I've missed you...

It's been a while, no?
From getting ready for the Ribosome Synthesis conference, to the beach, to the conference, I've been really busy over the last several weeks. But the fall semester has officially started and I'm here to stay (for at least a while). That means finding time to write here might be a easier, or at least not as hard!

So last week I had the privilege of attending the 8th conference of Ribosome Biosynthesis in Regensburg, Germany. Now some of you may thinking, SWEET...Germany, what the heck is a Ribosome? But I think most anyone would agree, a trip to Europe is a trip to Europe, who cares what it is for!? The plane ride was incredibly long but once we got over there, plenty of great food, science, and beer made it all worthwhile!

I haven't decided how much to blog about the trip, but I have to share a little. Regensburg is probably one of the coolest cities I've ever been to. For it's relatively modest size (150k), it has a butt-ton of history! The Romans founded it in like, 139, and it managed to survive WWII bombing raids (of which there weren't many due to Regensburg declining economy ever since the Reformation and founding of the Americas). I mean, the stone bridge in the heart of the city carried foot soldiers of the 2nd and 3rd Crusades over the Danube. I stood where Crusaders stood!! I posed in front of a wall that Roman soldiers leaned against while they consumed their rationed one liter of wine and cup of olive oil! How cool is that?! As I walked through the city and visit the buildings, I started to feel like everything was really antiquated and things are just falling apart. But they aren't- it is really cool how they've built around the history and preserved so much of it's history right into its present. It just hit me, my Dad would probably LOVE Regensburg. He is the kind who likes to read every (yes, EVERY) sign at a museum. Of course, these are in German- but I bet he would love it!



It is good to be back in the states though, I hate I had to miss a bunch of the kids at church going back to school and trying to make sure everyone was as happy as possible :) I also missed my wife after about an hour on the plane and then I really, REALLY missed being at work. Oh wait, NO I DIDN'T.


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