Franz and Charlotte @ Cambridge

Final message

2010-01-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

Everything comes to an end. Hopefully also our Ph.D. studies...
This is the final message because gradually our time at Cambridge is coming to an end. Charlotte currently holds a Junior Research Fellowship at the Queen's College Oxford, and she will be starting a lectureship at the London School of Economics in September. I am currently lecturing in Salzburg and will also be finishing my Ph.D. sometime in 2010.
Exciting times ahead of us!
Let us close this blog with a picture from one of our bike rides in Cambridgeshire.

Year 2008

2008-12-26T06:18:00.000-08:00

Dear All,

Apologies for the long silence. However, since March nothing has happened, absolutely nothing at all!
Hold on, maybe there have been a few things.

Oh, yes, we had to teach geometry to small babies - high potentials! (see picture 1), I had serious fights (picture 2), and Charlotte and I bought road bikes to explore rural Cambridgeshire (picture 3). Also, a long weekend at Fuerteventura helped us not to think about work for a while (picture 4).

Oh yes, academic work: The fact that people told me that I am already in my third year of my Ph.D. was slightly irritating for me. While Charlotte is publishing papers, I am involved in more mundane activities, in particular transcribing interviews. I have finished my fieldwork and the task for 2009 is to do something with the data.

We wish you a happy new year!

Snow at Easter

2008-03-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

For the first time since we are here in Cambridge, we had a significant amount of snow. And this on Easter Sunday! Franz and I enjoyed it. The first picture shows me in front of our house. The remaining pictures are from our College (St John's) in Cambridge.

Academic Life Beyond Cambridge...

2008-03-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

Academic life involves quite a lot of travelling. And although Cambridge is a wonderful place to be a PhD student, it is nice to visit other places from time to time.

I regularly go to London to take part in activities at the great Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method at the London School of Ecnomics. Also, I took the Eurostar to Paris to present a paper at a workshop in December 07.

In November 07 I presented a paper at a conference in Madrid and Franz joined me to clean my boots, do the dishes, etc. We enjoyed being in Madrid, and we were very pleased to be able to explore all the links of this country with the Habsburgian empire. The old part of the city is called "Los Austrias", and that made us very happy... The pictures are from our stay in Madrid.

Field Work

2008-02-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

I have started my field work visiting many hardware and software firms in the Cambridge region. For slightly more information about this study, see here.

It is actually quite fun to see different parts of the Cambridge region. I usually go to the firms by bike, but sometimes I have to rely on public transport.

My first experiences with the world-famous British train services was actually better than expected. However, this week the experience was a bit stereo-typical (as you can see from the pictures).

Another highlight of the week was Formal Hall at King's College with belly dancers as a starter (non-vegetarian, of course...).

Ski mountaineering in Austria

2008-01-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

It goes without saying that I simply had to go ski mountaineering in Austria during my Christmas break.
I exploited a window of opportunity with lovely weather conditions and a low risk of avalanches.
Together with my dad (who was fitter than ever), I went to the Tennengebirge (the Eiskogel for the insiders).

Just in case...

2007-11-23T15:04:00.001-08:00

... you haven't heard about a small (and in these days rather unimportant but lovely) place called Austria:

The Economist seems to be interested in it

Cambridge Education: Entering the Advanced Stage

2007-11-09T14:33:00.000-08:00

It is unbelievable that I'm getting old so fast, but it seems that I already started my second year as a PhD student in Cambridge. This, of course, means that I have entered the advanced stage of the Cambridge education. Two examples might illustrate this:

First, the dinner boat cruise in London for the Gates Scholars was much more elaborate this year compared to the previous one. This time we were really snobbish running around in London in black tie, and Boston Consulting Group sponsored the trip with the result that the dinner on the boat was delicious. I again wasn't able to produce a sharp photograph but a rather artistic one (see the picture). I will work hard in the next months to do a better job next year...

Furthermore, as part of my advanced doctoral training programme, a fellow Gates Scholar and private brewer organised an advanced Beer Tasting event at St John's. I learnt an awful lot and bridged the gap between theory and practice (this is what Gates Scholars are supposed to do)...

