So, here is one of a few updates in the next few days. Things are winding down here. The moving company is downstairs packing up my things to take back to the states. Friday will be here before you know it. I am going to write about a few things that happened in the last month, and then I will start to finish the trip for you.
On June 6th, we had a very cool Pittsburgh type party. I was one of the main planners, and it was fantastic. John’s wife Mary Lou Catered (she makes AMAZING food). I had a friend of mine DJ. Plus I tried to finish out all of the beverages that we had in my house. It was a great night of partying, dancing, etc. Some people, including yours truly, ended up in the pool. The party had a good mix of Local people and Pittsburgh people. The theme of the party was ConFarWel. Congratulations for Mary and Dave. Mary is our project Educator, and she got hitched to Dave a few weekends ago. The Farewell was for myself and Carol. The welcome was for Conlen, Bryan, and John, 3 new employees. Great times.
June 8th I was invited to John’s house where Mary Lou was cooking yet another dinner. (mmmm) The surprise was that Connie and Jacque came back early to see Carol off. She was leaving on the 9th. Myself, Dennis, Carol, Connie, Jacque, John, and Mary Lou had a fabulous evening with some amazing shrimp pasta.
Last week, in a effort to welcome the 3 new guys to the neighborhood, Marlene and her Husband invited Conlen, John, Bryan and myself over for wing night. It was a random weekday night and I love not having to cook. We stayed for a while, however I had to get my stuff ready to get packed up. They just got back from Kenya and had some Amazing photographs. Africa is definitely a place I would like to see.
It seems I have been doing a lot of eating, huh? So one more for you. This past Sat. John once again invited the entire staff to his place for dinner. Our new project director and a nurse and his wife came to get greeted. We had good American food such as bacon cheeseburgers. They did a little presentation during the dinner and I received a very nice glass statue of the county of Qatar, thanking me for my participation to the project. I also received a Picture book from our current project director. It was very nice.
The 2 new guys are getting settled in. Conlen and Bryan will both do OK, as far as I can tell now. Conlen really understands how important these relationships are and Bryan is slowly warming up to it. I have taught them all I can and tried to show them everything I could, along with some common pitfalls and other problems. I think they will do fine, plus they have the summer season while many are away to get ready to go.
I will update you more in the next day or so, as my TV has been shut off and many other things are going to as well. I will be in limited contact the next week or so as I transition home. I am lucky enough to have my flight routed through Holland, where I am going to visit Chad and Suzanne who recently moved to the country. So thanks to my job, I get a free weekend in Europe. No airfare or hotel stays, just the normal food and train fare…which is only a few Euros as Rotterdam is only about 45 Minutes from Amsterdam. It is going to be a great transition home! Talk to you all soon.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Another Update
So, I know it has been a while but I am going to try and give some brief points to update you.
· After arriving back from Europe, I think I got some food poisoning. We went to a restaurant the week after getting back and that night I woke up with some major stomach pain. Needless to say I did not make it to work the next day and thankfully, I was able to get in the next day. All I could think of was Carrie the time she ate the egg and how much pain she was in. I probably felt similar, but I am in Doha and not Morgantown and I KNOW what the hospital is like…so I let my immune system handle it.
· We had a lecturer here from Pittsburgh who was on the Board of Directors. She actually called me before she came because she had heard about my leadership class and wanted to make sure she had the same message. How cool is that. She was a great instructor, however I could only attend a few hours because I was teaching as well. She and our administrative manager invited me to the Ritz for drinks so I went up and had a great conversation with both. I especially wanted them to know that I had applied for that fellowship.
