In November, I visited Korea for a business trip, for which I combined three different occasions to make best use of the trip because it is not so close from Germany and it takes quite some physical effort to get used to jetlag. I also took a chance to bring lots of goods from Germany and France. At the end, it was more than 30 kg for all the bags I carried.
Before the trip, since my departure was from Cologne, I spent one evening to see the concert of Hélène Grimaud, a renowned pianist in classical music, at Köln Philharmonie. I have admired her works and passion for music for many years, so I felt very gald to see her performance so close.
I find it really nice to live close to Cologne, a large and culturally very active city in Germany. The conert hall is located just next to the Rheine river and the famous Cologne Cathedral. Inside, the architecture is really great in terms of acoustics; you hear everything so well in every seat.
Inside Köln Philharmonie
I and my wife had nice traditional German dish for dinner and a glass of Kölsch (only one in order not to fall asleep during the concert!), a regional beer in Cologne. The concert was breathtaking and so impressive, especially the first part on the first Piano Concerto by Johannes Brahms played by Hélène Grimaud and London Philharmony Orchestra. The second part was a piece by Igor Stravinsky, which to be honest was very difficult to my ears. It was cold but lovely evening in Cologne.
On the next day, I woke up pleasantly and sent to the airport as soon as I woke up. But my flight to Munich was delayed! I started to become agitated because I had a connecting flight to Seoul from Munich, and I had only 70 mins for transfer. By the time I landed in Munich, it was already 20 mins past the boarding time. I wasn’t sure what I must do. After talking to a flight attendance, I decided to run and wished for luck. I run so hard and passed through a priority lane. Eventually, I made it! At the end, it took less than 10 mins to transfer, and it was my personal record! I was very happy to get into the airplane to Korea. I asked for a glass of water to calm down my breath… The plane departed as soon as I got in.
But I did not realize that all my luggages were left behind me in Munich, which did not had enough time to get transferred! I got to know this news as I landed in Seoul. Well, this was not the first time for me, and I know that there are standard procedures to follow. I just filled in a form and gave my contact information. Fortunately, my luggagues were located in Munich, and I heard that it will be delivered to Korea by the next flight to Korea.
Thus, upon arrival, having only wallet, mobile phone, and a labtop, I went directly to a shop to buy “survival kits”. It was quite unconvenient because I really had nothing. I received my suitcases after 3 days, and I was very glad to see them again!
Spintronics, Orbitronics, and Physics Beyond 