Sylvesterlauf
Its been an interesting year with many changes and challenges - with ups and downs - laughs and tears - and many many beers :-)
Before I celebrate the last day of 2007 I attended the anual Sylvesterlauf here in Linz. I've been accompanied by colleagues (Hubbo, Didi and Melanie) and friends (Resl and Sonja). Still waiting for the final result on Pentek Timing. Its been a 6k run. Unfortunately I didnt wear a watch nor did I see the official time when I crossed the finish line. I just hope that I had a time under 30 minutes.
I dont yet have a real plan for tonight - I will probably check out the Linzer Altstadt - I've never been part of the Sylvester Party on Hauptplatz before.
Well - I will update the page tomorrow. Hopefully with the final time of my run plus some pictures of tonight. Cheers and I wish you all a great start into 2008
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| LTR: Resl, Sonja, Me, Didi, Melanie, Hubbo | Some runners were dressed in funny costumes |
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| The first line of runners - just before the start | Action picture: running on the Landstrasse |
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| Hop Hop - final meters for Didi and Melanie | Hop Hop - final meters for Resl and Sonja |
70:30
I met with Udo (Mr. Prinzregent) tonight. He is probably the only one that knows what the headline of this entry means :-)
Its been a fun night tonight in the Rox Musicbar. There are some amoung us (e.g.: Mole) that dont really like to go into that Bar - but others - like myself - really enjoy that etablisement. After Udo and Sylvia left the bar I went to Remembar - well - its my usual way home. Had two "Saure Radler" (others call it a "Gwasserts Bier"). I met Boni and Phillip who also tried to enjoy the scene there.
Personally I decided that the scene at Remembar is not really the scene any more that I used to enjoy. Probably because I just got older :-)
Well - here are some pictures. Cheers
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| Udo - "touching" the beer | Udo - "tasting" the beer |
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| Looks like a lovely couple :-) | Silvia and myself |
Meeting Friends
Tonight we had a reunion meeting of our Bachelor Course that I attended from 2002 to 2004. Once a year we try to meet each other again - today we managed to meet in Josef's. After that I went out for Salsa. Its been the Pre-Sylvester Party in Maestro. Tomorrow is also already fully planned: Visiting Leo - then going out with Udo to the Rox Musicbar. Well - thats it - cheers
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| My new Caipirinha Creation | All Bachelors :-) |
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| SAMOS!!! | Birgit and a sweaty Andi |
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| Sonja and Martin enjoying their dance | Lisa and Lilly |
Final Christmas Day
Its been 3 days straight filled with celebrations. We concluded this ralley with the birthday celebration of my dad - he turned 64 - happy birthday!!
Tonight we (my sister and I) went out to Schlag for their annual Veteranentreffen. People that used to go out to that pub in the last 25 years were asked for a night of celebration. I've only been there once or twice before but I saw many familiar faces. Thats it for today.
The plan for the next days:
* Wellness on thursday
* Salsa on friday
* Visiting Leo on saturday
* Visiting Didi on sunday
Cheers
Christmas with the Family
Its the one event that I am always looking forward to: christmas eve with the family. Its become a tradition that my mum and I decorate the tree while my brother and his wife try to keep the 4 kids busy till its time to give the presents. Around 5 to 6 PM we usually have our dinner - followed by some christmas songs. Thats the time when I come up with a great excuse to leave the room (e.g.: I have to pee) in order to lit the candles on the tree. When I am back I tell the kids that I think the "Christkind" was here. Seeing their eyes glowing is probably one of the most fascinating things about christmas. A couple of more songs later - this time round the christmas tree - the kinds are finally allowed to check out their presents.
The excitement about the presents stays for while - well - till they need to go to bed. Then excitement switches with screams and tears - "I DONT WANT TO GO TO BED NOW" :-)
After this scene is over its finally time to enjoy the evening with my parents. Our plan was to go to Mass - but - well - 3 bottles of wine later we decided its better to go to bed as we've missed mass anyway :-)
Today was relaxing. First Breakfast, then Church (to salve our conscience) followed by several sessions in the Sauna - concluded with food. Now its time to enjoy the evening. Tomorrow is going to be the next day to celebrate - its the 64th birthday of my dad. Here are some pictures. cheers
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| Waiting for the "Christkind" | Our tree - not as tall as the prev. years - but still big enough for all the presents to fit underneath it |
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| Lisa's job was to blow the candles | Lisa with her present |
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| Vanessa with her new toys | Raffael with his new game console |
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| Maximilian with his new toys | Lisa - becoming part of the tree decoration |
A night in Walker
Its been another night December 23rd in Walker. Its been more quite than usual - but its been fun. Met a lot of new people and I wish them all a great holiday and a happy new year. Here are some pictures of tonight. Cheers
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| Resl and Sonja with their great XMAS Hats | Me with the hat |
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| "Hat Battle" | Barbara and Juergen |
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| Me and my new friend :-) - thanks for the talking | Alex in Remembar |
A night in Exxtrablatt
Its been the last shopping saturday before christmas. Fortunately for me - I had no presents left to buy. But I was wondering how people stress themselves through the overcrowded shops and shoppings streets in Linz. So I went out in the afternoon - lingering through the shops - checking out the scene. It was interesting - watching the long queues at the cash register. I was happy that I didnt had to wait in line :-)
Later in the afternoon/evening we went to the christmasmarket on hauptplatz for some punsch. After that we went to the Exxtrablatt for a Burger and a couple of beers.