· Can I tell you how much I hate this culture sometimes. Now, I preface this with the fact that I think anybody should be allowed to do whatever or worship whatever they want. However…read on. So we went to spinning on Monday night as usual. Myself, Mike, and Carol. We arrived and a class that used to have 5 people in it now has about 25 show up at starting time (or after). (There are 2 times in Qatar. Western time (on time) and Qatar time (add about 20+ minutes). So after we start about 10 minutes into it, this group of guys come in and of course they have not been there before, so the instructor has to continue to run the class why trying to get them set up. About 2-5 minutes after she is done setting them up…they all get up to leave and go pray. Are you kidding me? Then, one has the nerve to come out and ask the instructor to turn the music down. Really? I mean, you know Prayer Time is at 6:18. Can you not pray at 5:55 or 6:45? You know, God says it’s OK to miss if you are doing something worthwhile. Like working EMS, etc. So then they came back and got on the bikes for the last 10 minutes and cool down. Wow. That was a tough workout, eh guys. I am sure they talked about how much they worked out and how much they do, but that kind of crap just makes me mad. Common sense. Take the 7:00 class so it does not interfere with you.
· The 2 guys that are replacing me arrived last week. (YES! What you are thinking is correct! It takes 2 people to do the work that I can do myself!...I wish….) Anyway, I am now in the role of teacher again trying to get these guys up to speed quicker than I did. I knew nothing and no one. These guys have picture reference sheets with names to help them while in the field. I take them and explain stuff to them, which is something that no one did for me. Anyway, they are getting adjusted and I think they might be a decent fit for this project. We will see.
That is a quick update for now. I am working on getting so much done plus looking for jobs that I need to space out my posts. Don’t worry I have plenty more where that came from. Talk to you soon.
· After arriving back from Europe, I think I got some food poisoning. We went to a restaurant the week after getting back and that night I woke up with some major stomach pain. Needless to say I did not make it to work the next day and thankfully, I was able to get in the next day. All I could think of was Carrie the time she ate the egg and how much pain she was in. I probably felt similar, but I am in Doha and not Morgantown and I KNOW what the hospital is like…so I let my immune system handle it.
· We had a lecturer here from Pittsburgh who was on the Board of Directors. She actually called me before she came because she had heard about my leadership class and wanted to make sure she had the same message. How cool is that. She was a great instructor, however I could only attend a few hours because I was teaching as well. She and our administrative manager invited me to the Ritz for drinks so I went up and had a great conversation with both. I especially wanted them to know that I had applied for that fellowship.
· Can I tell you how much I hate this culture sometimes. Now, I preface this with the fact that I think anybody should be allowed to do whatever or worship whatever they want. However…read on. So we went to spinning on Monday night as usual. Myself, Mike, and Carol. We arrived and a class that used to have 5 people in it now has about 25 show up at starting time (or after). (There are 2 times in Qatar. Western time (on time) and Qatar time (add about 20+ minutes). So after we start about 10 minutes into it, this group of guys come in and of course they have not been there before, so the instructor has to continue to run the class why trying to get them set up. About 2-5 minutes after she is done setting them up…they all get up to leave and go pray. Are you kidding me? Then, one has the nerve to come out and ask the instructor to turn the music down. Really? I mean, you know Prayer Time is at 6:18. Can you not pray at 5:55 or 6:45? You know, God says it’s OK to miss if you are doing something worthwhile. Like working EMS, etc. So then they came back and got on the bikes for the last 10 minutes and cool down. Wow. That was a tough workout, eh guys. I am sure they talked about how much they worked out and how much they do, but that kind of crap just makes me mad. Common sense. Take the 7:00 class so it does not interfere with you.
· The 2 guys that are replacing me arrived last week. (YES! What you are thinking is correct! It takes 2 people to do the work that I can do myself!...I wish….) Anyway, I am now in the role of teacher again trying to get these guys up to speed quicker than I did. I knew nothing and no one. These guys have picture reference sheets with names to help them while in the field. I take them and explain stuff to them, which is something that no one did for me. Anyway, they are getting adjusted and I think they might be a decent fit for this project. We will see.
That is a quick update for now. I am working on getting so much done plus looking for jobs that I need to space out my posts. Don’t worry I have plenty more where that came from. Talk to you soon.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Short Update
OK. So I know it's been a while for any real posts, but I promise one in the next few days.
For Now...I will give you an update of my reading list.
Yeager - Chuck Yeager (Autobiography)
How Toyota became #1 - David Magee
One Minute Manager - Ken Blanachard
The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwed
Married to a Bedouin - Marguerite van Geldermalsen
I am trying to finish about 2-3 more before I leave. Let's hope. Cheers!
