into London using the conveniently located Tube station right next to the hotel.
The friendly assistant at the station advised us to get an  Oyster card, good for life, just requires a top up when you want more tube rides. Do it right at the station or online. The Tube is great, took us right where we wanted to go for a walk-about of Hyde Park. It was a beautiful sunny day, the solar witch brings sunshine wherever she goes and the park was full of people having picnics and roller skating. I was amazed at the diversity of people in the park. Everyone having fun, they even had an area where you could speak your mind on any topic and people would listen or walk away, all very civilized.
Great start to a great rather hectic trip.

On to Munich!

Upon  arrival even though I had planned out the entire trip ad nauseum, we were still confused about getting the train into town but once again a friendly attendant helped us in German...(we kind of  understood some things),  and we were on our way.
But wait, the assigned stop put us off in the middle of nowhere. We were in and out, up and down, asked a bus driver and finally  found the right  bus into Munich and right where we wanted to go. We even met an exhibitor on the bus. We arrive at the lovely Ramada Hotel & Conference Center München Messe and after getting the room sorted we return to the little bar for our first German beer. What a delight!
Also had some uber good sausage.
The hotel was great, once you are talking to a human about room changes etc. they sort it out quickly. I have never seen a  more  elaborate spread for the hotel breakfast then they had in this one, Germans really know to do breakfast.
Well for that matter they also know how to do beer. Really good.

Munich Messe

TripNote: I will no longer use booking sites to book hotels. They offer these great deals until you find out you can not change a thing and they won't talk to you even if you only want to change  a date or add a day. Booking.com or hotels.com. Forget about it. We did not book everything in advance and I found out pretty quick that hotels will give you extras and better deals if you book directly and they will talk  to you, a real human that is nice will fix all your problems. 

Entrance to the Solar Expo

Intersolar Expo

Three buildings of solar stuff.

I really hate when people use the word WOW to describe a photo or event etc. but seriously WOW! First it was huge, gigantic, 4 building of solar fun. Masses of people, mostly in suits and ties streamed into the place daily. We had booked early so we got our invite out and proceeded to explore the expo. There were giveaways, music, entertainment, food everywhere but mostly there  was solar, everything you could imagine and more. Great ideas for new products and new ways to solve problems when trying to create ways to squeeze more energy out of the sun.

Everything you need to install solar

Chris spent  a lot of time talking with suppliers he already deals with online. It was good to meet them and have face to face discussions about products, future plans and sorting out glitches.

Solar witch and owl seems like a good pair.

Hardware and software

I wandered around meeting friendly owls that can keep your solar  panels clean and checking out new products that might work in difficult situations. Solar panels are not just flat anymore and then are not  all blue black. They even have clear panels that can be use in vertical situations and solutions for roofs that have tiles. They even make solar panels that look like tiles. There are even panels that can replace windows and look very stylish.

It was really small, little did we know.

Try as we might, we did not see it all. Way too much stuff to take in. But we did get some new  ideas that are practical for what we do.
Solar is big business in Europe which is surprising since most of the time it is cloudy. Most of the people attending were business people not installers but since we are the  business and installers we fit right in.

Next?

Hiding from the smokers

Dessert

Full of knowledge and ideas, we exit the Munich Messe and head into the real city for a day of  touring around. We had a hotel for the night. Hotel might be a bad word for this place. In a great location but I guess I did not pay attention when it  said  twin beds and what they meant to say  was cots in a room  just big enough to fit them.  But on a bright note, right down the street was the most fabulous Italian  restaurant and they were serving lunch.

Tarullo's
Kreuzstraße 18
80331 München
Germany
We sat down inside the restaurant, they had a patio but it was full of smokers. So we sat inside had a delightful lunch with a bottle of  wine and went back to our hostel style room for a nap.

TripNote All across Europe and England and Ireland too, the smokers are now pushed outdoors at all eating establishments. I guess in the winter they suffer but when it is warm they fill up the patios of restaurants and if you don't smoke you absolutely don't want to sit on the patio which is a shame really. 

This is not a gargoyle but close enough, no not Chris.

Onward and upward we head out to tour the town which is lovely. Most cities now have walking areas where no cars are permitted and people are free to roam with no fear. It's great. So we wandered and noticed they were setting up stages in the street. Music perhaps, music indeed the next day and it was a day we needed to kill while waiting for the "night train" to Amsterdam. And a bit of good luck. Rather than leave our bags at the hotel and then return before they shut for the night we were able to take  our bags to the station and put them in a locker. The train leaves at 11:30 PM so that made it very simple to do whatever and then go directly to train and  not have to haul bags. 
So we went back downtown and lo and behold, music and craft festival. Just for  us and  oh, it was a sunny day, thanks solar witch!
We ate lunch  in a place called Ratskeller and it was fab. 

Cute directions to restrooms

RatslellerMarienplatz 8
80331 München

Germany
Schnitzel... Great and the building was amazing, covered in my favorite sculpture, gargoyles. 

