Slovenia 7 Austria and Slovenia are so beautiful

 I caught the train this morning to Ljubljana without any problems. The train station in Vienna is new and so much easier to navigate. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking!! I wish I could have taken more pictures but I was too busy admiring the view. A man on the train said it was the semmering train (spelling??) which has been written about because of the view. 
The parts of Austria and Slovenia that I saw were so beautiful. It started raining just before the train arrived so I was a bit wet when I reached my B&B. It is walking distance from the train station in the historic centre of town. They said the building is over 300 years old. My room is so charming. The floors creak and the bathroom is a step down from the bedroom. I have a cute little balcony and even a kitchen of sorts. After I checked in I went for a bite to eat and my usual cappuccino. It’s been a rainy evening so I’m just going to relax in my room tonight and go exploring tomorrow. It looks really pretty here.

Shawn  (to be continued) Photo: Janin 

Central Europe 6 Vienna

 I’m so glad I did this. The train station at Bratislava is a bit sketchy and I just couldn’t imagine doing this at 5:30-6 in the morning. The one hour trip to Vienna was uneventful. I checked in to my new hotel and I am completely happy with my choice. I spent the rest of the day in the vicinity of my hotel. I even had a little nap this afternoon so I am feeling really refreshed for my train trip to Ljubljana tomorrow. Only 12 km in the last two days.

I am so relieved i don’t have to deal with busses or trams tomorrow!! I’m looking forward to an easier start to the day. One thing I don’t think I’ve mentioned is my appreciation of the kindness of some fellow travelers/ strangers. I have had so much more help from them than the people who are paid to help (information centres, etc,)

Oh, and another thing. The farmers walk we do at the gym sure has paid off the last few days!!𯒪

Shawn (to be continued) 

Central Europe 5 Historic Centre Of Bratislava

 Well, that’s my day. I’m glad to be in my comfortable room for the night.

I decided to change the plan today. I had been told that it was no problem to get to the train station in Bratislava by 6 am to get to Vienna (1 hour train trip) to catch my 7:58 train to Ljubljana tomorrow morning. It was the one schedule that always concerned me. This morning I decided to come to Vienna today to make a less stressful trip. I am 100% glad I made that decision!! I am at the Star Inn in Vienna, right across from the train station. The lady at the hotel in Bratislava was so nice and only charged me for the one night. I spent the morning wandering around the historic centre of Bratislava so I did get a feel of it. It’s a lot smaller than Prague, which I knew, but was a nice change of pace. I walked to the tram stop and bought my tram ticket before checking out of the hotel.

 (to be continued) 

Central Europe 4 Bratislava Soup Will Be Ready Tomorrow

 As we were talking she said Canada to Europe, 3 weeks, Alone. You’re my hero and she gave me a thumbs up lol. I had directions from the station in Bratislava to my hotel but I always like to ask someone before I hop onto a bus or tram. There was a young girl who showed me where my tram would arrive. I bought my ticket and got on. I got off at the stop then I had to walk. I asked another young girl and she quickly got out her phone and gave me directions. They were both so nice and happy to help. Much appreciated!! After checking in I headed out for a bite to eat.

The downtown area here is very nice. Picturesque and a lot quieter than Prague. I stopped at an outdoor cafe that looked nice. I ordered a beer, which I desperately needed after my train trip, and a Caesar salad. The waiter brought the beer then told me they didn’t have that today so I ordered a soup of the day. He came back and said it wouldn’t be ready until tomorrow lol. So I said what do you have that is small. I wasn’t up for something big. He said fried potatoes so I said ok. So I got an order of French fries.

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Central Europe 3 Bratislava

 Well I’m here. I decided to take the metro to the train station. It went well. I arrived way too early but I didn’t want to take a chance on missing my train. The train was delayed. What frustrates me is that they don’t announce the platform until about 10-15 minutes in advance. Then you have to rush to get there, figure what carriage you’re in, etc. But it all worked out and I’m sure learning as I go. No pictures today. I was focused on the trip.

 I was chatting to a lady from Berlin at the Prague station. She was with a group of blind football (I’m presuming soccer) players. She said they weren’t the best players but they all get to play. I’m still trying to figure out how they can play soccer?? I guess they’re not completely blind but somewhat. I didn’t believe her at first but I saw her group and some of them did have canes. That would be interesting to watch lol. She said it’s becoming a thing but she wasn’t sure if it was in Canada yet. 

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Central Europe 2 Enjoyed My Time In Prague

 I meant to say yesterday: No means yes lol.

I also forgot to mention the beautiful countryside. It is a mixture of rolling hills, trees, cultivated land and small mountains. There is a lot of canola. The girl on the train said they still call it rape here. She said it’s grown all over the EU because of the subsidies for a biofuel.

I’ve found that food and beer is very reasonable when you’re outside the tourist areas. It is considerably less than at home. Looking in the stores clothing is about the same price as home and they have pretty much the same stores as we have plus a lot of others I’ve seen in London.

I’ve really enjoyed my time in Prague.  Tomorrow I’m off to a new city and country.

Shawn (to be continued) 

Shawn’s Central Europe Trip 2019

 Last day in Prague

Today was spent mainly wandering around the historic district. 12.4 km worth. I really took my time and tried to walk down every side street I came across. You have to really look while you’re walking. Beyond an open doorway can be a cute little courtyard cafe or restaurant. I picked up a couple little souvenirs and a Czech bohemian granite necklace in the shape of a four leaf clover. It made me think of a mixture of Czech and Irish. :)

I visited with an older gentleman from Hamilton who travels the world taking pictures of old trains and a couple from Pittsburgh who had just arrived and were struggling with jet lag.

