More mapspam

I'm back. Actually, I got back from sunny Slovakia almost two weeks ago, but only had two days at home before going away again for five days. But now I'm really back. Now I just need to find a job.

Slovakia was a fascinating place to visit, with deep-scented pine-clad hills and pastoral idylls juxtaposed against the ugliest buildings Communism could commission, pastel-perfect renovated centres, ice-cream even cheaper than the 40p bottles of beer (and damn good beer it was, too) and hospitality for which a simple Dakujem was hopelessly inadequate (but had to do - my command of Slovak vocabulary may have increased tenfold during my visit, but that's not saying much when you've only five words to begin with).

As always, it's the unexpected differences that make a place interesting, little things that the people I've been living with for the last year wouldn't think to mention or deem worthy of a photograph: the kiosks clustered near bus and rail stations, the double house-numbering system and - my personal favourite - 'village information systems' that look (and sound) as if they've come straight from The Prisoner.

Before that I spent two wonderful days in Vienna - got to love a city where you can order a coffee and sit dissect fandom for hours without being disturbed. Thanks again, cutecoati and fourth_rose, for your hospitality - I really enjoyed hanging out with you. Hopefully I'll be more awake and less skint next time!

Anyhow, now that I can colour in another country, here's ( my Map of European Countries visited )

I'm not too happy with those areas of white space in Scandinavia and Iceland. But I have been to Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, which must account for at least a couple of pixels.