Yotel, Motel, Holiday Inn... Say What?

I'm sure 99% of people go a lifetime without staying in a hotel that charges by the hour. I, however, am not one of them.

On New Years Day, I rented a hotel room for just 4 hours. While it didn't offer the full service menu you might think, it DID offer free wifi, a flat screen TV, a comfy bed and clean bathroom complete with shower. All this, wrapped in a 6 x 8 pod of a room. The cost: 45 Euros.

Where is this little gem and why exactly did I feel the need to stay there for 4 hours? The Yotel Hotel (http://www.yotel.com/) is IN the terminal at Amsterdam International Airport... next to the food court... you don't even have to go outside of security! I had 8 1/2 hours to burn between flights and after just stepping off my redeye on New Year's Day, the Yotel was calling my name.

I took some pictures but don't think they fully grasp the small size of the room. The whole area can't be more than 6 or 7 feet deep. The bathroom is maybe 2 feet wide, the bed is a twin and the space between the bathroom and bed is about 3 feet wide with a small work table. It is definitely compact but perfect suited for my needs.

When you walk in, the bathroom area is on the right with a shower, sink and toilet.

The bed is to the left with a flat screen TV at the foot of it.

Here's a pic I took from the bed- looking at the bathroom (you can see my reflection in the mirror).

The Yotel is no 5 star hotel, but I would recommend it to anyone that needs to refuel after a long flight or just wants to rest. It was clean, no nonsense and makes for a great story! Check out their website for more pics and information!

December Dance Party

Back in the states there is no budget for Holiday parties. The AVPs cover the cost of that themselves if they choose to do anything. Of course, there is usually a lunch in there someplace but there is definitely nothing extravegent.

Then there is the Düsseldorf office. Small enough it's budget apparently still flies under the radar. Imagine how surprised I was when I received an invitation to "Dine and Dance at our Red Carpet Affair."

The party was true to its name with a red carpet, photographer, two singers, a live saxophone player and DJ. Also, most importantly, a select open bar to help facilitate the dancing part of the evening no doubt (or so I originally thought).

The party was held on a Friday after work at a hotel in the Düs. Myself and a handful of others, worked the full day and went home to get ready. It is fair to say that most took at least the afternoon off if not the entire day in order to get dolled up. And did they ever - TK's never looked better.

Reuben and Abe doing the "Jersey Wave" in their tuxes.

Susa looking sharp!

Ev and Katie all dolled up.

Chris and Jans

But let me tell you - these Germans love to dance. As soon as the music started playing they emptied their seats and hit the dance floor. The alcohol intake may have helped but it was by no means necessary - they were ready to cut a rug from the get go! I don't think the party stopped until at least 3am.

Here are some of my favorite pics from the evening. These are just my pictures though, the photographer that was snapping away on our Red Carpet put all of his photos on a DVD that each of us was given a couple weeks later. Ahh the memories.

It's amazing how a little Holiday Party makes you forget those long hours you've been logging at the office. After the year these people have had, nobody could keep Baby in the corner and people were servin' it all night long!

Türkei Tag

I can't believe I forgot to post anything about Turkey Day (Türkei Tag for all those practicing their Deutsch along with me).

It was strange to work on Thanksgiving. It is pretty much my favorite holiday and this experience confirmed that. I love everything about it, from hectic preparations in the kitchen to lazy after dinner digestion. And, let’s not forget the mass quantity of food intake. I mean, you eat dinner at least three times that day.

On the day of Thanksgiving the five of us decided to go out to dinner to ensure we had a great meal. It was no substitute but it served its purpose.

The Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend we all pitched in to make a real Turkey dinner and it turned out really well. Katie and Dan hosted and took care of the Turkey. The rest of us supplied stuffing, veggies, salad, potatoes and dessert. I have to say – the spread was impressive and totally hit the spot!

We rode bikes everywhere!

One of the goals while living over here is to see as much of Europe as possible. My first trip was a two hour drive with Evan and Abe to Amsterdam after work on a Friday.

Friday was pretty mellow, just wandering around until we found a place for dinner. Of course we managed to book a hotel next to the Red Light District so our wandering included the sights that area of the city has to offer. A strange thing to take in with co-workers.

Saturday was our big day. We ditched the car and rented bikes, the perferred method of transportation in the city. It was amazing to ride through the streets of Amsterdam with the thousands of other bikers. It was a great way to take in the sites while getting from point A to point B. Sidenote: Cycling was such a success that all I want is to find a "Hollander" bike back in the Düs, they are amazing! The fact they weight 50 pounds makes them indistructable too.

We intended to stay through Sunday but after a full day of museums and bike riding on Saturday, we went back to our hotel to rest before deciding how to spend the evening. I fell asleep and woke 30 minutes later to Evan and Abe screaming and standing on their beds. Rewind 10 seconds to Evan, laying on his bed, messaging with friends, when all of a sudden, a mouse runs across his body. He (obviously) was startled and jumped up on his bed and had some choice words. This woke Abe who followed suit.

The mouse was thoroughly disgusting and we decided there wasn't anything the hotel could do to make us feel better. So, at 9:30pm that Saturday, we packed it up and head back to Germany. Hey, saved us the cost of a night's stay in the hotel and with the city only a two hour drive away - there will be plenty of opportunities to go back.... after having done more research on hotels of course.

A great first memorable trip!