On the more casual side, the sceptical environmentalist Bjorn Lomborg visited the Gates Scholars. Although he is a quite controversial figure, his ideas are thought-provoking and may force some of us to think carefully about how to spend money in public policy.

Two reasons to be happy

2007-10-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

Two things happened:

First, finally I am officially registered as a PhD student. I had my first-year viva in which I had to defend my PhD project in front of very bright, critical minds. This is a hurdle where they decide whether I can continue with my research in Cambridge, and apparently I can.

Second, directly after the viva I went to Bayreuth in Germany to present a paper at the Conference of German Speaking Geographers (Deutscher Geographentag). Also here everything went well, and I really enjoyed the beloved beer and food culture in Bavaria (for example the local Maisel's Weisse).

Charlotte will go to Austria (Seeham) to participate in a Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics seminar this week. This means that I will be alone in Cambridge. Just my research and me -- isn't it romantic?

The summer is over (Summa umma)

2007-09-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

The summer 2007 in Austria is history. We really enjoyed staying with our families, friends and, in particular, pets. I was quite busy finishing my first-year report (which I have submitted, hurray!). But I also managed to take some days off.
Notably, we went hiking next to the Wolfgangsee (Lake Wolfgang) -- see the first picture. Furthermore, we chose a sunny day to go to the Kürsingerhütte in an impressive environment in the Nationalpark Hohe Tauern (Obersulzbachtal). After staying a night there, we climbed the Keeskogel (3291 meters). For those who want to explore the core of the Austrian alps without taking an awful lot of risk, I highly recommend this tour! As the pictures suggest, the scenery is simply outstanding.

We arrived in Cambridge again yesterday, and a new academic year awaits us. Luckily, while in Austria the first snow is disturbing the cows on the alps, the lorries on the roads and the pilgrims adoring the pope, we can prolong the summer on the warm island (with temperatures around 23 degress celcius and - believe it or not - no rain).

Yet again: a group photograph

2007-09-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

In my spare time I tend to take part in group photographs. Here a rough scan of the Gates Scholars 2007 group photo. This time I should be easier to find...

Summer time

2007-07-29T14:41:00.001-07:00

We have been quite busy with work in the last couple of weeks. Nevertheless, we tried to temporarily escape from the computer on the weekends. Here some pictures from an oasis called Cambridge University Botanic Garden and a trip to Madingley Hall.
In August we will fly back home to Austria. The mountains and lakes said that they miss us...

Wunderwuzzis

2007-07-22T05:24:00.000-07:00

In fall a new crowd of Gates Scholars will arrive in Cambridge. A quick look at the new US Scholars shows that - as expected - a number of Wunderwuzzis will come, see e.g. here.

Wimbledon

2007-07-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

Here some pictures from the Wimbledon final yesterday. The one in white was the winner.

Bill Gates senior

2007-06-07T02:06:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Bill Gates Senior, yes THE father, visited the Gates Scholars in Cambridge. He is Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and visits Cambridge every year. There was a panel discussion with him and selected Gates Scholars, a formal dinner and a reception at the Fitzwilliam Museum with some high-profile representatives of the University (e.g. the Vice Chancellor Alison Richard).

Here is an article about the recent visit of Bill Gates Senior to the Gates Scholars.
For the enthusiastic readers, there is even the full text of his speech online.

Another secret: Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is not only Chancellor of Cambridge University but also an island god.

Work-life-death balance and May Week

2007-05-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

The season of garden parties and suicides has started (see an article in German; however, some of the statements seem to strong to me).

The stereotypical connection between genius and mental illness was confirmed by a sad incidence recently.
But a gloomy picture of the atmosphere in Cambridge would be wrong. In fact, I see many people around me who seem to be able to combine working hard and enjoying life. In contrast to undergraduates, who have a lot of stress in their short 8-week trimesters, graduate students tend to have a lot of freedom to organise their life. Compared to top graduate schools in the USA, PhD students seem to have significantly more spare time (on average, of course!).

