Blogs from Austria, Europe - page 254

I know I never finished my previous transcribing of the last entry that I started on the train, but I've just simply loved Salzburg TOO much to let it go any longer without talking about it. I've been on the internet every day since arriving here, but my time has been preoccupied with other things. I've been trying to enroll as a candidate for the UVic Senate elections so I can hopefully serve another term when I get back, but it's been a little tricky since, obviously, I'm in Europe. Luckily, my personal assitant (aka my dad) is a huge help on short notice and is helping get forms signed and handed in and everything, but I still spent ages yesterday typing up various platforms and bios and such, cutting them down to the word limit, ... read more

When Joel said, Mum, we're at the wrong station! I thought he was joking! We were leaving Vienna to start our travels and were standing in Westbahnhof Train Station. Our train for Ljubljana was leaving in half an hour from Sudbahnhof Train Station way on the other side of the city. Running late for departures for the Meadows is becoming a habit, albeit unintentional! We hurried (with our big packs) to the Ubahn (Metro) and caught a train straight away, then we changed to a tram but encountered unusually heavy traffic. We arrived at the Station two minutes before our train was to leave and I was convinced we would not make it! We sprinted for the platform - my heart was pounding - and arrived seconds before the departure time - I could hardly climb ... read more

Day 17 Friday 2nd February 2007 “Bags to coach and departure” early this morning as we made our way through Italy to Austria. Stopped at the bottom of the Dolomites for lunch. These are limestone Italian Alps that spread across Trentino-Alto Adige and into the Veneto. This spectacular Alpine region is a favourite for skiing in winter and bushwalking in the summer. We were soon in Austria, famous for their apple strudel, schnitzel, Mozart, Strauss, Arnold Schwartzeneger and Schnapps. Again time for another history lesson. The founding family was the Habsburgs. One of its greatest rulers was Maria Therese, mother of 16 children, including Marie Antoinette. Frederick the Fearless was responsible for the national flag, 2 stripes of red with a white stripe in between. Frederick the Fearless won many battles. He was often seen with ... read more

This week has proved successful... finally got the hang of this parallel skiing business. I've decided it's more mind over matter. You think about it too much hips, legs, knees etc and you just get confused. My opinion anyway. Must say it's more thanx to the ski instructor this week rather than my wonderful skiing ability! Must say absolutely awesome ski school but where the hell do ski instructors learn their english?! Example: Student: 'Look at you drinking and eating on the ski lift, is there anything you can't do?' Instructor: 'No, I can do everything on a ski lift. Just watch, next time I come up I'll be having a wank!' Shocking! Suffice to say, the week pretty much continued in this way. Was hilarious, the kids and teachers loved them and we had a ... read more

So the first day of my first round the world trip for 2007. Will be in Vienna for a few days at my office here doing 2006 performance reviews for my direct reports and attending an International Scientific Workshop we are sponsoring for Tick Borne Encephalitis (a disease we manufacture a vaccine against). Although my itinerary may change as my trip progresses, I plan on leaving Vienna for Delhi, India to meet with the Austrian and German Embassies. Will have a Weekend day (Sunday) in Delhi and will try and see a few of the sights in the city. Hopefully no major earthquake in the region like last round the world trip! From Delhi will be taking the long, long flight to Sydney Australia (via Singapore) which I will use as a "home base" for a ... read more