an experimental dish

Back in Vienna to grab my bike and say goodbye to the friends I've made in this fine town. Maybe they can help me drink the bottle of Slovak wine I brought back from Devin Castle. Last night I cooked an experimental dish of pumpkin, avocado and feta, which tasted fantastic. Never cooked such a dish before and I just added stuff that I thought sounded good. This is an approach to food which can yield varied results. This is one I'll repeat. Instructions on Flickr. This morning there is a few logistical things to do, like sorting out some accommodation in a few places, getting an idea of which roads to take and seeing which of the Eastern European borders I can cross on a bike and which ones I'll need to take a train through. However, I really have to start staying at places without internet so that I actually leave the house once in a while.

This weekend I have been invited back to Berndorf by the the family I stayed with in July. I've even been asked to give a talk about my travels at the local school. It's hard to say no to Austrian hospitality and minor celebrity status. I would have liked to have been in Budapest to see the protests and riots happening there, but getting my bike before heading too far east was more important than getting beaten up arrested by the Hungarian police. Although it would make for some cool photos. Maybe I'll jump a train (with the bike), and head to Budapest a little earlier than planned. Apparently Eastern European soccer hooligans (the scariest kind), hijacked the peaceful protests a few days ago and have started burning cars, looting shops and punching cops. Cue the water cannons, tear gas and "give me a job Getty Images" photo ops. At least it sounds a bit more interesting than what's happening with Thailand's pissweak coup.

Did anyone notice the fancy new header?