Game of Thrones

I noticed a new follower and clicked over to check out his blog. This one appealed to me immediately since the author's taste seems to coincide very much with my own. The first posting I read was about George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones novel. He mentioned that he rereads the series when a new book comes out, and that is exactly what I do. I can't just read the new book -- the series is such a pleasure for me that I have to go back and read it all again from the beginning before I can touch the new book. Since I'm waiting for A Dance of Dragons to come out in paperback, I'm relishing the thought of starting over yet again!

The television series has been great as well, and I can't wait for season two. I hope they not only keep going through all of the books, but maintain the high quality we have seen so far. I'm only sorry that the actor who played Gregor "The Mountain That Rides" Clegane left the series and had to be replaced by another. I hope we don't lose any more of the cast.

Weekend in Vienna

We took the train to Vienna, Austria on Friday morning and stayed there until Sunday. We got lucky since it only rained lightly and for a short time. It got dark very quickly, around 4 PM, so I didn't take a lot of pictures in daylight. I visited Vienna in 1997, but this was the first time there for my family. There are simply too many amazing sights, too many photos, so I'll just give a small sample.

Moon over one of the cathedrals

The Rathaus, or City Hall

There were beautiful lights all over the center over town

Vienna Street Scene

Where Soviet Monuments Go to Die

It's been unseasonably warm here in Budapest, so we've had some nice family outings to see various sights.

My wife and eldest son share a happy moment during the expedition

One place we had heard about but could find no one who had actually gone to see it was Memento Park, a place just outside of Budapest where they decided to put all the old Soviet monuments and statues after Hungary regained her independence. As you can imagine, it was a pretty surreal outdoor museum.

Statues at the entrance to the park

Lenin welcomes you!

My youngest son being attacked by the Red Army

...and standing near a very large statue!