Summer in the country...

A dream came true: I finally got my digital SLR, a Canon EOS 400 D. Now I fall asleep with a smile because it IS the coolest toy I ever had... The waiting time before the battery was fully charged (an entire 12 hours) was awful - but in the end, it was worth the wait... I better also mention that I had a dear guest - A was in A(ustria) for some days. Another good reason to take a lot of pictures. Here is only a small collection of those (most of the eating was not documented which made the choice a little easier) ...

My dad getting the BBQ ready like pros do: with a hairdryer. He then grilled pork, beef and of course sausages...

Hungry after a short bike tour
A Carinthian must-have-seen: Minimundus, the small world where they build the world's most famous monuments in small scale and extremely realistic. Sometimes they even use the original materials to make it even more similar. Here: me in front of the Taj Mahal
The Campanile of Venice
The opera of Sydney
A mini steam train passing by one of the famous (French) Loire castlesWe also spent some time in Barcelona (here in Park Güell, opposite of La Sagrada Familia)
Been there, done that: the steam boat "Natchez" (originally from New Orleans, LA)
Cape Canaveral, T-1
One of our wonderful lakes, "Woerther See"... like a postcard
A chill-out day at the Mediterranean in Bibione, Italy
Ready for the surprise gala dinner (the day of starvation was worth it - the 9 course dinner was AWESOME!!!)

Some physical activity was more than necessary after all the eating and drinking. Luckily the weather decided to be nice again and so we headed off for some "hiking" on Ayoub's last day here. The destination was the peak of 2,167 m high Dobratsch, a mountain very close to home. You can drive up a paved road with great panoramic views of the entire region and then walk the altitude difference of approximately 350 m. So it was more of a walk than a hike. But cool.

Myself with Villach, my home town, and the 3 lakes of the area in the background

The mountain's "wild life"
Ayoub and the Upper Carinthian mountains with some eternal snow
The valley where I grew up with another little lake in the background
Break! On top with the Julian Alps
Unfortunately time was passing too fast - we found ourselves back at Ljubljana Airport too soon. Good bye from Europe, dude :-)