A Recipe for Disaster

What kind of traveling European vacation can you have when you combine the following:

1. Two kids under 10, two adults over 50, and six 20-somethings who have not accepted that they are not young anymore.
2. Residents from four countries, arrivals from five locations.
   
3. One passport that was "mutilated" (according to the US Embassy) in a washing machine and one passport that has no more pages left to be stamped, traveling across three borders, staying in a town split by a border.
4. One two-door sedan that fits 4 people.
5. A trip organized by Vas and his legendary timeliness and logistical prowess (note sarcasm)
6. A schedule that couldn't be finalized until three days before arrival (due to our Vienna tour-guide Leif's flight schedule).
7. Stefan.
   

Well, believe it or not, the trip was amazing! Roland pulled a spade out of his sleeve with this trip, organizing a flexible trip that wasn't too expensive, wasn't too stressful, and one that was appropriate for all age groups. My mutilated passport was causing some issues at the Komarno/Komarom (Slovakia/Hungary) border after crossing it daily and I ended up having to get a new one in Budapest, but it was not a big deal. I hope to blog about our trip over the next few days, though it's possible it won't be as detailed as I'd like (I think I say that every time!)

But feel free to check out pictures here:

Abridged Version (collection of the best from several people's cameras)
J. Riley Version (all of my pictures)

Being a slave to corporate America, I have adjusted my vacation scheduling to fully maximize the days off, typically flying in on Monday morning or, worst case, Sunday night. On this trip, since I was using my miles and the flights available are limited), I was "stuck" flying home on a Friday. I was pretty bummed that I couldn't squeeze those two extra days in, but let me tell you: I have never been so relaxed and refreshed after a vacation thanks to those two extra days between returning from vacation and going back to work. It gives you time to ease back into day-to-day life and fully recover from your trip. I know that I'm to frugal with my vacation days to do this on all my trips, but I think I'll consider doing this on long trips like the one I just finished.

In other news, I think the J. Riley Mac Experiment is over! After dealing with the sluggish performance lately, the OS crashing, the poor clarity in resolution, and the buggy iPhoto plugins for uploading pictures, I have switched back to my PC. Part of the reason was because I have found that Google's Picasa photo organizing software easily matches or exceeds Apple's iPhoto, not to mention the fact that I'll be moving to the Bronx soon and I need to get rid of a computer. It was fun while it lasted, though, and if it wasn't for the cost, I would consider an Apple laptop in the future.

J. Riley, time to start my vacation blogging outlines!