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We're back. Safe and happy. A little heavier around the middle and a little lighter in the wallet. Always nice to come back to NYC.
I am denying all rumors that I ordered a rack of lamb on the final night.
This was possibly the most well documented vacation ever. Lots of pictures coming, but I have to implement my new photo management scheme first. Hopefully tomorrow.
Very tired at this point, even though I had a long night of sleep. I guess these things are always a bit of an ordeal. I don't think I could handle a real wine trip. But of course that's not my business. I can see that Mike is good at it.
It's late morning now and we're getting ready to leave the Steigenberger Avance Hotel in Krems. Long drive (3 plus hours) to the final wine maker today. They have kidnapped us for the afternoon, evening, and night. Nobody is sure what to expect from this one. I'm not familiar with their wines at all.
It has been very foggy every day, so it's hard to get too much sense of the country side. Rudi Pichler took us up into the steeply terraced gruner veltliner vinyards. The stone work of the terraces is very impressive. Quite ancient stuff. We would have had some great views of the Wachau valley, but it was left mostly to our imagination. Looks like more of the same today.
Everyone is getting along well. It's nice to have the laptop, and all my music, in the car. Now if only there was wi-fi data connections everywhere.
Tomorrow we're headed back into Vienna.
It's not the morning yet, but I think I made it. Amazing. Nice to have an internet terminal in the lobby.
I've still been dreaming a lot every night, but not so dramtically. In between each dream I wake up and think about the picture upload system which is really bugging me. I know I don't have it thought out correctly. But I have some new ideas I'll run by Tom when I get home. I think I might be close to the solution. It's comforting to have a problem in any case.
And, oh yeah, the wine is out of control.
Well, of course I had the schedule a little wrong. Tuesday we were still in Vienna. Had a massive lunch where I ate some pork and duck (ok, just a bite or two.) We took it easy last night, and then this morning we were up early to get the car.
Morning appointment at my favorite wine maker, Knoll. Maybe Frank remembers from GSI. We got the tour and then tasted 4 2002 from the barell and then a bunch of 2001's in the celler with Emerich Jr. After that we got a quick lunch and then another tasting with Rudi Pichler.
After that I was basically out of gas, but the Wheel keeps turning, and all that, so now after checking into the hotel we're headed back to Knoll for dinner. More in the morning if I make it.
Long flight. Thank god it was direct. That really makes all the difference. We left JFK at 6:50 and arrived 8:00 hours later which was 9:00 am in Austria. Took a cab to the hotel and went right to breakfast. Wasn't feeling so hot at that point.
But we forced ourselves to stay up. MB and I took a walk around the neighborhood waiting for Mike and Linda and Alex to arrive. A few hours later we ran into them in the street and we all did some more looking around. The architecture is amazing.
Vienna is beautiful. We're staying right in the heart of the city near St. Stephen's church. I have lots of pictures, but it doesn't seem like I will be able to get my machine on line (I'm at a cafe right now.)
Around 2:00 we went back to the hotel and I slept until 4:00. Surprisingly, having not slept at all the night before, this was enough to feel pretty good. At 6:00 we took a cab a half hour out of town to a winery where we took a short tour and then had dinner with the owner. Great guy. Great meal. Great wine. More details on all that should be coming from Mike.
Today was more touring around the city. Tonight is a bigger meal in Vienna, and then tomorrow we head out for the country and more wineries. Very fun so far.
Last night I had the strongest, clearest, and most numerous dreams of my life. Quite strange toward morning. Luckily I can report that the plot to take over the world using ingestible tablet microcomputers was foiled when the giant Amanita mushroom spaceship broke free and escaped.
Two days until Knoll, the expected highlight of the trip. More reports to follow.
Yes, I'm in my usual pre travel panic state. This is a low grade panic - you might even mistake it for indifference - but it's panic nonetheless. 28 hours until take off.
The Brown Daily Herald has the first interview with geek babe Ellen Feiss. Unsurprisingly the site is completely slashdotted.
Our friend Alex Hay is in town for a show of his work from the 1960's at the Peter Freeman gallery (B'way and Prince.) Alex is the best guy ever. You should really go check it out. The giant brown paper bag is amazing.
How do I get internet access for one week in Austria?
Dean Kamen introduces a (not completely done) Stirling engine.