- - B.R.E.A.K. - -

Pomodoro, Vilnius, Lithania

Pomodoro - a nice Italian place. Recommended. Non typical furniture. Cosy.


(Gražvydas) Grazyvydas Govaras - WebSphere Sales for IBM in Lithuania. A proper Vilnietis, VIKO and KTU graduate, used to work for GNT, a Baltic distributor, before joining IBM. Reads Sci-Fi and is getting more and more involved in sailing - recently sailed to Swedish Gotland Island in the Baltic sea. He musts taste Adriatic/Mediterranean sailing. And one day he will sail around the world with his friend and sailing buddy Darius. Calvados is an apple brandy from Lower Normandy.


Volnius2009.lt Click&Experience


A white tribute to all bicycle accidents casualties in Vilnius. Peace.

Manna Euthentic Lounge, Budapest, Hungary

Manna Euthentic Lounge - Buda is the posh side of Budapest. Manna is the posh side of Buda. A very nice place. Especially nice in summertime when the happening spills on the terrace with DJ keeping demand for sparkling sky high. Gotta come at least once. Next time we'll check Olympic - or something like that.


Peter Lakhegyi - developer of international business at AAM Technologies. Father Lakhegyi works at IBM. Educated in Miskolc Egyetem, virtual photonics practice in Berlin, worked for IBM HU, Avnet HU and Avnet Australia before joining AAM. Recently participated at MEFTEC2009 in Bahrain. Had an Indian teacher in Australia that was drinking water through nose, is reading Oscar Wilde series, adores snowboarding and watches Dallas on storytv4. One day he will buy history and give it to the ones that don't have it.


"Manna has the most extensive selection of champagnes in Budapest. Paired with caviar, it is the perfect starter for a special celebration." - as per Budapest Week. All of Hungary only gets 6 bottles of Salon (the one on the photo) per year. Cheers!

Buena Vista, Budapest, Hungary

Buena Vista - one of the many fine places on Liszt Ferenc ter. Recommendation. Particularly in summer time. Things open and show.


Alexander Knaani - member of IBM Software Industry Solutions team, living in and leaving Boca Raton, Florida to move to Vienna, Austria. Born and raised in Montevideo, Uruguay with Austro-Hungarian roots and likes Slovenia. Earned his PhD from NWU, speaks five languages, is parallel reader and El Juego del Angel is one of the books currently open. Avid cook, careful and systematic about food, very much into healthy nutrition, working out and a big soccer fan will one day study cinematography inside out. Cut.


There was a distinct Buda-side posh-ness to the place. Emptiness including.

Menzies Airport Lounge, Prague, Czech Republic

Menzies Aviation Lounge - serving "Schengen flyers" only. Nice, quiet and most important - pretty empty. No white wine. Damn :)


(Tomaž) Tomaz Vincek - IBM System p senior tech specialist. With presumably Czech/Polish origin, Vincek is also "probably Zagreb’s most popular dessert hangout" as described by IYP Zagreb. Long ago he used to program controlling apps that would fit to 8K memory, has no cakes for birthday, adores Belgium chocolate and denounces chocolate attributes to anything that has less than 70% cocoa in it. For the past three years slowly, but relentlessly accumulating "soaring" hours to earn his glider license. Reads Steel Rain and immensely enjoys beer drinking pleasures. One day he will transform himslef into a jewelry maker. And have an ice cold pint o'beer. Cheers!


Nokia E90 and a "light" paperback. Professional business traveler's devoted companions.

Saloon, Zagreb, Croatia

Saloon - one of the many spots in rich Zagreb night club scene. One must do "been-there-done-that" there, if one wants to qualify to comment on the club happening. Yes. Them girls, too.


Aco Momcilovic (Momčilović) - HR Specialist at L'Oreal and one of the real connoisseurs of Zagreb night life. His upbringing is a Zagreb-Varaždin combination, psychology graduate at FFZG, current Cotrugli EMBA Generation 6 student and used to worked for Ledo. Used to be active valley ball player for Zagreb team and follows up his goings-out with diligent posting on Facebook album. Some day he will devote himself to teaching, coaching and pursuing social studies. Documenting as he goes, we hope.


Garnier Fructis ad in the Saloon toilet. I am sure it has nothing to do with the fact that Garnier brand belongs to L'Oreal and Aco being the resident guest here ... :)

Toxic Bar, Zagreb, Croatia

Toxic Bar - recommended by FiveStars. A bit small. DJ. Good vibes. Nice looks. Belvedere. Cool, I guess.


Rossen Petkov - Senior Marketing Manager at Pernod Ricard Bulgaria. Sofia native, graduated at American University in Bulgaria in Blagoevgrad, worked for BAT, Kraft and for a while also in USA. A back nature peson, kick-boxer, reading The Power of Subconscious Mind. Given all means needed, he would build quality development schools all over Bulgaria. The fastes and most effective way, I say.


Toxic Apple-ish tables. Lit Belvedere. Not Pernod Ricard, though. Yet.