For Now...I will give you an update of my reading list.
Yeager - Chuck Yeager (Autobiography)
How Toyota became #1 - David Magee
One Minute Manager - Ken Blanachard
The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwed
Married to a Bedouin - Marguerite van Geldermalsen
I am trying to finish about 2-3 more before I leave. Let's hope. Cheers!
Monday, May 26, 2008
May 10 and Trip Home
Saturday morning we were once again up early for our last day in Europe. We hitched a tram towards the Belvedere Palace. On our way, we found the liberation statue and fountain which was pretty cool.
We continued on to the Belvedere Palace, which was a heck of a site. There is an upper Palace, and a Lower palace. There is so much to see in both of them, plus the really cool gardens. A whole lot to see. We are not real artsy, but we did go to every room, every exhibit, and did a quick once over. However it still took us a LONG time to get through it all.
When we got out of Belvedere, it was after lunch. So we found a nice street side café and sat down for a light lunch. We sat and chatted and really enjoyed the afternoon and soon we realized that if we hurried, we could make the last tour at the actual Vienna Opera House. We closed our check and walked to the Opera house and I was somehow able to make my way through the crowd to get tickets. They only let in a set amount of each language, each time. We were able to make it in and got a really nice tour (over an hour) of the opera house. We were shown all the box seats and imperial boxes, standing room areas, and even backstage. They switch shows every night. It is a logistical mind’s dream. They have a performance 300 nights a year. They tear down that night, and set up for rehearsal the next morning . In the morning, the performers rehearse the next night’s show. Then, after rehearsal, they tear down that stage and set up that night’s performance, which was rehearsed the morning before. They have over 160 stage staff working 3 shifts. Get this. They have no room for storage on site, so it all has to go into trucks off site. However, the trucks are not at stage level, so they pull in, are lifted up to stage level on an elevator (these are 18 wheelers), unloaded, loaded, and then let go. Then the next truck comes. It is quite a process.
We stopped and grabbed some coffee on the way back. We realized that we had not had any caffeine for a couple of days and that was probably the reason for our headaches. (That and the thought about going back to Doha)
We stopped at the hotel to drop off our touristy backpack. We got some advice from the front desk and took a tram ride from one end of the line that started in front of the hotel to the very end which was about 20-25 minutes away from downtown. It was a neat little area with shops, restaurants, etc. We walked around for a while and found the restaurant that our front desk had recommended. It was a huge restaurant, and we wanted to sit outside, so we basically had the whole patio to ourselves. Inside they were pretty busy, but I guess everyone else was cold.
We had a great dinner of some Pork products. Mmmmm. We hung around for a while and then headed down towards the tram stop and found another café that had some really good looking dark beer. We decided to stop for a few and before you know it the night was gone. We hung out and chatted for a long time and the beer was so good. It was a really nice European Atmosphere and the people were just so nice. They even had a dog running around this bar…it was great.
Soon we were back on the tram headed for the hotel. Our Europe trip was coming to a close.
The next morning we were up and out the door early, as we had to get to the airport. We had some trouble finding food and the right Metro (they were doing construction), but we did get there on time. The airport was a little different, as you check your bags, then they make sure you have a boarding pass…but you do not go through security yet. You walk a little ways and go through Immigration, then finally get to your gate, where you are screened. Once you go through security, you cannot go back out and get something to drink, etc. Soon we were in the air again. We didn’t have all the room we did before, but we did have a row to ourselves. I did move to the other side of the isle and stretched out (not as nice as before) and got a little nap.
It was an amazing trip. I am sorry if it has been boring for some of you to read, but keep in mind I have to remember this years from now. Next up…what happened when I got back to Doha.
Cheers!
We continued on to the Belvedere Palace, which was a heck of a site. There is an upper Palace, and a Lower palace. There is so much to see in both of them, plus the really cool gardens. A whole lot to see. We are not real artsy, but we did go to every room, every exhibit, and did a quick once over. However it still took us a LONG time to get through it all.
