Vacation - Day 1...

My first vacation day started off at 4 am. Apparently I was already anticipating the journey, otherwise I wouldn't have been awake 30 minutes before 4 am. Turned over one more time and got up 5 minutes before my alarm clock was supposed to go off. Took Gina for her morning walk. I decided not to have breakfast, still felt stuffed from last nights dinner. packed the rest of my stuff. And got ready for the cab to pick me up. I left at 5.30 am since I wanted to be at the train terminal Wien-West at 6 am. But my train wasn't scheduled to leave till 6.30 am. I got to the train terminal about 10 minutes before six. While there I checked and see if I could purchase Gina's ticket back, since for some reason I can't book that online. But there were way too many people in line. So I wanted to check on my phone. Guess what, I had no phone on me. At first I thought I might have lost it in the cab. But then I remembered putting my wallet and camera into my pockets, but not my phone. My guess is it is still sitting on my desk at home. I checked the time and there was no way that I would make it to my apartment and back to the train station in time to catch the train. So I was without phone, without a clock and without any means of communication. This really sucks. And these days there aren't many public phones around anymore. Being without a cell phone made me really feel somewhat odd and lost. Fortunately I was traveling First Class, therefore I had at least internet access. Good thing that I brought along my MacBook. As fun as it has to free WiFi on the train,  one thing has to be said. The WiFi is somewhat spotty. Especially in Austria's province Salzburg Wifi on the train is very unreliable. And as soon as you pass into Germany, you don't have any WiFi till you reach Munich.
I did have a layover in Munich of about 50 minutes. I had chosen that on purpose. This gave me the opportunity to take Gina for a walk, so that she could do her business. Munich today was rather hot, but Gina figured out very quickly what the idea of this particular walk was. She did do her business very quickly and that was good so. I knew that there was a store somewhere close to Munich Central Rail Station and so I went ahead and looked for it. Located the store easily. I was hoping for a cheap cellphone with a small data plan. But the prices therefore were just outrageous. 200 bucks and up. So I chose a basis cell phone that just could do calls and send SMS.
After that Gina and I walked back into the Train Terminal. Checked which platform our train was to leave from. Fortunately the train was already there, although it wasn't scheduled to leave for another 30 minutes. We found ourselves some seats and Gina find herself quickly a spot. Good thing the ICE we were traveling with had a good working air-condition. This was very good for Gina, since she was pretty hot. And this ICE was having a WiFi hotspot and this hotspot was working perfectly fine. That was something that did make me quite happy.
It took me quite a while to figure out that particular cell phone. I had sent my friend Udo an email but hadn't heard back from him. So I tried to send him a text message. But this particular is very odd indeed. With every other phone I know you enter first the number and then the text. This phone however requires you to enter the text first and then the number. For that reason I sent my friend Udo an empty text message. Once I realized the mistake I tried to correct. Was just in the middle of typing the tex when my friend called my German Cell. Gave him a short rundown of the story and we both had a good laugh.
With this train journey entering it's 10th hour poor Gina really didn't want to sit on the train anymore. She couldn't get really comfy. And those 2 noisy kids in front of us weren't helpful either. I really can understand my dog, since I wasn't too fond of that long train ride either. For a dog a long train ride has to be super boring, as there is really nothing to do for her. But all things considered she was doing just great.
We arrived at Leipzig Central Station about 7 minutes late. Took some time to finally get out of the train. As we were walking down the platform we finally saw my friend Udo and his dog Silly. The two dogs sniffed each other and were getting along just fine. I was very happy about that. We made our way to the tram and took a short ride to Udo's apartment. That way a very long travel day came finally to an end.

Laste minute preparations...

Today was my last at work. Finished up some things that were left over. Left word by noon. Went home right away to pick up Gina. We still had to go to Fressnapf to pick up a better muzzle for her. The muzzle I have for her is way to big for her and that's not really comfy. The muzzle I found for her is a way much better fit.
After getting back home I still had lots clothes to wash and had to pack my suitcase as well. And this did take way longer than I expected. And it was a somewhat exhausting process, especially considering that the temps are starting to pick up again in Vienna. Gina being all hectic with me moving around all the time and packing my suitcase. That was something that Gina hasn't experienced before. And of course she had to be exactly at that spot where I was. And that wasn't exactly helpful either. By the time I finally got to relax a little it was already 9 pm. I had ordered out food, and of course it did take way longer than usually to get here. How could it be any different. By midnight I finally went to bed knowing fully well, that I would only be getting about 4 hours sleep, since I had to get up by 4 am to take Gina for her walk, pack the rest of my suitcase and get ready for the cab to pick me up.

A summer party...

Today I was invited to a ex coworkers house for a summer party. Sad thing is that she has been fired recently. If it had been in Vienna it would have made my getting there so much easier. But she lives in the middle of nowhere somewhere in the countryside of Lower Austria. So the only way to get there was by renting a car.
Again I used Sixt to take care of the rental car. Had it reserved online. But this time I went for a BMW. After all, when renting a car you might as well go for a rental that you aren't very likely to buy yourself. And it should be a fun experience. I picked up the rental at Vienna's Hauptbahnhof. The process was a piece of cake. In under 10 Minutes I was on my way. And driving a BMW is definitely fun. The use of the GPS takes some getting used to. But I figured it out quickly. Went back home to spend a few hours with Gina before I had to leave. Gina wasn't exactly happy to see me go. She just turned her head an stayed under my desk.
But there was nothing I could do about it. Until I reached Vienna's Tangente traffic was no big deal. But who would have thought that there could be a traffic jam at Tangente on a Saturday at 2 pm. Certainly not I. It was really slow moving. But we finally made it past the construction zine. After that there was pretty much no traffic at all. And it turned out to be a very uneventful and fun drive. Apparently driving a car is like riding a bike. You never forget how to. After all it has been 3 years since I was last driving a car.
The party was fun. There were some of my current co-workers and some of Klarissa's friends. Of course we did talk a little about the craziness at work. But I really tried to steer the topic to something different. After all, for Klarissa just having been fired, this was not exactly a fun topic to talk about.
But the party turned out to be fun after all. Around Midnight I left since I was having a drive of about 1 hour. Made it home by about 1 am in the morning. Took a super excited Gina for her evening walk. And this was something she urgently needed. After all Gina had been by herself for over 10 hours and that's pushing it and I really don't like to do that. But I had to leave Gina again to drop off the car. I really didn't want to have to do that by 9 am in the morning. So I left again and dropped of the car at Haupbahnhof. Of course I had to walk back home since there is no public transportation at that time. But since that are only 10 minutes by foot it really didn't bother me at all. Got home to an even more excited Gina after that we enjoyed a very late evening together and relaxed to some Star Trek Voyager.

Prep Work for my Vacation...

Since my vacation to Germany will be there very soon, it was time to deal with some unfinished prep work. There still was the matter of a second pair of shoes that I was going to take with me. While I do love my Scarpa's, I definitely wanted a second pair of TrailRunners or Running Shoes. I really couldn't find the running shoes that I wanted to have. And I didn't have exactly the time to go from one sports goods store to the next in Vienna to find a suitable replacement. Ordering them from Amazon wasn't an option either. Since the wouldn't have been delivered in time.
So I went to Bergfuchs, a local hiking retailer. They usually have a good selection of everything that has to do with hiking. Of course TrailRunners aren't exactly there specialty. But I found 2 pairs that I liked. In the end I went with a model of the company LOWA. This is a very well know Austrian outfitter for hiking. And I have to say that I really like them. Definitely very comfy to wear and they make a good replacement for my worn out TrainRunners.
After that it was time to take finalize the details of the rental car. I knew I would be renting from Sixt. Had nailed it down to 2 models. Either VW Golf or VW Passat. I wasn't sure at first. After spending a couple of days in Leipzig I was going to travel by car to the Baltic Sea. So I was leaning more towards the bigger car. But it really doesn't matter since the backseat in the Golf isn't rally smaller than the back seat in the bigger car. And 2 dogs should fit on the backseat of the Golf. So I finalized the details. I could have saved about 120 bucks, by playing the field. But I just didn't want to deal with the hazzle if something should happen with the car. So I opted for full coverage, but did exclude damages to tries and windows. But of course I will have to option to add that when I'll be picking up the rental car in Leipzig. Still have to think about that. the total came in at about 400 bucks. That's not really bad at all.

