The Hills above Salzburg, Austria

Not what is used to be, that's for sure. A paradise of parasailers, gliders, motorcycles, mountain bikers and general tourists (like me), I can see the draw to be here. Even with all the activity, its still very quiet and peaceful. Didn't hear anyone singing in the woods, tho. Someone with a blue parasail apparently didn't make it!

All lined up and waiting to jump, uh, err, sail off the cliff... Ok... enough parasailing... here's the view of the Alps...

Salzburg Harley-Davidson, Salzburg, Austria

Sorry, Paul. No shirts from this one. Was closed for the May Day holiday. :( Will have to be able to settle for shirts from Moscow and Munich. I imagine it probably wouldn't be too cool wearing a t-shirt with the Von Trapp Family Singers all on Fat Boys on the back. Although, after seeing the movie Amadeus, I can imagine Mozart on a Hog.

Berchtesgaden, Germany

I found this little down while driving around the south side of Salzburg after crossing back into Germany. I was just following the road into the Alps. Was worth stopping and just checking out the scenery.

McDonald's Won the Cold War, Moscow

I wasn't surprised to see McDonalds spread across Taipei and other major cities in China and Japan, but was not expecting such a large presence in Moscow. The largest McDonald's in Europe is located in Pushkin Square, about a mile north of the Kremlin. 24 registers wait on customer lines sometimes 10 deep I'm told during the busier times. Glad that's not when I was there. :) This McDonald's is just outside of the Cathedral of Visily the Blessed, not far from the Rolex billboard. You can sit outside and eat your Big Mac while you admire the red bricks of the Kremlin wall just some 25 yards away.

World's Largest Billboard? Maybe. Moscow

I have no idea how much Rolex is paying for this space in Moscow, but I bet a pretty high percentage of the profits go here... just outside of Red Square on the north side of the Cathedral of Visiliy the Blessed is this 100+ meter advertisement... on Friday they were in the processing of taking down the blue winter scene above (if you look between the cranes on the top, you can the the heads of some of the workers on top of the billboard), and changing it to the green summer (horse racer) scene by Saturday afternoon. I saw at least 20 people making this change over the two days, pulling ropes, etc.

Lenin's Mauseleum, Moscow

Situated in the west central part of Red Square flush against the Kremlin wall, somewhere inside these marble-ized red and black stones rests the completely preserved body of Vladimir Lenin, who died in 1924. It was hoped back then that the embalmed body would allow all future generations of Russian citizens to pay their respects to him. Opinion is varied on how good an idea this really was.

Outside the Kremlin, Moscow

Once the scene of many great and evil things, the Kremlin today is really just a wall that protects many of the great treasures of the Russian past in one of the world's largest museums. Attacks, revolts, celebrations, cold war planning, the Kremlin has been famously known as ground zero for an American ICBM. Still surrounded by its great red wall, there are 3 public entrances, and several government entrances. Black cars with the famous blue light atop can still be seen coming in and out of the official goverment entrance on the northwest corner.

St. Basily's Cathedral, Moscow

On the very south side of Red Square, the magnificent St. Basily's Cathedral offsets the grey and red stone of the rest of the Kremlin. Certainly my personal favorite, seeing it for the first time made my skin tingle, because I could not believe it was really there.

Used as the model for the palace in Walt Disney's Aladdin, when you first make site of it, you think you're looking at a painting hanging from the sky... no structure in the world has this elaborate and vivid collection of colors. Unfortunately, this time of the year, the sun is still low in the sky, so the best pictures of it have to be from the south, and currently there are many preparations for the May Day parade, which is all being put together in the coblestone parking lot on the south side (hence all the heavy equipment).

Cathedral of Visily the Blessed, Moscow

On the north end of Red Square, the Cathedral of St. Visily the Blessed sits in all its majesty. The refined architecture is unique in all the world. Originally the site of the Church of St. Trinity, as Red Square centuries ago was actually referred to as "Troitskaya Square" or Trinity Square. The church of St. Trinity was demolished in the late 16th Century and replaced with the current cathedral.