Beer and music

This group  was in the shopping area and they were fantastic!

Music everywhere all kinds and good. Get a beer, sit down, listen to music, walk through the craft stalls, what a way to kill a day. We even  went to a quartet mini concert in a beautiful chapel. We did have to sit on  the  most hideous pews, they really like to  make the faithful suffer, but the group was very good and we enjoyed it. Then walking back toward the station an impromptu group complete with grand piano and just there in the shopping area thrilled us with their music. 
Earlier in the day Chris broke down and got a phone sim. It is worth it rather than roaming. But, he left his AXA sim at the phone store and we raced back just  as they  were locking up and he had saved it for  us. 

The Night Train  

Sim card in hand and finally dark, we head for the  train station. First time it felt a little creepy. There were people hanging around the station I would not want to  meet in a dark alley. They were also in the station although  I can't imagine why since you have to  pay  to go to the  toilet and the place is crawling with police. At any rate the train finally arrived, on time and we had our tickets ready  to  go and  after a minor  glitch, seems Chris had his own bed and I was bunking with  someone else, we were on our  way into the night and Amsterdam by  morning. 

The night train is totally cool, I  would recommend it to anyone that likes a little adventure. That night in the tiny room prepared us for an even tinier room, so small it  was bunk beds with a sink. But it's an adventure and we were loving it. Into our bunks and asleep for the night I woke at dawn and watched the German and the Dutch countryside whiz by. Breakfast in bed, more and more towns and finally Amsterdam. 

Yikes, Bikes!

They are everywhere and they rule the road and the sidewalk. You must get used to it if you live there but newcomers beware. These bikes will run  you down and not apologize. I realize it is good for the environment and the smog in the city but you really have to be on your toes. They sell pot there, in little cafes. Did I say we had some...I did not say that. 

We had some fantastic meals, 

Casa di David

Singel 426

1017 AV Amsterdam

Netherlands

Wood burning pizza oven and we got to watch the show. Delicious. 

Indian, yum.

Shiva

Indian Restaurant

Address: Reguliersdwarsstraat 72, 1017 BN Amsterdam, Netherlands

Delightful Indian food and lovely staff.

Our hotel was covered in netting as they are doing renovations and I suppose that is the reason  we got a good deal but we did not care that it was a bit worn, it was in a very good location.

Once again a very crowded city full of all kinds of people and lots of young people. We did not ride a boat on the canals, we did partake of the local favorite dish, ground meat rolled in crumbs and fried, I will take a pass. Oh we went to the Red Light district, highly overrated.

London calling

Our tiny room in London

Another train ride, this time during the day from Amsterdam to Brussels and then London. I love trains. Somehow it reminds me of my grandfather and I don't know why.

We arrive in the afternoon, just in time to check  into our hotel very near Victoria Station and of course the passport office. It was all carefully planned. Hotels in London are expensive but I wanted easy access to the  PP office and this one was our best bet. The Z Hotel is modern and extremely tiny. I  thought the train was small. Everything, bed, and bathroom was in a room about the size of our closet. It was a double bed. It touched the wall on three sides. We did not care, we were in a good location and we did not intend to spend  anytime in the room. In fact we were right out of the room and headed to Soho to meet a local chef, Ken Chin from Cha Cha San in Anguilla for dinner at  the Duck and Rice ;where he was a chef long ago. The food was great, the place was very buzzy but at the end of the day, I will take Ken's fabulous Pork belly noodle soup any day. We are lucky in Anguilla to have so many fabulous restaurants.

The Duck and Rice in Soho

The Duck and Rice 

90 Berwick St

Soho, London W1F 0QB

United Kingdom

Passport morning...

Full English Breakfast

Off to get my renewal and that's where it all fell apart. I signed up for the one day passport. It cost more but Chris did it recently and it worked great. You go in and  4 hours later you return for  your  brand new passport. That is unless they over-charge you buy 1,000 pounds and then realize it and then freak out and will not make your passport until they sort it even though it was not in any way my fault. Well maybe a  little since you should always look at your receipt, everyone does...right?

Wicked

I was very depressed. We had train tickets to Ireland for the next day noon. They assured us it would be done. So with high hopes we booked a musical, Wicked was fabulous, we had great seats and it was a tiny walk from the hotel. In the morning bright and early we exited the passport office with passport in hand and and boarded a train, a Virgin train to Holyhead and Ireland. The train ride and then the giant ferry ride was grand.

Home again

We arrived in Dublin at around 17:00, that is 24 hour time for 5:00PM. Got a taxi to our hotel located very close to Stephens Green. Very nice hotel and in a very cool area full of shops and restaurants. We were tired and didn't walk very far to find dinner. 

Dada Moroccan Restaurant Dublin

45 William St S Dublin Ireland

Fantastic food and decor and lovely people. We ate there twice. 

Sarah's mini horse are real cuties.