Appointment with the Orthopedist...

My knee has been bothering me for over a week now. With the elastic bandage I can at least go to work, but walking down or up stairs is really bothersome. And I have to wear it to work, what isn't exactly my kind of fun especially in that heat.
So today had the appointment with the orthopedist. I was afraid that it could be something worse like some problem with the meniscus. Didn't take long for the orthopedist to figure out that there was no problem with the meniscus. But the thing that causes me pain is that I have slight misalignment of the patella. This causes excessive strain on the muscles and that in case causes so much pain that you are barely able to use your knee at all. There isn't a quick solution like an operation for that. The only solution to solve the problem is physical therapy. But I won't be starting therapy before my vacation starts by the end of August.
Stepping stairs is still somewhat bothersome, but walking on flat surfaces isn't that bad at all. But I do regret that for me the hiking season is pretty much over. This is not only my loss but Gina's loss as well. And I do feel sorry for her, since she was having so much fun on our hikes. But being in pain for 2 week after every single hike is just not really a smart idea.

Ötschergräben via Vorderötscher...

Since Gina's hurt pads had been healing up nicely it was time to take her for another hike. Since the temps were going to be in low 70's I thought it would be good idea to take her for a hike to Ötschergräben. For some reason I wasn't able to book Gina's ticket online and had to do it at the railway station. Turns out that Mariazellerbahn is considered a private train and therefore I have to purchase Gina's ticket on the train. But that meant we were unable to catch the earlier train. So we had ti take the next train 1 hour later. But this was no biggy. Took us about 1 1/4 hours to reach Erlaufklause for where we were going to start the hike. But I really didn't remember how slow this train was traveling. But you get a good impression of the countryside. We had to head down from the train station before we could walk across the dam of Erlaufstausee. Gina and water is a different story. She really is drawn to water and it's sometimes not that easy to make it clear that she can't go swimming any time she feels like. We started our hike via Hagengut on the forest road. I had decided that I was going to take the forest road all the way to Vorderötscher. That way I could check on how good Gina was doing with her paws. But she was being perfectly fine. My knee that had been bothering me a couple of weeks ago was giving me no problems at all. About 2 hours later we made it to the trail to Vorderötscher. But shortly after the decent my knee started to bother me. I did think of taking the same route back.

But on the other hand the decent into Ötschergräben was only short and the canyon hike itself was pretty much a hike on flat ground. We did take a break of about 1/2 hour to rehydrate and I had a soup as well. We then continued the decent into the canyon. And of course Gina had to walk twice into a creek nearby. This dog just loves water and there's apparently nothing better than drinking out of a creek. The rest of the decent was pretty much uneventful. But of course it was not exactly fun, at least as far as my knee was concerned. The hike through Ötschergräben was fun as it is always. Meeting way too many people on a narrow path not so much. And a lot of them just didn't know the proper hiking etiquette. And Ötschergräben being part of this years "state exhibit" wasn't exactly helpful either. The thing I noticed, that they had been doing a lot of work. The path is much more convenient now that it used to be. There are much more iron cables to hold on, but this definitely takes away lots of the wildness of the canyon. So as far as I'm concerned it's not a improvement and I don't really like it. We made our along the narrow path trough the canyon and although my knee was bothering I still did enjoy it. And Gina definitely had lots of fun and she was

doing very well. Always interested in her surroundings but doing very well with the narrow path. And it was always fun watching her to have mentally figure out were the path is going. We did take a break in the shade in the canyon and just enjoying nature. Gina also got another chance to cool off in Ötscherbach and she did have way too much fun.
We then made our way to Ötscherhias. But I decided not to take a break there. Since we did have a train to catch. We climbed slowly out of the canyon and my knee was even bothering when hiking uphill. But we did make it out of the canyon and made our way past Hagengut back to the train station. And we did make it to the train station with 10 minutes to spare. Otherwise we would have had to wait for another hour for the next train. By 7.30 pm we were back home.

Waxriegel Haus via Preiner Wand...

Today I was going for another training hike to Rax. I planned on testing some additional gear. Of course I knew Gina would not be able to join me, since her paw injury is still way too recent. That meant I had to head out on my own and that was a weird feeling from the beginning on. When I was getting ready in the morning Gina was all excited, but as soon as she realized that there was no doggy back pack and no harness, so was looking all sad at me. Tail straight down and a terrible sad doggie look. But there was nothing I could do about it.

Again I was heading out from Vienna's Matzleinsdorfer Platz where I cached the train to Payerbach-Reichenau. From there the bus to the Rax Gondola. Like the last time I missed the first gondola. But this time they made us wait till 8.30 for the next ride. On top of Rax plateau temps were nice between 60's and 70's and that makes for great hiking. I headed out beating the majority of the pack of people. I'm just not a fan hiking in large packs of people. Not my idea of hiking fun. I prefer the solitude of the mountain. Makes for a much more memorable hike ind reconnects you with nature. I did make good time. At Ottohaus I opted to continue on Seeweg. Apparently I remembered wrong. I always thought there was a second option to hike parts of Preiner Wand. Either I remembered wrong or I just missed the intersection. During hiking Seeweg I realized that my knee was acting up. It didn't have any problems on even sections. And hiking upslope wasn't too bad. But hiking downslope really gave me pain in my knee. No idea why. Maybe I didn't warm up enough before heading out or something more serious is wrong with my left knee. Either way I wan't going to let that stand in my way hiking the 20 minutes to summit of Preinerwand. It was an technically easy hike, but having a knee bothering you isn't really helpful. I reached the summit and spent about 20 minutes on the summit. Took pix and video and helped out a few hikers getting a pic at the summit. And from up there I got amazing view of the surrounding montains, of Preiner Wand and of the recent hike down Trinksteinsattel I recently took with Gina.

When hiking down from the summit I saw a several chamois fairly close to the trail. Such experiences are always fun. While hiking down my left knee was even acting more up and starting really to bother me. So I stopped at Neue Seehütte for a Radler and a 20 minute break. At that point it was equally far hiking back to the gondola or hiking down Göbel-Kühn trail to Waxriegelhaus. And of course I opted for the latter. I figured it will get better as time goes on and the trail to Waxriegelhaus really didn't look that steep, at least as far as I could see it. At first I was very right with that assumption. But than the trail starts descending. First not so much but than there are fairly steep sections and that really bothered my left knee. Good thing I never head out without my trekking poles. And the really got some heavy usage. I can only say I love my Black Diamond Trekking Poles. Without them it would have been much, much harder on me. It took some time to figure out the right stepping technique to make my knee hurt

as little as possible. It means that you're actually baking fairly slowly. I was very grateful about every even section on the trail. So I made my way slowly down to Waxriegelhaus. It was supposed to take me about 1 hour, but I made it in a little over 1 1/2 hours. And thats not too bad considering the circumstances. 

This entire hike felt very weird. Me hurting and not having my Gina, my hiking buddy with me, just didn't feel right. But I did take a stop at Waxriegelhaus. I ordered a Goulash and a Radler, took a half our break and enjoyed the company on other hikers and enjoyed the view. Shortly before 2 pm I started the descent to Preiner Gscheid. Very quickly it was clear that my knee was still hurting. Especially after exceeding certain grades of steepness. Good thing that there are 2 options. The more direct route and the forest road. I did take the forest road since the grade of the road worked much better for my knee. While hiking the road I was almost pain free. I made it to Preiner Gscheid in a little over the usual time.

And still had about 1 hour to kill before my bus left. Edelweishütte was packed and so I decided to chill in the shade a few large trees relax and have a snack that I had brought with me on the hike. This was actually very relaxing and peaceful. I chatted with a couple of hikers at the bus station. I took the bus from Preiner Gscheid to the strain station from where I headed back to Vienna to a very excited Gina. 