An example how Cambridge students enjoy their life is May Week (which is in June!) with the famous Cambridge May Balls. Apparently, the May Ball at St John's was rated by the Time Magazine as the 7th greatest party in the world. Although - or because - the cheapest ticket for the ball was 120 pounds (178 Euro), we didn't miss it. See here for some pictures. The setting in the historic College is stunning, food and drinks were great too, and there were a lot of events happening simultaneously (from Jazz to Cabaret to classical music to magicians to hypnotists ...). We went home quite early at 5.30am - the official programme finished at 7am.

We also went to a couple of Garden Parties. If you look very carefully, you may detect Charlotte and me on the third picture (taken by a spy from the Chapel Tower of St John's). Hint: look for a red dress!

Although, arguably, we spend most of my time working in front of my computer, these events are a wonderful part of being a student at Cambridge.

Iraqi president - Cambridge Union

2007-05-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

Today Charlotte and I saw the Iraqi president Jalal Talabani at the Cambridge Union Society. The Cambridge Union is one of the oldest debating societies in the world (founded 1815, see the drawing of 1887), which regularly attracts famous speakers. It is interesting to see that president Talabani (not Talibani!) was invited by the students and not by the University.
Security was a hot topic with policemen and snipers on buildings nearly everywhere, it seemed.

While his talk was not particularly exciting (although his biography is impressive), I was surprised that he was willing to have a quite long question and answer session with students (Cambridge students tend to ask uncomfortable questions!). As expected he acted in his professional role as a president and therefore avoided sensitive issues in his answers and tried to spread optimism. It's always like that: the experience of meeting, seeing and smelling politicians is exciting, but probably one could learn much more substantive issues reading international newspapers or academic publications...

For those of you who missed the event, you can see a BBC video about the visit in Cambridge or an article here

San Francisco

2007-05-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

Charlotte and I had a wonderful time in San Francisco from April 16-23. I couldn't post earlier because I have been jet lagged until today (at least it has been an excuse when I felt tired).
My presentation at the AAG Meeting (Association of American Geographers) went better than expected. The annual event is the biggest Geography conference in the world, and although I knew this fact, I was quite impressed by the scope of it. Over five days there were about 73 sessions happening simultaneously at each point in time.
There were about 45 people attending our session, and some of them were quite eminent figures. But luckily I didn't know the identities of the faces during my presentation but just found out more about the people afterwards (otherwise, I probably would have become nervous). "Just do it!" ["Scheiss da nix don feida nix!"] was a good strategy.

Charlotte, who accompanied me, and I also found some time to visit different neighbourhoods of San Francisco. It's a pity that such a lovely city will be destroyed soon. We enjoyed the unique atmosphere and some picturesque places, for example we went over the Golden Gate Bridge by bike, and we visited the campus of Berkeley.

We also rented a car and went over the Golden Gate Bridge to the Muir Woods, Stinson Beach and the Highway Number One (beautiful setting next to the ocean! However, everybody felt sick; was it my aggressive driving?).

You can find pictures here.

The biggest negative surprise for me was the depressing number of homeless (and mentally ill) people that seem to be everywhere you go.
The biggest positive surprise was the relaxing atmosphere, the cultural diversity of the different neighbourhoods and the wonderful restaurants.

Finally, I have to emphasise that the flight to San Francisco was the best one I have ever experienced! Enjoying a window seat, I was hugely impressed by the landscapes I just know from the map (Iceland, Greenland etc.). It was a good, although also a somewhat sad, combination to watch Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" next to looking at Greenland.

Busy-ness as usual

2007-04-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

The last weeks have been quite busy for Charlotte and me.
Charlotte presented her first paper at a major conference in Leeds at the "15th European Meeting on the Foundations of Physics".

I participated in a doctoral workshop as well as in a seminar on Networks and Business Advice at the Centre for Entrepreneurship at Durham Business School. I was happy to be invited for the two-days event where everything was paid for. It was the first time that I have been to Durham in England (see the picture, the English Durham is quite different from the familiar one in North Carolina...).

These events were important for Charlotte and me to get some valuable feedback on our research.

Moreover, I have organised a one-day research workshop on the "New Social and Economic Geography of Europe", which took place yesterday. It was fun to organise such an event, I have learned a lot, but it was also quite time-consuming.

