Of Breakaways and Splinters

Recent events in one of the MMOs I play have given me pause. Specific details aren’t necessary, and I wasn’t there for the actual arguments that preceded the fallout, but suffice it to say, it ultimately amounted to a difference of opinion on how the group was being run.

A Trip To Remember: Final Part

My last day in Prague before jetting home gave me some time to go see a couple of the sights around the city that were pointed out to us during the city tour and those that we took a passing walk through/around.  Seeing as my flight home wasn't scheduled to leave until 8:30 that night, I had ample time to stroll the cobblestoned streets, while trying to avoid a serious ankle injury in the process, and enjoy the city.  I started out with a walk across the Charles Bridge, which I had taken a couple pics of as we drove across the river earlier.

A Trip to Remember: Part 8

My final day of planned events in Prague started out with a trek to Karlstein Castle, an old Gothic castle built on the top of a mountain.  The day go off to a great start with some, as the tour guide put it, typical Czech traffic jams.  The others in the van, a group of ladies from Ireland and one man from Germany along with myself added that despite cultural boundaries, traffic jams all look identical.  The van could only go so far up the mountain before we all had to pile out and hike the rest of the way, but it did give us a chance to get a great view of the surrounding woods.

A Trip to Remember: Part 7

Yesterday saw me on a train for a 4 hour ride north to Prague.  It would have been just as boring as the previous trips except this time sitting across from me was a very nice American couple.  We got to chatting and it turns out they are on a European trek to celebrate their retirement and spending of their kids inheritance.  It was nice having some people to chat to and made the trip go by a little quicker.  Upon getting into Prague, I had a driver waiting for me who welcomed me to the city with a handshake before setting off for my hotel.

A Trip to Remember: Part 6

Today saw another ad-hoc tour, this one out to the Vienna woods including trips to the hunting lodge of one of the Hapsburg's which has been turned into a still functioning nunnery, a working monastery and the largest underground lake in Europe.  The woods themselves start quite close to the city and cover a large area throughout the area.

A Trip to Remember: Part 5

Well, here I am in Vienna.  After being picked up at the station and being driven through the city streets, I was struck at just how much some of the streets and buildings looked so much like those in Budapest.  On the way to my hotel, I was given some interesting information about the city by my driver as well as him pointing out a couple interesting sights along the way.

Seeing as I got in rather early in the day, I strolled around looking for a place to find a bite for lunch and then on to something else.  As I turned a corner, I came across this.

A Trip to Remember: Part 4

The weather forecast today looked set to make things hard for my next tour.  With predictions of snow and rain, I went out today hoping for the best.  My last tour is something you cannot go to Salzburg and not do, the Sound of Music Tour.  Overall, I was actually a little disappointed with this tour, but I'm not sure if it was because of the weather or the actual program itself.

We started off the tour with a drive around the Miralbell palace gardens, where the Do Re Me song was performed, but we only drove around the outside.  Our first stop was lake and the villa outside which Maria and the children fell in the water.

A Trip to Remember: Part 3

The next day began with a trip to the Budapest train station for what would be a 6 hour train ride to my next destination, Salzburg.  While it started out exciting, because it's something that I've never done before, by the end of the journey, I was over it.  Overall, it's slightly more enjoyable then a 6 hour plane flight, but only because you have some very nice scenery to look at in some places.

A Trip To Remember: Part 2

This morning greeted me with some spectacular news.  The airlines had found my luggage and it would arrive in Budapest in the afternoon and delivered to the hotel soon after that.  With that knot of worry untied from my stomach, I headed for a nice breakfast and then off for my tour.

A Trip To Remember

After a long time, if you can't remember when the last time was, it's been too long, I decided I needed to get away and have a holiday.  Making the decision was the easy part and the trip itself is only the culmination of almost a year's worth of planning.  So, with the decision to go actually made comes the choices of just exactly where to go.  With some vague choices bouncing around my head, I wandered into the local travel agency and gathered a couple of brochures.  After a couple of days of flicking through, the choices were made.  I'd settled on a tour of 4 great European cities that I'd always wanted to see.

We Need To Operate...STAT!

Well, it's been some time, right through to the new year in fact, and the new year brings a new set of problems.  Recently I was forced to operate on a dear friend of mine and replace a vital organ with a newer model.  Naturally, being the good child of the digital age that I am, I took many happy shots to document the occasion.