It doesn’t take long for the kids to connect with their old buddies. Kyle finds Michael; both have shot up several inches since last year.

This morning, I flew from Albany to Chicago where I met up with the family enroute to Lake Geneva, WI for our eighth Bayside family retreat. This year the camp has a new venue about a quarter mile down the shore. Upon arrival the family checks out the new location.

Kyle and Bethany out for a drive.

While I was travelling on business, Jeanine and the kids were visiting life long friends in Oklahoma. Jeanine and Kris grew up together and now our children are doing the same. 

Old Montreal is very charming and had Jeanine been with me, I am sure we would have been riding in this carriage as we made a tour of the area.

Because of the 6 hour time difference, I arrived in Montreal with a little time left in the day to go for a walk. Last weekend was the Montreal Jazz festival.

As beautiful as the architecture in Munich was, I wanted to find some nature so I jumped the S-bahn for one of the many parks in the city.

Today is a travel day (12 hours all in to Montreal). Before I left for the airport I was able to squeeze in a little more sight seeing.

At night everything takes on a different character.

Today was a long day in the office but I did find a few hours in the late evening to wander about the city center.

Here the French contingent goes wild when Zidane makes his penalty kick. For me this evening was a rare opportunity to experience something truly European. Leisurely dining outdoors, meeting new people from all over the world, and celebrating the victory of “my” country in the world cup. Unfortunately, I have no photos of the Italian erruptions because I was too busy celebrating with my compadres to take pictures. When the game was over, the French and Germans were all truly happy for us. It was a fantastic evening and the drinking, singing and celebration continued for hours.

I had dinner in this outdoor beergarten which was setup with a huge screen for the World Cup finals. I arrived early and got a great spot among the thousand or so people who gathered at this venue to watch the game. About 10% of the crowd was for Italy, 30% for France, and the rest were Germans who did not really pick sides. Seated at my table were two Swiss guys and 3 couples from Germany. One woman earned her living using the equipment my company produces. What a small world.

I took dozens of photos of the architecture but this is among my favorites from a photographic perspective.

This little German girl was just too cute to pass up. Unfortunately, I could not communicate well enough to learn the significance of her tiny hat.