 (to be continued) 

American Girl in Europe 17 They Were All Closed

The fries were like the best fries ever and the sauce was yum. Then we walked around looking at little stores again. Sadly everything closes at like 5 or 6 which is so upsetting because then there's nothing to do! We wanted to go back to these bakeries and stores we saw when we first entered the city but they were all closed. We did go into an art store and a store that had cute cards. Which are both my fave so I was glad I could do that.

We also stopped to get these things called doners. I didn't get one but they had meat and cheese and sauce in a pita kind of? It was the size of my face and I tasted the meat and it was so good! Then we went to get ice cream/gelato. We weren't really sure which one it was this time which means I think it was ice cream. I got citroen flavor (lemon) which was a party in my mouth and so refreshing. After that, we just walked around again and took some pictures. Then we headed back to the train station and came back to the facility. Maastricht is easily the best place we've been to now and I can't wait to go back. 

American Girl in Europe 16 So that was crazy

He asked me to go back through it alone and it wasn't me but didn't let me leave. Then he asked Annah to walk through and it went off! Yikes. So he wanted to search her bag and obvi she didn't take anything but he didn't trust us so he put the backpack past the sensor and it didn't go off. Then she went through and it didn't go off. So it was just wacky sensors here too but they definitely checked us out ha. So that was crazy! Then we walked down random streets and just looked in stores. We think we saw a famous person because there was this guy taking pictures with people and he had a security guard and the line went past like 15 stores. But we had no clue who it was. After that we went to a souvenir shop and a couple people bought some miniature clogs which were the cutest little guys. Then we got friets (fries) with andalouse sauce which we as a group decided it kind of tasted like zax sauce.

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American Girl in Europe 15 Ceilings Had Paintings On Them

After that the group was free to split up and make their way back to Verviers on their own. We first went into this bookstore that was in a really old cathedral which was so neat! The ceilings had paintings on them and they were worn and faint but still beautiful. We then visited some clothing stores. Europeans are really into their clothes. They are like super fashionable and keep up with style even more than dare I say, Americans. Not everywhere though. That's the thing. Some places are super sketch and others are super modern and sophisticated. We left one store and the beeper went off which was weird because we didn't buy anything. So in America we just keep walking usually because it just means that their sensors are messed up. Well in Europe, they have little guards at some of the stores and they definitely stopped us.

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American Girl in Europe 14 You Will Be Ran Over

We saw a lot of ponds and some statues too. Some of the tree leaves were orange and were on the ground. It was almost like it was fall except it was like 80 degrees. So hot. But it was a nice reminder that cooler weather is coming. We took lots of breaks because it's hard traveling with 28 people. Everyone wants to take pictures at every place so it's a bit hard to keep moving ha. Maastricht is so cute and clean and there are lots of bikes. You really have to watch out or you will be ran over. 

We saw an old bear cage which is now like an art exhibit and has statues of animals and this creepy lady petting a dead giraffe. It was weird, but the university there designs the dresses for the lady every 6 months so that's interesting. We walked past some markets and festivals too. We also visited the Basilica of Our Lady and it has a statue of Mary in it.

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American Girl in Europe 13 I'm Just Cheap

Maastricht, Netherlands, 08/26/2017

Honestly the clothes weren't that cheap and they didn't have many stylish pieces haha. I'm a bargain hunter and don't like to spend more than $10 on nice clothes and no more than $5 on my good deals. Most of their "cheap" stuff was 5 euros and that's just too much to me. Anything I considered buying was at least 10 or 15 euros and I just wasn't ready to drop that kind of money yet lol (laughing because it't not thaat much, I'm just cheap.) Maybe later. I did see some ADORABLE shoes. We will see. After the market we packed our lunches and headed for Maastricht. We got on a train to Liege and then switched trains to Maastricht. We just walked the streets as one big group and saw lots of buildings and adorable shops and crossed a river.

American Girl in Europe 12 Street Market

A lot of people were going to a thrift store which sounded really interesting but if I had to sleep. I slept a little and then a little homework before dinner. 

After dinner we went out exploring Verviers tonight. We just walked down streets and looked at the buildings and people. There was this huge concert here tonight and there were a lot of people on the streets. It was a free concert but there was security to enter it so we decided to not check it out but it was hopping and from we could hear it sounded pretty cool. 

We walked to the McDonalds and a shopping area. Everything closes early here like 6 or 7 so we didn't get to go in anything.

Saturday mornings they have a street market right outside our window. They started setting up for it in the wee hours of the morning but luckily it didn't bother me. At about 8:30 we went to explore their treasures. It loops around a whole block of the town's streets. They have clothes, shoes, jewelry, fruit, meat, flowers, vegetables, animals, and trinkets galore. We mainly were just looking at everything. 

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American Girl in Europe Europe 11 Take A Nap Or Die

So thankful for our wonderful group leaders who are willing to cook for us all and thankful for no gano this semester. After lunch, we went to get gelato. The man did not speak English so we slightly struggled communicating with him. I got fraise (strawberry.) Loved it! We came back and I was ready for a nap but for some reason I was inclined to do some homework. I know that if I didn't spend some time on it, I'd procrastinate too much and be left in a stressful situation.

Then at 3, we had a Skype session with our French teacher. She introduced herself and just mentioned a few things we learned that day and then she asked each of us our name and how we were in French and we had to respond in French.

It was a little (okay a lot) awkward for everyone since it was difficult to hear and hard to remember all that we had to say. It was a hot mess but we got through it. After that I had to take a nap or die. Those were the only options. I was not functioning at all.

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