The hotel arranged for a car and we took off the next morning for Mullingar and sister Sarah and niece Leah. Sarah is Chris's younger sister, full of live and love and also full of dogs, cats, chickens and tiny horses. They are so cute I wanted to put one is a suitcase. Tons of animals, hum, that sounds  familiar right?

She is also involved in the humane society, now it is getting scary. We stayed a couple of days, ate at a very nice restaurant that used to be a church. The food was good and everyone treated us like royalty, must be Sarah. 

And now we head off for the unscheduled part of our trip. I left it to fate and Chris and he decided on...

Connemara

We have been before, I would go again. 

Ireland is absolutely beautiful but there is a reason why people go to Conamara. There are places that are close to civilization but you feel like you are at the end of the earth. Not a sound. Pure bliss even when it is cloudy. You stand amongst the bog and small streams and look up at the hillside or mountain and all you see is green and little white dots, those would be sheep. It is not difficult  to get there but it is not for the faint of heart as the roads are very narrow, once in a while you meet a car and that can be dicey but just a short way from the last house you see there is nothing and nobody and you  feel completely alone. Of course we had a Tom Tom and he, (we changed the voice, the woman annoyed me) found out where we were in an instant and took us back to reality regretfully.

We stayed in Leenane in the hotel by that name right next to the only fjord in Ireland. The sea comes inland. The little town of Leenane is a tourist destination but there are only a few shops and restaurants. 

Leenane Hotel

Clifden Road

Leenane

Connemara

Co. Galway, Ireland

Leenane Hotel

We ate all meals at the hotel, not because there wasn't a choice but because it was just so damn good. They had trout, it was pink. They had treacle bread, the best I have ever ever eaten. They gave me the recipe. I will make it.

The place was very old, the people were lovely, we had a great time. But restless feet must wander and we had to be off to Galway. 

We passed through breathtaking scenery and then came upon the most astounding of  all. So what beach is this in Anguilla? Ha Ha, it is in Ireland!

Clifden Again?

We deliberately routed through the town of Clifden and we were not sure why. We had been there before but could not remember the place or the circumstance. By noon the fog  had cleared and the sky was blue. It was warm. No sweater needed. We parked in town and did a walk about deciding to eat, why not?

Mitchells Seafood Restaurant Market St Clifden Co. Galway Ireland

Chris headed towards the restaurant but I was sidelined by a cute little fused glass gallery next door. Connemara Blue. Beautiful glass creations and a delightful owner Ben who advised me that the restaurant was uber good. Chris in the meantime had already gotten a table and was patiently waiting for me to wrap it up, well he was not patient, he finally came next door to drag me out. 

Ben was right, lunch was perfect and it seemed lots of other people knew about it too. We kinda made pigs of ourselves. 

Galway, the far side of Ireland 

We booked the room for two  nights, a short stay in a town we  like very much. It is not even a small city but it has that kind of feel. Ireland in the summer is tourist central and Galway was packed with buses and tourists. They even have a little section now known as the Latin Quarter full of restaurants and shops and performers. Some of them are very good. We like to walk the streets and explore. Then look for a good place to eat. We found one on the other side of the canal.

il Vicolo

Bridgemills

O’Brien’s Bridge Galway Ireland

It was hard to find and downstairs in an old factory turned into shops. We thought it was closed but Chris insisted and what a treat. We had lunch and wine and dessert and Limoncello. Everything was fabulous and so was the room, right next to the old waterwheel that once ran the  textile factory. It still worked. The wait staff and chef were all young people with lots of energy. It was very refreshing to see the pride they had in their work. One of the girls makes aprons in her spare time and wants to start her own apron company. So much  energy we were starting to get  our  energy back. When we get energy we want to get back  to what we like to do. New ideas, new products and energy!

Galway's Artisan, just not the same.

Dublin Pride

Our three week excursion was nearing the end. We stopped off on our way through Mullingar to say goodbye to Sarah and Leah and headed for Dublin for a couple of days.  Stayed  in the same hotel, returned the rental car and planned to just do a walk about and chill out before our flight to Gatwick but wait...the Pride

parade and events was being held the very weekend we were there. We went looking and finally found the end  of the parade and some other events and a concert, all very civilized, folks in Ireland are all ready to move into their new way of thinking..."The future is equal." I  thought that  summed it up pretty well. Little did we know there were pride parades all over the  world. 

Dublin is a lovely city with lots going on and many young people. It has some old and some new, nice mix.

Gatwick to St. Kitts

But, holiday was over, short flight to Gatwick and overnight to catch that flight to St. Kitts on British Airways.  If I had it to do again I would return to London from Dublin on the ferry and train. It was such a pleasant trip and if you are spending time in an airport you might as well spend it on a train. At least there is something interesting to see and you don't get abused by the security people. We were both ready to go home and get back to work. Solar jobs are waiting and I am planning my next book this time about the Long Dog. Should be fun.