Today, France played Italy in Berlin, in the final match of this World Cup. Four long years since the last (which we on the east coast watched at 5:30am!), I was well up for it. The past month has gone by much too quickly, but it has been football heaven!
Forget Paris, forget Rome... today, the party was in Moedling! We decided that the only way to watch the game was among friends, and massive amounts of food of course!
After several hours hangin out at the pool, we got back home to set up for FanFest Moedling. A simple TV would not suffice. Ragi brough over his projector, which was used to beam the game onto the huge screen! Next, came snacks, drinks, and most importantly food. The grill was just getting hot as everyone began to show up.
'Fleischmeister' Ragi grilled our meats to perfection, and the feast began. After all I ate, I could've passed out in a corner, were it not for the match starting.
The game did not disappoint. The dramatic finale was a fitting finish for 64 brilliant games, and a quality tournament.

author's note: let the record stand, that shameful as his sending off was, Zidane is undoubtably the best player of this era, and among the greatest players ever to lace up a pair of boots.

In preparation for our World Cup championship party, we spent this morning food shopping and running errands.
The afternoon, however, was spent discovering the seriously picturesque, hilly roads west and north of Vienna.
At the top of one of the larger hills, there was an observation tower, where we ascended the 187 steps which brought us above the tree line for a perfect view of the city.

Lunch was amazing! We happened upon a beer garden called Fischer Brau, where the food was absolutely terrific. I thought there was no way I could possibly finish my goulage and potatoes, but somehow made quick business of it, and managed to help Babsi with hers!

At the end of lunch, my belief was reiterated that no matter where in the world you go, there's always the chance of running into someone you know! As we were finishing, one of the waitresses hesitantly approached our table, with a kind of 'do i know you...' look on her face. Turns out, she used to be a friend of ours from school!

Tonight we did a little hangin out in Vienna! We went to Hermanns, which was fantastic, and just stayed out enjoying the evening.

Our MINI adventure continued today - which turned into a photo excursion in the beautiful hills of wine country. The thrill of driving our little red rocket around the twists and turns of the windy roads, just narrowly eclipsed admiring the gorgeous scenery of the vineyards and quaint villages.

A little later, we made our way into the city. This was a special trip, not for picture taking or driving excitement, but for gastronomic indulgence! We visited '7 Stern Bräu', a brewpub with some of the best food I've had anywhere. The beer is first rate as well - a .5L of Dunkles hits the spot like nothing else (brought some home too!)!
In the evening, we took MINI out on the high-speed highway, heading toward Linz, for a little 'performance test'. Driving on the alpine roads was reminiscent of playing Need for Speed some years back!

The best way to follow up a relaxing day at the pool... is with a relaxing day at the pool, of course! Today we went to Strandbad Baden, a fancy-pants pool club 15 min south of Moedling. We spent the better part of the afternoon at this enormous pool/beach/spa, complete with sulfur bath, lap pool, sandy beach area, high-dives and water slides! After almost losing my trunks on a certain 3meter high-dive in Stuttgart, I decided to take a pass. But, not willing to let the 8-yr olds show us up, we did have a go on the giant slide! (click to enlarge)



In several of the cities we've visited in the last few weeks, as well as in the past, I've commented to Babsi about how interesting some of the street layouts are -with their narrow, zig-zagged roads and alleys- and many times I've mused aloud at how they look like the set of many car chase scenes from movies. French Connection, Ronin, The Italian Job, The Bourne Identity, or any one of the Bond movies... the scenes are the same, the only difference being the actors and the sexy cars driven.
Lights, camera, action... tonight, I got to have my turn! As an early birthday surprise, Babsi rented me a hot, red MINI to whip around town!


We crusied over to the international food festival in City Hall park, right across from the Vienna opera house. Stands were set up with food from every corner of the globe, which made trying to choose pretty overwhelming. Babsi decided on Japanese, and I went Mediterranean and had this amazing Greek dish of chicken, basil, red peppers, olives, rosemary potatoes, and a sauce that I would sacrifice a limb to know how to make.


