Drop it like it's hot !

Ok, so I think I was somewhere in Slovenija the last time I was here, maybe complaining about the lack of snow. Not that +10 - +15 degree temperatures were an awful problem, only an issue when it came to the creation of snow or lack there of. So to try and make up for the lack of the white Glass and I did a three meals in three countries drive, breakfast in Slovenija, lunch in Austria and dinner in Hungary. I understand that when you're in Europe an accomplishment of this sort is nothing to write home about but I still enjoyed getting a few stamps on my passport, as well as getting told off by the Hungarian border police for taking photos. Tsk, tsk, they should really get over themselves, there's no secrets in Hungary that are worth keeping. I also managed to have a disgustingly bad goulash soup near a town called 'Ispank'. There's so much wrong with that last line that I don't feel the need to add to it.

The way they like it in Hungary !

After a week of being bombarded with food, alcohol and the Slovenijan way of hospitality I was back on the train heading north to my grandfather's hometown. By the way, do you know how hard it's becoming for me to try and pick up an Austrian passport !!? Running my argument on the doctrine of jus sanguinis (proof by descent) obviously doesn't mean a great deal to the Austrians even though both of my grandfathers were born in Austria and never renounced their citizenship. I've got a feeling that this is going to be a battle royale ! Now, I probably have a better chance of obtaining an EU passport via my Croatian heritage but F*** !!!!!!! Who the hell wants to be Croatian !!!!!!!!!! The only real alternative is to get a Serbian passport and wait for their accession to the EU, which by most recent reports will take anywhere from 5-10 years.

So back in Vienna and it was starting to feel a little like my parents place, a destination you visit in order to get somewhere else. I think next time I get to Europe, (For the European Championships in '08), I'll stay in Vienna for a lot longer. .I did however manage to find an Australian pub right near the Sacher Hotel where I left a little note on the downstairs bar for any future visitors. I also managed to drop a few Euro's too many at the casino playing a bit of roulette. Now the cool thing about the casino in Vienna is that it's very 'old school', cigar smoking, cognac drinking, James Bond types dropping bombs on the table. I think I got suckered in by the atmosphere and try to make a handsome collection but the numbers just weren't with me - c'est la vie. The only danger was my real desire after the loss to chase it down which involved a whole lot of discipline because I'm sure I would have lost a hell of a lot more and BIG if I didn't restrain myself...lol....still, looking back, it was a hell of a lot of fun !!

Here's a couple of shots, more to come down the track.

Stephansdom - Vienna

Johann Strauss in Stadtpark