Little dots in the sky, little dots in the sky,… *humming the Weeds opening theme song Little Boxes on the Hillside*

What is your estimation for the frequent flyer miles you’d get if you took every single flight represented by a yellow dot? I’ll try to find that out and keep you posted.

(found via HGreenwood)

Seems like the hills are alive indeed. I still got an echo of the hills that supposedly singing, dancing, cheering and jumping of joy in my ears. And since the reflection is somewhat the visual equivalent to an audio echo, I am posting this little snapshot. Taken in Salzburg near University church (oh yaa, a lodd of tschurtsches in Solzburgh). More pictures to come. Plus, I’m dropping a note that I made it safely through Austria and I have to admit, it was really nice.

Now, everybody go change their desktop's wallpaper, noooow! I mean it.

Whenever Europeans board a plane that takes them to the US of A, strange things are more likely than less likely (did I just coin a phrase?) to happen. There is this little something that’s called cultural difference whose line (Is it a tipping point line?) is clearly drawn by a big pond called Atlantic ocean. It’s been a while since the Pangea supercontinent unified Eurasia and North America, thus it left plenty of time for customs and the way things are usually done to develop in their unique fashions.

One of the differences that both Europeans and especially a threatened professional minority (two million waiters are said to still exist) North Americans have to learn the hard way is “a hot button word like sex, politics, or veganism. Everyone’s got an opinion on it, but no one truly understands it either.”*

We are talking about T-I-P-S. Yet another hot-fuss creating four letter word. It’s a word that Europeans and Americans seem to comprehend differently.

It’s been a year since I took off by plane to the Golden State. It’s been a year and I just can’t believe. A lot of things happened since then and this fact really proves that time flies. Working at Dynea, passing my community service and all the experiences that come along with it. At this time of the year I just wish I could board a plane that takes me somewhere else. The thought that I am trapped ALL summer is slightly stressing me out. Just slightly. Sarcasm End.

Not that I am sick of my life here in Austria, it is just that I am anticipating something that isn’t going to happen. Do you know that feeling. This year, no huge trip for poor Philipp. No vacation. Well, I’ll host an American friend for a week, so that should be fun, right? Touring Austria!

Thank you to my host family and all the new friends I made in California. I just wanted to thank you. Even after a year I keep thinking of you and I hope to be back soon. Promised. A YEAR, crazy!

Darker Than - This most certainly is a nice wallpaper opportunity - click to get enlarged version · by Thomas Hawk on flickr.com

Images like these of typical symbols like Las Vegas, San Francisco (Golden Gate, Transamerica Pyramid, etc.) and travel stuff keep following me. It looks like I can’t let go. No, I just can’t let go. 

Here the lines of a song that people who fell in love with The City would sign without further ado to proof the finesse of San Francisco… I Left my Heart In San Francisco by  Tony Bennett.

I left my heart in San Francisco, high on a hill it calls to me
To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars.
The morning fog may chill the air, I don’t care.
My love waits there in San Francisco, above the blue and windy sea,
When I come home to you, San Francisco, your golden sun will shine for me. 

Good to know that the golden sun will shine for anybody who goes to San Francisco.

Obviously, starting a blog post to encourage the broad readership of today’s hip blogs is the newest things on the block, so here I am, going for it!

Ask a question - and by that I really mean any question - you always wanted to have answered by me (and not Einstein, so please spare me the scientific explanation kind of Qs) and I will do my best to find a proper answer for it.

“Sydney - Perfect Match Of Nature, City Life and Culture”

Since the last week I’ve been staying in Sydney. I checked in at Eva’s Backpacker’s, a hostel. It turned out that it is in the red light area of Sydney. It’s very interesting to see a life behind this curtain. Prostitution, drugs, alcoholism,… But don’t worry. My hostel is very safe!

The first few days I spent my time on the most famous beaches of Sydney, the Manly Beach and the world-widely known Bondi Beach (When pronouncing the word, please make sure you say bond-eye, and not bond-e, okay?). Here some impressions. Tons of new pictures in the gallery…

Scotland is such an overwhelming place in terms of scenery, people and culture. Arriving in Edinburgh Airport I didn’t expect to enter the land of Harry Potter and kitschy old buildings that are just mesmerizing. Follow my logbook about my trip to St. Andrews including a one-day trip to Edinburgh.

The Sco-ish Experience days are approaching surprisingly fast. I really look forward to that trip.

Journey Information: My plane leaves Vienna International Airport at 0740, so I have to take a shuttle bus from Westbahnhof Wien (departs about 0530). Once I catch my connecting flight in London Heathrow (I am so going to be in the mood “yay, I am going to San Francisco, dude, oh wait, no, I’ll see Julia - uhh”), the plane (British Airways, what else?*) will drop me off in Edinburgh Airport. An air link shuffle (it goes every 15 min.) takes me to the Edinburgh City center (Waverley Station). From there, I’ll take the train to Leuchars and then a bus to St. Andrews where I will meet Julia. She’s going to pick me up there.