Kaptolska klet, Zagreb, Croatia

Kaptolska klet - exclusive location and interior, BUT the staff was really trying very hard not to accidentally appear friendly. Do not go there. Period.


Matic Meglic (Meglič) - CEO of Center za sodobne izzive and Researcher at UP PINT. Influenced by late prof.Marusic, medical school graduate with interest in cognitive neuroscience, working on his Ph.D. in eHealth and care process management, addicted to free-climbing and mountain sports in general. Does not subscribe to the theory that drinking alcohol is removing low performance brain cells, making you cognitively more powerful in the process. Reading Goldratt's The Goal and will one day devote himself fully to innovation in eHealth services. Some of it might even be in line with US Recovery Plan.

Franjo. The man.

K Pivovari, Zagreb, Croatia

K Pivovari - during weekends full of Cotrugli MBA students and sometimes with live music. Service varies, but in the long run (read: many samples) one gets a normal distribution with mean being on acceptable level.


Andrej Strojin - project manager and consultant at Infotehna. Brewed in Novo Mesto, lived in Trieste and is not Strojan. Used to work for RCL and is Generation 6 Cotrugli Executive MBA student. Co-founded web design company when he was 19, vegetarian that eats prosciutto, but only on islands. Learning Russian language and sauna is a must for him. Has 1 year old son and is reading Kids Are Worth It! and In Their Time: The Greatest Business Leaders of the Twentieth Century. One day he will buy Trieste and be therefore responsible also for Barcolana. A quite big main sail.

El Rincon De Esteban, Madrid, Spain

El Rincon De Esteban - Classy place. Good food. Good wine. Good service. Recommended. Also by Michelin.


Doru Constantin Nica - pervasive WebSphere Sales person at IBM Romania, in Bucharest office. Grew up in Craiova where he graduated at Universtatea din Craiova - known also for good sports. Worked for Xerox and is currently reading Goleman's Emotional Intelligence. Recommended.


Bernd C Blasczyk - IBM Application Integration Middleware (AIM) Business Developer for CEEMEA region, based in Hambug. Being partly Polish-Bohemian origin, most of Blasczyks actually reside in USA. Used to work in controlling filling spreadsheets all day, then escaped to Cognos before joining IBM. Loves David Beckham (NOT), read Kurzweil's Homo S@piens, did Camino de Santiago on bike and enjoys travelling and spending time with his family. Neat.


They were also here. A while ago. And the light is still on.

Vinos, Madrid, Spain

Vinos - a very old, very traditional (read: never upgraded) Spanish wine bar. A different experience. Very. For those who need to try everything. And for those that want to put things into perspective.


Marko Raubar - for a while still vice CEO of Housing, before joining IBM in Slovenia as WebSphere sales. Grew up in Koper with Kras roots, worked for Tobacna and Magistrat International, as an avid mountaineer climbed Triglav 4 times and can also serve as handball referee. Having an almost 2 years old kid, he's reading parenting books, recommends a great wine place Cejkotova domačija in Goče in Vipavska dolina and will one day nurture his own vineyard. Cheers!


Tom Boonen - recently appointed ILOG Sales Leader at IBM in CEE Growth Market Region. Born in Belgium to father veterinarian, knows the other famous Tom Boonen through wide Boonen family gathering, lived in Moscow, Vienna and now back in Belgium. Worked for Microsoft, is a parallel reader, currently crunching on The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. When too much money will not allow him to work for it, orphans around the world will benefit. Immensely. Whatever events and ideas spin around his world, the center of gravity remains with his kids Nathalie and Stefanie and wife Svetlana.


Yo, prosciutto! Hang on there!

LH Lounge, Terminal A, Frankfurt Airport, Germany

Lufthansa Business Lounges. A must for a frequent traveler. Usually nice atmosphere and great wine.


(Srečko) Srecko Janjic (Janjić) - ILOG and WebSphere BPM technical sales specialist for CEE region, based in IBM Slovenia office. Worked for Monolit and SŽ, reading Mario Puzzo's candidate book for Godfather 4, survived terrorist bomb attack in Paris Metro in 1997 and can talk about Huntigton theory. Since the middle of the 1980s Spain’s foreign population has risen nineteen-fold to 4.52 million.


Mexican Japanese mix served by Germans.

Figovec, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Figovec - old, traditional, in the center. Surprisingly empty on working Monday lunch time. Spicy. Good.


Simona Poljansek - public sector employee, global woman with a pinch of desert sand and passion for finance. Elementary school class president wannabe always ended up as treasury secretary. Italian-Czech roots with a half-Pakistani cousin. Twin sister, parallel reader: Obama's Audacity for Hope and Questions of King Milinda. Observing, motivating and testing boundaries of possible. That's her cup of tea.


Figovec is boasting full variety of Simčič wines.

Pekos Pub, Trzin, Slovenia

Pekos Pub, local joint, sponsoring local sport. Not for wine lovers. Stopped there on the way from the airport as I found out via Facebook that a friend is celebrating the birth of his child #2, son #1.


