the eternal student

My trip to Austria

Finally a chance to report on my trip to Austria. I spent 12 days in Scharding, Austria for a business trip. I stayed at the Hotel Gugerbauer and had an incredible time of eating and drinking local fare. Europeans definitely know how to eat and drink in style. I missed the food, especially the meats, as soon as I came back to the States. I don't have to mention how good the beer was.
Europeans are of a heartier blood than Americans. They have to be with the dark cold winters. The Christmas markets in Salzburg and Passau were great fun. I picked up a perfect necklace for Lynn (ask her for a picture) in Passau.
I was also introduced to Gluhwein which is a warm spiced wine. A bit sweet for more than one -but it was great drinking them at the Christmas markets outside and socializing with the locals.
I was definitely ready to see Lynn and the boys after 12 days. I was pretty lonely the first few days in Austria as I really needed someone I knew to share it with. I'm glad I don't travel much on business trips. I was held up an extra day in Chicago on the way back and I thought I was going to go crazy. Alas, I made it back Sunday by flying standby. It's taken me about a week to adjust to being back. I was in kind of a bad funk, but cleaning the house and using my new snowshoes (thanks Lynn, Gerry and Cindy, and Dad and mom) helped bring me out. I think I'm hooked on snowshoeing- more on that later.

Enjoy the full set of Austria pictures on Flickr

Scharding and the Saturday market with yummy Austrian meats and breads

The River Inn right outside the Hotel Gugerbauer


A trip to Salzburg to see the Hohensalzburg Fortress

The Alps were definitely impressive. I happened to catch some reare sun peeking through the clouds here. This was taken from the top of the Hohensalzburg Fotress.

Snip Snip Time?

Having #4 on the way makes me think about having the old snippity snip. But I don't think it is quite time yet. I feel like some part of my manliness would be lost if I did it this young.

I'm in Austria now and about to head into town for dinner. I'm not sure how much sightseeing time I will have, so I'm enjoying every glimpse of Austria I get. Not knowing German right now is a big downer. 'Ich verstehe nicht ' and 'dunkles' is about all I know right now. They translate to 'I don't know' and 'dark beer". I think that should get me through most situations.

Maine-Chicago-Boise-Chicago-Austria

In 24 hours I will have been from Maine to Chicago to Boise back to Chicago and finally to Austria. I get 3 hours in Boise to make sure Lynn and the boys are okay before heading to Austria for 11 days. I will be in Scharding, Austria on business. Go ahead, be jealous.

Sledding in Maine

We've been in Maine since December 1st and were able to enjoy the first big snow storm! Here are the boys sledding with me on the street I grew up on. I spent hundreds of hours sledding on this hill.

Here is a video of the boys with their gret grandfather William Perkins.

And a video of Phineas just being himself.

Check out the Flickr pictures. http://www.flickr.com/photos/theeternalstudent/sets/72157603424493371/

Boys with Great Grampy Perkins on Duxbury Beach

Boys on the Duxbury Public Beach (Duxbury, Massachussetts) with their great grandfather William Perkins.