At the Celtics vs. 76ers game
Its been a week of sports for me. On sunday I went to see the NFL Game of our local New England Patriots. Last night I went to see to The Garden to see our local NBA Team - the Boston Celtics. We had great seats and enjoyed a great game that ended with a close win of the Celtics. Find the pictures below.
Today is Thanks Giving - one of the biggest holidays here in the US. Its going to be a nice 4 day weekend with probably lots of turkey, drinks and salsa dancing :-)
Cheers

The TD Banknorth Garden	Thanks again Kathy for bringing me to two games this week
Kevin Garnett scoring	We made it all the way up to Garden Level noise
Basketball in action	The last 3.3 seconds took about 15 minutes to play

Patriots on Sunday, Celtics Tomorrow, Turkey on Thursday
I went to my first New England Patriots game last sunday. The game started at 4 - but the tailgating already at 1. So - for those of you who dont know what I mean with tailgating. Basically people get to the game a couple of hours before the game actually starts. They bring food and drinks and heat up the grill in the parking lot. This goes on till the game starts. The stadium fits more than 60000 - and I believe that the majority is actually doing some tailgating -> A LOT OF PEOPLE getting drunk in the parking lot :-)
The game was great. We found a perfect spot - all the way on the top of the stadium where we watched the Pats win against the Jets. Thanks to Kathy for the tickets - it was a great experience.
Fortunately for me - having a colleague like Kathy not only brings me to the Patriots game but also to another Celtics game tomorrow night :-) -> thanks again!!. It will be my 2nd NBA game. I really enjoyed the Celtics Playoff game last season.
Well - and then there is Thanks Giving coming up. Its a big big holiday here in the US. Looking forward to a 4 days weekend and a lot of turkey :-)
Thats it - here are some pictures from the Pats Game. Cheers

People leaving their beer cans on the way into the stadium	Its going to be a Touch Down!!
Amazing View of an amazing stadium	As you can see - it was cold up there. Thanks Kathy for the tickets

Sightseeing in Boston with Stefan (aka Unti)
Its been a great weekend with Stefan in town. Some sightseeing on friday night followed by dinner. More sightseeing on saturday along my "customized" Freedom Trail Tour :-)
Now we are getting ready for brunch at Christophers (havent been there for a while). After brunch it is time to say good bye to Stefan and Go Pats Go to the Patriots. Going to see my first live Patriots game :-) Here are some pictures of yesterdays sight seeing tour. Pictures from the Pats Game to follow.

Along the Freedom Trail in Boston	Stefan doing some XMas Shopping
Little Santa on a Christmas Tree	Frog Pond in Boston Common has been transformed into the Ice Rink
Boston at Night from the Cambridge Side	In the Harvard Area

My morning commute to work on my bike
Today I had to take out the camera on my way to work. Took off at 6:30 and made my way from Jamaica Plain to Lexington crossing through Boston - over the Mass Ave Bridge to Cambridge along Hampshire Street to Porter Square - to Alewife and then along the Minute Man Bike Way to Lexington to 95 Hayden Avenue.
I took several pictures on the way because it is a beautiful ride (just a little bit chilly). The first picture is a leftover from last weekend. I mentioned that we (Thomas, Kathy and I) went to the East African Restaurant at Central Square - awesome food.
Cheers

Kathy waiting to get her hands on the food :-)	Spy Pond in Arlington - along the Minute Man Bike Way
Crossing through Arlington Center	My favorite - beautiful scenery with the morning sun
Thats how happy I start my day :-)	27 km/h - not too fast - but fast enough
Probably one of the reasons why I end up having so many flat tires

Marathons - but not the running type :-)
Boy boy - it feels like a marathon which is yet not over. I don't even remember when I passed my road test to get my US Drivers license. I know I've blogged about it so I could look it up - but it must have been something like 6 weeks ago. Well - after 3 weeks I called the Department of Motor Vehicles where my ID is because they were supposed to mail it to my (to be precise - to the P.O Box we have here in JP). It turned out that Post Office screwed up - forgot to put my name on the P.O Box and therefore returned the ID. Well - sad but no big deal. I told them to send it to my home address. We had problems before getting mail -> thats why we got the P.O Box. But I thought it will be alright this time. Well - 3 weeks later I am still here without my license. Called the DMV again and they told me that the mail got returned again - damn it. It seems its hard to send me mail that actually makes it to my mailbox :-( I know told them to just send it to the local Registry Office and I pick it up there. So - if everything works out I should have my license this friday (lets keep the fingers crossed).
This is one kind of a marathon. Another one was a movie marathon I had this weekend. It started with 2012 on saturday followed by The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Boat that Rocked (aka Pirate Radio) on sunday. I had too high expections of George Clooney in the Men Who Stare at Goats - it was good - but not as good as I hoped. 2012 was interesting but a bit too long. Pirate Radio was AMAZING - great music - great story - based on the real events that happened in the late 60s in the UK.
The last marathon is not a real marathon but at least it is about the same length as a marathon. It is my daily commute to work on my bike. I am happy that I have not had any flat tire in the last 4 weeks - AWESOME :-). Due to the time change 2 weeks ago its nice riding the bike in the morning it is bright enough at 6:30 to hop on the bike. At night its a bit challenging though - it gets dark too early. I need to memorize all these pot holes on the road - which can be a challenge because there are so many of them.
Well - thats my story for today. Time for Charlie Harper in 2 and 1/2 Men. cheers