On sunday - 23rd - we will traditionally go out at night - starting again at the christmas market - followed by visit to Walker. Cheers
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| Wheatbeer selection for Sylvia | Philipp and Boni |
Christmas Party
Its been the last week of work before the christmas vacation. On wednesday we had our company xmas party in kirchschlag. We started with Eisstockschiessen - followed by a session in the Sauna - then we had food and drinks till the early morning hours.
Now its friday - just came back from the last soccer game before christmas. I am probably going to do some salsa dancing tonight as there wont be any salsa on the next two mondays. Well - there is really nothing more to say. I am looking forward to the next 2 weeks - will be relaxing - and I hope to find some time to think about a very important decision. Cheers
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| Eisstockbahn in Kirchschlag | Lexx. His first time on the ice - very gracious |
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| Soup with Shrimps | Martin (aka Hilli) came directly from a customer visit - therefore the tie |
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| We played several rounds of "Nageln" | Joachim (our German guy) and me |
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| Marcel (our Swiss-guy) and me | Great view down to Linz on the next morning |
Rumors
Rumors are interesting. Its interesting how fast they spread - and its even more interesting if they reach the person that the rumor is about. Today I heard an interesting rumor about my person - I wish the rumor would be true :-)
Just came back from Salsa. It was a long evening. It started at 7 PM already. Met "Frau Josef" (thats an insider :-) ) - had a couple of drinks and joined the salsa dancing lessons with her. After that it was a great dancing night till 1:30 AM. I had my ups-and-downs tonight. The down caused by the mistake of not having eaten very much today. This - combined with some saure-radler - caused my body to weaken a bit around midnight. But I fought through those hard times :-)
Thats it - its time to go to bed now. Cheers
Another Weekend Resumee
Its sunday night. Its been a busy weekend. Overal I spent about 15 hours at the christmas market - preparing and selling punsch. It was fun - but its good that it is over - it was a long time in the cold.
Sunday afternoon/evening was relaxing. I watched Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. As a Salsa and Dance Fan I enjoyed that movie a lot - even though the movie has many scenes that reminded me of the first Dirty Dancing movie.
That was the weekend. The next week is the last week before my christmas vacation. Salsa on Monday, Company XMas Party on Wednesday and probably some more visits to the local XMAS Markets till they close on sunday. Cheers
Christmas Market
Its been a long day at the christmas market. We started early in the morning. Didi and I had to do some final shopping for our punsch that we wanted to sell at the christmas market in gallneukirchen. We finally started at noon till 7 or 8 PM. I had to leave a bit earlier as I had to attend a special meeting :-) - sailing meeting for our upcoming sailing trips next year.
Well - I am tired. I have to get up at 7 tomorrow - another day at the christmas market - selling punsch. Therefore I end this entry with a couple of pictures.
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| Getting our sales booth ready | Getting our punsch ready :-) |
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| More punsch | Bratwuerstl for Lunch |
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| Our group from left to right: didi, sabine, andrea, myself | Didi and his princess |
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| Christian and Andreas in duty | At night: Ouzo for our sailing meeting - SAMOS!!! |
My First Time: Running Sushi
I've been on business travel in Vienna today. The original plan was to stay for two days. But as we finished all of our tasks in one day I took a late train back home. Before getting home I met Sylvia for dinner. She would have hosted me tonight in case I would have stayed in Vienna for a second day. We went out for Running Sushi - its been my first time enjoying that kind of "culinary art" - it was pretty good.
Well - thats it. Just finished working through my 70 unread mails of the past 12 hours - now its time to go to bed. cheers
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| I caught some food - although it was running :-) | Here it comes- more food |
Weekend Resumee
Its monday - well - right now its already tuesday. Just came back from Salsa - earlier than I intended. Unfortunately - DJ Antonio de Cuba sometimes has the bad habbit of playin too many reggaeton songs. He usually plays 4 or 5 shorty before midnight but then gets back to Salsa - but not today - he just continued playin those songs - this made me leave a bit earlier.