Very soon, on April 16, Charlotte and I will fly to San Francisco. I will present a paper at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers. This, of course, is also a great opportunity to get to know the west coast. I have heard lots of exciting stories about west coast girls (but don't tell Charlotte...).

I will keep you posted.

Spring

2007-03-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

After a long winter with lots of snow (a couple of hours on two days), we are experiencing one of those lovely springs of Cambridge. Last week I could enjoy the spring atmosphere with my parents.
Generally, the students and the tourists seem to be even happier than before, especially English girls who don't have to suffer so much anymore when wearing ultra-mini-skirts.

The first picture shows a cute spring-ginkerl on the grounds of St John's College.
The second one depicts even smaller examples of spring-ginkerl.

If you are interested in how a rush hour looks like in Cambridge, see here.

Very best
Franz

Sorry: no fox hunting in Cambridge

2007-03-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

I am sorry to say that the last post was a hoax: the story about fox hunting was just invented and is not true!
Sorry for any inconveniences caused.
I felt the desire to make up this story, and it made me happy. In fact - of course - I have a far more differentiated ethical view on tradition versus animal rights.
However, I can confirm that all the other previous posts were true.

Today, I want to point at two facts:
First, a picture of the prime minister Tony Blair durint his time as a student at another - rather unimportant - university called Oxford (don't worry if you have never heard about it).
You can easily identify Tony Blair: he is the one in the back row, third from right, making very dirty gesture with his hand.

And here a story confirming that his potential successor David Cameron - leader of the Tory party, was not better:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6409757.stm

He was part of the secret elite Oxford University drinking club "Bullington Club", which is famous for extremely rude behaviour - e.g. trashing restaurants.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/4066329.stm

I hope that this confirms your stereotypes about Oxbridge far beyond fox hunting...

British culture in practice: fox hunting

2007-02-16T12:48:00.000-08:00

It was like the perfect birthday present: I could participate in one of the most British activities of all: fox hunting!
On the one hand, this of course is one of the most controversial hobbies, which even was banned in England by the Hunting Act 2004.
On the other hand, it is still informal practice in England because they are - as always - proud of their tradition; consequently, the student committee of my college has informally organised a special fox hunting trip. I applied early enough to secure one of the places.

Normally, as you might know, fox hunting is done on horses. But unfortunately, since I am not an experienced horseman, I opted for doing it on foot.
It was an impressive experience to see the agile dogs together with the traditional horses (see picture). However, it was also very exhausting (especially if you don't ride a horse!), and I think that this was one of the best physical exercises I ever had. We were also quite successful having hunted four red foxes.

Although I understand that some people think that this practice is brutal, I am a strong believer in the right for cultural heritage; so I support the right of people to practice this tradition (for politically interested readers: further information).

Cambridge: a view from above

2007-02-04T11:57:00.000-08:00

Here some pictures taken from the highest point in the old town of Cambridge: the Chapel Tower of St John's College. Tourists are not allowed to enter the tower; one reason for this may be that the staircase is so extremely narrow and dark that even I as a non-American faced problems weaseling through historic artifacts.

On the edge of chaos and Hawking lecture

2007-01-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

One of the great aspects of living in Cambridge is that on a regular basis famous people give talks. Last week "domestic celebrities" of Cambridge were speaking. I didn't have time to go to Lord Martin Rees (astronomer, President of the Royal Society), but I went to Stephen Hawking, arguably the most famous scientist in the general public (which, of course, doesn't imply that he is the best one...). He was speaking in front of the Gates Scholars; one of the rare opportunities to see him.
It was pretty impressive to see and listen to a person who just communicates by moving his cheek. As a result one can hear a computer voice with an American accent. It is just amazing what he made out of his life suffering from motor neuron disease. In a question and answer session he needed ten minutes to formulate a sentence, honestly. Astonishing that he was able to conduct ground-breaking research; currently he is writing a popular science book for children.
Speaking about his passion for scientific research, I want to quote:
"I don't want to compare it with sex, but the pleasure definitely lasts longer".

Another note: England was at the edge of chaos last week: it was snowing (see the picture taken in my flat). Although the snow disappeared after half an hour, Heathrow Airport had to cancel flights; just a centimeter more and England would have collapsed.

