Paris 2025

 Eberbach Abbey (Kloster in German) is a former monastery in the Rhine River region of Rheingau, close to Frankfurt. It is known for its Romanesque and early Gothic architecture buildings, some of which date back to the early  1100’s.  The rooms and even the church are quite barren as the monks lived a very meager  life, living in damp, unheated buildings, eating and sleeping very little - sworn to not talking.  In spite of this lifestyle, the abbey  was at one point one of the largest and most influential monasteries in Germany. However, after a series of wars and societal changes,  the abbey was dissolved in the early 1800’s. Today it is owned by the local state, managed as a non profit, and contains a high quality restaurant and conference center.  In addition to the abbey, there are  several vineyards  on the property. In earlier times, the vineyards were some of the largest in Europe and today the  Kloster Eberbach winery is kn...

 My friend Achim and  I spent the good part of a day visiting Speyer, a  beautiful city on the Rhine river, known for its Romanesque Cathedral as well as the resting place for  former chancellor Helmut Kohl.  Work began on the cathedral in 1030 at the direction of Conrad II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and some of the original building still exists. It is constructed out of red sandstone and is the largest remaining Romanesque  church in the world.  The nave measures  439 ft by 124 ft, and the crypt contains the remains of numerous emperors and kings. Unlike many other  catholic cathedrals, it is quite plain inside.  After touring the cathedral, we walked to the burial plot of Helmut Kohl, who was the chancellor of West Germany from 1982 to 1990, and  of the reunified Germany from 1990 to 1998. He was very close to US President Ronald Regan  and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, and many attribute Kohl’s  relations...

 In early 2004, after taking an early retirement  package from Schering Plough, I started consulting for a venture capital company in Boston. One of the assessments I did was for  a company two Germans , Achim  Schaeffler and Jochen Mattis, were starting  with a novel oral formulation of an old product, prednisone. Given my background in these types of products and the fact that it sounded very interesting and quite promising, I inquired as to whether they were looking for a full time consultant to help them assess and develop the product for the US market. I met them  in Frankfurt in August, quickly hit it off, and we agreed to work together. In fact, I was the first person they hired after officially starting the company.  We worked closely together for 6 years until the company was bought out in 2010 ( unfortunately no big payday), but we have stayed  in close touch since then. With the exception of 2020, I have seen at least one of them each y...

 Montmartre is one of the more challenging and  “ interesting” areas of Paris to visit. Challenging, because its main attraction, the Basilica of Sacre Coeur, sits high on a hill above the city and getting there requires walking  up a large number of stairs. That is why I waited for my last day in Paris to visit. “Interesting”, because what goes on at the top of the hill is very different from what goes on at the bottom of the hill. The Basilica was built in the late 1800s on the site of where the patron saint of Paris, St, Denis, was supposedly beheaded by the Romans. The nave is 250 feet long and 50 feet wide, and its tower contains the largest bell in France. There are 237 steps  going from the bottom of the hill to the Basilica, but I only had to walk up 140 because I took the metro to a stop on the side of the hill. However,  I did walk the 237 steps down- ugh! The Basilica is the second most popular attraction in Paris, the Eiffel Tower being number 1. The...

 I recently read an article about the Wallace Fountains of Paris and realized I had seen some in the past, but knew nothing about them. So I purchased a small book which explains their history and location and looked for them when I was walking about. The history is quite interesting.  Sir Richard Wallace was an  Englishman who moved to Paris at a young age and became very wealthy when his father  died and left him estates and a large art collection. When the Franco Prussian war broke out in 1870, instead of retreating to one of his country estates,   Richard decided to stay in Paris and see what he could do to help the people. He was appalled at the starvation and lack of drinkable water the war, and civil war which followed created. At that time, the  only water source for the general population was the heavily polluted Seine, and when the cost of a bottle of Seine water exceeded the cost of wine, people started drinking wine as their  main  sou...

When I am in Paris, I try to walk as much as possible as there is so much to see. However, when the distance is too far or my feet have gotten tired, I will  usually take a bus  so I can continue to see the sights, but this can be slow, especially during peak hours. The other major option is the metro (subway) which is easy to use, but most of the lines are underground. A ticket for the bus or metro is about $3 and is good for 2 hours, allowing you to make connections. There is also a water taxi for points along the Seine. There is also the option of taking a taxi, but here to you have to be careful. Taxi drivers are notorious for telling you  it is a flat rate  ( which is illegal) to where you are going, when in fact the meter charge would be much lower, They also find innovative ways to add fees to the meter charge. Uber is also a very popular way to get around for those who like to uber, which I am not.  One other option is to rent a bike. During the  la...