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One of our favorite things about Hong Kong is how well products, movies, etc. are promoted. The promotions can be over-the-top and sometimes the advertisements are incomprensible, but they draw a lot of attention. Here are some of our favorites:

Darryl and the aliens - Toy Story 3

World Cup 2010, Times Square

Noodles, Causeway Bay MTR station


If a stick figure lifts weights, and this guy plays soccer,
a diamond falls on your car. WTH?

Zodiac characters in Central

Burger decals on the MTR

Destination Chiemsee

Martha's Vineyard. Maui. O'ahu. Frauenchiemsee. Island weddings are our favorite. We were thrilled to plan our trip for Andy and Steffi's wedding, which took place on a beautiful German island in the middle of a lake. It felt a bit ironic planning a European vacation from Hong Kong, weren't we supposed to be visiting gorgeous destinations in Asia? We decided to plan a side trip to Istanbul - half situated in Europe and Asia, it somewhat filled the gap of Asia travel.

Our first night in Munich was a full on reunion. We met up with Jeff and Kerin who were spending their last night in Munich, and Andy and Steffi, at a nice vegetarian restaurant. At last a real salad! Something impossible to get in Hong Kong.

By the time we arrived in Munich, the Euro had plumetted (thanks Greece) and we were almost disappointed to head to Istanbul. Fortunately, our disappointment faded the second we landed in Istanbul. Our three and a half day trip was full of sightseeing, kebap eating and photo taking. (Click here to see all our photos.) We had some funny moments, such as figuring out exactly how much the train costs (1.5 Lira), where our hotel was, and the hawkers on the main street, "konichiwa". We made friends with a class of children at the Blue Mosque, who loved practicing their English with us, and teaching us Turkish.

A perfect birthday: After a tour of the Islamic arts museum, we stopped for coffee at a hopping road side cafe on an otherwise unassuming side street. Frequented by locals pouring out of a building across the street, we finally put it together that the building was the petty crimes jail / court! We spent another 30 minutes enjoying the warm weather on the hotel rooftop bar before heading to the airport. Before touching down in Munich, we saw the Chiemsee from our flight - a gorgeous reminder of our weekend to come. We met up with Marc, Chitra and Naveen at our hotel in Schwabing and headed to dinner at the Olympic Tower. Similar to the Seattle Space Needle, this rotating restaurant provides a view of Munich and gourmet cuisine. Great friends and good food, oh and 30 photos of the BMW factory (Darryl!), the perfect way to end the evening.

A weekend in Munich: Saturday morning we traveled with other wedding revellers to Chiemsee for the wedding ceremony. The 13th century Church provided a perfect atmosphere for a fairy tale wedding (Bavaria is the home to the original Disney castle). The afternoon could not have been more perfect, cocktails in the garden, a walk around the island, and incredible weather. The party continued at a reception in Munich well into the morning. Sunday we rejoined the party for a lovely outdoor brunch. Hosts Andy and Steffi entertained Nicolas, Darryl and I in the afternoon with a scenic walk along the waterfront to the Liberty Angel. That evening we had a delicious dinner at Hippocampus. Monday we toured around town, enjoyed treats from the Viktualienmarkt and picked up a few treats to bring back to Hong Kong.

Our flight home had me thinking, who's up for a trip to Turkey and Greece, or a tour around Germany? We're already thinking about when we can return.