I never thought that I will start 'Smoking' (black tieing)

2007-01-21T14:29:00.000-08:00

Charlotte and I had a good start in Cambridge again after spending time at home with our families.
I had to make a presentation about my research project in front of the members of the Department, which was quite successful. And Charlotte is currently preparing for a talk she will give in Oxford next week. So we are busy again but really happy about our exciting environment here in Cambridge.

Yesterday there was a special annual dinner for graduate students at St John's College.
And I had to learn another aspect of the Cambridge culture: the dress code was "black tie", which means tuxedo/dinner jacket or 'Smoking' in German. I was very fortunate that Charlotte helped me buying one. Fact is that in Austria one hardly needs black tie; but maybe I can use it for Carnival (Fasching) in Austria later on when I dress as an Englishman...

I think it is fair to say that this was one of the best dinners I have ever had in my life, with six courses and the standard of six glasses of excellent wine (see the menu). We also celebrated the 25th anniversary of women being admitted to the College. With the drinks reception before and afterwards (see the pictures) the dinner lasted from 19.15 to 1.00 in the morning.
To conclude, it was a great event, which is an essential part of the Cambridge experience.

Happy New Year!

2006-12-31T05:25:00.000-08:00

Dear All!

Due to the lack of snow in the Alps, I couldn't do what I like most, to go ski mountaineering. The alternative is to use a ski lift, and I found some appropriate playground in Obertauern: "Gamsleiten 2", which is said to be one of the most challenging official pistes of the Alps. I highly recommend it!

I wish you lots of happiness in the new year, let's keep in touch!

Yours
Franz

End of term - or: Christmas in November

2006-12-12T13:29:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe: my first official term at the University of Cambridge is already history. But, yes, it is true that for PhD students the official terms are not really relevant, because we are supposed to have no vacation at all (research never arrives at an answer...).

Charlotte and I have been quite busy in the last couple of weeks. For example, I went to London for a conference, and yes, I had to work on the conceptual framework of my PhD thesis. Also in terms of socialising, as usual, there were a lot of things to do like wine tasting with the Cambridge University Austrian Society, as well as wine tasting organised by St John's College as well as private wine tasting. But don't worry, I'm fine and it is not as bad as it sounds. As a Scholar Charlotte was invited by the foundation of St John's College for a six-course dinner which lasted over three hours (I was worrying why she didn't come home...).
A very strange thing in Cambridge is that they already celebrate Advent and Christmas in November, honestly! The reason behind it is that at the beginning of December the term ends and the undergraduates already leave Cambridge. Hence, they have to celebrate earlier. Although I simply couldn't exploit all opportunities I went to a 'Festive Hall', an 'Advent Hall', a 'Christmas Hall', and today I won a price (a bottle of wine, of course) at the Departmental Christmas Draw. On the photo you can see Charlotte and me in one of these Christmas dinners. We also went to the Advent Carol Service of St John's College where the famous St John's Choir sings; this is a well-known event which is broadcasted by BBC Radio 3 (I made myself well-known all over the country because I had a tickle in my throat - Hustenreiz). However, Advent at St John's has a militant background as one can easily recognise looking at the folder (see the second picture).
Anyway, I will be at my parents' home over Christmas and New Year's Day, and I'll come back to Cambridge on 5 January. I'm sure that it will be extremely challenging having to celebrate Advent and Christmas for almost two months.

Yours
Franz

Breaking news: new book

2006-12-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

Finally, I published my first book.
The title is "Social Networks and Knowledge Spillovers", and it is very much based on my two master theses and my research stay at Duke University.

You might find some additional information useful.
If you are still interested, just don't hesitate to buy it before it is sold out.

Some further news will be posted after an important deadline I have to meet next week.

Very best
Franz

A photo and a movie

2006-11-15T04:44:00.000-08:00

This time I have a photo and a movie for you.

First of all, see the visit of the famous "Borat" in Cambridge.

Second, here is the group photograph of the new "Johnians". Yes, it is a challenging test for you whether you are able to find Charlotte and me...

Very best wishes
Franz

St John's College

2006-11-12T05:48:00.001-08:00

Dear all,

Finally, I had to start doing some real work, which is the reason why I wasn't able to post earlier...

