2009 is almost over - what will 2010 bring?
2009 was an amazing year with many highlights: * It started with New Year Celebration in Boston with my mum and sister visiting me in the states.
* The winter was cold, long and we got lots of snow.
* Leaving Cambridge was not easy - but our new house in Jamaica Plain and the great neighbourhood made it easy to call JP our new home.
* I had my first ski trips in the north east (thanks to Kathy, Brendan and Jessica).
* We had many salsa parties (both in clubs as well as private ones).
* I had several visitors this year from Austria showing them my 2nd home - hopefully I could give them a lasting impression of Boston and the States.
* I got to visit many cities in the states (New York, Seattle, San Francisco, LA, Las Vegas, Miami, ...)
* I was blessed with many friends on each side of the Atlantic that always welcomed me after my trips to either Europe or the US.
* I got to see live games of all major US sports: Baseball (Red Sox), Basketball (Celtics), Hockey (Bruins) and Football (Patriots).
* I lost a big love in my life - but got a friend in return
* I could enjoy Linz09 while I visited Linz in July
* Friends of mine got married or got kids.
* I turned 30 (yeah I know - I still look like early 20's)
* I got my US driving license (after 2 attempts and 6 weeks of waiting for the mail delivery)
* I got to see U2 and Coldplay in concert
* I was successful in my job - but the best of all - I LOVE IT :-)
* I consider myself lucky because I was given the opportunity to move to the US for the 2nd time in my life
2010 is on the doorstep - what will it bring? Well - we will see. It's up to us to make the best out of every day that we have. Walking with a smile increases the chances that the world smiles back to you. Being grateful for the things that we take for granted is a noble thing to do. Being humble is a good attitude even in situations where someone could admit that a job was well done.
Thanks again to all my friends out there - especially to Stephan who is the main contributor to my positive experiences in Boston. Thanks to my salsa friends in Boston and Linz who allow me to enjoy the latin rhythm and latin life. Thanks to my friends and family who supported me in my decision to go abroad.
Life is Good if you allow it to be good - here are some highlight pictures of 2009!

My Mum and Sister visiting me in Boston	Winter Wonderland in Boston
With Stephan in Florida	At an NBA Playoff Game in Boston Garden
Wine Tasting with Friends in Napa Valley	In Key West with Peter (aka Hutti)
Extending the Red Sox Nation to Linz :-)	Martin and Sonja getting married!!
Exploring Linz09 with Stephan	My 30th BDay - celebrating with Raj and Friends
With Alois at Sarah's Summer Camp in NH	U2 Concert in Boston
Stephan being interviewed by News Stations	My bike commute to work
With friends at the Christkindlmarkt in Linz	My salsa friends in Boston

Christmas and Gastein
Same procedure as every year - but - it is a good procedure :-)
Christmas with the family is definitely THE highlight of my visit. Christmas Eve is the highlight for the kids because thats when we give our presents. From the pictures below you can see that I finally have a successor when it comes to playing an instrument throughout the festivities - Maximilian started playing the Akkordeon.
The 25th was really relaxing. I spent the day with my parents - eating - drinking - playing cards - going to the sauna and the whirlpool.
The 26th also happens to be my dad's birthday - we wont reveal his age here :-). The day was again filled with food, drinks and birthday songs. At night I went out to check out the latest Woody Allen movie - Whatever Works - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
On the 27th it was time to drive to Dorfgastein where Sandro, Lisi, Juergen, Barbara and Mathias already waited for me. Unfortunately I got some bad news on the 26th - Mathias had an accident that brought him into the hospital. My first stop therefore was a visit in Schwarzach - fortunately it turned out that the initial diagnosis was wrong and that his back pain was "only" caused by a bad bruise.
Skiing was great - there was enough snow (not too much - but enough) and the weather was perfect.
Now I am back in Linz - getting ready for another Salsa night at Remembar. Cheers

Maximilian and my dad playing the Akkordeon	Extending the Red Sox Nation :-)
One of the valleys in the Gastein region	Sandro and I on the slopes
Crossing Cultures - Red Sox and German Wheat Beer	Enjoying the time in the Skihut
Schnaps after the meal is part of the austrian culture :-)	The view from Sandro's apartment in Dorfgastein - Good Morning

Skiing in Hinterstoder
Same as last year - Didi and I drove to Hinterstoder for a day on the slopes. The weather forcast was not that great. After a week of freezing temperatures we had to deal with temperatures above freezing and some rain. Fortunately the ski resort made enough snow in the last couple of days to make skiing possible. The rain stopped in the late morning - the sun came out but was soon covered by fog. Even though the conditions were not really good we enjoyed skiing until 3 with a "short" lunch break.
Now its time to get ready for the pubs. The 23rd is the day were many people take the chance to get a final Punsch or Gluehmost at the Christmasmarkets which close tomorrow. After they close at 8PM the pubs get stormed by those that either want to get another drink or to meet people that you havent seen in a while. That's my motivation - going to Walker on the 23rd allows me to meet many of my friends.
Cheers

Mr. Cool - skiing with an open jacket	Pretending to be Herman Maier
Yes - there was sun today :-)	A Donout for desert
And a beer as 2nd desert (the Donout was just too sweet)	Less than perfect conditions - but it was fun

