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Itching on my left index finger, scratching it, next day waking up with swollen finger plus blood infection ---> Result; doctor cut it open, giving me a huge bandage, getting sick leave and unable to do the simplest tasks without needing endless time...

This saturday i went to the first open air hockey game in austria (since well the old days), it took place in the soccer stadium of Klagenfurt in front of a capacity crowd of 30.500. It was magic, i never expected it to be so good. The atmosphere, the view, the game (my team won). You know, in my province hockey rulez, not soccer but hockey, always has been, so it was no surprise that despite the currently two worst teams in our league playing,tickets were sold out within 4 hours, and according to officials 90.000 requests for tickets came in.... I upload some more photos tonight...

I am going next weekend to vienna! One of the reasons i really love to go to vienna is that my brother and my sister lives there, and its just 200 miles away from here, but its a different world compared to my little hometown. According to the Mecer Quality of Living global city rankings 2009 it took first spot worldwide, and I am not arguing with that! ...and for everyone that hasn`t been there, here is a little video of the vienna inner city

About two weeks ago, Bruce Springsteen had a concert in vienna, my sister and my brother had the privilege to get tickets and with 50.000 other fans, they could be part of something that never happend before in Europe... ...he played Jersey Girl for the first time in Europe! All it took was a girl in the audience with a TShirt written Jersey Girl on it. The camera got hold of her and she was all of a sudden on the big screen. When she realized she was on that big screen she took of her TShirt and waved at Bruce, he grabbed it, went back wrapped it around the microphone and performed for the first time "Jersey Girl".... (especially for her).....

I am rather quiet on the forum lately, one of the reasons why, you can see below...

I just watched today europe`s biggest TV Show Wetten, dass..? (which would translate into something like Wanna Bet..?). This show is one of the few i really like to watch on a regular base (its usually about 6 times a year), it has the , and some really funny moments on german TV. Todays venue for the show was the Coliseum in Mallorca, which is a wonderful setting to begin with, the next great thing was swiss Michelle Hunziker, a beautiful women that seems to be not only pretty but also has this feel good laugh and fun person to be around. (italians should know her well she hosts there a show). Finally, eventually it has been proven, white men can jump!

Why i got up this morning and went to the voting poll... Living at the border to two other EU countries (Italy and Slovenia) makes you appreciate the EU a bit more then the average european. I mean i remember the times going on holiday to Italy very well, you already lost money by exchanging currencies and you had no real clue what things would really cost (Italians had the lira back then and the smallest denomination was the 1.000 Lira note). For Example; if you want to work for another EU country, well you know, just move there, no applications, no forms, no questions, you are citizen of the EU, just go there and start to work... For Example; Europe must be the bloodiest battle field in the History of mankind, so to all youngsters out there, it wasn`t always the way it is today, you know, chances are my grandfather was shooting at your forefathers and vice versa... There are a million reasons why the EU sucks, but believe me there are even more reasons if we didnt have one...

Yesterday was my cousins wedding, i was invited there and although i thought it was going to be a complete disaster, it was bloody cool! The bride was from Russia and couldn`t speak a single word of german! He met her while he was studying technical physics in ST. Petersburg. Luckily she speaks fluent english, so at least 90% of the guests could have a conversation with her, plus a good friend of the family knew a russian girl that lives now for more then five years here, so we had a translator and a new friend for the bride. It was at times really funny, having this russian-german-english mix of conversations. ...in any case, one of my cousins classmates who will became a monk was sitting next to me, so I pretty soon got him engaged in a roman history discussion, as he is very knowledgeable in the early church history, can read and write, old greek, latin and hebrew and was pretty relaxed about christianity, we had some pretty interesting hours. I invited him to join our forum, let`s see if he does, once he sobers up! ;-) btw. I learned three things about Russia; ...the russian language in action is much more pleasing to the ear then i thought ...being a professor in Russia means you are bloody smart, but you wont make a living and ...russian girls can drink more then you, don`t try!