While this was supposed to be a training hike it turned into a training hike of a different kind. It really tested out how much determination I have to finish a hike and how much discomfort I can put out of my mind while willingly taking it. It was not exactly a fun hike, but is that going discourage me from hiking...certainly not. It's one of those things only a passionate hiker will understand. 

GoPro Hero 4 - My Review...

There is another item I got to test during my recent hike to Rax. I have been having issues with my camcorder for the past couple of month. The most likely culprit is probably the memory card. That would be an easy fix. But I wasn't really happy with the size and the weight of the camcorder. So I did my research and figured that the GoPro Hero 4 would most likely do the best job for me during hiking season.
On top of that I got my Hero 4 on sale with about 100 bucks off the regular retail price. The Hero 4 is a really tiny camera and does both great pix and great video. And it's really super light. Fits in every pocket of my hiking shorts easily. And the additional housing makes it pretty much waterproof. And that can be a good thing when hiking in Austria's mountains. The downside of the housing is, that you have to take the camera outside when recording vlogs of the hike. That's something that I still have to get used to.
Another thing that I still have to get used to is the wide angle lens. It's great for taking pix while hiking, but it means that you really have to keep your fingers off the front side while shooting or you end up having your fingers in the picture. This happened to me which several pix during my recent hike.
Still can't say much about the video quality. This will have to wait until I get around cutting the first video segment together. Supposedly it shoot 1080p. But as far as the quality of the pix go, I'm very happy with that and it is definitely worth the investment.
And love the thing that I just plug it into my MacBook Pro and it transfers all the media to my iPhoto or asked me if I rather have the media stored on a cloud service instead.

LOWA Renegade Hiking Boots - my review...

Another item that I recently bought were the LOWA Renegade light hiking boots. These got their first test during my recent hike to Rax.
For many years I used to be firm believer in medium-heavy to heavy hiking boots. They just have more stability when it comes to stabilizing your ankle. While that is entirely true it also means that you have to deal with much more weight of the hiking boot. I do have a medium hiking boot, but during the pas 2 summers I haven't been wearing them too much. The hikes I have been doing were rarely easy and really didn't justify a medium heavy hiking boot. And of course the heavier a hiking boot is, that warmer it will be. That is all well and nice when temperatures are moderate, but with temps in the 90's I really I wanted a boot that is lighter and not as warm as my medium heavy boot. So I had done my research before heading out the Bergfuchs. I had lowered it down to LOWA Renegade and a comparable model made by Meidl.
I tried both boots.They were both quite comfy. But in the end I went with the LOWA Renegade. It is the boot that goes a little further up, maybe giving you an tad more stability. And the most important reason was, that I just felt more comfy on the LOWA. On even stretches they were absolutely great to wear. During passages where the trail was climbing up the mountain, they were light but great to wear, giving you enough stability without sacrificing traction on the trail. Downhill passages especially in the limestone mountains require a little rethinking of your hiking technique. With medium heavy booths you don't have to think on how to step on rocks. It just doesn't matter, your leg is being completely stabilized. So you really don't have to think about out. But with a light hiking boot, you sacrifice some of the stability for the weight. What essentially means, that have to adjust your stepping technique in order to adjust for the loss in stability. But this adjustment didn't take too long, in fact it went rather quickly.
And the best of all it's another hiking boot were I didn't get any blisters although I ended up doing an 8 hour hike. And that's definitely a huge Plus I'm my book. All Pro's and Con's considered I definitely can recommend the LOWA Renegade.

Mamut Crest Heron - my review...

Those of your guys who read my blog regularly know, that I recently added some new gear items to my hiking stuff. Either to replace missing stuff or to substitute for worn out stuff. During my recent hiking trip to Rax some of those stuff got it's first usage. 

I bought a Mamut Crest Heron 40 liter back pack. It's not the biggest one, but will do nicely for one-day hikes and weekend hikes. I really do like the fact that it is water bladder compatible. That it has an extra compartment were you can keep your dry cloth of for stuff that you need quick access to is definitely a big Plus in my book. The rest of the back pack is pretty much average. At least there is not much special about that back pack than other packs I have owned. The shoulder straps are much thinner than those of my old back pack. But they divide the load surprisingly well, without hurting or cutting into your shoulders. The hip belt has an extra pouch to out surf in, like a camera, phone or GPS. That will come in very handy in the future. The designers of this back really put a lot of thought into the hip belt. Because this belt does carry the majority of the weight, thus releasing your shoulders from carrying weight and making the hiking experience much better. Even a full bag doesn't drag you down on the shoulders and gives you lots of free movement. I like that very much about my new back pack. I just wish this back pack would come in greater variety of colors.

When it comes to the drinking system. It's fairly easy to put in. I can see the usage of carrying and additional supply of water especially on dry stretches or when hiking in limestone mountains. But that is at far as the drinking system goes, at least as far as I'm concerned. Using a water bladder like the Platypus it just doesn't seem to work for me. It's just too much of a hassle. Of course there is as well the possibility that this water bladder was just a cheap rip off of the original Platypus, since it only cost 15 bucks. During me hiking Rax it was just easier taking my pack off and drinking out of my regular 1,5 liter drinking bottle. Not sure yet if I'm gonna try it with a original Platypus water bladder and see if it works any better. 

Passing my Cost Analysis Exam...

Today was the day, that I was going to find out my grade of my cost analysis exam. Those of you guys who read my blog regularly know, that I thought after the exam that I should have at least a passing grade. Since the exam was mostly easy for me I was hoping for a better grade than just a passing one. But having done my share of written exams in my lifetime I know, just because the exam went easy doesn't mean that you actually passed it.
Of course the grades weren't going to be released till 3 pm. So it meant to wait. But work was kinda busy, and that made the time pass by much quicker. Shortly after 3 pm I logged on to the WKO main site, but couldn't find my exam results. I know regardless how you did, you would be seeing your result anyways. I found that rather strange, since I never had that issue before. But decided to give it another 30 minutes. After that time had passed I logged on again, just with the same result. I didn't see my result. So I called IT-Support to see what the issue was. Got a hold of someone in under 2 minute. That was quite surprised. Told them my issue. The representative I was talking to logged into my account. Took her just a minute to figure out where the result was. Usually the results show up in finished classes. But the recently changed something around, so that the class they just released the grades for still shows up under booked classes. I still think that could use some reprogramming, but I was just happy to see my final grade.
Not did I pass my cost analysis class, but I passed it with over 85%, what makes it a B!!! OMG I was totally excited. So all that learning over the last couple of month really paid off. Sacrificing most for my free time and taking one week paid vacation just to learn for the cost analysis exam. It turned out, that this was the right decision. And what makes that B even more awesome is the fact that this class was giving me so many issues, and sometimes I thought there's no way that I will pass this exam.
So yes I'm still very excited. Now I get to relax over the summer and classes will be starting again in September.

The Aftermath...

Those of you guys who read my blog regularly, that Gina had a mishap while hiking Rax. When I got home I checked her paws and she had ripped the of her front legs 2 pads really bad. The tiny scratches on one pad of the right leg is pretty much not too much of an issue. And it really doesn't bother her much. The pads on the front legs are an entirely different story. Those are bothering Gina and they're definitely hurting. But of course this being the weekend there was not much I could do about. And since it was not an emergency I wan't going to call the emergency department of Vienna's VET University.
The plan was to take Gina to my VET. I checked if he was there, but don't you know it, he is on vacation. Fortunately I've a second VET close to my apartment. With Vienna currently experiencing a heat wave, I wasn't going to make Gina walk on the hot pavement. After all it was still 95+ F outside, when we had to head out to the VET. So I called a cab and went there. We had to wait at the VET for about 30 minutes. When he finally took a look at Gina's paws, she was surprisingly cooperative. And it was exactly what I thought. He trimmed back the edges of the ripped pads. Gave me ointment for the pads and some neoprene doggie boots for when she has to walk on the pavement. And as I suspected, this is an injury that will take  couple of weeks to completely heal. When I talked about how Gina had hurt herself, he told me that this is not exactly an uncommon injury when dogs hiking limestone mountains. On the other hand Daisy never had those problems. And I'm not entirely sure if there wasn't some preexisting condition. Not sure if there wasn't a small blister when the dog walker walked with Gina during the current heat wave. And it really doesn't take much to burn a dogs pads on the pavement during a heat wave. But I can't be sure about that. And in the end it really doesn't matter. That's something we have to go trough.

