DATELINE: Austrian Airlines Business Lounge, Vienna International Airport, 9 July 2006

Weird surprise trip to Vienna for me by taking advantage of earlier flight out of JFK Saturday night. It was better choice than hanging until 2220 flight because I got to read a bunch of papers, watch a movie (Failure to Launch), eat well, and then go Ambien for four hours, arriving at 8:45 and feeling okay.

Once on the ground in Vienna, I change a bit of money into Euros, and take the CAT train into town (much like London's from Heathrow). By 1000 I am wandering the streets rather aimlessly, sort of trying to bump into St. Stephen's cathedral in the center of town. But being one of those old European towns, the streets go every which way but straight. Still, I saw a lot of cool things, camped for a bit in a platz to do some brot und wurst off a stand, and eventually I did find the place. Pix of all will be posted once I can connect direct off my Mac (using the lounge one now and going nuts over the weird key placements!).

After the cathedral I just kept walking and located Sigmund Freud's old apartment/practice on Berggasse 19. It's now a passable museum. Artifacts are few, but the rooms are real and really unchanged. Got the audio tour and it was worth it.

By then I am dragging from the high heat (90ish with high humidity), all that walking (several miles) and the lack of sleep, so catch metro back to CAT train and then check into the lounge for two hours of R&R, meaning more German beers.

Tonight I will fly twice to reach Dubrovnik, hoping to hit a pillow NLT 2300. The conference's first event starts at 0800 and the last one starts deep into the night, so tonight is the night for the good sleep, since I fly at crack of dawn (same four flights home) all day Tuesday.

But tomorrow, depending on what these guys finally decide to have me do (Croat diplomats checked out my Hudson talk way back when), I should at least keep busy through all the speeches working up some column evoked by this trip.

Should get to see the end of the FIFA final tonight though, with any luck, in my hotel room...