Mountains lofty...

Today I went to do the thing that's probably best in Austria: going for a hike. Passing the towns of Kirchdorf and Micheldorf, the tour started from a small car park, then some two hours walk up to the Alp Gradnalm and Mt. Pfannstein, then decending again to the small cabin at Sattelhalt, then going on to Mt. Schabenreitstein and finally back down to the car park. I think it was about seven hours altogether, including a restful stop and some shandy at the Alp Gradnalm... That's what I've been missing: mountains where you can hike around the whole day!

This is where the walk starts

...past the cows...

Gawd, these steep paths put your body back in shape!

A truly sound fauna...

...and flora...

...right up to the summit. Btw, summits on most Austrian mountains are marked by crosses like this one and they've also got a 'summit book' into which climbers who've reached the top can write short comments and messages...

Such a great view again! Impressive?

Impressive. And this can be found half an hour's drive away from my parents' house.

Fist impressions.

So, it's Sunday evening now and I've spent my first weekend back in Austria. Of course it had to be something traditional and there the gathering of lederhosen enthusiasts in the village of Windischgarsten was just the right place to go. So that's what my parents and I did on Saturday and today we went pedal boating on the Lake Stausee Klaus...

Lederhosen convention in Windischgarsten...

...where you can see down-to-earth people...

...listen to traditional Volksmusik...


...and get nutritious food like this ox roasted on a spit.


Hmmm....


Lederhosen only for blokes? Nah. Here's the 'Miss Lederhosen'!


Of course the beer's gotta flow...


Yes!


This weekend, in Windischgarsten there wasn't only the lederhosen convention but also the VW Beetle convention. Here I met Herbie - Number 53...


And on the way home we stopped for a walk around Lake Gleinkersee...

...saw cows...

...and horses...


...and a waterfall.


Today we went pedal boating on the Lake Stausee Klaus...


...where I had this grilled mackerel, a specialty that you can get around holiday resorts in Austria.


And in the evening we went to mass at the cloister church in the township of Kremsmuenster.


Afterwards we went for a stroll and came past the Kremsmuenster observatory...

...from where you have a nice view on the city. I found it was a pretty good weekend.

Praised be you, oh Austria!

On the occasion of my returning to the Austrian homeland, I decided that I want to publish an English version of my country's national anthem.
Despite my extensive research on the internet I didn't find one good translation of the Austrian national anthem. There are all kinds of translations but none of them are adapted to
1) rhyme, and
2) match the rhythm and melody of the original.
So I took it upon myself - here's the result: (I did have to be a bit liberal with the translation but after all - it should sound good rather than be a literal translation...)

The national anthem of Austria

(adapted version)

Mountains lofty, rivers streaming,

Acres fertile, spires gleaming,

Land of future promising.

Spawning people oh, so splendid,

Grace and goodliness well blended,

Praised be you, oh, Austria,

Praised be you, oh, Austria.

Furthermore, I've also done a Japanese version:

Yamakawa ni tomu kuni,

Hatake ya kyoukai muni,

Shourai ga akarui.

Kokumin ga aiso-yoku,

Bitoku wo tsundeoku.

Homeru yo, Austria,

Homeru yo, Austria.

And finally, as a little bonus, these unique translations can also be heard sung in my 'golden voice'... :p at this link: http://www.funender.com/music/bands/12385/

In the Land of Cows and Bells...

So, after finishing my road trip and returning my car I went to Austria on 26th July. And here I am, back at my parents' house. Somehow it feels a bit strange to be here, as if I was slightly out of place... everything feels so foreign here... but I'll get used to it again, I'm sure and it was really nice to see my family again.
The road trip was absolutely great, I'm so glad that I did everything the way I did it and I was able to collect a lot of good experiences and impressions!
At the moment I'm typing up and illustrating the travel diary I was writing during my road trip and I hope that I can upload it soon. I'm surely going to do that in the weekend or next week...

Voyage, voyage!

Tomorrow's the big day!
Around noon I'll be sitting in a coach bound for London from where I'll start my Britain round trip by car. Nottingham, Peak District, Birmingham, Stratford upon Avon, Bath, Stonehenge, Newquay/Torquay, Brighton, Canterbury, Cambridge. It certainly won't become boring a single minute!
Since I probably won't have internet access very often tho I will not update this until late July. So, until then and have a nice time!!

月見 - 月美。 Moon Beauty.

