My first video interview
Yeah - I am following Arnolds foot steps: Interview at TechEd.
There is also another video that I want you to look at: Doppleranschreien.
Its thursday - and thursday is Salsa at Ryles. I hope I can make it there - I need some latin music.
Thats all for today. bye bye

An Update
This is just a quick update. Done my first bike trips. Checked out the track to the office. Its 18kms - 45 minutes. Seems that it will be an option for me as we have a shower in the office building. So I am going to do this next week.
Tonight we had a reunion. Sarah had a doctors appointment in Boston and she visited Stephan and me in Cambridge. We of course went to Christophers and then had a look at the Culinary School where Stephan is giving his lessons.
Whats the plan for the next days? Dont know yet!

Right side of the taps at Christophers	Left side
The daily specials: The Altbier is really good	Lot of dust as you can see
Read the signs	Pretending to be students

First Day in the Office
Yesterday (Sunday) I checked out the way to the office - of course - with the bike. It was a 18km ride which took about 45 minutes. Today - at my first day in the office - I've been told that we actually have a shower in the building allowing me to refresh after a 45 minutes ride - so - I will hopefully soon take the bike to work.
Tonight we (Eva, Stephan and I) went out to Christophers. Before that I had another nice bike ride through parts of Cambridge and Boston. Exhausted from the tour I was glad to got offered a nice cold beer by Stephan when I came back home to the appartment. After that we joined Eva (my colleague from Linz who currently works in our Boston office) at Christophers.
Now we are sitting here in the appartment - sipping water (yeah - hard to believe - its really JUST water) - waiting for the night to come.
Well - here are some pictures of today.

Nachos - yeah I know - it doesnt look good - but IT IS GOOD	We 3 at Christophers
The current special beer list	Beef Jerky - one of my favorite snacks

An Update on Bikes, Houses and Salsa
Yesterday, Stephan and I went out Bike Shopping and doing Open Houses. We were successful with the bike. I got a "Specialized". As the model was from last year and because it was an entry point bike I got it for $300 (in "REAL" money this is about €200 :-) ).
We checked out one Open House - there are more to come today. Stephan is still looking into houses - we will hopefully find a nice one to move into this summer.
Now a quick update on Salsa: Last night I went out to the Salsa by the River event. It started slow but ended as a really great party in a boat house on the Charles. The bad news is that my friday night salsa event at Havanna Club is closed. The good news is that there is an alternative :-)
Thats the update. Bye Bye

On my new bike	Now I am "SPECIALIZED" :-)
Boston Downtown from the Boat House	The Live Band playing at the Salsa Party

Back in Boston
Its been an easy "ride" back to Boston. The only smaller issue I experienced was the fact that I had too many wheat beers the night before. Well - this issue was not a big issue for me but a smaller one for those plane passengers that sat in close distance :-) (I guess there is no need for further explaination).
I had the chance to watch 3 movies: 21 Blackjack, The Wave and Run Fatboy Run. If you ever have the chance to see 21 please pay close attention in the first couple of minutes. The movie is about some MIT/Harvard Students from Boston making big money in Las Vegas. There are many great shots from Cambridge - the place where I am about to live for a while.
Arrived at Boston Logan International on Time. I expected tighter security checks because of my visa. It turned out to be one of the easiest immigration scenes I ever had. I was also lucky with customs - just walked through with my 3 bags.
Stephan picked me up. We drove the Mass Pike towards Cambridge - saw the Red Sox Fans walking to Fenway Park (unfortunately the lost 1:0 against the Yankees) - saw the nice Cambridge Neighbourhood around Central and Harvard Square. It was great to see a crowed Harvard Square - people enjoying the later friday afternoon sun and waiting to go out at night.
Then came what was probably predictable: Julius Echter (our favorite imported german wheat beer) in the appartment and a visit to Christophers for Nachos and Beer. Back home at 10 - watched the last two innings of the baseball game - enjoying some schnaps. Then it became obvious that I had to go to bed. Its been a long day.
Activities for the weekend:
* Getting a bike
* Big Open-Air Salsa Party on Saturday Night at the Charles River
* Relaxing and Taking it easy :-)
Cheers