When we got out of Belvedere, it was after lunch. So we found a nice street side café and sat down for a light lunch. We sat and chatted and really enjoyed the afternoon and soon we realized that if we hurried, we could make the last tour at the actual Vienna Opera House. We closed our check and walked to the Opera house and I was somehow able to make my way through the crowd to get tickets. They only let in a set amount of each language, each time. We were able to make it in and got a really nice tour (over an hour) of the opera house. We were shown all the box seats and imperial boxes, standing room areas, and even backstage. They switch shows every night. It is a logistical mind’s dream. They have a performance 300 nights a year. They tear down that night, and set up for rehearsal the next morning . In the morning, the performers rehearse the next night’s show. Then, after rehearsal, they tear down that stage and set up that night’s performance, which was rehearsed the morning before. They have over 160 stage staff working 3 shifts. Get this. They have no room for storage on site, so it all has to go into trucks off site. However, the trucks are not at stage level, so they pull in, are lifted up to stage level on an elevator (these are 18 wheelers), unloaded, loaded, and then let go. Then the next truck comes. It is quite a process.
We stopped and grabbed some coffee on the way back. We realized that we had not had any caffeine for a couple of days and that was probably the reason for our headaches. (That and the thought about going back to Doha)
We stopped at the hotel to drop off our touristy backpack. We got some advice from the front desk and took a tram ride from one end of the line that started in front of the hotel to the very end which was about 20-25 minutes away from downtown. It was a neat little area with shops, restaurants, etc. We walked around for a while and found the restaurant that our front desk had recommended. It was a huge restaurant, and we wanted to sit outside, so we basically had the whole patio to ourselves. Inside they were pretty busy, but I guess everyone else was cold.
We had a great dinner of some Pork products. Mmmmm. We hung around for a while and then headed down towards the tram stop and found another café that had some really good looking dark beer. We decided to stop for a few and before you know it the night was gone. We hung out and chatted for a long time and the beer was so good. It was a really nice European Atmosphere and the people were just so nice. They even had a dog running around this bar…it was great.
Soon we were back on the tram headed for the hotel. Our Europe trip was coming to a close.
The next morning we were up and out the door early, as we had to get to the airport. We had some trouble finding food and the right Metro (they were doing construction), but we did get there on time. The airport was a little different, as you check your bags, then they make sure you have a boarding pass…but you do not go through security yet. You walk a little ways and go through Immigration, then finally get to your gate, where you are screened. Once you go through security, you cannot go back out and get something to drink, etc. Soon we were in the air again. We didn’t have all the room we did before, but we did have a row to ourselves. I did move to the other side of the isle and stretched out (not as nice as before) and got a little nap.
It was an amazing trip. I am sorry if it has been boring for some of you to read, but keep in mind I have to remember this years from now. Next up…what happened when I got back to Doha.
Cheers!
Liberation Fountain
Upper Belvedere. My back is to Lower Belvedere. This is a yard I am glad I do not have to mow.
Vienna Opera House
The Sight of the Last Supper In Europe
Our Last Outdoor Bar.
May 9
Friday morning we were up and out the door early. We grabbed McDonalds (right beside the hotel) and headed for the Hofburg Palace. You may or may not have heard of the Lipizzaners and the Spanish Riding School of Vienna. However, it is actually pretty neat. These horses are trained to be fighting machines, that were very useful in mid-evil times. They are trained to stand on their back legs and defend against oncoming attack, they are also trained to jump and kick straight back…all with a rider on them. Anyway, a show is something hard to come by, but every morning they have up and coming horses that they are training, some very close to making it. They allow a certain amount of people to watch them. So, we needed to be at the riding school before 9:30, because the ‘Morning Exercise” starts at 10:00am. We got there just in time, because after we got our tickets and got in line to go inside, the ticket line was out the door. Seating was in an awesome indoor riding complex, and it was first come, first serve. So once we got in the gate…there was a little scramble. We stayed till the end of the show which was about 12:00. It was nice to get to see them, although sometimes it was a little boring, because it was practice and not a show and they were working on things that were not that exciting. However, it was a great experience none the less.