After shamelessly stuffing our faces, we decided to call it a night. Exhausted, and unable to engage the Austrian Polizei in a wild car chase around Vienna, we took the scenic route home.

Today we went to Seebad Rust, located right near the border of Austria and Hungary, for a little R&R - a popular recreational destination for sailing, swimming, and just relaxing.
After only about a 45 minute drive from Moedling, we spent the afternoon lounging in the shade and taking a dip. I've never been a huge fan of swimming in lakes, in fact I've always hated it ("what the hell just grazed my leg?!"), but the heat and peer pressure got the better of me!

It was quite refreshing, to be fair, but as feared, i did step in something mysterious on the see floor, that even now gives me goosebumps to think about.
Getting out of the see, and swimming in the pool, was something I eagerly looked forward to!

In the evening, we went to watch the second semifinal match, France Portugal, at Harry's (Fraaagola!) place. We cooked up a feast of food on the grill, and ate straight through the game! Portugal finally went down the drain -they dove- and VOILA! the final match is in place! Azzuri v. Les Bleus. (if you dont know football nicknames, and dont know italian or french, this simply means: the blues versus ...well, the blues)
ALLEZ ALLEZ!

After yet another killer breakfast, as prepared by Babsikins, we ventured out in the early afternoon. Back up in Wien, today we went shopping over on Mariahilferstraβe. This street is extremely busy everytime I’ve ever been, even somehow on a Tuesday afternoon. This is a street made for anyone who lives to shop, and if you don’t, it will just make you insanely tired, as it made me! Although its store to ice cream shop ratio is second to none.
Tonight, there was also the small matter of the World Cup semifinal between Germany and Italy! For that, we stayed in Vienna and went to Sofie’s Bar, where we met friends to watch the match. A very upscale bar, and an unlikely place to watch a soccer game, the atmosphere wasn’t too rowdy. It felt funny watching a semifinal while sitting on these plush leather chairs, but it was tons of fun. There was an even split of people cheering for Germany and Italy, which it should be noted, was a battle of the sexes. Every female in the place was for Italy (obviously), and us guys were pulling for Germany.
(even swanky places get in the mood for the w’cup – see below)

Traveling to Deutschland and España were a blast, but I was really looking forward to spending the upcoming week in Vienna. No matter how much time spent in, or how many times visiting, a city like Vienna, there is always something new to see! Today, we visited the Belvedere castle and House of Parliament, drove in and around the Ring, and had a delicious lunch of Käserinder sausages. I am a big big fan of street food in different countries, and it doesn’t get much better than this. Käsekrainer sausages have a very creamy cheese inside, that just seems to sort of ooze out when you bite into it. This is topped with shredded horse radish, and lethally spicy mustard. What could be better!

In the evening, we were invited to a barbecue at Babsi’s cousin Moni’s house. I hung out with her husband and we kicked back with some pretty darn good Austrian beer, while Babsi and Moni chatted indoors with a bottle of Prosecco. What came off the grill was spectacular. We had pork and beef kebabs and perfectly grilled lamb chops, as well as various salads – my favorite with artichokes, cucumbers, shitake mushrooms, onions and feta. We ate ourselves silly, killed a couple bottles of Pinot Blanc, and stayed up late chatting and eating ice cream out on the patio.

Our Barcelona adventure came to an end today. We were on the airport shuttle a little after 8, and took in our last glimpses of this unbelievable city. In four days, we saw many faces of Barcelona. We saw almost every part of the city, ate all types of food, and were surrounded by different types of people. Obviously four days is not enough to experience all a city has, but I honestly don’t even believe someone could completely understand this city after four whole years. So many peculiarities and contradictions in one city make it hard to get your head around this place. But it is a place you must visit if you are an enthusiast of great cities.


We took off at 10:30am, flew over the Pyrenees Mountains, the Cote d’Azure, Lake Como, and Graz. The shuttle from Slovakia to Austria was nearly empty.
Returning to Vienna was a relief. Completely exhausted, I closed my eyes for a few minutes, and then it was Monday.