Hiking Rax...

Today Gina and I started out on our hike to Rax, on of the mountains fairly close to Vienna. It was a good way to beat the heat in the city. After all it was supposed to at least 35 C (95 F). So Gina and I left with the train around 6 am. It did take Gina a little time to get used to her doggie pack bag. We boarded the train and headed for Payerbach-Reichenau. Took a little under 90 minutes. Next we took the bus to the gondola. Had to wait for about 10 minutes. Af course Gina's ticket was abut half of the price of mind. It's funny anywhere you show up with her, she makes immediately new friends. The ride in the Gondola was no big deal for Gina. For her that's just like a ride in a train. We then made our way towards Ottohaus. But didn't go there. I really wanted to take a trail off the beaten path. So we took the trail via Dirnbacherhütte and Klobentörl. I put the tracking leash on Gina and let her go ahead. After all she should have the option to explore and figure out the way the trail was leading. A little brain work for her is important as well. And she did an amazing job. Of course there were a few instances where I had to point her in the right direction. The way all the way down into the ravine was fun. Hiking trough the forest, temps nice and around 22 C (71 F). But after Dirnbacherhütte came the ascent to

Klobentörl. One switchback after the another. And all of it in direct sunlight. Very little protection and no breezy at all. The sun was burning down. Gina was painting I was sweating like a pig. (Not exactly sure if pigs sweat though). This was not exactly fun. We had to take several breaks in the shade of a tree. But we finally made it to Klobentörl. We took a rest. Gina and I rehydrated. Gina found her self a great place in the shade. I had an sandwich. The came the next part of the ascent. I didn't remember how steep that climb was and how long it was. The sun beating down on us. And I was sweating like crazy. And in the last third of the climb the muscles of my upper thighs, right above the knee, started to cramp up. This was neither good nor fun. So we had to take way more breaks than I would usually have. But we finally made it to the plateau. Of course it is a beautiful hike away from the beaten path, but it certainly did take a beating on me. The hike on the plateau itself was great and relaxing. Gina got to explore a little and she did exactly was Daisy used to do, find herself a special spot a eat grass. Shortly thereafter Gina got to meet cows and bulls for the first time. She wasn't exactly sure about them. I think she was a little intimidated about the animals size. One young bull took special interest in Gina. He probably just wanted to figure out what she is all about. But Gina just hid behind me. Having hiked for many years I know how to make a

young bull keep his distance. Gina is very different from Daisy, as Daisy would have wanted to meet the bull. The bull followed us for some time. But eventually turned around. Shortly thereafter we got our first glimpse of Habsburg Haus. But it was still about 30 minutes away. We did make up to the mountain hut. Gina found herself a place on the shade right away. I gave her water and she just chilled. I ordered 2 large glasses of apple juice mixed with water. I even considered having lunch. But didn't feel all that hungry. What did surprise me that I was having a cell reception. So I knew that it was way later than I would have thought. It was about 1.30 pm. I checked the free Internet at Habsburg Haus, but at Karl-Ludwig Haus there was still no space available. So that meant we would have to make it back to the Gondola by 6 pm at the latest. So we started to hike towards Trinksteinsattel. On the way we met some of the hikers we had taken the gondola up the mountain with. We made decent time and did make it to Trinksteinsattel in the time posted on the signs. Then we started the decent to Neue Grünseehütte. This descent was a little tough on Gina. It did take some encouraging. We stopped for a quick rehydrating at Grünseehütte. I knew I had to make the last Gondola and it would take about 1 3/4 hours to make it there. And the time that had left was about 2 hours. So we started out and I

picked up the pace. Gina was always walking about 5 meters behind me. It did occur that something wasn't quite right. But there's nothing I could do about that. I knew if I don't make the last gondola I will have to hike down Törlweg and that's going to add at least another 2 1/2 hours. And that won't do Gina's legs any good. So yes I did force her somewhat to pick up the pace. I did let her hike in the grass whenever possible. And this kinda "hiking sprint" didn't do anything good for me either. My feet, knees and thigh muscles were hurting, but there was no way I was gonna miss that gondola. If I would have had my sleeping bag with me, it wouldn't have been an issue. I would have just camped on the mountain. But this was not an option. I even considered carrying Gina, but she did fight that attempt either. So she had to walk. Of course I felt bad for her, but at this point I couldn't do anything about it. We finally made it to the gondola with about 45 minutes to spare, which means we won somewhere along the 45 minutes. We took the next gondola down the mountain. That gave us the option that Gina could relax and rehydrate until we had to head to the bus. Took the bus to the train station and 5 minutes later we boarded the train. At Wiener Neustadt we managed to catch the Railjet, which shortened the train ride by about 20 minutes.
Once home first thing I did check paws. Turns out she must have torn up 2 pads along the way. In retrospect I think I know where it happened. Must have been the way down Trinksteinsattel. She wasn't going around the rocks, but had to go them down. Still not sure if it's that alone or if the major contributing factor was the added weight form the doggy back pack. After all she had to carry about 2 Kilo (4 lbs) in weight.
Besides that mishap and the fact that I'll be having sore muscles form the "hiking sprint" it was a great hike. I felt tired but otherwise amazing. The feeling that you're a little sore but you feel happy and reconnected with mother nature. There really is something of hiking on your feet trough forests, grass and rocks. Keeps you centered and of course it's always fun to chat with other hikers and Gina definitely is a showstopper. Everyone wants to know what kind of dog she is.

New Back Pack and new Hiking Boots...

With the planned hike approaching with huge steps it was definitely time to get a new back back. My current back pack probably would have done for a day hike, but I really wanted to replace it. It has taken me a long time to come to a decision. The 30 liter back packs were to small as far as I'm concerned and the 50 liter back backs are too big. So in the end I went with a 40 liter back back. But of course there are still a lot of options. I really wanted a pack that has an integrated rain protection and is ready for a water bladder. That of course limited my options. And to make things even more difficult there is always the question of the empty base weight. I really wanted to keep as close to 1,2 kg (2 lbs). In the end I went with the Mammut Heron. The color would probably not be my first choice. But it meets my requirements and I got it on sale for 40 bucks off. Not

sure how it will do on a long hike. Guess only future will answer that question.
In addition to my back I replaced my trekking poles as well. I used to have Leki poles, but I never was happy with fiddling around to get them into the right length. I was almost every time a hassle and I really wanted to avoid it this time. So I found those poles made by Black Diamond. They cost pretty much the same as the Leki and when I saw the easy way they allow you to adjust the length I was hooked on them.

Next up were my hiking boots. I do have hiking boots that are a compromise between heavy hiking boots and light hiking boots. They do very well in steep areas and gravel. But for flat areas and long distance hikes, they are just a pain in the butt. I could never get as comfy to them as I was with my old heavy hiking boots. So this time I was going to got for light hiking boots. Goes very well for the terrain I have currently in mind. I did my research and the LOWA Renegades seems to be the best choice. But of course you can only tell that when wearing them for the first time. So today I went to the store. Tried them on and compared them to other models. But in the end I went with the LOWA Renegade. Just felt really comfy in them. And at a price for under 200 bucks. But of course I would never ever short change myself on a hiking boot. The big question is how all that stuff is gonna going to do on a real hike.

Maps in the Mail...

While it is true that I do know some Austrian mountain groups very well and probably wouldn't need a hiking map, I just don't like to head out with them. As long as I stay on my planned trail, I most likely won't need them anyway. But as soon as something goes wrong or certain changes are required, I really wouldn't want to miss them. So for my planned hike this weekend I had to get some maps. With my work schedule being quite busy I just didn't have the time to go to a store to get those maps. So I ordered them online and today they arrived in the mail. For most part I'm happy with them. But one map in a scale of 1:50.000 just isn't my thing. Don't know if it is the scale itself or the print of the map. So I'm thinking of replacing it with one in a scale of 1:25.000.