As you may know, the University of Cambridge is a collegiate university; this means that it is very hard to find "The University" in Cambridge. Traditionally "Colleges" form the core of of academic life. For graduate students in these days colleges serve as a place for living, eating and socialising. Moreover, colleges are concerned with welfare and - if they are rich - financial support.

After being admitted to a course in a Department (as a graduate student), there is a second competition for college membership. Whilst every student will become a member of a college, they differ a lot in terms of grandeur of the architecture, age, size, wealth and services. Consequently, there is a fierce competition for popular colleges, especially the rich, famous and old ones in the town center.
Luckily, Charlotte and I both got into St John's College, which next to King's College and Trinity College is regarded as one of the most famous ones.

And a convenient aspect is that St John's College is not only the second richest college in Oxford and Cambridge, but it is also fairly generous with its wealth. So, we get subsidised accommodation, book grants, travel grants, and - most importantly - Charlotte is an official "Scholar" of St John's College. For hundreds of years, the College has been selecting a couple of students each year for a generous scholarship (which, by the way, is even higher than my Gates Scholarship).

The people at the College are really friendly and relaxed; so my prejudice that there will be lots of arrogant people ("When I was at Eton...") was definitely wrong.

I have attached some pictures of St John's College (including one of the dining hall).
So, now Charlotte and I will try to find Wittgenstein's grave; it should be somewhere near our flat.

With best wishes
Franz

Carnival (Faschingsgschnas)

2006-10-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

Unbelievable but true: it's always carnival in Cambridge!

They want us to wear a gown (Kuttn) on a quite regular basis.
The first picture was taken on the Wren-Bridge at St John's College (you can see the river Cam). After an official matriculation session where they took a group photograph of all new 'Johnians' (I will publish this online later), Charlotte went a bit wild (picture two).

A more detailed view of the gown can be seen on picture three, which also gives you an exciting impression of a corner of our flat.

To be honest, the first contacts with the gown were slightly alienating, but in these days I already like it so much that I wear it even during sports and in bed…

Every day during term-time there is a formal dinner at the College where fellows (professors and other academic staff) and students dine together in a very nice medieval hall. 'Formal Hall' is not compulsory, but if you want to go there – of course – you have to wear a gown. This is one of the rare opportunities to get high quality food in England. And a quite elaborate three-course dinner is just 3.70 Pounds. Every Tuesday free wine is served for graduate students, which is the reason why I normally don't go there on Tuesdays… The last picture was taken before the matriculation dinner at St John's College started.

My best wishes, have a good week!
Franz

Gates Scholars Orientation

2006-10-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry that I was not able to post earlier.
The first weeks in Cambridge have been really busy but - of course - very exciting.
I have never met so many interesting people in such a short periode of time. Everyone who knows my personal weaknesses can understand that I am totally overwhelmed with remembering all these names...

The first thing I did in Cambridge was to leave Cambridge. I attended the Gates Orientation Session at the lovely Peak District where all new Gates Scholars were supposed to have a good time. In fact Bill & Melinda Gates just paid for having three days of fun and getting to know each other. As the picture illustrates, the scenery is just quaint.

The second part of the Gates Orientation was a Dinner Boat Cruise in London yesterday. Again, Bill was very generous and he rented a boat with three levels for our crowd. The picture gives you an impression of the view after having a couple of drinks.

Anyway, please do keep in touch; I look forward to hearing from you!

Best wishes
Franz

Hiking trip in the National Park "Hohe Tauern"

2006-08-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well, before we move, Charlotte and I decided to have some unique experiences in Austria which we won't have in Cambridge. Thus, I dressed up in my lederhosen, tried to recall some songs of The Sound of Music and went away.

Yes, it was a great time, and once again I was impressed by the beneficial effect of hiking for ones mind.

Lets start...

2006-08-21T23:38:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I have been a vigorous critique of the current technological development.
Khm, well, I try to make the best out of it and - of course - start my own blog.

In a month I will move to the UK to start my PhD studies at the University of Cambridge.
But before I try to enjoy the marvellous aspects of Austria.

Keep in touch!
Franz