What have we learned?

Note: I'm done with my sessions at the event in Vegas so am getting caught up on a post I did before I left Germany...

For people who travel fairly often, my wife and I seem to be very bad at it. I arrived at the airport in Frankfurt at 7:30 on Sunday morning to fly to Las Vegas (already bad enough) when I found out that instead of leaving at 9:30 on Condor, I was leaving at 17:30 on United. Basically a comedy of errors with respect to the measures that usually protect me from myself, but in the end it was my fault.

Having had practice lately in turning travel lemons into lemonade, I put my luggage in storage at the airport and took the train to the Hauptwocke station in Frankfurt to kill some time. Upon arriving, I remembered that B had mentioned that she wasn’t sure what she was going to do with the kids on Sunday, so I called her and she hauled the family up to Frankfurt to meet me at the Römerberg. Before noon, the weather was incredible so I walked around taking pictures (go figure). B hit town around 11:00 so we wondered around with the kids, had lunch and then headed to the airport when it started to rain around 14:00.I’m not sure if old age has simply left me easier to entertain or if it’s a coincidence, but we saw a street performer in Frankfurt that really impressed me (I was also uncharacteristically tolerant of the entertainment in Turkey). A Chinese gentleman was balancing objects on the bridge of his nose and juggling. The highlight in my opinion was his balancing raw eggs on a stick. He managed three for a minute or two and was able to balance 4 for a few seconds. Given the high winds (a front was moving in), I’d say that’s about all one could expect.
He also did a trick involving catching a tossed wine bottle on a stick held in his teeth. One for the “something you don’t see every day" file. The highlight for the kids was his balancing a stack of glasses, trays and a bottle while he played a glass clarinet. Can’t say it’s the most impressive display I’ve ever seen, but it’s certainly one of the most original (the clarinet itself put his act in the “originality” top ten). As usual, the girls didn't require much provocation to get their groove on. If imitation is truly the sincerest form of flattery, the girls were positively fawning over this guy.Finally, I laid my camera on the bridge and snapped a shot that I think is cool. Enjoy.