Replacing some Hiking Gear...

Up till now I didn't have to replace some hiking gear that has either been worn out or that I never bothered to replace after moving back from the States. Daisy was just too old to take her for long hikes. And the stuff I had was doing just done for day hikes. But when Gina came into my life, everything just changed. I knew I had to replace the hiking stuff at some time. But at first Gina and I were still getting used to each other and than my schedule was busy with preparing for 2 exams. So to make a long story short. Replacing the hiking gear never happened. But with my cost calculation exam almost done it was definitely time to replace that hiking gear. And I was planning to take Gina for a well needed hike to let all the excess energy out. So I ordered some worn out stuff online. And today it arrived in the mail. Of course the Austrian Postal Service was suppose to deliver it. But they never even bothered to ring the door bell. Instead they just out a notice in my mail box, that I could pick up my package at the local post office the next day. And that just didn't make me a happy camper.

Especially since I was home all day long. But there is nothing you can do about it. So I got it today after work. Ss you can see I replaced my drinking system, my first aid kit and my head lamp. The first aid kit is pretty much straight forward and there's nothing special to it. With the drinking system I was going for a 3 liter water bladder. Just seems to be a good choice long hikes  and long distance hikes. And I do think this drinking system will come especially handy during hikes in Austria's Limestone Mountains. But of course it still has to pass it's first practical test. The same is true for my new headlamp. It's a Petzl headlamp in the middle price range. Guess using it the first time at night will tell if it was the right choice. But of course I will always have a regular water bottle with me, since I don't trust the water bladder by 100%.
And once the first long hike or multi-day hike is done I will post a review about the new gear.

Taking my Cost Analysis Exam...

Today was the day that I was going to take my cost analysis exam. Of course I didn't get the best sleep. Had some odd dreams of cost analysis. But of course I got up in time. Took Gina for her morning walk. After that I had breakfast. Then I got to get ready. But turns out that I was a little quicker than I expected to be,  because I still had about 15 minutes to kill. Spent them chilling with Gina on the couch. When she saw me leave she was not exactly a happy camper. Got to WIFI with about 20 minutes before the exam was going to start. I like to be early and have time to relax. Met up with a couple of students I was taking the class and the exam with and we killed the time just chatting. About 5 minutes before the exam started we walking in the classroom. Found my place and listened to the usual introduction. Then they gave us the exercises. I looked them through, and 3 of them were pretty much straight forward. 1 was a little more difficult and than there was the chapter with the theoretical questions. The first thing I did I went trough the theoretical questions, because these are some cheap points, that you definitely don't want to give away. I think I did fairly good on those. Although there were some questions that I just was guessing.
Then I started with the 3 practical exercises that were pretty much straight forward. And I went trough them in fairly decent amount of time. Good thing was all 3 of those exercises I had been practicing one last time on Monday. As it turns out that came in quite handy. I'm pretty confident that those 3 examples are correct. By that time a little less than about half the testing time had passed. I then went on to the example I wasn't sure about. I think I did get the first half of the question right. The second part of the question is wrong. At least I think so. At some point I think there is a failure in  my starting equation. But I still did write an result down. I gave myself another 15 minutes to come up with a better starting equation, but didn't get anywhere. So I decided to leave the results for that particular question as it was. Checked again the theoretical questions and the other 3 examples. But I was fine the way it was. So I handed my work over to the testing commission, and that with still 1/2 hour testing time left. Took my place in the lobby and waited for 2 of my class colleagues to finish. We talked for about 20 minutes about the test. And we're all confident that we should have at least a passing grade. When I calculated my points it was clear that even in the case I don't get any point for the example I was having issues with, I still should have a passing grade. After that we said our good beys and headed into work. Unfortunately I won't find out till July 7th if my feeling about my grade was right or not.

KORE in a Box...

Well, after having taken off an week from work to study for my exam in Cost Analysis I put in about 120 hours of studying time. It means that I was spending about 8 to 10 hours a day studying for my exam. Poor Gina. This didn't do anything for. But she was a good sport and chilled under my desk or on the couch for most of the time. For being such a young and energetic dog she was doing really awesome. During this week I went through the practical exercises twice. And there are 70 exercises. With some of them I was doing better. And others really were a challenge to me. Today I went on final time trough those exercises I was having problems with. And I think I'm somewhat prepared to take my exam tomorrow. But I'm still not as prepared as I would like to be. Therefore I would have needed one more week to do at least one additional pass through all the exercises. But of course there is such as thing as over preparing for an exam. After I was done today I really couldn't see anything that has even remotely to do with cost analysis.
The one thing I couldn't believe how tired you can get form working all day with your head. During that last week I was mentally exhausted in the evening. I really didn't want to watch TV. I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat. just grabbed the next best thing out of the fridge. After learning I just wanted to chill with Gina on the couch. So, yes Gina in I did get to spend some quality time together. The pic you see is the result of all the practical exercises I've been doing last week. I really hope tomorrows exam will be going fine.

I passed Economic Calculus...

Well, today was going to be the day, that I would find out the result of my Economic Calculus exam. Unfortunately, they don't release the results before 3 pm. So it really is a waiting game. Wasn't exactly helping me while preparing for my next exam. I knew one thing if I should have not a passing grade I would have to go to WIFI to look at my exam and figure out what went wrong. But that was something that really didn't fit into my learning schedule for my exam in Cost Analysis.
So finally 3 pm came around. I jumped online and logged into my WIFI students account and there was the result. I passed the exam with 75% and that makes it not only a passing grade but I passed it with a C. I was very, very happy about that.
Talked to my friend Dali who had been taking the exam together with me. Unfortunately he didn't pass. He told me that he looked at the exam sheet at WIFI and that quota of people not passing was 60%.
Passing that exam really made my day and gave me well needed boost while studying for my Cost Analysis exam.

A new iPod...

Well, today I decided it was time to treat myself to a new iPod. I had already decided that I was going to go for an iPod Nano. That was the model that would be fitting the current situation best. Not that I was getting tired of my old iPod Classic. the size of it never bothered me and I love the big hard drive. But the thing is I don't get to use it as often as I would like to. Since Gina came into my over the XMAS holidays it turns out that she is very reactive to outside noises. And having my big iPod playing the dock while I'm away keeps her much more relaxed. So effectively Gina has commandeered my iPod.
But with my Cost Analysis exam fast approaching I really needed a new iPod to listen to all the theory stuff. For me that's an easy way to learn theoretical stuff. And having a MacBook Pro it was pretty much a given that I was be getting a new iPod. Just love the integration between MacBook Pro, GarageBand, iTunes and iPod.
So today after work I headed over to Vienna's 6th district to McShark. Since we don't have Apple Stores we have to deal with Apple retailers. And best of all the subway stops just at the store. Got there and of course I knew exactly what I wanted. I had a little time to look around at the stuff and it's always fun. Some of the stuff would be fun to have, but is just way too expensive as an addition to my MacBook Pro. I grabbed on of the guys there told him what I wanted and with very little time I was out of the store and back on my way home. First thing I did was connecting the iPod to my MacBook and check if everything is in working order. Of course it worked without a hitch. But I still couldn't get over the fact how small the Nano is compared to my old iPod Classic. Next I started up my GarageBand and recorded the next installment of Cost Analysis and transferred all my professional stuff to the Nano. Now everything is ready to go. That's the way technology is supposed to work!

Catching a Scam Artist...

