Daily update!!
There is not really much to say in these days. No soccer games for the past two days on tv - fortunatelly the games continue today - unfortunatelly I probably wont see any of them - neither will I see them tomorrow as we are invited by some friends and I am not sure if they are as enthusiastic about the soccer championship as I am - but we will see. Yesterdays Borland Soccer game was good - we try to play soccer on a regular basis - mondays and thursdays on the pleschingersee. Lots of running - lots of sweating - lots of fun - and - we are getting better with every time that we play.
Yesterday night - alex and i tried to grab a beer at a bar in linz where we could watch thunderstorms rolling over linz. Unfortunately the pub of our choice was packed with people that just rushed in from other places. So we went to Marcelli - to visit the other Alex (barkeeper). Thats pretty much it - well - tomorrow will be interesting. In the morning I am going to help Leo to buy his first computer - in the afternoon we (JVP Gallneukirchen) start our anual cleaning of the gusen river.
Well - thats it - cheers

One more update - just got tickets for STOMP - the perform in linz in october - yahoo!!!

Different things!!
Because of the AC in our office (at least I blame the AC for what comes now) - I feel like being on the edge of becoming ill - head and throat ache. Despite my worries about my physical health I am working on travel plans for me and my dad in october. We leave linz on the 21st of october - probably spend 2 days in boston - then 2 days in new york - then taking the plane to phoenix and from there with the car to las vegas, los angeles and up to san francisco where we head back to boston and then back to linz.
Of course there is also a word to the current soccer championship: Brasil won against Ghana - but not in a very impressive way - they did the minimum that they had to do and the guys from ghana wanted to do more but their capabilities didnt allow more. The swiss yesterday showed their neutral attitude and just didnt want to score a goal against ukraine - not even in the penality shoot out. And right now - its france vs. spain - the first 20 minutes are really promising - considering the past games. thats it - cheers

Regeneration Sunday!!
After yesterdays tournament we checked out the wine festival in linz biesenfeld. Well - you know how those things go if its a warm night where you can sit outside and if the wine is good :-). So - today was a good day to relax - fixed my bike as I had a flat tire - watched one of the most boring soccer games in that championship (england vs. ecuador) - then we went for another volleyballmatch - and now I am watching one of the most brutal games of the championship (portugal vs. netherlands). Thats it. The only thing to say about the upcomming week is that its going to be another hot summer week - unfortunatelly spending most of the time in the office instead of enjoying the nice weather :-(
And a last one: its only 9 days to my next Boston visit!! cheers

Volleyball Tournament
As every summer - we try to attend multiple sports tournaments. Today was Beach-Volley-Ball time in Altenberg bei Linz. We competed with two teams - Gallneukirchen 1 and Gallneukrichen 2. Each team containing 3 guys and one girl - so - overall we had 8 players - and actually - although we were competing for my home town - I was the only "official" person from Gallneukirchen :-)
Anyway - we played well - better than expected. Out of 15 teams my team ended in 8th - didis team ended in 6th. Here are some pictures.

Volleyball action in Didis team	More action
My team - Resl and Juergen on the ground - fighting till the end :-)	A cold and good tasting beer after the match

A quick update
Still excited from the events in Gelsenkirchen its been a long day in the office - but pretty productive - thanks to Heli whom I am thankfull for showing me some programming techniques.
At home I just tried to revitalise my two old computers that I've touched in years. I was surprised that I actually had linux running on one of them. Unfortunatelly the hard drives dont work very reliable anymore - therefore I couldnt boot the machines anymore - which is sad - as I've expected tons of old pictures on one of the hard drives - well - seems that some memories are lost.
Tomorrow we are going to play a beachvolleyball tournament. Hopefully we will be as successful as in the past soccer tournament - pictures will follow tomorrow.
Oh yeah - another nice surprise - michi romani - a former co-worker just called me - he become father the second time - congratulations!!!