We walked back towards the hotel and grabbed some wine and cheese as a lunch appetizer. Then we walked to the Josephium. This is a medical school’s museum that has some interesting things, however the most impressive thing are the wax replicas of many body parts. He has the entire nervous system, cardio, respiratory, full bodies, part bodies, pieces and parts. It was actually a really cool exhibit. It would be great for paramedics, nurses, or even 1st year med students. It really helps to show you what is underneath your skin.
We then walked to the Sigmund Freud museum. This museum was amazing. It was in his old apartment/office. He had his waiting room, office and study in one part of the floor and then it was separated from the rest of the house for private use. It was amazing to see his stuff, much of it original. Such a pioneer.
We then continued on a very long walk across the canal to the Kriminal Museum. This was a pretty interesting museum, but it was in German. They had many things from crimes throughout the years there, plus an array of pictures, etc, sometimes recreations. It was a lot longer than I thought it was going to be, and I was happy. Once I learn German, I am going back.
We then left there and had another long walk to Hunderwasserhaus. This is a set of apartments that has become a tourist attraction. It is very unique, although all you can do is look at it. There are some café’s right below it so we stopped in for a beer. It was then that we realized that we needed to eat, so we grabbed some food as well. After hanging out, we headed back to the hotel to change for the evening. We grabbed a Tram to the Opera House(not the original) but still a very nice location. (Goldener Saal) It was very close to the actual opera house, but this was a more affordable option. We obtained some tickets that were not too expensive to see the Mozart Orchestra perform. This is a group of actually some very good musicians that play nothing but Mozart’s music. There is anywhere from 12-60+ tonight we had about 40 musicians. They are all dressed in period costumes and it was a really neat experience. They even have intermission, which is something I have not experienced. If you do not make it back in time, you will not be allowed to enter the main room. (If it was in Qatar, the room would be full of westerners and there would be many empty seats when it started) It lasted a few hours and it was a truly great experience. We were not allowed to take pictures in many of the places we were at, but I was able to sneak a few. We walked home late and were not long for the world.
We walked back towards the hotel and grabbed some wine and cheese as a lunch appetizer. Then we walked to the Josephium. This is a medical school’s museum that has some interesting things, however the most impressive thing are the wax replicas of many body parts. He has the entire nervous system, cardio, respiratory, full bodies, part bodies, pieces and parts. It was actually a really cool exhibit. It would be great for paramedics, nurses, or even 1st year med students. It really helps to show you what is underneath your skin.
We then walked to the Sigmund Freud museum. This museum was amazing. It was in his old apartment/office. He had his waiting room, office and study in one part of the floor and then it was separated from the rest of the house for private use. It was amazing to see his stuff, much of it original. Such a pioneer.
We then continued on a very long walk across the canal to the Kriminal Museum. This was a pretty interesting museum, but it was in German. They had many things from crimes throughout the years there, plus an array of pictures, etc, sometimes recreations. It was a lot longer than I thought it was going to be, and I was happy. Once I learn German, I am going back.
We then left there and had another long walk to Hunderwasserhaus. This is a set of apartments that has become a tourist attraction. It is very unique, although all you can do is look at it. There are some café’s right below it so we stopped in for a beer. It was then that we realized that we needed to eat, so we grabbed some food as well. After hanging out, we headed back to the hotel to change for the evening. We grabbed a Tram to the Opera House(not the original) but still a very nice location. (Goldener Saal) It was very close to the actual opera house, but this was a more affordable option. We obtained some tickets that were not too expensive to see the Mozart Orchestra perform. This is a group of actually some very good musicians that play nothing but Mozart’s music. There is anywhere from 12-60+ tonight we had about 40 musicians. They are all dressed in period costumes and it was a really neat experience. They even have intermission, which is something I have not experienced. If you do not make it back in time, you will not be allowed to enter the main room. (If it was in Qatar, the room would be full of westerners and there would be many empty seats when it started) It lasted a few hours and it was a truly great experience. We were not allowed to take pictures in many of the places we were at, but I was able to sneak a few. We walked home late and were not long for the world.