Julius Echter in the appartment	Nachos and Julius at Christophers

Saying Good Bye in Walker
THANKS A LOT TO ALL OF YOU who came to Walker last night. Its hard to leave if you know that there are soo many great people around.
Here are the first pictures from last night - there are more to come.
I have to finish packing now and drive to the airport. Bye Bye

My Salsa Girls: Gina and Birgit	My Soccer Friends: Rene, Caro and Lukas
My Best Friend: Didi	The Schwarzbauers: Guenther and Christian
Alois (thanks for the birthday present) and Caro	My new car owners: Juergen and Barbara
Sandro (becoming bald) and Markus (proud to be bald) :-)	Mister beard: Rainer
The Old but Fast man: Hans-Peter	The two Andi's
Mister Tongue: Mario (aka March)	Mister Prinzregent: Udo (will miss you)

My last day
My last day started with a nice pancake breakfast in the office. Some of my colleagues organized the incredients (instant pancake :-) ) - and - they also gave me 3 nice presents (check out the picture below).
Now I am sitting at home - trying to fill my 3 bags with stuff that I may need over the next 12 months. At 7PM its time for Walker where I hope to see many of my friends. Just made some last minute table reservations so that some of us (the older ones) have a table and chair to sit :-)
Thats probably the last entry from Linz, Austria - the next will be from Boston, Massachuessetts. Stay Tuned

Product Placement: Ardy with the Instant Pancake stuff	More Product Placement
The Cake in the Pan -> Pancake	Andrea handing over my presents: a shirt, a book and condomes :-)

Last Time Soccer
It will be the last soccer match on the Donaulaende tonight. The weather is not too good - but so far its dry.
Last nights User Group Meeting was OK. Today its kind of the last full work day for me. I will make a short one tomorrow as I still have several things to do (e.g.: try to fix my car, packing, ...)
Yeah - and then at night - my last time in Walker. Seems that there will be plenty of friends showing up.
Here is some information for those that will join me tomorrow:
a) I will probably be there starting at 7 - unless the weather is hot (which I doubt) - then it would be 8 because I would do a quick bike tour
b) NO FAREWELL-PRESENTS. I am not going away to collect presents. The best gift that you can give me is your presence :-)
c) IT WONT be a WILD party. Just hanging out in the bar - drinking beer and seeing most of you the last time for a while
Well - 2 more days - or - to be precise - 43 hours.

Last Salsa Monday
Its been an "almost perfect" Salsa evening in the remembar. I finally went home at 1:30 - 4 shirts and 2 towels sweat through - couple of farewell pictures taken. I will miss those monday nights - but I am sure I will be back at some point in time and it will be as good as it has always been.
Tonight I am going to speak at the .NET User Group in Linz. I hope I can find enough energy to energize my audience - right now I feel a bit tired. In the past two nights I didnt get much sleep. Its been the first time that I really realized that I will be gone soon and that made me think (positive of course).
Thanks to my brother - my car will hopefully shine as bright again as it has when I bought it. We is going to organize a machine to repair the lacquering - I hope we will do that on thursday so that Juergen and Babsi get a "good looking" car.
Thats it - 3 days to go

Salsa addicts	More salsa addicts :-)
Two more	Thats Nico. He became the "world champion" in salsa dancing two weeks ago
More happy people	The next addicts
DJ Antonio de Cuba	Me and my waitress

Stupid Mistake
What does it take to decrease the value of a car? Well - give it to me for cleaning and I will destroy the lacquering! Here is the complete story: Days ago my car was parked underneath a tree - stuff fell down and settled there for a while. You probably know that its getting harder to clean it off the car when stuff like this has been on the car for a while. Well. My mum and I therefore started a "cleaning action". Unfortunatelly I used a sponge that was a bit too hard for the lacquering. I got rid of most of the dirt. After the water dried up I saw the mess that we produced. The car looked like I it was in a sandstorm - really really ugly :-(. Fortunatelly my brother had some lacquering repair stuff at home to at "repair" the worst. But I guess I probably need a full paint job on the car. Well - lesson learned.
The day itself was great. Spent the day with friends and family. Mum cooked a delicious meal - followed by my favorite cake. I also made sure that Stephan and I wont run out of Schnaps for quite a while :-). In the evening we met at "The Fuerstln". It was a nice evening with BBQ, Beer, Wine and Prosecco.
Time to go to bed now. 5 more days