The carinthian sheep is a fairly recent breed, it was around the beginning of the 19th century that local farmers were looking for a sheep with a better wool then what was available. This was rather difficult because the two best breeds were from spain and england and both did not allow to export rams at the time, so they looked south to Italy and crossed their local the old Landschaf breed with the Bergamasca and Paduaner Sheep. The hardy, frugal Brillenschaf can cope with high precipitation and is expert in climbing, therefore it is used for grazing high alpine areas which are inaccessible to cows. By the end of the 19th century this breed was very popular and yearly about 30.000 sheep were exported to France at the time. During WWI the Brillenschaf was very popular, due to its big size, (lots of meat), fine wool and being frugal. In the 1930

I couldnt say it better then the Bleacherreport The World Cup is sexier. It

Here you can see the lake i am regulary fishing. The watery-area left ot the little river is artificially made a few years ago. It was built to give the fishes and birds a save spot to breed. It is relatively small but neverthelless just after 10 years you no longer would guess it was man-made. On the northern end you can see they are currently extending it by a bit. the whole field in the west might get be done the same way too. The city council is still negotiating with the owners... Old castle. It looks more impressive here. The castle dates from the 14th century.... Middle of Town, here i catch my trouts. (isn`t it great that one can actually catch trouts in the middle of town? I know i am blessed... Lake Faak. The water is so blue, you want to jump in the moment you see the lake... [pretty warm too in summer around 26 degrees celsius (79 fahrenheit)] More lakes i can fish. All not more then 5 miles away from home... Here i can fish the largest Salmonidae that you get in Europe, The huchen or Danube salmon gets pretty big, the official world record is 35 kg (77 pounds) Thats it for now, i go out and get some fish now!

The Vienna Life Ball, Europe's most colourful charity event will take place again tomorrow. This is the craziest, sexiest, strangest ball you will ever see. It started as an AIDS Charity Event, and exploded into a fashion extravaganza that you dont see on the catwalks of Paris, Milan or New York. Unlike the Vienna Opera Ball who is the most glamarous event in Europe, the Life ball is the most colorful one. There is a huge catwalk for the first part of the event, were outside of the Vienna city hall a massive show with free entrance for anyone takes place, and behold, no unknown little designer present their glitzy stuff, no the big ones, from Thierry Mugler to Jean-Paul Gaultier, from Vivienne Westwood to Versace, each year one can present their craziest outfits. This year its the lingerie gods of AGENT PROVOCATEUR`s turn. This ball is not only the biggest charity event in Europe but also a gathering of stars and starlets of the crazy sort. If you like outrageous fancy dress costumes, this is the place to be!

Hmm, I am a bit late, but in case you missed it, Austria (my native country) won for the first time the Oscar for best foreign-language picture. The story goes something like this... The Counterfeiters is the true story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history, set up by the Nazis in 1936. Salomon "Sally" Sorowitsch is the king of counterfeiters. He lives a mischievous life of cards, booze, and women in Berlin during the Nazi-era. Suddenly his luck runs dry when arrested by Superintendent Friedrich Herzog. Immediately thrown into the Mauthausen concentration camp, Salomon exhibits exceptional skills there and is soon transferred to the upgraded camp of Sachsenhausen. Upon his arrival, he once again comes face to face with Herzog, who is there on a secret mission. Hand-picked for his unique skill, Salomon and a group of professionals are forced to produce fake foreign currency under the program Operation Berhard. The team, which also includes detainee Adolf Burger, is given luxury barracks for their assistance. But while Salomon attempts to weaken the economy of Germany's allied opponents, Adolf refuses to use his skills for Nazi profit and would like to do something to stop Operation Bernhard's aid to the war effort. Faced with a moral dilemma, Salomon must decide whether his actions, which could prolong the war and risk the lives of fellow prisoners, are ultimately the right ones. You can read a little more about this fascinating movie at the Chicago Tribune and watch the trailer (with even more info on this true story) at the offical home page!