Hunderwasserhaus
Hunderwasserhaus
Goldener Saal
My Illegal shot from inside the Goldener Saal.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
May 8
Thursday morning we arrived in Vienna. We were woken up by the train attendant at 5:30 (our train arrived at 6:00). It was a rough night. I think the driver was mad we got to sleep and he didn’t it was a rough, start and stop ride all night long. We arrived at hit the Metro station, and grabbed us a 72 hour pass, since we were going to be in town for 3 full days. We made our way to the Hotel de France, which was an amazing nice hotel. Wow. They were offering a discount if you stayed 3 nights, that plus Hotels dot com, we were doing really well. They let us check in early again! We were 3/3 on that aspect of our trip. We always go with the intent of storing our luggage and returning in the afternoon, but so far this trip they let us check in every time. Since we were at our hotel at 7:00am and we did not sleep so well on the train. We decided to grab a couple hour nap before we got started. We got back up at 9:00 and were out the door by 10:00. We got to shower too! Awesome! We started walking, we were in the University area of town (which I thought about applying to pursue my PhD) and found a great outdoor restaurant that overlooked town hall and a park. We had a great lunch and then headed on our ad-hoc walking tour. We found random statues, sculptures, Opera Houses, Theaters, Parliament, and Hofburg Palace.
We headed for Stephensplatz which is the main town square. Thousands of people are here daily all hours of the day. It is centered around St. Stephens Cathedral which is massive. We did the unguided tour of the sanctuary, and paid for the guided tour of the catacombs. Wow that was impressive. Remains of people are just sitting on the shelves from 1000’s of years ago. They talked about closing the catacombs for about a week last year because one of the vats was leaking (apparently, you turn into a black goo after 1000 years) and it really stank. We then walked into the new part…which is actually the old part where there are mass graves and places where they had thousands of bodies buried during the plague. These rooms you can look into (and reach in a touch if you want. Thousands of bones from people that were buried here, stacked like firewood. There was one American tourist with us that kept asking the dumb questions. Wow. I tried to not let anyone know I was American. I see why we get bad names. “Are their dead people in those coffins?”, “Do dead people stink?”. She is probably a Hillary voter.
Anyway, after an awesome tour of the catacombs, we headed up to the top of the church to get a panorama of the city. Always a highlight, plus it helps to orient me.
We finished in Stephensplatz and started walking to another old church that was a sight. We passed by another attraction that was a clock between 2 buildings. It has one of the saints work its way from building to building during the hour. Then we found a small café to sit and plan out the rest of our day. All of a sudden, I realize that once again we are sitting at an attraction. The wall to our left is the old church we were trying to find. What amazing luck.
After finishing there we decided to head back to the hotel to drop off the backpack. We stopped at the store to have some munchies with us the next few days and in the room. It was getting late so we walked around and noticed a lot of police in the area. There was a lot of barricades and a lot of police. Traffic was re-routed, etc. I was wondering what was up, and a little scared. We decided to hang out and watch whatever was going to take place. (I know, I know) We found a brat stand, a couple beverages, and found a wall where we could see what was going on and escape if needed. (I make it sound worse than it was) After about 20 minutes a small parade went by, when they did about 6-10 hecklers on bikes and walking started chanting something to them in German. They continued on and the police moved the barricades after they were by. It seems, from a public safety standpoint, what you wanted to happen did. Overwhelming police presence, small group of protesters, no violence. I have no idea what was going on, and no one around spoke English…or at least said they didn’t.
It was getting pretty late, so we grabbed another beer for the road and headed for the hotel to unwind and start the day off right.
We headed for Stephensplatz which is the main town square. Thousands of people are here daily all hours of the day. It is centered around St. Stephens Cathedral which is massive. We did the unguided tour of the sanctuary, and paid for the guided tour of the catacombs. Wow that was impressive. Remains of people are just sitting on the shelves from 1000’s of years ago. They talked about closing the catacombs for about a week last year because one of the vats was leaking (apparently, you turn into a black goo after 1000 years) and it really stank. We then walked into the new part…which is actually the old part where there are mass graves and places where they had thousands of bodies buried during the plague. These rooms you can look into (and reach in a touch if you want. Thousands of bones from people that were buried here, stacked like firewood. There was one American tourist with us that kept asking the dumb questions. Wow. I tried to not let anyone know I was American. I see why we get bad names. “Are their dead people in those coffins?”, “Do dead people stink?”. She is probably a Hillary voter.
