Greetings my friends!

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! Here's hoping that we all get through this next trip around the sun happy, healthy, and with little (or no) DCS and/or computer issues! (me thinks I just jinxed myself...lol )

Real life is still kicking my ass, leaving scant time logged behind the HOTAS (and Rift). I did indeed purchase the Spit (holy mother of Mary)...and have loved the :30 or so that I've spent in her (wait...that didn't sound right). I head back to work in a few days (8 day Asia trip), then HAVE TEN DAYS OFF before my next trip. Here's the kicker...when I get home on the 11th, the lovely "Mrs. BBall" will be out west in Montana visiting our girls. The plan is to strap myself into my chair, attach myself to my HOTAS rig, insert the catheter and food/beer IVs, and get back into DCS (and the 229th) in a biiiig way.



With that said, here are a few pics from the last week.

The lovely bride and I decided to spend Christmas on the road (our last kid moved out to college in August...so this would be our first "solo" Xmas...that and to celebrate our 22nd wedding anniversary [that was actually last night on the 31st of December]). We boarded the big Delta A330, jetted over to Amsterdam, spent a few nights there, then jumped on "EasyJet" down to Prague for several days, back to AMS, then home to KMSP on the 29th.

Having spent several years living in Nuremburg and Munich (and having been birthed in Schwabisch Gmund about a zillion years ago) when my father was still active duty flying his helos for the U.S. Army, I've always felt "at home" across the pond in the "land of B Company". I flew the DC-10 from our Boston base for Northwest Airlines for many years back in the '90s, and most of our flying was to Europe (with a smattering to Honolulu). I've seen many of the old, lovely cities of that region, but until last week, had never been to the Czech Republic. I was totally impressed. Wonderful people, amazing city (Prague), outstanding food and beer...and all at prices that won't break your wallet. Can't wait to go back in the summer months...

The pics...

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Landed in AMS at 0630 on Day 1. Of course our hotel room was not available until almost noon, so we wandered around this amazing city at dawn.

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Ahhh...the old "Bulldog Club". I remember circa 1991, myself and my dear friend "Bozo" (yep, THE SAME dude that did the flying in the movie "Top Gun") wandering around Amsterdam on a layover, enjoying the sights AND a brew or two. We made our way into the Bulldog so I could purchase a T-shirt (and held our breath while we were in there), and lo and behold, they still sell THE VERY SAME SHIRT! I laughed my ass off...

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Later that night wandering around. The canals are cool regardless the time of year, but with the Christmas decorations, they were even cooler.

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The lovely "Mrs. BBall". Why a woman this fine would hang around an ugly dude like me is one of life's big mysteries...  

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TOO EARLY the next morning at Schipol Airport awaiting our "EasyJet" flight down to Prague. As you can plainly see, I'm: 1) enjoying a "Dutch breakfast", and 2) contemplating the origins of the universe (or somesuch).

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Our digs in Prague...the spectacular Hotel Boscolo. It was recommended by a doctor/cancer scientist friend of mine (who happens to also be an avid flight simmer btw) who had stayed here on business trips. He hit a home run...nice joint...

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Christmas Festival in the Old Town Square in Prague. A bit chilly, but the "glu-vine" (warm wine) helped rectify that problem.

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Crossing the famous "St. Charles Bridge" on our way up to the Prague Castle and the St. Vitus Cathedral.

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The Old Town Square again with a view of the Old Town Hall Tower with the Astronomical Clock. Way cool stuff if you're a history moron like me!

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Of course, you can't come to this part of the world and NOT sample the local dishes. Here, we are warming up with a bowl of "Hungarian Goulash" (funny thing, the local Czechs told us that the Hungarion version was garbage compared to "their" version...lol).

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Christmas Day back at the Old Town Square with the way cool Christmas tree. Again, we met some of the nicest people in this lovely city...

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Back in Amsterdam at The Van Gogh Museum. Some lady hammered me shortly after I took this pic..."NO PHOTOS!" (sure lady...what about all the zillions of OTHER touristas' that are snapping pics with their cameras...apparently, I looked like I just needed to get my ass handed to me...lol.)

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Later that evening, relaxing in one of the MILLIONS of fine establishments in Amsterdam. I wore my "CAV hat" all day, and had lots of folks look at in wonder. I'm fairly sure not 1% of them knew what it meant. I just smiled and acted like a "clueless tourist" (not hard to do in my case).

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and finally....



The lovely "better half" and I relaxing on our last night overseas. All in all, a fantastic journey, sorry I couldn't hook up with any of you "B Company" thieves and muggers....MAYBE NEXT TIME!      

Have a great day all, and I'll see ya in the virtual skies (soon I hope).

BBall

(A/229) BBall wrote:



Of course, you can't come to this part of the world and NOT sample the local dishes. Here, we are warming up with a bowl of "Hungarian Goulash" (funny thing, the local Czechs told us that the Hungarion version was garbage compared to "their" version...lol).

I sincerelly hope you didn't believe them. They really have good beers tough, no point for hungarians to try to compete with them in that game. But if their Goulash would be better than ours, why should they still serve theirs as "Hungarian" in a first place?...

Great pictures BBall. Reminds me of my time in Europe...good beer and food but the ladies weren't as pretty as your other half...have fun and be safe...

Thanks for sharing B.

Nice one BBall.

I just got back from Hungary, and although I am unable to directly compare the goulash to the Czech version, the Hungarian one is pretty damn good... Next time you are over, pop down to Budapest - it is pretty close to Prague, even by European standards!

Love both those cities, and now you have me wanting to see them again. Awesome pics, and thanks for sharing brother!