The Vienna Zoo (in german "Tiergarten Sch

Under 20 Soccer World Championship in Canada OMG, something is wrong on this planet, Austria actually has a damm good soccer team for a change! Just a few minutes ago we have beaten the USA to advance to the Semi-Final. It was an excellent game with much more chances for Austria and so the win is more then well earned. I can`t believe it, we have currently one of the four best youth-teams in the soccer world

The cover story is about the 2000 year celebration for Carnuntum. Exatly 2000 years ago, Carnuntum was founded by Tiberius, and just a few years later it became one of the biggest cities of the Roman Empire. The austrian television is in the process of making a documentary of Carnuntum. They invited reenactors from all over Europe to participate in this film. The same people who make this had made in the past the award winning documentary of Oetzi the Iceman, so i am sure this will be fantastic! Here is an english link to the archaeological park of Carnuntum

Right now, the Karelian Bear Dog is the most named dog in Austria. Given that this breed was basically unknown a couple of days ago here, it is a rather big jump in popularity! So how did this Karelian Bear Dog became so famous overnight? There is a bear in western austria, he is ratherr naughty and kills sheep, destroys dens and gets closer to humans every day, experts speak about a "problem bear" meaning he lost fear of humans. Now one way would be to just shoot him. However the european brown bear is protected in Austria, so next best thing is to catch him. Thats were the Karelian Bear Dog comes in to play. A handfull of this breed came over to Austria from Finland. and now they search for the bear and Austria is watching.... ...here is an english article about "Bruno" the Bear

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, attended a ceremony on Sunday to launch the building of a Tibetan health and cultural center. Planned at Huettenberg is an international center of Higher Tibetan Studies,' which local Carinthian officials say will include 'the first and only training center for Tibetan medicine in the western world.' via Moster&Critics Huettenberg (actually in correct german its H

You must know, in Austria, sport Nr.1 is alpine skiing. We are crazy about it. During winter season there is only one thing that will gather half of the population in front of the TV ---> a downhill race! Now our downhillers are our true superstars, and one in particular is Hermann Maier. I was looking on Google Video if there was something about him, and indeed i found the IOC promo with his monster crash in Nagano 1998. If you look at it, one is happy he survived, but as the video says, just a few days later he won two gold medals.... The infamous Hermann Maier Crash of 1998 in Nagano

Well this is not going to make headline news around the world, but it makes me angry. In a few words; A diplomat wants his shoes polished in a noble hotel in Vienna. The bootblack tells him that he is now on a break and he has to wait a bit. The diplomat gets upset starts arguing and eventuelly fires a shot at the bootblack... Now nothing is going to happen to the diplomat, "Diplomatic immunity ", All we can do is tell him to leave the country... Do you feel this is right?

My grandma (85 years old) was invited to have dinner with my mother, so we go there in the late afternoon to pick her up. She was almost ready, just need to brush her hair, get dressed and off we go downstairs to the car... Well she slipped at the last staircase and bang there she was lying on the floor not able to move. We tried to get her up but to no avail. So we call the ambulance, they arrive pretty soon afterwards, moved her to the hospital and there they made x-rays examinations etc... Well she has broken her left arm, and she got some bruises on her back, but not as bad as we thought at first. My grandma seems now in good hands, she got some pills for the pain, and we will of course visit her tomorrow again...It is now 11 in the evening and i haven thought of christmas once today (in austria we celebrate christmas on christmas eve)... but in any case, merry christmas to everyone...

Well i guess the average person outside the alps never heard of that word.... However it is BIG here in Austria, on december 5th, every child goes out and chase and get chased by the mighty Krampus.

I just read this article Red Bull wings its way past diet sodas It doesnt happen often that an austrian company is known in the USA or worldwide, one example would be PEZ, yeah you heard right, thats from Austria Now i guess everyone knows RedBull, but did you know it is from Austria? Headquarter is in Salzburg, about an hours drive from my home town. cheers viggen

I just found out that my hometowns official site has an english version. The history part is pretty good...

Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria (21 August 1858