Well, I've been talking with this guy online. Not sure how he found me to begin with. But being a "partially" good guy I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Of course in the back in my head there was always the feeling that this might be an scam attempt. Not that this would have been a new territory for me. So you basically lean back and watch where the journey is going. At first there was not much to raise my suspicion. It's the usual chit chat when you try to get to know each other. There were a couple of instances that did raise my suspicion. If you try to scam someone you usually do that from a position on an equal. But putting yourself in a very vulnerable position was a new way to do things.
This chit chatting went on for days. Nothing particular odd about that. But during that time I realized a certain change. The chit chat became less of a conversation and more of a question and answer game. This was for me the first red flag. But of course it could have been that the person in question just isn't good in keeping a conversation going. A couple of days later I realized a few other odd things. I f I ask any gay man I know the question "when did you come out of the closet", I get a clear answer. Either the time or they say they are still in the closet. But having to ask the question twice and not getting an answer, was quite suspicious. I had to rephrase the question in order to get an answer. That was the second red flag. At this point I really was interested to see where that was going and how the scam was supposed to work.
It didn't take long for the next red flag to occur. Suddenly the gay persona changed completely. There was this sudden change for a proud and self-sufficient gay man to basically a good christian wife, who just wants to please his man. This is a really step change to be taken seriously. And actually very unattractive. When I asked the guy what he was working, I was being told he worked part-time in construction. I found that somewhat hard to believe. Especially with having a certain disability. This just didn't go together for me. And his working schedule didn't quite match either, at least not considering the time zone he was supposedly living in.
I still wasn't quite sure how the scam should be working. I had an idea, but thought this would be really a bold move. So having become a little too suspicious I did a little checking. The first thing that didn't match the story was the phone area code. The code provided was a code from upstate NY and by his own account he had never ever been there. So I asked him about how he met his last boyfriend. Well lets just say the story I was being told was just odd. I've dated many guys and I have dated guys with disabilities in the past. But the way this guy allegedly met his Ex...well it just doesn't happen that way.
With that many red flags I did what an accountant does best. I applied basic accounting techniques to the situation at hand. I didn't let myself get emotionally involved. I just asked the question what can be substantiated. So I did a little checking. Regardless who you are, as soon as you use social media, you're leaving an electronic footprint. And the footprint that could be substantiated was very slim. To put it another way it was barely existent. The FB feed was very short, and of all gay man I know on FB nobody uses his FB in that odd of a manner. So, I was pretty much convinced that he was a scam artist.
The next thing I was told was of a personal nature. And that story was so ludicrous it was beyond anything I had ever heard. And of course it was something you can very easily find proof of. And no there wasn't any mention of that incident.
So finally came that day with the scam attempt. It was after my cost analysis class and the guy pro probably thought it would be a good idea to start the scam attempt. He was getting bad news on the phone. And just said to Gina now someone had a bad accident or needs to have emergency surgery and he needs money. Apparently I've become such a powerful Gay that I can read minds. :)
Of course his mom had to have an emergency operation and she was the only member of his family left and he needed to come up with 2 Grand. I just asked him where his mom was supposed to have that surgery. And she was supposedly having it in a country where I know for a fact that they do have a public health service. And all operations, meds and hospital stays are being paid for by the government. I told him flat out that he was a liar. Since this story doesn't make sense to begin with. Then he tried to play the same game with the meds and again it was an easy task to tell him that this pure nonsense. After that, and I really was waiting  for that, he tried to play the religious card. That was even more funny, since playing the religious card on an Atheist will never ever work. Then he got mad and told me he had nothing to say to me anymore. And I told him not to get mad at the guy who caught him in an scam attempt.
I really thought that would have been the end of it. The very next day told me that he sold all his jewelry, routed the money abroad and his mom did have emergency surgery in time. I just had to call him out on it and tell him that this is very unlikely in the time frame he had provided. After that I never heard a word again.
What lesson can be learned from that never ever try to scam an accountant. And this story will surely make a great anecdote when hanging with friends.

Economic Calculus Exam...

Today was the day that I had to take my Economic Calculus Exam. I really wasn't nervous about it. As I was convinced that I was prepared properly. And best of all The last day I looked at the subject at hand was on Sunday. That rarely ever happens. Got to WIFI with about 20 minutes to spare. Really like not having to stress myself before taking an exam. I met a guy there that I had been taking tax law together with and we passed the time just be chatting with each other. Didn't take long for us to be let into classroom. After a couple minutes of explanations how the test data file was setup it was time to start with the test. There were 7 exercises to complete 5 of them were easy and pretty much straight forward and I had no difficulties with them. Exercise number 6 gave me a little difficulty. I think that a part of exercise 6 was right with the second answer I'm not so sure. The calculation of amortization I was having issues with. This was the case in class and it turned out I was having those issues again during taking the test. And finally Exercise number 7 with the linear function. I was having some issues with that. Those functions are just not my thing. They're just absolutely illogical. I was having issues with it while learning and I think that I messed this exercise up. I was done with the test 15 minutes before the testing time was over. And I left my answers the way I put them first. I walked out of the classroom and waited for my former class colleague to finish. While waiting for him I chatted with 2 guys I had taken economic calculus together and they were having issues with the amortization and linear functions as well. On the way to the subway my class colleague and I chatted a little about each others work before having to head in opposite directions to get to work. If my feelings are an indicator, I should have at least a passing grade. But unfortunately I will have to wait to find out the result till June 25th.

Hike and a Date...

Well, today I was having a Date. Have been chatting with this guy on and off for a over a week. Today we decide to meet for a date. It's not like we were living close to each other. He's from Carinthia and that's about 250 miles form Vienna. And this guy doesn't exactly fit my usual dating age bracket. But we seemed to get along in the chat just fine. He was visiting Vienna anyways so we decided to meet for a date. Of course it had to the hottest day of the weekend with temps in the low 90's. So meeting in the inner city for coffee wasn't the best option. After all we wanted to see how well we would be getting along and I was definitely going to bring Gina. After all if Gina doesn't like a guy a data and anything beyond that is not going to happen.
The best idea I could come up with is to meet at Danube Island and take a stroll along the river Danube to get to knew each other in person. This would give Gina the opportunity to cool off in the Danube. We decided to meet around 4 pm at the subway station. In retrospect I should have gone with my instincts and moved the timetable to 6 pm as temps were more comfy at that time. But I went along with the timetable and boy was it hot. Good thing there was a little breeze going, that made it easier to deal with the heat. Temps were still in the 90's and with a fairly amount of humidity. And that's a bad mixture. I don't mind dry heat, that's why SoCal heat never bothered me that much, but humidity is an entirely different story. So my date, Gina and I went for a stroll along the river Danube. Gina was quite hot. So I let her fairly early cool down in the water. It's just fun to watch. This dog is really kind of a "water dog". She is so different from Daisy, who used to be water shy. Gina goes into the water up till her belly is in the water and of course she had to drink out of the river and after that she got busy with cashing waves made by boats passing by. It's definitely fun to watch. After Gina had her fun time we continued our hike. After about an hour we decided to stop at one of the Cafe's and decided to sit down and have a drink. We were both sweaty Gina was quite hot. She found herself a place under the table and was very thankful that I brought her transportable water bowl and she really took advantage of that. That's what good doggie daddies do. We ordered two Radler. And they really hit the spot. The waiter brought Gina a big bowl with water. Very nice of them to do that. And boy was this waiter some tasty dish. All things considered it definitely would have been fun to take that dish home with me.
We continued out chat, but I got the feeling that we just weren't a good match. It's not that we didn't like each other, but we're just a little too different and like to do different things. And neither of us is really willing to make big compromises. We both knew it but we didn't exactly speak it out loud. It's kind like an unspoken code between gay men. We said our good bey's at the subway station and we did say to keep in touch and see where things would be going. But we both knew that's just a "social" convention and has very little to do with the actual truth.
Although this date went basically nowhere, it was still fun and Gina did have a good time in the Danube.

Simon's First Birthday...