My Dad - "WATCHING" the Formula One Race :-)	Blackforest Cake: Mum knows that its my favorite
Farewell present of my friends: A calendar from Aug08 to Jul09 including all the great events that I will miss	Scary Face #1: Sabrina
Scary Face #2: Nadine	Not so Scary Face #3: Julia
The Lindner and the Fuerst Kids	Lukas

Soccer in Steyregg
I tried to get as much sleep as possible in order to be fit for todays soccer tournament. But there were two major problems with that plan: a) Salsa in Maestro and b) a disturbing fly in my bedroom. Because of these two "unexpected" events I didnt get much sleep. The problem with this was that I was not able to play that kind of soccer that I hoped to play - on the other side - I've never before played that kind of soccer I wanted to play :-) (just not good enough)
There were 20 teams - we ended up in 7th place - which was good. However - in the last match I mad a big mistake. I had the chance to assist a goal - instead we received a goal because I mad a very lousy pass.
Anyway - it was a good day. Now its time for some "Pflasterspektakel" - and then - tomorrow - a day with family and friends in Gallneukirchen.
Cheers

Rene with our Team-Shirt "Voi am Sand"	And thats me wit hour Team-Shirt
The "Voi am Sand" Team	And our logo :-)
After our work was done it was time for a "real" beer	Probably my last doppler beer before I leave

Exploring CRAIGS LIST
Craigslist is a great platform to find what you need in certain areas. What am I looking for? Guess what? A bike!. In 2005 I found my bike on craigslist - today I started browsing through the offers - looks like there are plenty.
Today I had another kind of "farewell". I visited my former colleagues in their office and enjoyed a beer with them. Its always great to realize that you are welcome.
After that - Didi and I checked out the first appearance in the UEFA soccer qualification of "our" team - Salzburg. They won their game 7:0 - seems that their main sponsor Red Bull finally gave them wings :-)
Well - its just another 8 days to go. Tomorrow is another milestone for me - its VISA time. Need to do the interview in the US Embassy in Vienna. If everything works out as expected I should get the visa next wednesday.
Thats all there is to say right now. bye bye
Oh yeah - one last thing. There are not many great pictures of myself on the webpage. That has multiple reasons: a) I usually dont pictures of myself - b) maybe my camera is not good enough to make me look good or c) I am just really not good looking. Anyway. Because we (at work) recently started a blog we also hired a "professional" photographer to take pictures from Alois and me for our blog. Well - it seems that even a professional doesnt make me look better - check it out at dynaTrace Blog.
Bye

10 DAYS TO GO
Visa Interview Appointment Confirmed!! Yeah - seems that I have my final interview for my E-2 VISA on friday in Vienna. And - if I am lucky - I will get the VISA next week on wednesday or thursday - just in time.
Thats basically it - I should be all set to take off next friday. The list of remaining activities is also getting shorter:
* Soccer on wednesday and soccer tournament on saturday
* Farewell beer with my former colleagues on thursday
* Last day with my family and my friends from Gallneukirchen on sunday
* Last Salsa Monday
* Saying Farewell to Linz next thursday in Walker
Bye Bye

Farewell Party at the Au-See
Thanks to Christian - we had a great location for a FareWell Party last night. Unfortunately I do not remember a whole lot :-) - no - just kidding.
We were really lucky with the weather. The forecast was horrible - but in the end we just had some showers in the evening when we got the food ready. As I am already on the way to the next event (an evening with Flo, Sandro, Juergen - including their better halfes) I have to end this entry with no additional facts to the party.
Here we go

