Opportunity of a Lifetime

[macx]

No, I'm not trying to sell my r1150r!

I've just got a solid line on a 2+ year job in - Stuttgart Germany!

Background note - I work in major construction project management
(Quality Manager building power plants) so move from job to job and
employer to employer and place to place, maintaining a central permanent
residence of course.

This would be the dream of a lifetime - I had traveled Europe 45 years
ago and always dreamed of returning to many of the places I'd visited
then and seeing what they are like today - this time of course with my wife.

One very significant perk, now that I've "found" the world of BMW bikes,
is that I'd absolutely buy a BMW touring bike while over there and take
full advantage of being so close to so many wonderful places - I can't
hardly imagine touring the Swiss Alps, the Mediterranean coast, etc etc
etc on one! I guess they're by far the vast majority of European touring
bike sales - just might get a chance to join them!

Wish me luck!

[boxermania]

Best of luck, like you that was one of my dreams a few years back, unfortunately, my knee has curtailed that choice, however there is still hope, at this time it will have to be a cage......a small one at that.

[harveyrawn]

You're making me envious. My wife and I rode in the Alps and Dolomites in 1981 and 1989 with Michael Von Thielman on motorcycle tours. Those mountain areas remain my favorite places to ride. Enjoy!

[Dr. Strangelove]

you mean you'd give up Cape Giraudeau?

For the measley Alps? And The dumpy Black Forest? And frumpy Monaco? And the lousy Loire Valley?

Indeed a dream of a lifetime! We will all be disappointed if you don't jump on that!

[wncbmw]

A lot of those spectacular rides will be only a weekend's ride away! Cool! Sounds like a great opportunity! How's your German?

[boxermania]

Jump on it or tell me where to apply.......

spreken zie deutch, fraulein

parla il italiano...senorina

habla espanol....senorita

parle vuos francais.....mademoiselle

I only now how to address the female of the species

The above, being able to get a room and a meal will do it for me.....good luck

[Xdot]

Extremely jealous.
Make sure you catch some Bundesliga games. Stuttgart had a pretty good team last year. Actually played in the Champions League. I'm a Bayern man myself and have followed German soccer since the '80s.
If you need a physicist/aerospace engineer to do any work for you over there, let me know! I also make good coffee and don't mind emptying trashcans and cleaning bathrooms if it gets me to Germany.

John

[macx]

I only know how to address the female of the species

And the problem with that IS ??

Seems you have your priorities in order and the big one covered!
(Isn't that why language was invented?

Oh rest assured I've already jumped and even got a reply from the Proj Director that he'd
get back to me in a few days after he returns from a trip to china. I sent him my resume
Fri nite about 9:00pm from work not expecting a reply till Monday earliest so was shocked
to see a reply within a couple hours at that time of the night! Hope that signifies something
good!

Don't HAVE the job yet, but I believe I have an inside track largely due to the recommend
from the Contract Administrator on my (now previous, as of Friday) project - he was
the CA for that company on our project (only a $2 billion job), hence the inquiry from the
Proj Director looking for a recommend from an inside upper level source. Definitely going to owe
that CA big time if this comes thru!! Nowdays it's all in the networking - online job hunts
and the absolutely anal computer based online submission process are a total waste of time!

Hey, thanks to all you fine folks for those comments - my wife was (at least) acting a little
hesitant - I don't believe she'd be with me full time but could certainly use the quarterly
travel tickets usually a part of an overseas package to travel there instead of me going back
to Cape G - and my wife got a good chuckle out of "give up CG for - -"!! She's never been
to Europe, and now th chance to be right smack dab in th middle of all that!!!

Course, she may have been thinking about Oktoberfest and me in the middle of all that
"scenery" :-)))))

Hope to know at the least the direction my app is moving within the week, will post.

Already have served notice to my wife that I would willingly and gladly spend a big chunk
of my retirement to do that and take advantage of the opportunity - don't know how much
time off or vacation I'll have off during the job, but would even stay over after if necessary
to see everything we want to see. She's of Irish heritage and even that is just a chunnel train
trip away on that marvelous Eurorail system. I'm Swedish (only 2nd gen American - hence
Johnson of course) so that's another side trip.

But - the ALPS, Chamonix, Geneva, oh MY so close to Stuttgart!!!

[riceburner]

Best of luck with it!!

[omg1010]

Hi there,

keep my fingers crossed that this works out for you. When touring the swiss alps and the dolomite mountains beware there is usually heavy traffic - especially on weekends. Also beware that the swiss "race-guards" with their laser-guns tend to be very active in these areas and the fines are usually payable on the spot!

I can highly recommend to areas for touring. One is the the jura mountain ridge (between France and Switzerland). I have just returned from a fabulous trip there. No much traffic and no police. The other is the so-called route des grands alpes (check out this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Route_des_Grandes_Alpes and this http://www.grande-traversee-alpes.com/m ... trail.html (this is 700 km crossing many high passes and this route feels like dancing tango with your bike ...).

Brgds
Oliver

[macx]

Welllll - it would'a been nice.

Didn't make the cut in spite of some high profile backers.

So it goes. Nature of the beast - the business I'm in.
I'll probly end up in XXX or something (not to offend anyone).

Thanks for all the good info and the nice links, and the good wishes.

[Dr. Strangelove]

ahhh
tant pis


well, we got to live vicariously for a little while...best of luck w future endeavors

and ditto on the Vosges and Jura mountains area of France. Unspoiled and undiscovered (mostly), especially the Jura.

John