A DIFFERENT FOOTBALL DIMENSION!!!
Its been an amazing time in Germany. Starting with the flight on wednesday morning - a shuttle service by t-mobile to the stadion - checking the hospitality area with free drinks and free food. Then checked the "Arena" - amazing!! Originally built for 61000 - for the championship games downsized to 52000 - still amazing. Its just a different dimension in football - compared to our austrian league. The stadion was mainly filled with mexicans who - although their team lost - always had a great mood and created a great atmosphere.
Well - after the game we spent two ours in the hospitality area - then we had the shuttle to the hotel in Essen where we just checked in and searched the first pub with a video wall to watch the remaining games of the day. And surprise surprise - we found a pub where they served Prinzregent Luitpold.
Today in the morning - after a complimentary breakfast - we had a very nice shuttle service (Audi A8) to the airport.
Here are some pics

Our VIP Pass to the hospitality area	The game ticket
The Arena auf Schalke - our seat was in Box 6 in the red sector	A view from our seats down into the arena - 2 hours the game of course
The two lucky boys who got those tickets!!!!	Mexicans everywhere!!
Team presentation and national anthems	One of the two goals from portugal - this one via a penalty kick
Cheering mexicans	A "real" VIP: Edi Finger
At the bar with a luitpold	The biggest soccer table I've ever seen

One day to go: Mexico vs. Portugal
Udo and I will spend the next two days in Gelsenkirchen - watching the game Portugal vs. Mexico live in Gelsenkirchen. Tomorrow morning - flight from Vienna to Duesseldorf. Then shuttle to the hotel - checking in - transfer to the stadion - watching the game in the VIP area of T-Mobile - transfer back to the hotel - hopefully an interesting night in Essen - then on thursday - transfer back to vienna. I will bring my camera so that I will hopefully get some good shots from the game. cheers

Poolparty to celebrate Juergens 10000th BirthDAY!!
Thats correct - Juergen is already 10000 days old!! As his birthday is in January - and January is not really a month where someone would start a poolparty - Juergen decided to celebrate a different event - and fortunatelly - his 10000 day in life was on a very hot summer day. The present that we had for him were beer kegs for his beertender - but with a special label - the linux penguin and the hex representation of the beer brand.
Some of you often tell me that I have a problem with my "gases" - well - there is a dedicated web-site for that: check out THIS!!

Waiting for the first beer	The boys in the pool
Juergen - planing the wood with the kitchen knife:-)	Pretty cool: one of the few pictures that I have from Alex that she actually likes :-)
Juergen with his presents	Anette - Flo and Sandro - waiting for the cook to get the meat ready

Viva La Mechico!!
That will be one of our songs that we will sing next wednesday when we watch the game Mexico vs. Portugal - live in Gelsenkirchen. It seems that the package that Didis wife won includes some cool specials. Yesterday we received the "Agenda" for the trip to Gelsenkirchen. Seems that we have the flight on wednesday morning from vienna - then we have a shuttle transfer to our hotel - check-in - then transfer to the stadion - we will be in the T-Mobile VIP area. After the match we have a shuttle back to the hotel - and the next morning we fly back to vienna. Udo and I will have to think about something really good in return for that present that we got from Sandra.
What else is there besides soccer right now? Well - its hot!! Finally the summer is here - and unfortunatelly for Alex - she cannot really take advantage of it - because she is a little bit ill. So I do my part and do whatever it takes to keep her in bed :-)
Thats it - cheers

Glory Glory Halleluia!!!!
Didi's wife - Sandra - participated in a game to win soccer championship tickets. Guess what? She won tickets for Portugal vs. Mexico next week. Now the problem is that they are fyling to Mallorca on friday for a week of vacation. Guess what? I got the tickets!!!!!!!
I am not sure how I can thank them - its amazing!!!!!! Good to have those friends!!!!!!
There are two tickets - so I take Udo with me. Details will follow - but it seems that its a nice package - including flights - yahoo!!!
Cheers ---- update ---- At night I had my first outdoor soccer championship experience. There is a videowall near my appartment on the O.K Arenaplatz. Yesterdays games were France vs. Swiss and Brasil vs. Crotia. The swiss game was interesting because Marcel (a collegue) is swiss - so we hoped to see a sensation against france. The Brazil game was supposed to be interesting - because of the brazilian team - unfortunatelly - the "soccer dancers" where not as good and agile as we hoped - but maybe because crotia was playing very well also. anyway - here are two pics

Several hundred fans watching the game on the videowall	Marcel - "a typical swiss"

Sunny Day!!
Its the first real sunny day since - well - since a long long time - at least two weeks or so. But it seems times are changing and summer is going to stay for a while. Yesterday night we had a small bachelor party for clemens - he is going to marry next week. We started in "Alte Welt" - finishing in Cheeese. Our hopes of a "real" bachlor party with a visit to a certain etablisement was not granted - but - at least we played some strip-table-soccer with some girls that obviously had fun with a group of 8 guys. As my camera was uncharged last night - after taking too many pictures at the soccer tournament - I had no chance to take any pictures - but at least I can now present those from yesterday. Here are some nice shots from the tournament.