My trunk full of food	True Love :-)
The party crowd - thunder and lightning already on its way	How many engineers does it take to erect a tent? :-)
Christian in the rain - preparing our food	Now you see why I try to get out of here: too many crazy people around here :-)
Because I went to bed early :-) - I was able to take a shot on the lake at 7AM	8AM - firing up the grill again

13 DAYS TO GO
Getting closer to take off :-)
There are some updates: yesterday I was in Vienna for a business trip - as I had time - I stopped at the US Embassy to check whether they would have time for the outstanding interview. The guy that I talked to was surprised to see me. It turned out that they sent me an email explaining that they finally got all the papers (they requested additional ones from our lawyers) and that they have to look through them now - taking at least a couple of days. Good news however is that I have a preliminary interview appointment next friday. After that interview it takes about 24 hours that the us officials confirm everything. Then it takes a day or two to issue the visa - which means - I probably get the visa just a day or two before I fly to Boston - yahoooo :-)
Besides my visa stories there is not much to say. My last weekend will be a "family" weekend. I try to spend most of the time in gallneukirchen - thats also why I cancled the farewell party on the 19th. I think it will be enough to say goodbye on the 24th.
Now I just hope that the weather will not get worse than it is right now - the plan for the afternoon is to do a farewell party with some of my colleagues at the Au-See. Lets hope its not going to rain.
bye bye for now

Last Time seeing Martin (aka Resl)
Now the first "last timers" start. Today I met the "SAMOS-CREW". Its been the last time I saw Martin (aka Resl). He is going to be on vacation for the next two weeks. Well - so - we 4 set-up a server (basically juergen and martin were doing the setup) - but anyway. We are all going to use this server to host our data/websites/blogs/...
There is of course also an update on my US-Status: Well - bad news is that the Consul of the US-Embassy in Vienna did not call me the past two days in order to arrange an appointment for my visa interview. So I called the official 0900 line today to check the status. I nice voice from india was on the other side of the line - telling me that its not possible to get any information on the progress of a visa application - I just need to wait. Well - I sent them a "nice" e-mail. I hope that helps. Otherwise - if I dont get the visa in-time I probably need to fly back from Boston in a couple of weeks to do the interview and to get the visa.
What else is going on? Well - try to do sports as much as I can. On sunday I thought that I just take a bike-trip to my parents. In the end I "extended" my trip a little bit: up the GIS - to Kirchschlag - Hellmonsoed - Reichenau - Gallneukirchen and then back to Linz. Did another "almost up GIS" yesterday night - discovered a new track - it was fantastic. Doing all that biking makes me feel sad when I think about not being able to bring my bike - although - Martin (aka Mole) - told me that there is a special case that fits a bike. Maybe the small/tiny plane from Linz to Munich will fit it.
Whats coming up: Hopefully some soccer tomorrow - Vienna (Business Trip) on Friday, Farewell-Party with my collegues on Saturday and another "Last Timer" Meeting on Sunday with Florian, Annette, Juergen, Babsi, Sandro and Lissy.
Oh yeah - before I forget: I was originally planning to do kind of a farewell/last time going out event on the 19th and 24th. I have to skip the 19th now. So - whoever has time on the 24th. I plan to go to Walker at night to enjoy my last beers before I start my journey on the 25th. Cheers

Sandro checking porn sites :-) - I was actually doing work :-)	Last meeting of the SAMOS Crew for the next year

US Preparations
19 days left. Unfortunately I wont be able to bring my bike to the United States. I had planned to bring it with me so that I dont have to buy one in Boston. Well - unfortunately - the plane from Linz to Munich is too small. It wont fit bulky luggage :-(. Maybe I will just ship it somehow else - but maybe I just really buy a used bike again - just as the last time.
Today I had to go to the US Embassy in Vienna. I had to go there in person to hand in my visa application. The office hours for my special kind of visa are from 1 to 2 PM. Was there shortly before 1. After waiting in line I handed in my papers. Unfortunately I had the wrong types of pictures (which was my mistake). The US have a special regulation about how passport pictures must look like. So I went to a photo shop to take new pictures. Back to the Embassy I was told to wait for my interview with the Consul. Long story short: The Consul already "left for the day". Which means that I have to go down there again to do my interview - and then later - hopefully before the 25th :-) - go down to Vienna again to actually pick up the VISA. But these are only small set-backs.
Stephan is trying hard to get me accustomed with my new life. He is updating me with US (especially Boston) sport activities: seems that the Red Sox can claim the first place again if they win against MIN tonight.
Remaining week activity: Salsa tonight - hopefully some outdoor soccer tomorrow - "First Farewell" with the SAMOS crew on wednesday.
Thats the update - stay tuned.

