Manhattan Comes To Frankfurt

I was in Frankfurt last week to watch the annual Rhine in Flames festival. Some 50,000 spectators and a flotilla of 50 odd ships collected together to watch a fireworks spectacle lasting nearly 2 hours.
All wonderful stuff; the many castles lining the river lit up red with Bengal Fires adding to the atmosphere.
Anyway, whilst on a downtown Frankfurt walkabout before all the main festivities, I made a point of going to Neue Mainzer Strasse to see if it really does look like New York. This street is often used in European films to depict a Manhattan scene when the budget doesn't quite stretch to shooting in the real place.
Standing there, it really does look the part. High rises on each side of the street and plenty of traffic too. it also happens to be where the famed Helaba tower resides, the tallest building in Frankfurt offering some stunning 360 views of the city from the rooftop.

Touchscreen Windows in Trains Becomes a Reality

It was with some interest I read the other day about plans for touchscreen windows on the new High Speed 2 trains which will be travelling at speeds of around 225 mph. The windows and doors will have 'smart glass' in them so we'll have the opportunity to bring up information on our journey; current destination timings for example or more interestingly, details on the numerous landmarks as they flash by.
Perhaps there might even be some kind of food or drinks menu not dissimilar to the in-seat service you can order via your TV on Air New Zealand flights.
Either way, the technology is in place now for us to use smart glass touch screens to make our journey's more interesting.
The thing that bothers me, as someone who leans towards OCD tendencies, is having to swipe my fingers over glass a thousand other people have used. I can almost see me having a box of wet ones next to me whilst reading a magazine on the window next to me.
HS2 has come in for all kinds of flak but frankly anything that reduces journey times these days must be taken seriously.

The Battle of Waterloo. Again!

I went to the re-enactment the The Battle of Waterloo last week. It takes place in June every year on the historical battlefield just a few kilometers from Brussels in the Belgian province of Wallonia and has a cast of over 600 actors watched by thousands.

Napoleon before it all went wrong (c) Andy Mossack

Much of this historical landmark has been preserved exactly as it was after the battle in June 1815. Napoleon and Wellington's headquarters and the battlefield itself (although the giant Lion's Mount erected a few years after by the Dutch King William to mark the spot where his son the Prince of Orange was wounded in the battle used some of the earth from it - significantly altering the sunken ridge which was Wellington's master stroke).

Me and my buddy the Napster. (c) Andy Mossack

I had the honour of a personal audience with Napoleon on the eve of the "battle" joining him with his elite battalion bivouacked at his HQ. Joesphine was there, with her maidens all looking suitably splendid, sipping tea from elegantly crafted teapots, and his generals were milling around him their boots shined and swords sharpened.

A squad of Wellington's finest (c) Andy Mossack

It was towards this somewhat fearsome gathering that I, a lonesome Englishman, approached and, after being ushered into Napoleon's tent, at the very heart of the enemy lines stood in front of the Emperor and asked him in flawless French "Do you speak English?"  Perhaps not my finest journalistic moment.
He looked at me as though he had just trodden in something soft and smelly, curled his lip in total disdain, spat out "Merde" and turned on his heel and marched out.


Not the best opening to an interview. Perhaps I should have wished him luck first.

Belgians bid to break golf world record

Golf fanatics Alexander Hautekiet and Kasper De Wulf plan to beat their own world record by playing and completing  9 golf courses in 9 countries in 24 hours on the 24th June! Ambitious? Most certainly. Insane? More than likely! I am pretty tired after walking one round let alone nine.
This is all the more audacious because they have to walk each course and hole every putt, but the good news is they have the use of a helicopter to ferry them to their next destination.
Their previous record was accomplished playing 8 courses in 8 countries so I suppose they know what to expect having done it before, but even so it's not something your average golfer could attempt.
The timetable kicks off in Tarviso, Italy  at 2.30am, Slovenia, 4.35am, Austria 6.50am, Czech Republic 10am, Germany 12.50, France 15.40, Luxembourg 18.15, The Netherlands 22.00 and finally Damme Golf Club in Belgium at midnight.
All I can say is good luck and good health!

Geoguessr makes my where in the world a doddle!

As someone all too familiar with the concept of "where in the world am I" it makes my heart glad to see a new online game which complements me perfectly. Geoguessr uses Google Earth to plonk you somewhere in the world using street view, and you have to guess where you are using as few moves as possible.
It's very addictive, trust me. Created by Swedish IT Consultant Anton Wallen simply as a way of using Google's street view as a bit of fun, it throws up all kinds of learning opportunities for teachers to use or just to expand your knowledge of our world.

www.geoguessr.com

The Epic Sana Algarve - New 5 Star Hotel Opening Defies Portugal Crisis

 

I've been in the Algarve this week checking out a just-opened 5 star hotel - The Epic Sana. This latest opening brings Sana Hotels' portfolio up to 15, with no less than three luxury hotels launched in the last 6 months- two in Lisbon and this one in the Algarve. An impressive statistic by any stretch of the imagination, but this is a Portuguese company we're talking about here, operating in a country gripped in economic free fall, with seemingly no end in sight.
In the midst of all this doom and gloom, it is amazing to see how ambition and single minded determination can achieve something practically no other company even dare attempt here. Some might call it foolhardy, but spending time here, seeing first hand how serious they are at creating contemporary high end hospitality, it made me think how it just might be possible for Portugal to drag itself out of this mess. The Algarve is blessed with wonderful weather, fine cuisine, and some incredible scenery. All the ingredients for the perfect holiday. What it needs now is to re-establish itself as one of Europe's finest destinations, by showing us what it is capable of. After all, if Sana can achieve success then why not other Portuguese entrepreneurs?
http://www.algarve.epic.sanahotels.com/en/

Remote controlled passenger planes are here. Would you fly in one?

It seems the age of the pilotless' plane is upon us with the news that the first remotely controlled passenger jet flew over London last month. The test flight was part of the £62M industry and Government funded  Astraea project (Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation and Assessment Programme). This was a Jetstream plane specially kitted out with cameras, sensors and additional computer banks which enabled a team of controllers many miles away on the ground to control the aircraft in flight - although there was a crew on board in case of emergency.
On learning about this development, I had more than a few thoughts about it. Now, I know remote controlled drones have been a part of military hardware for years, but even so, the thought of me trapped in a metal tube thousand of feet in the air with my life in the hands of some controller somewhere is not at all comforting.
It's like that joke about the pilot telling everyone over the intercom to look left at the engine on fire and then look down at the raft where he is speaking from.
Mind you, these days aircraft fly on autopilot anyway but we still have the comfort of a warm body in front who does occasionally speak to us in calm reassuring tones.
Not quite the same as someone in a control tower somewhere letting us now our progress whilst doing a crossword now is it?
I suppose the next development after that will be flights devoid of flight attendants too, something for Michael O'Leary at Ryan Air to ponder on no doubt!