First week in Linz was busy
Its been a busy week here in Linz. Long days in the office - and long evenings with friends -> short nights :-)
Salsa on monday in Remembar was great - danced the night away till 1AM. Dinner at Irene's place on tuesday - thanks for cooking - it was delicious. Dinner at Alois's place on wednesday - first time for me in his new appartment - it was great to catch up with things besides work. Going out with colleagues thursday - explored a new bar in Linz. Dinner with Didi and his family on friday - thanks for the delayed birthday present (check out the pics below). Visiting Stefan (aka Unti) and Stefan (aka Stoni) on saturday - spending some time playing Lego with Unti's sun Paul. Checked out the tr&b soul music concert in Remembar in the late afternoon and met with Martin (aka Mole). Explored Mole's new appartment (awesome location and amazing space) - met my sister in Walker - and then back to Remembar for a good night drink.
So - its been quite busy - but in a good way. 2 more days in the office are waiting for me before I start my christmas vacation. Unfortunately the weather (its been cold and snowy here in the last week) is going to change to warm temperatures and maybe some rain. I hoped to do some skiing on the 23rd - well - we will see.
Here are some pictures from last week. Cheers

Officially 30 now :-)	Both of us
Stelze and Beer with Didi	Paul - on the floor playing Lego
And Paul playing with my camera -> great shot	Linzer Hauptplatz in the Winter Time
Ars Electronica Center and ...	the famous (infamous) Linzer Eye

Same Old Stuff = Good Old Stuff - back in Linz for the next 4 weeks
Seems that I haven't had time to update my website for a whole week :-(
Well - here are the quick facts: For those that try to find me in Boston - sorry - need to wait till January 9th. For those that try to find me in Linz - good news - I am around for the next 4 weeks.
Its been a busy week in Boston before I hoped on the plane to Linz on friday night. Fortunately I got some sleep on the plane to Munich - so I wasnt as tired as I thought.
We established sort of a routine of my first day in Linz. Juergen, Babsi and Sandro picked me up. Thanks to Juergen and Babsi who gave me my car back so that I have a way to get around while I am here in Linz. From the Airport we made a quick trip over to Sandro's new place (awesome!!). Then it was time to get exposed to "austrian customs" - Christkindlmarkt with Gluehwein and Gluehmost. Temperature wise the winter finally arrived in Austria. It was around freezing with light snow showers. After 3 or 4 drinks we changed location and went to Walker to warm up with a (or 3) good old wheat beers.
The night was then filled with a great XMAS Party of our local Salsa Club. Starting at 9 we danced through the night until 3:30 AM - thats when they closed the place. It's been great - seeing all people again - and doing what I enjoy the most: salsa dancing :-)
Then today - sunday - same old story as always: After getting up late (I blame it on the jetlag - thats always easy to do :-)) I drove to my parents where my mum and dad were already waiting with a delicious lunch - yummie. Following that we checked out the Christmasmarket in Gallneukirchen and listened to a concert by the Gallus Singers - 3 of my nieces sang in the choir.
In the evening it was then time to see more old friends at Klemens and Gabi's new house - another amazing new home.
Its been intensive 30 hours since I am back in Linz. The next couple of weeks will probably go on in that pace. Looking forward to see my colleagues in the office - more friends and family - more salsa - and hopefully some skiing.
Cheers and Greetings back to Boston

With Sandro and Juergen at the Christkindlmarkt in Linz	Enjoying Austrian Customs - Gluehwein and Gluehmost
Warming up our toes at Walkers	3 of my nieces performing with the Gallus Singers

First Snow in Boston
Boy - what a week - in terms of the weather. We had record high temperatures during the week with almost +20C on thursday. I took the bike to work twice this week - it was just fabulous. There is enough light at 6:30AM to get out of the house. The bike ride brings me through Boston (where it is usually the warmest) - then over the Charles bridge through Cambridge all the way up to Alewife where I hop on the Minuteman biketrail that brings me out to Lexington. The temperature difference is quite impressive along the route. It has been +8C in Boston on friday morning when I left the house - but it was barely above freezing out there in Arlington.
The warm weather is gone now. It started with cooler temperatures yesterday morning - rain came in at nooon which turned into snow in the early evening hours. The snowfall got stronger at night and covered Boston with about an inch or two.
As for today in the morning - well - no need to spend words on describing how our neighborhood looks like right now - check out the pictures below.
Whats coming up: my last 5 days in Boston before I start my trip to Austria on friday night. It will be filled with a little bit of salsa dancing and our company's christmas party.
Enjoy the winter pictures - cheers

Snow picture #1	Snow picture #2
Snow picture #3	Snow picture #4

Thanksgiving Weekend
Last weekend was thanksgiving weekend - 4 days of turkey, salsa dancing and assembling IKEA furnitures. Thanks to Monique for the Thanksgiving dinner, Ivan for the brunch on saturday, IKEA for making it fun to assemble furnitures :-)
Here are some pictures

Bobby is getting her hands on the turkey	Dancing off the food after dinner
Traditional Thanksgiving dinner	Sorry Monique - the picture would have been nice without me being in there :-)
With Inanc at the Tavern after Havana	The salsa ladies joined us at the Tavern