Anyway, after an awesome tour of the catacombs, we headed up to the top of the church to get a panorama of the city. Always a highlight, plus it helps to orient me.
We finished in Stephensplatz and started walking to another old church that was a sight. We passed by another attraction that was a clock between 2 buildings. It has one of the saints work its way from building to building during the hour. Then we found a small café to sit and plan out the rest of our day. All of a sudden, I realize that once again we are sitting at an attraction. The wall to our left is the old church we were trying to find. What amazing luck.
After finishing there we decided to head back to the hotel to drop off the backpack. We stopped at the store to have some munchies with us the next few days and in the room. It was getting late so we walked around and noticed a lot of police in the area. There was a lot of barricades and a lot of police. Traffic was re-routed, etc. I was wondering what was up, and a little scared. We decided to hang out and watch whatever was going to take place. (I know, I know) We found a brat stand, a couple beverages, and found a wall where we could see what was going on and escape if needed. (I make it sound worse than it was) After about 20 minutes a small parade went by, when they did about 6-10 hecklers on bikes and walking started chanting something to them in German. They continued on and the police moved the barricades after they were by. It seems, from a public safety standpoint, what you wanted to happen did. Overwhelming police presence, small group of protesters, no violence. I have no idea what was going on, and no one around spoke English…or at least said they didn’t.
It was getting pretty late, so we grabbed another beer for the road and headed for the hotel to unwind and start the day off right.
Hofburg Palace
St. Stephens Cathedral
Stephensplatz
My New Bike. Made entirely of Wood.
View from St. Stephen's Cathedral down onto the Square.
May 7
Wednesday started like yesterday. We met for breakfast and ate way too much. We checked out of our rooms and headed for the main train station. This involved the metro with one change of line on the way, but it did get us to the main train station. We were able to find lockers to stow our luggage pretty cheaply. I liked these lockers better because they had keys instead of just a card and a pass code. Made me feel a little better about it. We hopped back on the Metro for a walking tour of the Jewish quarter. It was neat to see typical old style Jews walking around. (Black outfits, big hats, long white beards, etc). Cities are amazing, you go a couple of streets one way or another and you are in totally different areas. Like the time I walked right into the middle of Chinatown in Philly and then walked out 3 blocks later.
After walking around most of the morning seeing many of the closed sites, but admiring the atmosphere, great weather and company, we stopped at a local café to get the day started. After a relaxing drink, we continued on to the river and began a river walk to where we were yesterday. We decided on the way down that we wanted to get a boat ride, so we found one reasonably cheap and got about 1 hour boat ride around Prague. A little food and some beer were included, plus the tour guide was pretty good as well. It was nice to see a different perspective of this wonderful city.
After the boat ride we continued down some amazing riverside streets with absolutely amazing architecture. We continued on getting some good pictures headed towards “Fred and Ginger”. It is two very modern buildings that the locals say look like 2 people (Fred and Ginger) dancing. They are actually pretty nice architectural buildings. Erin and Betty’s train was due to leave in a few hours, so we continued to walk towards the main train station. We found a little out of the way place with some really great food. We of course sat outside and enjoyed the traffic and people, and it was a great wrap up with our two days with Erin and Betty. After our late lunch, we escorted Erin and Betty to the Metro station and said our goodbyes. We all got on the same metro, but Carol and I were going to switch trains in a couple of stops. We hugged and said goodbye and they were off to new adventures in Salzburg. It was absolutely great to get to hang out and relax with the fam.
Carol and I had about another 6 hours until our train left, so we walked towards the Prague observation tower. This is about 5 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower, based on overall height. Prague is at a higher elevation than Paris, plus the tower sits on a hill. So even though the tower is only a few hundred steps, the Czechs say it is taller than the Eiffel tower. We walked through a awesome park up the hill to get to the tower. People were laying in the grass, drinking wine and beer, playing with the dogs, relaxing with friends…stuff you do not see in Doha. I forgot Carol is afraid of heights and confined spaces (and she was a flight nurse?) so I walked to the top of the tower on my own. It was really cool to see some unique views of the city.