From Austria - To Boston - To New York
Another week is over - and - its been almost a week since since we had our visit to the emergency room. Seems that Stephan can finally leave his "all inclusive" hospital room and is ready to come home today in the afternoon.
We also have 2 additional austrians in town this week. Thomas a colleague of mine - and Ardy's sister. Some sightseeing has already been done - some more is still on the program.
And - yeah - I made it to New York this week. Took the Acela Express Train from Boston to New Yor Penn Station - it is soo much more convenient than flying. Besides working - thats what I was down in the city for - I had the chance to check out the Salsa scene and had time to catch up with my friend David who lives in the city.
Its been a good week that started with unusual warm temperatures and sunshine - now its pouring rain and a bit colder.
The only not so cool thing that happened this week (or basically that did not happen) - is that I am still waiting for my drivers license. Its been 6 weeks now that I am waiting for the license to be mailed to me. The first time I let it send to our P.O Box - they returned the mail because they forgot to put my name on the box. Now it seems that delivering it to our home address also failed - its a little bit annoying.
Well - thats it. This week - another friend from Linz is coming to town. Stefan (aka Unti) - looking forward to catch up with him and to show him why I like the City of Boston so much.
Cheers

Its not carneval - but we had to wear masks when visiting Stephan	Salsa at the Retreat Lounge in NYC
Salsa Show Performance	Ardy, Thomas, Kathy and I at the Tavern in Central Square

Indian Summer in Boston - and - sick people all around
What a great weekend - in terms of the weather. Its been up to 18 degrees and sunshine today - another day like that is waiting for us tomorrow. What a change to the first snow we had two weeks ago :-). I took the chance to walk through Cambridge and Boston - along the Charles - to take some picture of this beautiful scenery that we have here in Boston right now.
These weather patterns (warm and cold and then warm again) are usually a good ground for colds and the flu. So many people seem to be sick these days - and not just the all so famous "you know how it is called" flu. I have been sick for almost 3 weeks but I kind of dragged my body through it without really taking the time to relax and let my body recover. Finally - after 3 weeks all seems to be good again. At least for me. Stephan - the poor guy - probably got the stuff that I had and is now suffering big time. His pain was that bad that we had to make it to the emergency room this morning. 5 hours later the doctors decided to keep him there for a couple of days. So - not only is he sick - but he also misses this great Indian Summer that we have right now. Well - all the best Stephan - lets hope the pain goes away and your lungs recover fast.
Here are some pictures from this weekend. Looking forward to New York this wednesday night till friday morning. Cheers

From Mass Ave Bridge on the Cambridge Side to Boston	Mass Ave Bridge from the Boston Side to Cambridge
On the Boston Esplanade	Sailing boats on the Charles in front of MIT
On the Boston Esplanade	On the Boston Esplanade
On the Boston Esplanade	On the Boston Esplanade

A bit sick - still waiting for my drivers license
5 weeks ago I proudly announced that the times of my pink paper austrian drivers license are over because I succeeded in my us drivers license tests. Well - 5 weeks later I am still waiting for the license. Thanks to our Post Office that rejected mail sent to our P.O Box under my name the licenses was sent back to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Called them last week when they told me that the license got sent back. Well - now it takes another 7-10 business days to mail it to me - this time directly to our home address and not to the P.O Box (which we put in place because we had problems with mail deliver to our home address - but thats a different story). Anyway - still waiting - hopefully I get it next week because I am tired of carrying my passport around.
Well - its been a busy week. Lots of work - and lots of fighting my cold that I keep dragging around for more than 3 weeks now. Lets hope I find some time to really sit back - relax and finally get rid of it.
Whats coming up? Another colleague from austria is coming to town tomorrow night - so its sight-seeing time on sunday. 2 days in New York are waiting for me next week - looking forward to that too - havent been down in the big city for a while.
Well - thats it. No pictures this time - bye bye