Didi at a corner kick	Our two teams before the tournament
The ladies-team of the tournament - they knew how to celebrate their rare goals	Another nice kick from Didi
Preparation for the last match :-)	Corner action
Marco trying to get the ball from his opponent	The team after the tournament

Soccer!!!
Everything is about soccer right now. Yesterday the world cup started - hosted by germany - with a victory for the host team against costa rica. Today we played a soccer tournament - in Hellmonsoedt - and actually we did quite well. We ended in 3rd place with a total of 12 teams. Unfortunatelly I dont have my camera docking station here (left it in the office) - so I am not able to upload the latest pictures - but I will on monday.
Another exciting thing that is going on today - Alex is finally moving to her new appartment. As I've been playing games - she had to do the move on her own - well - not totally on her own - she had help from some of her friends. Thats it right now - I am just waiting for the next world cup match - sweden vs. trinidad/tobago - cheers

Stuff
Lot of things to do. Alex is still working on her appartment. She got her bathroom today. Now the only thing that is missing is the entry area and a table for the living room - then she is really ready to go.
I had my monthly roundtable in Gallneukirchen with the JVP where we organized the events for the next months - like: soccer tournament on saturday, a beach volleyball tournament in 2 weeks, cleaning of the gusen, ...
And also - after finishing "The DaVinci Code" I started with my next novel "The Kite Runner". cheers

The Kite-Runner	The DaVinci Code

BBQ @ Home!!
Here are some pictures from the BBQ Session that we had on monday. Herbert invited some friends to help him paint the Sauna Cabin - after that we had the BBQ.

Herbert - Chief of the Grill	Baby-Stork for Lisa
The backyard	Maximilian with his daddy

Assembling Furnitures!!
Today reminded me of "Home Improvements" - the show with Tim the Heimwerker King. We assemblied stuff for the living room - a couch - a closet - a bed and 3 lamps. Originally we thougth that - when starting at 9 AM we will definitly be finsihed by 5 or 6. Well - in the end it was 9 PM. But after the hard work it seems that Alex is getting a really nice appartment. Some finishing touches are still missing - as well as some smaller additions to her furniture - but right now everything looks good so that she can move in next saturday. Thats it - here are some pictures!

Alex - pretending she works :-)	IKEA instructions
Fixing the lamp in the kitchen	The finished piece in the living room
The bed	The closed in the bedroom
The couch	Some sunrays at night - rarely these days

Birthday Celebrations
As mentioned in the prev. entry - we had two birthdays to celebrate. First we started with Martin in the CoffeeShop. Had a couple of drinks there and tested his birthday present - a travel flat iron. We had trouble getting the steaming to work. When Alex and I went out to the Wuerstelstand on Taubenmarkt to have a Kafka - we were joined by Didi. After having a drink there we continued to the Remembar where Sandra and her girls already waited for us. On our way home I met Georg - a former colleague - was nice chatting with him again.

Didi and Sandra	Georg
Strange friends of Georg :-)

My First Time!! (I am talking about IKEA)
Nearly unbelievable - but with my 26 years its been the first time today that I had the "real" IKEA experience. Racing with big shopping carts in big halls - looking for numbers in rows and columns to pick 28 different packages that - when we finally assembly it - hopefully make a nice closet. But - IKEA was not the only new experience for me in the last two days. Clemens offered me a "Passion Fruit". It looks a bit strange - but it tastes really good. Besides that culinary experience - Alex and I checked out another new place yesterday night. Its called the "Stefan Stube". Really good austrian cuisine. Lets hope that - whenever Stephan is going to visit us - we will have the chance to bring Stephan to Stefan.
Tonight - friday - we will do some birthday celebrations. First its time to celebrate Martin (aka Mole) - then - after midnight - its time to celebrate Didi. Prost. bye

The Passion Fruit!!	High Society Meeting in our office :-)
Alex at Stefan's	Looking for the right numbers at IKEA
Me having fun with the shopping cart	28 packages on our pick-up truck