AK's weblog

As slashdot.org features an article about what a programmer's bookshelf should contain, I couldn't resist and show off photos of my bookshelf.

And how does your bookshelf look like?

This year's Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin lasts one day longer than the years before, it now goes from December 27th to December 30th. As I would like to be at the event for all 4 events, I decided it would be quite a lot of stress to travel back to Austria on 31st, I would be tired, and New Year's eve celebrations probably would be too much for me. So thanks to Nico, I can stay at his place and thus will celebrate New Year's eve in Berlin, and return on January 2nd. I'm already looking forward to it, as Berlin, with its unique charm, is probably my favorite city.

A nice side note to this is that I will (as usual) travel by plane, as it is (mostly) stress-free, and quite affordable. I don't even mind spending a few extra euros on having a nicer journey than by train from Linz to Berlin. And the question is whether flying really costs more than going by train. I don't know, the last time I went by train to Berlin was in late 2002 (19C3), and that was a group of 6 persons or so, and it was before the big reform of the german railway pricing system, and I still had to pay about EUR 120,-.

Anyway, when I was searching for the right flight, my first choice was Air Berlin, as I used them several times before (Chaos Communication Camp 2003, 20C3, 21C3) to get to Berlin, and remember them to be reasonably priced. Well, not this time. That is probably because I got my holiday relatively late (my fault), making it impossible to get a cheap seat. Well, next airline. HLX. They fly Salzburg - Berlin and return, so that would have been a good option. If they only were a bit cheaper. Well, last resort, let's check those airlines that are not among the well-known no-frills airlines like Ryanair, Air Berlin, HLX, EasyJet, and so on. Well, a quick check at Austrian Airlines, a well-reputated airline that also well-reputated for its usually high prices. Well, not this time. EUR 148 from Vienna to Berlin and back. Very nice. And the first time that I will fly with something other than the usual Boeing 737, namely a Fokker 70. Berlin, I'm coming!