Central Europe 15 Salzburg

 I’m short on photos today. It rained pretty much the whole day so I walked around and spent a lot of time eating and drinking coffee. I had some apple strudel, very good! We saw Red Bull factory yesterday. I guess it originates in Austria. 

Our guide yesterday said they are extremely wealthy. Not only do they have their own plane but they also have their own runway. She said a number of years ago they flew in the real Marie VonTrapp in from the US for some special dedication. She was over 90 years old. That is the daughter Marie, not the mother. The real VonTrapp family actually moved to the US after their escape from Austria. Some interesting trivia. :)

My last train ride tomorrow. Vienna. The forecast is looking good so that’s a bonus.

Shawn (to be continued) 

Central Europe 14 Hallstatt

 My new hotel is very nice. It’s just at the edge of the historic district. I walked and grabbed something to eat nearby. Roast pork with dumplings and a cabbage salad (which was more like sauerkraut) It was yummy.

A great day today. I went on a Sound of Music tour today. There were only 3 of us so it was fantastic. My wifi isn’t cooperating so I couldn’t add more photos but oh my goodness the scenery was absolutely amazing!! I am spoiled with all the beauty I’ve seen in the past couple of weeks. The tour guide did a great job of showing us all the locations filmed in the movie as well as the picturesque village of Hallstatt. On the way back to Salzburg she played some songs from the movie. We were out for almost 8 hours. A perfect day. :)

Shawn (to be continued) 

Central Europe 13 America not so good

 Once we arrived in Salzburg I told him thank you so much for your help and kindness. He said “I am a gentleman and I’m from Central Europe, what else would I do.” 

I had written instructions before I left home how to take the bus to my hotel but I had had enough of public transportation for the day so I grabbed a taxi. I couldn’t have cared less how much it cost. It was $15.00 Euro to my hotel. The taxi driver asked where I was from. He said, oh Canada good country, America not so good. Another point for us Canadians lol.

Shawn   (to be continued) 

Central Europe 12 I Had Some Of His Sandwich

We had an hour and 45 minute wait there before catching our next train then another train ride before having to get off again. Then onto a bus for an hour then another train to Salzburg!! The man on the train turned a potentially awful day into a very pleasant day. He stayed with me the whole way, loaded my suitcase numerous times onto the overhead bin and even bought me a coffee. At one point he offered me some of his sandwich. I said oh no but thank you and he said in his broken English, no please. So I had some of his sandwich. :)

He was traveling from Zagreb. He was a professor and was going to Salzburg to present at a conference regarding immigration issues. It was so interesting talking to him. He had a great sense of humour and we laughed a lot too. Running into him really made the day.

Shawn  (to be continued)