Vienna

Nearly every building in Vienna is photo-worthy. However, pictures just don't do them justice (at least from my camera). You can't capture their size and include all the intricate details at the same time. I don't even know what a third of them are, they just look impressive.

You can't throw a brick in Vienna without chipping off something ornate.
I've tried three times now.

Since cheese is one of the session chairs, and he knows the conference organizers, I got to crash the reception dinner held in the stately Rathaus. I have to revise my predicted ratio of men to women here at the conference to about 10:1. The food was good and you couldn't help but feel a little regal in the extravagant surroundings (follow the links to the festival hall). I talked a good deal with Wolfgang from the University in Osla (he doesn't know Ottar). In the summertime, he gives hiking tours in Norway, so that may be on the agenda in the far-off future.

Some of the other interesting places I've visited include the Pathology-Anatomy museum. The skeleton on the front-page is one of their centerpieces. Their basic collection includes preserved tissues and molds made from people infected with various diseases. At least I think they were molds, they were disturbingly life-like. The syphilus section being the overall winner in that category. They also have a large collection of skeletons from people with various spinal deformations. They weren't offering an English tour the day I arrived but since I have some 'medical' connections, the lady at the front desk let me walk around the first floor on my own. Trust me, they have lots and lots of bent skeletons.

The Gasometer structure is an inspiring piece of archeticture to look at, despite being a shopping mall today. The metal apartments on front make the whole outfit look space-age.

I did find a record store today. They had tons of 45s, which is exciting for someone from the single-starved US. It seems to be a Billy Joel themed trip as I picked up the hard to find "All for Leyna" single (it flopped in the US, I don't think a PS was even released) and "Say Goodbye to Hollywood". There were some others, but they were from his later days when he started to wuss out (I can hear Rob's comment now: "Started?" but he had some attitude in the early days) or some schmuck had written on the cover. The real score was the vinyl copy of Fish's "Internal Exile" album.

In the midst of racking up an impressive bar tab

Last night I met up with Cheese and some other folks from the Grpahics conference for dinner and some drinks. A good time was had by all. Matt, on the left, offered up some funny Canadian jokes that were baby seal variations of the interrupting-cow knock-knocks. (Baby seal walks into a club *WHAM*) Of course, Cheese ordered a lot of schnapps for everyone. Maybe too many. At least that is what mein kopf is suggesting to me this morning.

Like most meetings, the adenovirus meeting ended with the announcement of where the next one would take place. Turns out its Budapest, and will be held on an accelerated schedule of two years. (That's right lab rats, ask Dave for projects now! Work hard and Dave & I will do our best to present your work properly in Hungary.) Because of that, Cheese and I have been rethinking our travel plans. Car-company permitting, the current model is to drive through Slovenia (Ljubljana) and the way to the coast of Croatia (Pula), stopping along the way at the Italian port city of Trieste. It had better be nice since I'm missing the most important college football game ever. I know, I know, poor me.