A bit of unexpected fun trying to get to Frankfurt on the trains, leaving just enough time for a walk and some Apfelwine before I head out to the airport and fly back home. textile 2007-10-31T12:02:45Z 1 88 156 Document 2007-10-31T10:55:45Z 2007-10-31T12:04:24Z 46800 2007-10-31T12:12:45Z I'm not sure which bit of "this Esquire opinion piece":http://www.esquire.com/print-this/ESQ0207GREETINGS I like most, but maybe this fantastic 2005 quote: "We've been attacked," [says pastor Ray Mummert], "by the intelligent, educated segment of the culture." textile 2007-10-31T04:58:05Z 1 86 154 Document 2007-10-31T10:27:36Z 2007-10-31T05:00:25Z 46800 2007-10-31T05:00:25Z 1 My last full day in Germany was nice and relaxed, I took the trains up to Heidelberg, famous for its' picturesque castle ruin, and spent the day wandering around there. textile 2007-10-31T03:15:47Z 1 84 150 Document 2007-10-31T03:21:24Z 2007-10-31T03:16:27Z 46800 2007-10-31T03:16:27Z 1 I forgot to post earlier, I'm doing a presentation on Rails testing at the WellRailed group meeting tonight. textile 2007-10-30T01:07:09Z 1 82 146 Document 2007-10-30T01:16:03Z 2007-10-30T01:08:21Z 46800 2007-10-30T01:08:21Z 1 After yesterday's flop and a giant catch-up sleep I was up extra-early for the day. Packed in a giant breakfast and then headed out for a great day of walking in the scenic Northern Black Forest. textile 2007-10-26T12:47:37Z 1 80 144 Document 2007-10-26T12:47:37Z 2007-10-26T12:48:35Z 46800 2007-10-26T12:48:35Z 1 My outdoor plans for the day didn't come off as hoped (guess you can't win them all), but I headed into the Northern Schwarzwald (Black Forest) area, and at least got some cake out of the whole deal :). textile 2007-10-26T09:51:47Z 1 78 142 Document 2007-10-26T09:52:23Z 2007-10-26T09:51:47Z 46800 2007-10-26T09:51:47Z Got around to creating a Facebook account. So you can all stop bugging me now :). textile 2007-10-25T09:30:12Z 1 74 134 Document 2007-10-25T09:30:44Z 2007-10-25T09:30:12Z 46800 2007-10-25T09:30:12Z Germany, land of beer, sausage, history, and _trains that run on time_. They even go places that you want to go! Brilliant. Here's how to use them, if you're not keen to figure it out as you go. textile 2007-10-24T12:24:17Z 1 72 132 Document 2007-10-24T12:24:42Z 2007-10-24T12:24:17Z 46800 2007-10-24T12:24:17Z More fun with trains, and then a loong walk up to Burg Hohenzollern, seat of the epic Hohenzollern family, who seem to make up pretty much half the German royalty of history. textile 2007-10-23T09:45:32Z 1 70 131 Document 2007-10-24T12:23:11Z 2007-10-23T09:45:32Z 46800 2007-10-23T09:45:32Z I head back into Germany in the direction of a castle, via Munich (with inevitable Oktoberfest action), mislabelled trains, and bed in Stuttgart. textile 2007-10-19T10:27:39Z 1 68 124 Document 2007-10-19T10:24:45Z 2007-10-19T10:27:39Z 46800 2007-10-19T10:27:39Z After a great few days with my Austrian friends around Vienna, it was time to say my fond farewells and many thanks for them having me to stay!, and hop on the train to head west to the Alpine province of Tyrol. S'where the Alps are. textile 2007-10-14T12:51:18Z 1 66 118 Document 2007-10-14T12:51:18Z 2007-10-14T12:54:58Z 46800 2007-10-14T12:54:58Z 1 [US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice] met human rights activists and said she wanted to help them build institutions to protect people from the "arbitrary power of the state"... wait for it... in Russia. textile 2007-10-14T11:53:00Z 1 62 116 Document 2007-10-14T12:10:50Z 2007-10-14T11:53:13Z 46800 2007-10-14T13:13:08Z 1 So after a busy day in Vienna came a nice walk around the local area with the guys, then a trip out to some forest and castle ruin goodness by the Danube. And genuine Wien-style schnitzel :). textile 2007-10-14T11:58:35Z 1 64 