After getting to the top of the tower and back, we relaxed for a few before walking back down the hill towards the city center. It was getting late (the sun didn’t go down till way late there…I loved it!) plus we had a train to catch. We decided to catch a metro to a station near the main train station and walk the rest of the way. This allowed us to grab a street side vendor Brat and beer before hopping on the train for the evening. We grabbed our light dinner and headed towards the main station, getting there a few minutes early. Remember, in train travel if the train says departs at 10:28…you usually feel it move at 10:28. So we grabbed our stuff from storage, headed for the platform, and soon our train pulled into station. The train pulled in, and we got on the correct car, but there was about 7 on this train when it pulled up. After we started moving, I got up to use the bathroom before going to bed and to my surprise there were no other cars behind us. I always hear to make sure that the train car you get on says it is going to the place you want to go, as some cars get dropped at certain areas, but this is the first time I have seen that.
Anyway, it was off to bed quickly, and before long we were getting the 530am wake up for our 600am arrival into Vienna.
How awesome are these streets?
Fred and Ginger
The Boat Ride
After walking around most of the morning seeing many of the closed sites, but admiring the atmosphere, great weather and company, we stopped at a local café to get the day started. After a relaxing drink, we continued on to the river and began a river walk to where we were yesterday. We decided on the way down that we wanted to get a boat ride, so we found one reasonably cheap and got about 1 hour boat ride around Prague. A little food and some beer were included, plus the tour guide was pretty good as well. It was nice to see a different perspective of this wonderful city.
After the boat ride we continued down some amazing riverside streets with absolutely amazing architecture. We continued on getting some good pictures headed towards “Fred and Ginger”. It is two very modern buildings that the locals say look like 2 people (Fred and Ginger) dancing. They are actually pretty nice architectural buildings. Erin and Betty’s train was due to leave in a few hours, so we continued to walk towards the main train station. We found a little out of the way place with some really great food. We of course sat outside and enjoyed the traffic and people, and it was a great wrap up with our two days with Erin and Betty. After our late lunch, we escorted Erin and Betty to the Metro station and said our goodbyes. We all got on the same metro, but Carol and I were going to switch trains in a couple of stops. We hugged and said goodbye and they were off to new adventures in Salzburg. It was absolutely great to get to hang out and relax with the fam.
Carol and I had about another 6 hours until our train left, so we walked towards the Prague observation tower. This is about 5 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower, based on overall height. Prague is at a higher elevation than Paris, plus the tower sits on a hill. So even though the tower is only a few hundred steps, the Czechs say it is taller than the Eiffel tower. We walked through a awesome park up the hill to get to the tower. People were laying in the grass, drinking wine and beer, playing with the dogs, relaxing with friends…stuff you do not see in Doha. I forgot Carol is afraid of heights and confined spaces (and she was a flight nurse?) so I walked to the top of the tower on my own. It was really cool to see some unique views of the city.
After getting to the top of the tower and back, we relaxed for a few before walking back down the hill towards the city center. It was getting late (the sun didn’t go down till way late there…I loved it!) plus we had a train to catch. We decided to catch a metro to a station near the main train station and walk the rest of the way. This allowed us to grab a street side vendor Brat and beer before hopping on the train for the evening. We grabbed our light dinner and headed towards the main station, getting there a few minutes early. Remember, in train travel if the train says departs at 10:28…you usually feel it move at 10:28. So we grabbed our stuff from storage, headed for the platform, and soon our train pulled into station. The train pulled in, and we got on the correct car, but there was about 7 on this train when it pulled up. After we started moving, I got up to use the bathroom before going to bed and to my surprise there were no other cars behind us. I always hear to make sure that the train car you get on says it is going to the place you want to go, as some cars get dropped at certain areas, but this is the first time I have seen that.
Anyway, it was off to bed quickly, and before long we were getting the 530am wake up for our 600am arrival into Vienna.
How awesome are these streets?Fred and GingerThe Boat Ride
The tower that I climbed to later in the day.
Erin and I in front of Charles Bridge
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