The allure of enjoyment Thirty biked miles and three Fests later, it’s time to train home! It was a long and fun day. This past weekend, the first weekend of June, blew into Vorarlberg with a flurry of festivities – and we had to experience several of them. (Festing WeekendRead More →
Back in Austria The YIV is back on! Lush green trees, azure skies, billowing white clouds and a splendid display of bright, happy colored flowers greeted me on the landing in Frankfurt. Far behind me now was the remote frozen lakes, grey skies, muddy roads and chill of the AlaskanRead More →
Gloomy Banishment I once went through a job interview where we applicants were required to tread water in the deep end of a pool for 20 minutes, while fully clothed. For most ‘swimmers,’ that wasn’t a big deal. If you weren’t much of a swimmer, but your muscles were inRead More →
Banishment I’ve been delinquent in my duties to keep the “Year in Vorarlberg” blog up to date. Principally, because I’m not in Vorarlberg and other responsibilities have hijacked my focus and attentions elsewhere. I’ve been banished from the Schengen Zone. We saw this coming, we tried to prevent it…and hereRead More →
Homeward Bound This morning, or afternoon, or evening….whatever my body thinks it is, I’m sitting in SeaTac airport drafting up a few more notes. In total, I’ll have spent over 47.5 hours playing the Airport Odyssey between Anchorage and Phenom Penh. Right now I’m up to 38 or so…. TodayRead More →
Back in Phenom Phen Conjure up the most amazing and astounding adjectives you can, and they might be sufficient to describe the Wats and sights in Angkor Park; they were selected as a ‘World Heritage Site’ for a very good reason. The third day in the park (and final entryRead More →
Siem Reap – day 2 Travels throughout Europe are often remembered through the lens of what cathedral or castle you visited. Most are magnificent. But, there comes a time when even the heartiest of tourist are effected by the ABC syndrome; ABC….’Another Bloody Cathedral/Castle’. When the ABC’s hit, it’s timeRead More →
Phenom Phen Today I closed out of Phenom Phen today and rode on a Chinese airline, of Euro Manufacture (Airbus 320), to Seim Reap, the home of famed Angkor Wat. Some from the West might wonder why the Chinese are operating in Cambodia? I’d say, ‘Check the map’; why wouldn’tRead More →
Schengen Zone Banishment Quick update – As noted earlier, my Schengen Zone visa for staying in Europe (26 countries….or is that 27?) has expired. There’s not much that we can do about it so it’s time for me to move along elsewhere until I’m eligible to return to Austria toRead More →
YIV – Phase I My Year in Vorarlberg (Phase I) is rapidly drawing to a conclusion as the 90 day tourist visa expires; time to pack-up and head out of the Schengen Zone! We’ve scoured all sources of information we can find and yet we can find no acceptable alternativeRead More →
Skiing in the Vorarlberg (18 Dec 17) Christmas came early this year as another ‘bucket list’ item entered the chute! I’ve always wanted to be one of those guys that spent all their time away from work chasing speed, style and grace down a ski piste; for a season. IRead More →
Fine Cuisine Experiences (12 Dec 17) There are many places in Europe that are crowded and busy. That’s because Europeans seem to focus more on the refinement of what they have rather spreading out, or up. One of the areas they’ve taken refinement to the far edge of exquisiteness isRead More →
Winter in Voralrberg 3 Feb ’17 – One month has flown by! Seemingly we’ve been standing still the whole time, but in reality, it’s been a fast,engaging and exciting adventure so far with travels, sightseeing, Ursula’s birthday party, concerts, bands, feasts, shopping, shopping and shopping and demons (that would beRead More →
When reality sets in 3 Dec 17 – In the real world when planning knocks up against reality, reality usually winds up on top. So, it’s best to infuse your plans with a good dose of reality! Planning vs Reality There’s an old phrase in the army that says thatRead More →
Birthday in Feldkirch We celebrated Ursula’s Birthday yesterday, in typical Austrian style. Where that differs from typical American culture is that the Birthday Girl is the one who puts on her own party, cooks and prepares and provides everything…..and family and friends drop by to indulge and enjoy the BirthdayRead More →
Speaking the Language One of my goals while living in Vorarlberg is learning German, or learning it well enough to be fluent. Although I’ve lived in Germany, on and off, for ten years, the experience was spent in a protective cocoon of the English language and US culture. Time spentRead More →
Traveling beyond Feldkirch Heidelberg, That’s the German town where American soldiers meet ‘green’ Austrians girls in Irish pubs,,,,and marry them. Al least that’s how it worked out for us. Going back to Heidelberg is a happy occasion to which we always eagerly look forward. Ursula’s touring company is having aRead More →
Going away for a Year What could be more simple! Pack up the cats and fly to Vorarlberg; just hang out for a year! It’s an easy plan, until you get into the details – then, perhaps, it’s a naive plan. We put a lot of effort into our VoralrbergRead More →
More Vids I still haven’t had a chance to sit down and catch up with all the events and activities since we arrived in Feldkirch. But, I have taken a lot of pictures. For this Blog edition I’ve put together a VLOG called ‘A day in Vorarlberg, a vid.’ It’sRead More →
And it Begins… Preamble to ‘A Year in Vorarlberg’ Blog – Eighteen months ago in a very, very cold, dark and wet Alaskan day, Ursula and I sat in the Islander Bar reviewing our last year and half since retirement and trying to figure out if we’d done the rightRead More →