I arrived early Wednesday in Frankfurt, a day ahead of the planned client summit in Berlin. Just enough time to have breakfast, meet a client, get lost in their offices, visit the local agency office, and then catch a flight to Berlin. Frankfurt was quick, but in the few hours I was there, I could tell the city had changed a lot since I lived in Germany. Many of the previously “ugly” parts now looked chic and gentrified, with beautiful buildings (if we were talking about Los Angeles, I’d call them “condos” but that seems wrong somehow) along the river, and lots of new infrastructure, including a sweet footbridge that crosses the Main river. Then, exhausted, without sleep for about 33 hours, we landed in Berlin and made our way to the Augustinehof hotel. I took a two hour nap, then refreshed headed out to dinner with Thorsten, Kolya, and Patrick–all from the Frankfurt office. We walked to the Hackische Hofe and ate at an Austrian restaurant; all four of us ordered the schnitzel with bratkartoffeln. It was a delicious meal and the three gentlemen were incredibly kind to me over dinner–despite my rusty German.

The next day, we met for breakfast and made our way to the “Kulturbrauerei” — an artsy movie theater in Berlin. We had coffee with the clients and then spent the day talking about new media and some of the latest research in social media. My presentation wasn’t till the day’s end, which, with jetlag was a bit challenging. I took a powernap on one of the couches in the lobby, then prepared to present to the group of 30 or so attendees. My boss Zach joined us from Los Angeles via Skype and gave us a virtual tour of the Lab. By all accounts, our presentation was very well received and we celebrated over beers and more schnitzel. Then, it was time to hit the bars with the local Frankfurt team.

We drank a bit too much (I think five glasses of wine and one schnapps shot) but it was good fun. I must say, Germans are a hearty group…we were out till well after 2am. (I suppose it helps the bars even stay open that long, ahem.)

I didn’t sleep much that night and despite the long day, woke up by 7:30 the next morning. I decided to take a walk through the neighborhood and realized I was right behind Oranienburger Strasse, where the Synagogue and several kosher cafes live. I made a huge circle around Oranienburger Strasse, and loved the chilly Berlin morning: all over cafes were opening; tables were out on the street given the slight trace of fall still left before winter sets in; and I made my way through a couple of artists “hofs” or courtyards with incredibly beautiful “sachen” — handmade dresses, artisan cookies and candies, a hat shop.

A few hours later, I was on a flight to Madrid. I landed just after 7pm where, after I got lost and went to the wrong terminal, Kate and her son Lucas picked me up–it was in fact, the same gate Till had met me eight years ago when I came to join him for a year in Cuenca. After our hellos and hugs, we made the drive to Cuenca (a luxury! I had always taken the near three hour bus ride!) and caught up with Lucas joining in the conversation. At three years old, he reminded me throughout the drive that I’d gotten “lost” at Terminal 1 at the airport. SO cute.

Arriving at Flores’ we ran into a procession–we were never able to figure out what it was for, but there were candles, priests, nuns, and a very large cross was being carried. It took me about 15 minutes trailing the procession to finally get to Flores’ doorstep.

Seeing Flores, it’s always amazing how it seems as if no time has passed. Today, we spent the morning together–visiting an exposition at the Fundacion Antonio Perez, and eating lunch together. It was a rainy and cold day, but I didn’t care a bit…just getting to be here is an incredible gift.

Tonight Kate and Rodrigo and Samuel went to dinner at the new “American style” restaurant here. They give you “free refills” and serve nachos, burritos, and hamburgers. Wow, this would have been fun when I lived here. Being with Kate and Rodrigo is always a pleasure–we caught up on Rodrigo’s bicycle trip through Wyoming, Colorado, and Oregon and had some good laughs as always. The best part though was seeing Rodrigo’s new bike store. Four years ago Rodrigo opened his own bike shop, and this past year he moved to a larger store that is absolutely gorgeous. It’s amazing to see a dream built like that–and anyone visiting Spain on bicycle MUST stop by and visit Rodrigo at Todobici. Best bike retailer in Spain, I’d bet my bottom dollar.

Tomorrow: Lunch and a movie with Flores, then drinks with Kate and Rodrigo. These four days will pass much too quickly, but I’m trying to soak up every minute.

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