Well, now that I've got my new tripod, I went out on the night to Friday to find myself a nice little spot in Liverpool that's not too highly illuminated by the street lights to take a few shots of the almost full moon. Around two in the night I found it.
Now, what I really like about the moon is that no matter where in the world we are, we're all watching the same moon. And if the time difference isn't too great, even at the same time! It knows no differences and no prejudice. It's something that links us all, somehow, an actual, real thing that we can all share.
And it also gives me a great sense of continuity and stability - the moon was here eons before and it will remain there for generations to come...

Pretty o'er the city,
Sublime anytime,
To sorrow immune,
That is the moon.

GB is on holiday!

After having finished my last working day yesterday I'm now officially on holiday!
That leaves me with one more weekend in the Pool of Liver as on Monday I'll take the coach to London to rent a car from Sixt there. And then I'll be driving across Britain for eight days, yeah, and then non-stop to Austria!
So, how am I going to spend those few days that are left now? Hmm, lets see... maybe I'll go to the beach one more time tomorrow. Maybe I'll go for a long, nice walk. And then on Sunday, packing. Definitely packing.

My new tripod!

Yes! After having been missing in the post for a little more than 2 weeks (yes, that's the splendour of the British postal system for you...) I finally saw that parcel sitting in the reception - just in time for my trip around England!! And as it's absolutely light and handy (when folded, no longer than 40cm!!) I'm definitely going to take it along.
I've already tried it out, the camera fits perfectly, and so I'm looking forward to taking absolutely gorgeous nighttime-shots from now on. Just hope the skies will be clear tonight and I'll catch a glimpse of the moon...

The end of WC...

So, that's it with the world cup, over and done with...
After a thrilling final, a good French team in the second half, 30 minutes of extended time and a truly shocking intermezzo by Zidane, who headbutted an opponent, got sent off and thereby ended his carreer in disgrace, Italy decided the game in the penalty shoot out and took the trophy. So the results are:

1st - Italy
2nd - France
3rd - Germany

Not really overwhelming but still a satisfying result, I think...

Germany wins 3:1!!!

Germany beats Portugal with a fantastic 3:1 in a smashing match for the third place!
So, Germany's third! Well done!!

Immer wieder, immer wieder, immer wieder die deutsche Elf...

Southport Funk

Today, I went to the nice little seaside-resort town of Southport to check out the jazz festival that's going on there over the weekend. For four days, jazz bands are playing in various venues across the city centre, quite often with free admission. And it is kinda nice to have an open-air event of some sort going on for a change...
Most of the time I spent hanging out in front of the Southport Arts Centre, where there's a small park in the middle of which they'd set up a stage.
And as I then was cycling back home in the evening I stopped for a short break at the roadside and found this small patch of countryside. I actually found it quite appealing and went for a little stroll...

Vive la France!!!

Yes! France is in the World Cup final! The whole thing would have probably been an 0:0 --> extended time --> penalty shoot out - game again but luckily not this time.
The French team got a penalty in the 33rd minute which Zidane put in marvellously.
After that the game showed a few chances for both teams and Portugal came close to an equaliser a few time but it stayed 1:0 for the Frenchies.
What I really liked is that after the game both teams, winners and losers, knew how to behave - Zidane and Figo were shaking hands amicably and exchanged t-shirts. Only the Portuguese coach didn't seem to be able to control his temper...
So the final is Italy vs. France. Not my dream combination but not bad.
Vive les coqs!!

Well done, my brother in baldness! :-)

Fun with words - anagrams

Anagrams, the arbitrary rearrangement of character strings, can be pretty funny. Try the Anagram Server to find possible anagrams of your name or any other words you find interesting. You might well be surprised by the results!
Jamie, did you know that one of your possible anagrams is 'Jeanne Smoky'? Joel, you could be 'Jane Jocksol'. For Chris it comes up with 'Sean Chirpy' and Charlie seems to 'shag Gil Cartelle'. Who the heck is Gil Cartelle? A Frenchman?? lol.
I would be Brian Ramherd...
Try it out, it's fun!!

How's 'dis?

England's out

Yet another time a game's been decided on the twelve yard mark, in Portugal's favour.
The tragedy for England began as in the second half Beckham sustained an injury and couldn't play on and then ten minutes later Wayne Rooney was sent off. The only way for the decimated English team to go was to keep it 0:0 and play for the penalty shoot out which they did magnificently with the help of their eleventh man - the England fans who gave great support to their team.
But they didn't make it through the penalties, even though the Portuguese MISSED ENGLAND'S GOAL two times. And so my favourite team's out...