Today I was going to celebrate the birthday of my youngest nephew Simon at my sisters. I was torn when it came to that event. Of course I agreed to go. Of course I looked forward to spending time with my Sis, since I haven't seen her since January. Of course I was looking forward to seeming my Mom and getting a chance to catching up with her. The chance of seeing my allegedly biological sperm donor was not exactly something I really cared about. And then there of course was Gina. This will be the second time Gina is at my sisters and the first time went fairly well. Gina is still very young and has way too much energy. She is still quite a little undisciplined and acts in some situations just like a puppy does. And big crowds were the big question mark. I just wasn't sure how she would be doing with that.
We got there just in time before the entire thing was going to take off. And of course Gina was way too overexcited. New surroundings, smell of food everywhere and way more people than she is used to. And she just wants to say hello to everyone. And I didn't let her do that, since saying hello to someone in Gina's mind means jumping up on everyone and inviting everyone to play. Gina still plays like a puppy. She is still quite mouthy and sometimes she doesn't know her own strength. When she plays with me, that is no problem since I know how to handle her. But with all the kids around she had to stay on the leash an next to me. And that was a little overwhelming for poor Gina. She was panting way more than she usually does and she just didn't understand why she couldn't play with all the kids running around. But slowly she got the point and stayed next to me.
I did get the chance to talk to my Mom and catch up on things. And of course I was telling her how I was doing and what's going on in my life. How Gina is progressing and that at this point taking 2 classes at the same time is a little crazy. But that's life.
While at Simon's event it occurred to me that apparently my brother did receive yet another "help" financially. Not that I really care. This guy just takes the cake. He's 48 now and still can't take responsibility for himself. I just thought, when is he finally going to start to grow up and take responsibility, instead of running back to daddy to have his own problems fixed. On the other hand since he's already 48 chances are that's never ever going to happen. Regardless if we're related but this guy is just a looser in may book.
I'm an accountant and I was watching this event unfold with a certain distance. I just found that this was a ver peculiar group of people. Odd, warped even bizarre you might say. I was almost like watching an odd religious cult. Interesting to a certain degree. But definitely not my group of people. And that has nothing to do with all the kids. When I was listening to my sister I just couldn't help but thinking WTF are talking about. Who are you? And what the heck happened to my sister? I stand with both feet on the ground and look at life and possible choices in life  very dispassionate and with the professional distance of an accountant. I just can't deal with people building imaginary castles in the sky. I don't have any use for that. As far as I'm concerned someone who feels the need to do that should get off his ass and get a life. This event has definitely been one of the strangest experiences in quite some time.
By about 7 pm I decided to head back home. On the one hand it was getting chilly and on the other hand we still had about 1 hour before we would be getting back home. Once back home Gina found herself her usual spot to chill and was once again completely relaxed.

Appointment with the Ophthalmologist...

Well, I've noticed lately that I have been having problems with the left eye. First I wasn't sure if I just needed new glasses, but as time went on I was pretty much convinced that this wasn't the issue. In the morning I started out fine but during the day my vision on the left eye got worse. But I did remember that it started exactly that way before I had to have cataract surgery. So I ran a few tests my self and it occurred to to me that this was most likely the issue. At first I wasn't going to do anything about it. It just wasn't bothering me enough and my work schedule and my classes at WIFI were keeping me busy like hell. But as time went on my left eye sight was getting worse. There had been times when I was barely to make out anything with my left eye, except shapes and shades if color. So I called the office of the ophthalmologist who had done the surgery on my right eye. After all you don't want to every Tom, Dick and Harry do your eye surgery. Had to wait for about 6 weeks for my appointment. And today it was time to face the ophthalmologist.
My ophthalmologist is not exactly around the corner. Is about ab 1 1/2 hour drive from my apartment. Since I don't have an car and wasn't sure if he was going to do a background examination of my eye what would have prevented me from driving a car for about 3 hours I choose to take the train. Had to figure out the train schedule first. But the Austrian Railway Administration has an App for that. figured out when I had to leave work. It meant that I had to leave work on a Thursday at noon. Took bus and subway to the train station at Vienna Spittelau. Got there with about 1/2 hour to spare. And waited for my train to arrive. Got on the train and off we went. It is one of Austria's oldest railways. Named after emperor Franz Joseph I. And it was interesting to travel through some of those landscapes. Taking that trip by car would never ever allow you to see those landscapes. And everything considered I wouldn't have been any quicker by car. But traveling by train is much more relaxing. And paying 16 bucks for the ticket there and back is something I could have never ever pulled of while traveling by car.
Got to the ophthalmologist with about 20 minutes to spare. So I settled into the waiting room, since I knew there was going to be some waiting time. But in the end it turned out that I really didn't have to wait as much as I thought would have to. Within 30 minutes I saw my eye doctor. A few basics exams and it was pretty much clear that I would have to have cataract surgery on my left eye as well. They left with me with two option. Having surgery on the next regular appointment what would be by the end of the year or taking advantage of one of their "emergency" appointments, what would have been about 1 month later. I thought it over and opted in the end for the appointment at the end of the year. I really didn't to have my eye surgery in summer, when most of my co-workers want to go on vacation and I have already planned a vacation for the beginning of September. And a having to call in for at least 2 weeks or maybe even longer after surgery during summer isn't going to be very helpful either.
So I'm pretty happy with having my Pre-OP exam in the week before XMAS and I'l be having my surgery appointment on January 8th.
On the positive side it gives me the entire summer to take Gina hiking and getting here use to the mountains and going with her on my planned vacation to northern Germany.
After my appointment had ended I walked back to the train station of Eggenburg. I was expecting a waiting time of about 20 minutes. But my train was running late and so the waiting time increased to 40 minutes. Then I boarded the train back to Vienna. Apparently I was really tired, since I slept almost through about 3/4 of my train ride. And I got back to a very excited Gina just about 1/2 hour later than I would be back during a usual work day.

Removing Gina's bandage...

Today, was the day that I would have to remove Gina's bandage by myself. Not exactly a task I was exactly looking forward to. Considering the drama she pulls off when the VET does it. Of course it had crossed my mind that it mind be easier for me to just put the muzzle on her. But I really didn't want to do that unless I have no other option.
I figured that we do have a different relationship and Gina lets me do things that she would never ever tolerate with anyone else. So I set down in the bathroom with her and slowly started cutting on the bandage. Gina was not exactly a happy camper. Not exactly putting her chaps up, but being a little more mouthy than usual. So I gave her a break. And started once again. So within 3 minutes the bandage was off, and that without the use of the muzzle.
I checked the paw and it was dry and looked fairly good. I really had hoped that Gina would allow me to clean the paw a little of the drainage fluid. Well that was just a little too much. She really didn't want that. So I left it alone. I really didn't want to have to do that by force. But now she's using her pas as if  nothing had happened. And I'm very happy about that.

VET control appointment - Round 2...

After todays dentist appointment I had another control appointment with the VET. After all today the bandage was supposed to come off. We just had to wait for about 10 minutes or so. Gina walked into the Examination room without problems. But she figured out what was going to happen. So she hid under a chair. And she was not particularly happy when got her out of there and put the muzzle on. Otherwise she's almost certainly gonna bite the VET.
Of course it was the usual drama with her. Everything is dry and looks very well. But in order to avoid Gina licking her paw, she got another bandage for the next 2 or 3 days and than I will have the fun task of having to remove the bandage. Of course my VET offered that I can come in and he will do it for me, in case she doesn't let me do it.
So the VET bill from the Labour-Day weekend tally at 250 bucks. Not exactly cheap.

Dentist Appointment...

Well, I had gotten notice from my dentist, that it was time for my 6 month control appointment a couple of weeks ago. But this being a busy time for me I really didn't get around to setting up an appointment. So I finally got around to setting up an appointment. And that meant that I had to leave work a little early. Got to my appointment with about 15 minutes to spare. I did expect to have to wait for at least 15 minutes. So I was quite surprised, when they called me in about 5 minutes after I had arrived.
There were to issues I wanted to address. On the one hand my lower jaw dentures were a little loose and sometimes bothering when eating. And the second thing was, that I wasn't sure if I didn't have a cavity on one of my teeth in the lower jaw.
My dents looked first at the issue with the cavities and he didn't find any problem there. And that made me quite very happy. The next thing that he addressed was the issue with my lower dentures. Took him just a couple of little adjustments and the dentures were a perfect fit once again. And that made me very happy. Since having dentures that come loose while eating are no fun at all.
But he did suggest that I should think about setting up an appointment with his dental hygienist. But other than that the appointment lasted just 10 minutes. Can't even remember a dentist appointment that went so quickly and with so little issues.

VET control appointment...