Anyway - weekend resumee: Exhausting but also very relaxing. I spent yesterday afternoon in the Wellness area of Hummelhofbad - I can definitely recommend it. After that we (of course I was not alone all the time) had some food and drinks in my local Irish Pub before I finally went to bed and had a good night sleep.
That was the weekend - now I am facing a new week. Monday is already over. On tuesday - Didi, his family and I are goint to see Michael Niavarani - will be lots of fun. Wednesday and thursday are travel days - not too far this time - "just" Vienna - visiting a customer. Well - and then its friday - no plan for that day. Thats it - cheers
The Day After
Its the day after the show - and the day after the salsa christmas party. Both events were amazing. I already spend some words on the show - so I am going to spend some words on the party now. I went to the party at 10PM - left at 4AM. I spend the 6 hours mostly with dancing with the following result: 2nd place in a salsa competition, 2 sweat-soaked shirts, 2 sweat-soaked towels, 2 sore legs, 1 sore body :-)
I stoped counting the number of girls that I danced with - but I think there were many - almost too many - well - not really - there can never be too many :-)
Here are two pictures. Unfortunately I thought too late of my camera - therefore there is not more to see. Cheers
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| SAMOS!!! - Thats an insider :-) | "Flasche leer" - famous quote from a star coach - perfectly fits to that pictures |
Dance Show
Just came home frome the dance show. Its been a great success. Because we've been pretty nervous - not everything went as smooth as we hoped - but in the end we got applause - thats all what counts :-)
Now its time for more salsa - the christmas salsa party starts in 5 minutes - bye bye
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| One of our new moves | Lilly and me - just before we danced our show |
Happy Nikolaus Day
Nikolaus Day. I used to get presents when I was a small child. Nowadays I dont get any presents anymore :-(
The update for today is that I left office after lunch because we were supposed to have our final run for our show on saturday. Well - it turned out to be a little bit different. The only thing we did today was to figure out which light we need on the stage for our 3 minute performance. The whole thing took about 2 minutes. We spent the rest of the 2 hours with waiting because we hoped we can at least dance the performance once - with no luck :-
After that I met with a friend at the Waermepool - had some cups of Punsch and Gluehwein. Now its time to watch soccer - Austria Vienna vs. some club from Athens. Cheers
A-Typical Week
Not sure if I got the word game correctly with the subject of this entry. But basically this week is as typical as any other - on the other side its a-typical because of the upcoming salsa show on saturday. What does that mean? Monday night salsa - of course. Round table meeting on tuesday night in Gallneukirchen - that also happens regularly. Wednesday, thursday and saturday however will be special.
Practice session on wednesday night, first practice session on saturday's stage this thursday, final practicing on saturday afternoon - and then we will have the show on saturday night.
Besides that I can tell you that these days are pretty interesting and lots of positive things happened - yeah!!. Well - thats it. Keep you posted
Sunday morning
Sunday morning started at 6:45 - had to deliver the mistletoe's. After that I was invited for breakfast by my sister. She lives in Alberndorf - a small village in the Muehlviertel. The town had a XMAS Market this weekend - with a special offer for kids - they could bake their own cookies.
At noon time - all of Austria (well - at least those that are into football) - followed the group drawing for the Euro 2008. The result: Austria is going to play Germany, Poland and Croatia - will be interesting.
Now its time for some rest and then I hope to be motivated enough to do some sport. Thats it - cheers
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| Julia playin in the remnants of last weeks snow falls | My sister and me - enjoying some gluehmost |
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| Verena working on her cookies |
Dancing and Mistle-Toeing
Its been a great dancing night on friday on the new Kristallschiff. Besides our dancing - "dancing stars" showed what real dancing looks like.
After a short night I had to get up early for our mistle toe mission. Although we have only been 3 guys we managed the work in about 2 hours. Tomorrow morning is delivery time - 7AM at the XMAS Market in Gallneukirchen - that means - it will be another short night tonight.
Thats it - here are some impressions from the ball and the mistle-toeing. cheers
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| Didi and his companion served punsch before the ball officially started | The Kristallschiff at night |
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| Hungry lovers :-) | Disgusting - isnt it :-) |
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| The dancefloor - picture taken from the 2nd floor | I took the chance to dance with Didi's wife |
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| Didi's show performance: Mambo/Salsa and Boogie | Our group at the end of the ball |
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| Didi in the trees - looking for mistletoe's | Finished: a pickup full of mistletoe's |