(Matjaž) Matjaz Tavcar (Tavčar) - head of development at Infohit. Grew up a block away from me, my mother taught him English in elementary school. FRI graduate with highest grade and distinction. Recently read Coelho's Alcimist, tried paragliding and finding inner peace while hanging out with Domen.


An innovative STO Bluetooth welcome at Ljubljana Airport.

Workload 2.0

Embarked on a 2 year Cotrugli Executive MBA journey.
Time is shrinking. Blogging is re-optimized.

The Club House, V Parku, Prague, Czech Republic

The Club House in The Park - home of many hi-tech companies in Prague: IBM, EMC, Sony, Accenture, Dell, CA ... to name but a few of the tenants. The Club House looks way better in summer as there is an actual golf green next to it. All offices around having full glass walls, not many employees do the "greening" though :) Food is pretty good and overall experience recommended.


Dalibor Chrudina - WebSphere Sales Specialist at IBM office in Prague. Peculiar about his great spoken English language is distinct North English accent. Has UK ties and naturally loves Monty Python and Channel 4's The IT Crowd. Used to work for Reuters and used to live in Cheb. Parallel reader, currently open are Eco's The Island of the Day Before and one from Egon Bondy. While his son enjoys snowboarding, he loves drawing, had a good experience in Timbuktu and might one day be on a permanent journey around the world with occasional longer periods of settlement while categorizing people into nomads and farmers. When is future?


No pizza today. No pizza yesterday. No pizza tomorrow. Timeless signposts.

Buf Celovška, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Buf - this relatively new chain of restaurants is a very positive surprise. Neat, simple, user friendly, very affordable. Never judge the book by it's cover and restaurants by dirty snow outside. Definitely recommended.


Romana Weissbacher - project management and business processes guru at Hypo Leasing in Ljubljana. South Tirol roots, drawn many times to Germany thanks to her first Au pair there. Prior to Hypo also worked for Filc and attends conferences like BPM 2008. NTF Textile graduate, reads Kafka's Castle and will one day have a consulting practice out of her home office in a castle such as Neuschwanstein or yet-to-be-restored Turnišče, while interesting thoughts delivered via email will still be written offline to her Moleskine.


Ryanair among canteens. And the biggest salad plate ever.


How can this aircraft actually fly, with propellers all sloppy. Czech magic, I guess.

Ruska Pravljica, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Ruska Pravljica - supposed-to-be-Russian restaurant. Interior only. Serves mostly POP TV employees, where it is conveniently located. Stuff friendly to guests, but tend to mistreat wine - our was left open, not chilled. Maybe that's the Russian way.


Anej Mehadzic (Mehadžič) - student, entrepreneur (passion and profession) and currently the voice behind avtocenter.si that he co-founded. Avtocenter.si services are crowd sourcing mileage info in cooperation with poraba.com as well as giving accurate ownership info of your car. He recently re-discovered his Sarajevo family ties via MSN/Live Messenger. He knows now who Peter Thiel is, reads Blue Ocean Strategy and a book on persuasion. And persuade he will. Watch out. For opportunities.


Georgian wine. An unnecessary adventurous step into the land of weird wine. Without darkness, there's no light. I opt for short black-outs.

Šaran, Zemun, Beograd, Serbia

Šaran - a nice restaurant in Zemun part of Belgrade, known by the transplant-locals (Gregor) for good fish dishes. Live music and waiter attitude when you complicate over wine - are both included in price. Recommended.


Gregor Irt - representative of ZZI in Belgrade, resembling a computer genius. Grew up in Slovenia, now lives in Belgrade with wife Sladjana and their two kids. Studied at FMF and later switched to graduate at FRI. Worked also for Ixtlan and usually gets down to the very basics of all the technologies he chooses to pursue. Java and web being some of the strongest points, lately he hacked a Facebook application - getting dangerously close to the renown Kaminsky DNS hack. Does a lot of re-reading, recently Hesse's Steppenwolf. An intriguing person to know and hang around with.


Fish broth - full of taste and full of fish bones. It's a give and take.


A fridge-turned-shelf in Supermarket - one of the coolest new places in Belgrade. Undefinable. Explained by Nadlanu.com and City Magazine.

Playa, BTC, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Playa - "... fancy bar inside of BTC center gained notoriety for being co-owned by one of Slovenia's better pop stars, Jan Plestenjak." as described by the newly released Ljubljana edition of InYourPocket (IYP). Niko was/is the major force behind IYP Ljubljana.


Mojca Gabrovsek (Gabrovšek) - founder and manager of Buši, the high end baby retailer. Grew up in Trzin and currently lives in Selo pri Ihanu - not the very best of names - she already suggested a change. Ph.D in genetics and later two sons, who eventually turned her career from science into retail - for now. Loves to read autobiographies - such as by Felix Dennis - and the current one is by Erazem Pintar. She was recently among the 6 finalists of Cotrugli Executive MBA Scholarship contest and if she would ever get fed up of creating successful companies, she would channel her energy into developing and protecting sustainable habitat for animals like corals and turtles. Somewhere down the road she will probably also write one - autobiography that is.