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) 

Central Europe 11 At Least That Was What I Thought

 Well I made it to Salzburg but what a trip it was lol!! The pictures aren’t the best but they show a bit of the countryside. It started to get overcast and a bit of rain on the way. Tomorrow’s forecast is looking alright but the next day a really good chance of rain.

I walked to the train station in Ljubljana and boarded the train. I thought I have 4 hours to sit, relax and enjoy the view. About an hour out of Ljubljana the train stops and the man is telling everyone to get off the train. At least that Was what I thought since I didn’t understand a word he was saying. The man sitting across from me spoke pretty good English and explained they must be doing work on the track because our train was changed. He came in with me to the station where they printed us off a new timetable, in German lol. 

Shawn  (to be continued) Photo: Crusaders' Church - Janin 

Slovenia 10 University Is Free Here

 Slovenia has only been a country since 1991. They were formally a part of Yugoslavia. In 2016 they earned the title of Europe’s greenest city. They are in the top few (I can’t remember the exact ranking) of Europe’s cleanest cities and with the most forest. I am really impressed with this city.

It is a university city. School started at the beginning of October and you can tell. There are a lot of young people out and about. University is free here. He said students also get big discounts at restaurants. They can eat cheaper than the working families.

He said they are still experiencing a lot of growing pains. Government contracts are often given by favouritism instead of price or qualifications. It was an enjoyable day spent around the city.

Shawn  (to be continued) Photo: Janin 

Slovenia 9 City Walking Tour

 I asked them where their favourite holiday was and they said Canada actually. They went to Lake Huron. He said it’s the one place where he didn’t want to go home from. We all agreed the language barrier can be a problem at times but our both speaking English made for a really nice afternoon. 

For supper I went to a place nearby recommended by the owners here. I just had an appetizer of mussels in a cream pea sauce since the orders are so huge here. It was delicious and just enough.

This morning I had breakfast at a cafe on the river. I remembered that the British couple had told me about a free city walking tour this morning at 11 so I walked over and joined that. It was really interesting. It lasted a little over 2 hours.

Shawn  (to be continued) Photo: Janin