112 Document 2007-10-14T11:58:35Z 2007-10-14T12:00:10Z 46800 2007-10-14T12:00:10Z 1 Having taken the train in last night I spent the night at Fritz & Kathie's apartment in the nice town Sankt Pölten, and then spend the day sightseeing in Wien (Vienna). textile 2007-10-11T10:13:20Z 1 60 110 Document 2007-10-11T10:30:25Z 2007-10-11T10:13:20Z 7200 2007-10-11T10:13:20Z Just tried the Brazilian (?) thing of eating avocado as a fruit, cut & sprinkled with a decent dose of sugar. It rules. textile 2007-10-11T04:46:56Z 1 59 105 Document 2007-10-11T04:46:56Z 7200 2007-10-11T04:46:56Z So I'm in Regensburg, a well-preserved Bavarian town with big cathedrals, big towers, big bridges, and small sausages. textile 2007-10-09T11:28:40Z 1 58 102 Document 2007-10-09T11:28:40Z 2007-10-09T11:30:26Z 7200 2007-10-09T11:30:26Z 1 We didn't get too much done the next day, I was busy trying to solve the problem with my next destination in the morning, and we all left town that afternoon. Near disaster for the hotel staff on check out though! textile 2007-10-09T09:41:21Z 1 56 98 Document 2007-10-09T09:58:11Z 2007-10-09T09:41:21Z 7200 2007-10-09T09:41:21Z I left out one of the things that went wrong on that day in Prague. Laundry services, not so great - and opening hour signs, they mean nothing. textile 2007-10-09T09:36:18Z 1 54 100 Document 2007-10-09T09:55:35Z 2007-10-09T09:38:44Z 7200 2007-10-09T09:38:44Z 1 I find the burčák (new wine) I have been hunting, and we have dinner at the excellent Klub Architektù. textile 2007-10-08T10:10:35Z 1 52 96 Document 2007-10-08T10:27:32Z 2007-10-08T10:10:54Z 7200 2007-10-08T10:10:54Z 1 We were keen to get out of Prague and see a bit more of the Czech Republic, so on day 3 of our time there we ran to the trains and headed out to Kutná Hora to see the Sedlec Ossuary and St. Barbara Church. textile 2007-10-08T10:08:46Z 1 50 94 Document 2007-10-08T10:26:03Z 2007-10-08T10:09:15Z 7200 2007-10-08T10:09:15Z 1 Lunch, towers, fishies, powerisers, photos, and failing to drink! textile 2007-10-05T14:04:42Z 1 48 92 Document 2007-10-05T14:27:55Z 2007-10-05T14:04:42Z 7200 2007-10-05T14:04:42Z On Day 2 of our Prague visit Mary, Charles, and I started the day with a tour around Prague's old city sites. textile 2007-10-05T14:03:43Z 1 47 91 Document 2007-10-05T14:27:55Z 2007-10-05T14:03:43Z 7200 2007-10-05T14:03:43Z After finishing up at Prague Castle we wandered back over Charles Bridge, looking at the cool buildings and finding some streetside drinks, and Czech-style dinners. textile 2007-10-02T15:20:06Z 1 46 88 Document 2007-10-02T17:41:32Z 2007-10-02T17:02:39Z 7200 2007-10-02T17:02:39Z 1 Mary, Charles, and I spent most of our first day in Prague exploring the castle, Prague Castle. textile 2007-10-02T15:18:31Z 1 45 87 Document 2007-10-02T17:41:32Z 2007-10-02T15:18:31Z 7200 2007-10-02T15:18:31Z So after arriving in Prague I get to do the fun part of any trip, which is figuring out how to use the local transport system. textile 2007-10-01T22:50:37Z 1 44 86 Document 2007-10-01T23:21:52Z 2007-10-01T22:50:37Z 7200 2007-10-01T22:50:37Z To a New Zealander, one of the coolest things about being "on the continent" is the ability to go to another country _without_ going on a fecking big plane flight. Case in point, Berlin to Prague on the Inter-Continental Express in 4 hours. textile 2007-10-01T22:48:30Z 1 43 85 Document 2007-10-01T23:21:52Z 2007-10-01T22:48:30Z 7200 2007-10-01T22:48:30Z I've always felt a bit of a noob when it comes to art history and art by the big historical names, so with a few hours left before I had to jump on my next train, a trip to Berlin's Gemäldegalerie to start my education was high on the priority list. textile 2007-10-01T22:07:21Z 1 41 84 Document 2007-10-01T23:21:52Z 2007-10-01T22:07:36Z 7200 2007-10-01T22:07:36Z 1