A day in Zurich
After 1.5 days in Neuchatel (I had to correct my previous entry - the german name is of course Neuburg) I took the train back to Zurich where I met Christina and her boyfriend Marcel. They both just recently moved to the city. They hosted me at their place. Well - my first impression about Zurich was really great. I hoped on the tram and took the ride to their appartment. Its a really nice town - very historic - very clean. It reminded me a bit of Salzburg - specially the old town with the small streets that are packed with bars, pubs and shops. It was a real coincident that they had a latin festival going on this weekend. So checked it out. Unfortunately there was not much salsa - well - there was music and also some places to dance - but it just was too crowded.
Today I was on my own. I explored the city - walked towards the lake, through the altstadt and took a small train to the top of one of the hills that surround Zurich.
I was a bit surprised about the prices here. Fortunately the euro is strong - but still - 9 swiss francs - which would be about 6 euros for a wheat beer is high price - but - it was good :-)
Now I am sitting in the business lounge at Zurich Airport - waiting for my flight back to Vienna and then back to Linz.
Here are some pictures

Lake Neuchantel from my hotel room window - in the morning before I left	One of the bars in the middle of the Latin Festival
That must be a shadowy balcony :-)	Caipirinha - sold it everywhere - even in the bus
Christina and Marcel - thanks again for hosting me	Caliente - the festival banner on one of the balconies
Meat circling the fire	Zurich from the top

Newcastel=Neuburg=Neuchatel
Yeah - its Neuchatel in Switerland where I am right now. Its a nice little town in the french part of switzerland. The trip to Neuchatel was good but not easy. Well - it would have been easy if I would not have been out all night on wednesday. Got to bed after 1 AM - and up again at 4:30 to drive to the airport to catch the flight to Vienna and then the flight to Zurich. On the train from Zurich to Neuchatel I met an "interesting" girl from greece.
"After business" I quickly checked out the city and then we went to dinner with the guys from BPA Solutions.
Now I am back in the hotel room - checking out the minibar. I've already eaten the nuts - currently working on the sweaties - the beer is probably the next thing :-)
Tomorrow night I am going back to Zurich. Will meet Christina in her new home.
Here are some pictures - cheers

Lake Neuchantel from my hotel room window	Drinking beer with the customer :-)
Boris and his girl friend	The harbor at night

Still havent found what I am looking for
There is a great version of this U2 song in a latin version - its great to dance salsa to songs from U2, Coldplay, ...
Well - its busy right now. Long days at the office - long nights at the dance floors. The next three days however will be different: GOING TO SWITZERLAND!
I am going on-site to a customer on thursday and friday. After that I am going to visit Christina and her boyfriend in Zurich. Will be fun to see her again - wondering how she is doing in a new city.
Which brings me to the next topic: BOSTON - 23 days to go :-).
The visa process is on its way. Will go to the US Embassy in Vienna on monday to do the paperwork. I hope that it then wont take longer than the remaining two weeks to actually issue the visa. Well - we will see.
Thats it. Time for food and drinks.

VIVA ESPANA
The Euro2008 ended with Spain as the European Soccer Champion. Its been a good game against Germany where it was really obvious that Spain deserved the title: VIVA ESPANA!!
The only problem that I have now is that I have to re-think my evening activities. It was a no-brainer for the past 3 weeks - soccer - soccer - soccer. But what am I supposed to do now? :-) Well - probably the other "spanish/latin" thing that I like a lot: SALSA!!
Enough about soccer. Instead of updating my website every day with a countdown to Boston I will post the link that Stephan sent me: Count to Nachos (as Stephan puts it).
Cheers