Cathedral of Christ The Savior, Moscow

Not the original cathedral, however, from a distance you wouldn't know it. The original cathedtral was blown up in 1931, and the existing one wasn't rebuilt until 1995. The cathedral itself is about 1/2 mile from the southwest end of the Kremlin, and is the high point of the horizon in that direction. The gold tops stick out from pretty much all of Moscow.

Mockba Harley-Davidson, Moscow

You know I had to find one here... quite small in and of itself, this outlet's goal is to sell 200 Harley-Davidson Motorcycles a year. The store itself has 2 floors with about 8 to 10 bikes spread throughout. They had just about every leather jacket you could possibly find in a Harley store, possibly more, and a small (but expensive) collection of t-shirts. They've only been open for one year so far, and have sold 150 bikes (so about 3 a week). V-Rods seem to be the bike of choice over here to compete with all the Honda crotch rockets. I've seen two Hogs about the streets of Moscow so far, one was a Black Pearl Road King, and the other from a distance I'm guessing was a Softail.

Red Square, Moscow

Surrounded by the Kremlin wall to the west, Cathedral of Visiliy to the north, the GUM (Government stores to the east) and St. Basily's Cathedral to the south, Red Square has served as a market place, sites of executions, celebrations and the notorious May Day parades we've all seen in pictures and on TV of the Soviet Union's military might. Mostly now it is just a tourist destination. The Lenin Mausoleum rests in the west center of square, flushed to the Kremlin wall. The entire square is coblestone and is probably 200 meters wide and 500 meters long.

Back to the Backyard Antics

Things have dried up enough for Shendy to be back at it... chasing a frisbee about. Nothing more important than that frisbee during the warmer months. Really need to get her to the beach this year where she has a lot more room to roam. Of course, that's not good news for the car for the trip home, as the inside will get covered with sand. Oh well.

Prairie Fire Crabapple Trees

For years I've wanted to take pictures of these trees blooming and couldn't either because I wasn't here, or the weather was bad, or some other reason. Made a point of it this year. :) These are in my back yard, one on each side and in April each year they bloom with the coolest of pink blossoms. Only lasts for a 5 or 6 days.

Russian Visa

Whew... the Russian visa process finally completed today... got my passport back. Of course, I need to send it right back out tomorrow so I can renew my Chinese visa. Sheesh. Never ends.

Arrival of the Deuce

Now standing in my garage is an all black-cherry 2006 Harley-Davidson Softail Deuce. :) Pretty much fully loaded to the hilt... Screamin' Eagle II pipes, unrestricted air intake, engine guard, highway pegs, Sundowner touring seat, sissybar, windshield and leather saddlebags. This bike ROCKS. And its even the right color. :) Just the right amount of chrome and black make this bike look pretty sweet. :) Rides like a dream, deep sounding exhaust, and the counterbalanced rubber mounted engine doesn't vibrate the frame at all. What a find. :)

Sportster Era Comes To An End

My first Harley Davidson is in the books. The bike that started it all is no longer in the garage... it is being replaced/upgraded... more details to come...

Russian Invitation

I will be going to Moscow, Russia towards the end of April... the Russian visa application process is pretty painful... first you have to pay to get an invitation letter from the Russian government, which takes anywhere from 4 to 20 business days depending on how much investigating they feel like doing. Fortunately, I got mine in only one week. Once you have the invitation letter, you can apply for the visa. What fun.

Freshly Shaven Shendy

Shendy got her first summer shaving this week... maybe a bit too short for this early in the spring, but she was shedding something fierce already, so I figured it was time. She seems quite happy with it for the time being... seems more energetic. Like she didn't already have enough energy... sheesh. :)

One Happy Shendy :)

Shendy is quite happy to be home these days. I think she takes a lot of stress staying in the kennel as much as she does when I'm gone. Poor thing. It is certainly the best part of my trip, seeing her for the first time when I get home, when she gets out of her kennel and pretty much mauls me in happiness. :) But it only takes her a few days to get back into the normal routine of things... demanding the usually things dogs demand... let me out/let me in/feed me/play with me/give me a treat/rub the inside of my ears/etc. Amazing.