Long Time No Entry

I know I am guilty, I did not post a word for quite some time. Where should I start? There are so many things that kept me busy and prevented me from a lot of things I had on my mind. I intended to see more of the surrounding country side, go downtown more often; I missed it all.
On the other hand I had a couple of good things on the agenda. I went to Bonn over the Hajj week and had time to be at the real home. I had some successes on the job which where nice and rewarding.
Still it's very interesting and challenging to work here. I like it a lot. Certainly the wx is much better. No wonder. I am still loosing weight and that is good. Time for pt and sauna is left as well so not too bad after all. I hope that our tour through this country will soon kick off so I can report more of my adventures.
So hang in there and watch out for news.

Getting around in Riyadh

It looks like I will get my own car today. Despite the fact that one must be a bit insane to drive around this city, it is mandatory to get wheels. Taxis are cheap but it's always uncertain if the driver knows what you men and the safetey is just not existing. Unbalanced wheels, worn out suspentions, no mirrors brakes without real performance and drivers who are at war with the other drivers on the road. Bottom line is that you are better of being in control of your own fate. One more reason is that I am not good at car-pooling. I don't want to go down this rabbit hole now.
One more topic to write about then.

Moving In

We had a couple of busy weeks lately. That explains the lack of postings on this blog. As of yesterday we moved into our compound. The Al Ja Whara Village in Al-Dir’iya. It’s located in the north west of Riyadh on the slopes of the Wadi Hanefa. Yes it is a bit remote but it is absolutely quiet here. The pool is great and the villa is ok. It is certainly not high-end luxury homes however; it’s a home away from home. After we moved all our belongings from the Radisson hotel it took a while until I had all my things sorted out and stowed away. As a sort of welcome party I had Klaus over to bake Reibekuchen for the two of us. Freshly out of the pan we even did not fancy to sit down, we stayed in the kitchen and ate the potato pancakes right there. Now I have frequent visits from the maintenance department, every single worker gets a chance to repair my hot water boiler upstairs, 6 of them have been here already, all nice and friendly young boys form India. The first two just flipped switches, as if I had not the same idea before. The next two tried to exchange the indicator lamp; the new lamp did not do the trick. Obviously there is a direct relationship between the lamp not glowing and the heater not heating. This discovery certainly now called for an electrician. He disassembled parts of the heater, left the villa more puzzled than he came and mumbled something like …chief engineer will come…. Since then it is quiet. The guy with the correct key to my back door was supposed to show up in 10 minutes, it’s now one hour later. The taste of Arabia.
Other than that I rearranged the furniture in the living room. Still have to buy some things but it’s pretty much ok now. I attached some pictures to give an impression.
Stay safe, I will try to do the same. So long.

Work in Progress

We are back in full swing. The project picked up speed after the end of Ramadan. We are busy and that is good. I mentioned already that the temperatures are quite moderate now. It's fun and comfortable to walk through the city in the evening. We discovered a few very good restaurants. Excellent food for a reasonable price. I brought a cold back from Germany and happy that this handicap is gone now. I had a few exercises in the gym today and beginning tomorrow I will be back in full swing. The National Day of Saudi Arabia is celebrated on 23 September. In case this day is on a non working day the government will announce a no working day in addition. This is tomorrow. Tough luck we will be in the office anyhow. I start to get used to my new camera so I am able to handle it reasonably well when we start our site survey tour. We got the word that there is a good chance that we can move into the new compound in October, keep fingers crossed.
That should do for now, have fun.

The Quality Time is Over

My quality time at home is over. Martina accompanied me to Herrsching at the Ammersee where we ha our second workshop. Nice weather and a great hotel made the stay enjoyable. All good things will come to an end and I will fly back to Riyadh tomorrow for my next work intensive period until 12.November when I will fly back to Germany again to celebrate the 90th birthday of my mother in Luebeck. Until then we will start our site survey and begin the adventure travel tour through Saudi Arabia. Stay tuned for more.

Short two week trip

Today I arrived in Munich for a short business trip . We will hold two workshops to cover the time when every man and his dog is on holiday during Eid in Saudi. It's a nice and strange experience coming back from a different part of the world which only has a few things in common with the way we live. Last week I experienced a quite interesting and common wx phenomenon, When looking out of the window it appears to be foggy, it looks like there is a lot of moisture in the air. A closer look and the fact that we where in the middle of the desert made humidity a very unlikely explanation. It was sand or better fine dust which filled the air. You only realize it when blowing your nose. Strange feeling. Leaving Riyadh on Monday at 02:30 am is an experience you only need once. I am in for a treat and will have this distinct pleasure more often. NOTHING is organized. a gazillion people crowd in front of a security check point which is a contradiction in terms. Everything gets through there. Your luggage will be taken away by Pakistani boys in green overalls and you have to hurry to keep a visual on your belongings. They push their way trough the crowds using my luggage as a plow. Magically you end up in front of the Lufthansa counter and they demand at least 30 Rial for their service. You give them 20 , they complain and disappear. With a lot of patience you finally make it to your seat. Take off 2:30 am, a horrible time, this brings you back to Frankfurt at about 7 am.
Despite all this, I love it. It's fun, the job is exciting and challenging. Stay tuned.

Another Week is over

This was another week. Time is flying by so fast. The office days are stuffed with work and are certainly not boring. The team still is working to fine tune the work but we are getting there. Yesterday I had a chance to visit the compound which was specifically build for the company. That will be a big step to move there. The houses are very nice and the amenities top notch. A great lap pool and all other pt facilities you need and all brand new. We expect to move there around mid October. The temperatures are getting into a more acceptable range now. Yesterday evening we walked down a nice shopping street in Riyadh and it was 34 C. That was nice and convenient. Window shopping at it's best.
So far I like it very much. In October we will have the chance to travel through all of Saudi Arabia as a part of our site survey. I am very excited to be a part of this adventure to learn more about this country.