Today I had to take Gina to my VET for the control appointment, regarding the  claw injury. And I really had a bad feeling with that. Usually when I get home Gina is excited and jumps up on me. Not so much this time. Still came to the door, tail wagging, but really holding her injured paw up. So I knew something must really be hurting her. On the way to the VET I pretty much had a 3-legged dog. So I was pretty sure this claw had to be pulled.
Putting off the bandage was pretty much a drama. But when I saw that paw, I knew it was bad and no wonder she didn't want to step on it. It was wet and draining from the claw and the claw itself was standing away in an odd angle. Of course it had to be pulled. But my VET didn't want to do that without anesthesia. If he hadn't offered it, I would have insisted on it. So she got the anesthesia, and Gina and I waited for the anesthesia to kick in. Took about 10 minutes and Gina was pretty much out. After that the VET carried her into the OP area and I had to wait outside.

I don't like waiting outside. After all you're working on a family member of mine. And with most of Daisy's ambulant procedures I was part of. Of course it didn't take long. about 15 minutes or so. Than I got called in an Gina was laying on the examination table with her tongue sticking out. I had a little chat with the VET. He told me that he rather doesn't want to get her out of the anesthesia premature. And that Gina will be sleeping for the next 3 hours. And I was fine with that. He gave her a Antibiotics booster shot and gave me the Antibiotics that I will have to give to her twice per day beginning the very next morning. Now it was up to me to carry Gina back home to my apartment. good thing that my VET is less than  1/4 mile from my apartment. Although Gina just weighs 20 kg (50 lbs) that dog is really heavy and everything hanging limp down isn't exactly helping either. But I did hold her tight. The first 2/3 of the way wasn't the problem. The last 1/3 was pretty much a fight. Boy I was sweating and there was know way that I would let her slide out of my arms. When I got to my apartment building, I had to put her onto the doorstep to open the door. Good thing on of my neighbors came home at the same moment and offered to hold open the door and fetch the elevator for me. I found that to be very sweet. Once in my apartment I put Gina down on the couch right away. And of course I checked frequently on her. I was supposed to learn for my two classes this evening, but there was no way that was going to happen.
By 9 pm Gina raised the first time her head, just to put it back down right away. She slept on the couch without moving till 2 pm, that's when I heard her walk into the kitchen to drink some water.

Gina got another Claw injury...

Well, Gina isn't having much luck with her claws lately. Knowing her temper and her energy...well, neither of them are helpful either. Gina can be somewhat protective of me when it comes to other people. If she doesn't like someone she will let me now right away.
But an ground-level apartment is even worse. That brings out the guard dog in Gina and she thinks she has to protect the property. Not that that is something particularly bad, but having vases and wooden pots standing on the floor might look pretty, but with Gina that's just and accident waiting to happen. And that was exactly what happened. Gina jumped on one of those wooden pots and must have hit one claw that was a little longer just right. She howled and I saw her put up her paw and start to lick it. Went over there right away and it started to bleed. I know that this claw was most likely broken. Good thing Roger knew the phone number of a VET emergency weekend clinic. I called there and made arrangements that I would be stopping by within the next 30 minutes. By the time I got ready to head out, the bleeding had pretty much stopped and Gina was using her paw pretty much normal, but I still was going to have the VET check it out.
Roger had agreed to go to the clinic with me, without me even asking. But when we got to the bus, he pulled out his phone and told me that he had gotten a WhatsApp from his neighbor that Angie was barking and whining in his apartment. While that is a possibility, since we left very abruptly, it somehow felt as if he was just looking for a way to get out of the entire situation. I really didn't care about that since I had more important things to worry about.
I got to the clinic and had to wait there for another 1/2 hour, since the were really busy. When we got called in the VET looked at it but for some reason didn't want to pull the claw. Without anesthesia it's very painful and with anesthesia I takes quite some time for Gina to get out of it or I would have had to take a cab, since I was all the way across town. The VET just cut her claw back, and Gina pulled of a drama, that you thought someone is trying to stab her. Then she got the dressing on and I will have to take her to my VET on Wednesday for a control appointment. I'm still convinced that my VET will have to pull that claw in the end.
So we slowly made our way back by public transportation to my apartment and Gina spent the rest of the evening relaxing next to me on the couch. This is not exactly how I pictured this weekend.

Dating Mr. Small...

Today was big dating weekend. And having a having a 3 day-weekend should help with things. This seemed definitely a good way to spend my Labour-Day weekend. Of course on Friday I didn't get an start as early as I wanted to. I had planned on leaving around 1 pm, but until I got everything ready including Gina it was about 2 pm. And getting to Roger's place was going to take me about 1 hour. So the entire things started off substantially later than I had planned. Good things my plans are never ever set in stone.
Of course this was a different meeting for the 2 girls since that was Angie's home turf. And she was a litte more protective of it. But it was not that difficult to talk Gina down, when she was getting a little too excited. All in all the two gods were getting along fine with each other and Roger and I were enjoying each others company as well.
Over the years I've dated a ton of guys and I certainly had a lot of sex. So I do know the difference between good and bad sex. And this was for me the worst sex I've had in a very long time. But on the positive side it wasn't the worst sex I've had. While I'm certainly not a size queen, there is something as too small. Every bottom gay man and every woman know what I'm talking about. I found myself thinking are gonna put it in any time soon? And then I realized it was already in. And I couldn't help myself of thinking that this was very disappointing. But I could have dealt with it. Since size isn't everything. If a guy is small but has the necessary moves it can just be great. But this guy was too small as far as I'm concerned and he so didn't have any moves. The thing that popped into my head was a song from the 90's "Short Dick Man"..."an extra belly button isn't that cute..." and I really couldn't get it out of my mind. This was just bad. And considering that the BJ was really great and enjoyable, this made this even more of a disappointment. And I just couldn't help myself, but i really couldn't see that go anywhere than possibly a friendship. But this going anywhere on a intimate level was pretty much a no go as far as I'm concerned. Besides that Roger is more vanilla and I'm way more kinky. So that would eventually become a problem as well.
And on a personal level he is way more the relax and stay at home time kind of guy and likes to go regularly into the gay scene. I do occasionally go into the gay scene, but I'm way more active and love to do way more outdoorsy stuff. Even on that level it really wasn't a fit either.
And especially since that one night there were so no butterflies anymore. And that when I knew this was just pointless. I just didn't exactly know to tell that to him, since he just had gone through a bad break up. But somehow Gina knew how to get me out of that pickle, by doing something she is occasionally "particularly" good at...
To be continued...

Outing at Danube Island...

Well, I've been chatting back and forth with this guy. And we do get well along in the chat. It's not like he would fit my usual dating age bracket nor does he fit into the guys I usually date. But as the saying goes...opposites attract. We've also been out on a Sunday afternoon for a casual date and we seemed to get along well with each other. But all of that is purely theoretical if we can't our dogs to get along with each other. And as far as Gina goes... sympathy is all that counts.
So we arranged for us to meet at Danube Island. And the plan was to let our dogs get to know each other and than go for a stroll along the river Danube. The dogs meeting each other was pretty much a piece of cake. Gina was unsure at first but really showed genuine interest in Angie. And after a little bitching around Angie wanted to socialize as well. Just 10 minutes into the meeting the two dogs were getting along perfectly with each other just like BFF's. They were walking side by side with each other, exploring the same things and problems at all. That made me very happy.
But I did get to know different sides of Gina as well. While she usually is a little defensive about big dogs in the neighborhood, it didn't bother her at all Danube Island. Apparently being out on a hike and meeting other dogs an entirely different game than meeting dogs in the neighborhood. The second thing I figured out is that Gina apparently is kind of a water dog. She was constantly pulling towards the river Danube and if I had let her she probably would have gone for a swim. Considering that the Danube is a major stream and has quite a considerable current, that would have been a bad idea. In the future I might try that with on of the closed of sidearms. But I did let her get a little taste of the river and of course my crazy dog had to step right into the Danube and drink out of it. After that now it's over with pulling towards the water...well not so much luck. Guess Daisy did spoil me in that regard, since she was pretty much water shy.
In the end we walked from Reichsbrücke to Floridsdorferbrücke and back. That is pretty much a hike of about 2 hours. And it was fun for the dogs and for Roger and I as well. We said our good byes at the subway station and I headed back to my apartment.