A quick visit to Vienna, Austria was made during my recent visit to our Timisoara, Romania office. After a visit to Budapest, a short two hour drive was made to Vienna, Austria. After spending just one day of sight-seeing in Vienna, the drive back to Timisoara took a little over 5 hours. It’s difficult for me to get used to the idea that for the programmers that work on my team in Romania, driving to places like Vienna, Austria for the weekend is like driving to Boise, Idaho from Salt Lake City, Utah for me. Team members in the Romania office routinely take their summer vacations (what they call holidays) in Greece, Italy, Germany or Austria. They talk about going to other European countries as casually as we talk about going to other States. It’s all about where you live.

Dan and Dana Popescu (see the photo) drove my wife and me to Budapest, Hungary and Vienna, Austria from Timisoara, Romania for the weekend. Dan is the Manager of Progamming in the Timisoara office. This photo was taken during breakfast at a hotel in Hungary at the Austria border. Traveling with hosts that live in Romania saves money. They know where to stay to save money. If I had made arrangements by myself, I would have stayed in a hotel in Vienna that would have costed me at least $200, would not have been as nice and would not have included a breakfast buffet like the one we ate here. This hotel costed less than $100, but we had to drive a few kilometers to get to Vienna. We tend to think in terms of convience, but we would have had to check out of a Vienna hotel by 11:00 am anyway. Why not save the money, check out of one a short drive away? Dan and Dana were great hosts. Neither of them spoke Hungarian, so we all struggled in Budapest, but they both spoke German and were right at home in Vienna. They made the quick weekend tour a memorable experience for both Claire and me. [Sep 08]

My wife, Claire, was able to come with me on my September trip to the Timisoara, Romania office. With her with me, we went to Budapest, Hungary (see the photo) and Vienna, Austria in addition to Timisoara. This was Claire’s first trip to Europe. With all the trips I’ve made to Romania, I still have enough frequent flyer miles that I should be able to bring her with me again. It sure makes the business trip more enjoyable and gets me out of the office more. I saw more sites on this trip than the previous seven combined. [Sep 08]

During my latest visit to our Timisoara, Romania office, I was able to take a weekend trip that included a day in Budapest, Hungary. With as many trips as I’ve made to Timisoara over the past three years, I wish I had made this short 3 hour drive earlier. Budapest has many sites to see and a lot of history to explore. With just one day, I was only able to walk around a small portion of the city. I stayed to the sides of the Danube river, walking on both sides of the river between three of the five bridges of the city. [Sep 08]

I have found proof that is golf near our Timisoara, Romania office! I had been told that the only place to golf in Romania was approximately six hours away in the town of Brasov, Romania. While being driven to Budapest, Hungary, I saw this sign in the first city across the Hungary border in Szeged. It is only about 60-90 minutes outside of Timisoara. My next trip to the Romania office will probably be during the Winter months, so I will have to wait until next Fall, but I have a new adventure to look forward to during my next visit to Timisoara. [Sep 08]

During a visit to our Guadalajara, Mexico office to interview potential Flash developers, I also “stepped forward” and joined a mariachi band. It only lasted a few minutes. They decided to move their performance inside after my little photo op. [Apr 07]

 

Main square in Timisoara, Romania. This picture was taken in June of 2005 during my first visit to Romania. I was sent to Timisoara to establish a programming office for my employer. Since then, I have returned to Timisoara eight times. In just three years, we have become a recognized technology employer in the area, competing with much larger international corporations, including Siemens and Alcatel.