A mixed bag from along the Danube [View Full Entry]

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Here are a collection of windows that are from my Danube cycle trip from Regensburg to Brataslava and then onto Ljubiljana by train. [View Full Entry]

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23rd - 24th October…….Salzburg For ease of train connections and to spend time in a pleasant city, rather than Frankfurt prior to flying back to Australia, I headed by train to Salzburg. Mediterranean is one side of the Alps and Salzburg is on the other and so it wasn’t long before the scene changed from deciduous autumn to snowy winter…in fact it happened entering a tunnel and coming out the other end. Narnia Land through the cupboard. I had been to Salzburg about 30 years ago and recalled little, other than the castle on the hill overlooking the city and a [View Full Entry]

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20th -22nd October............... Ljubljana with a population of 269,000 was the city that inspired me the most as to what Adelaide could be like that would draw tourists to experience an alternative relaxed lifestyle. What is needed however is inspired leadership on a Adelaide Local Government and State level. Ljubljana is in a lovely setting with a backdrop of alpine mountains, a castle that overlooks the old city that curves around each side of the river. But it is its artistic vibrancy and creative community that makes it more than just another pretty city. I headed to the Celicia Host [View Full Entry]

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18th October........................Budapest lays on a geological fault line that result in some 30,000 cubic metres of thermal water being released daily from about 120 springs. As a result it is a major centre for thermal baths. Having just cycled over 1,000 kms from Germany, I felt justified in lolling about and in fact I went to two different ones. The 1570 Turkish bath with its sky lit central dome took me back to those I went to in Turkey. The Art Nouveau Gellert Baths, on the other hand, has been likened to taking a bath in a cathedral with its very [View Full Entry]

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16th October…………Budapest,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I stayed 4 nights (3 days) in Hungary’s capital of 2 million people. I got a single room in the 11th Hour Hostel, probably once an old apartment building. The first couple of nights were spent as the sole occupant of a 6 bed dorm but it was noisy being next to the common area which turned party mode till late with young people from across the planet (many of them Australians, including the daughter of a close friend of my brother’s) playing the usual loud card games. My hot water wasn’t working [View Full Entry]

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12th October - 13th October............. Gyora, Hungary ................... Bratislava is right on the border of Austria and Hungary and so it wasn't long before I found myself in my 4th country this trip, and all on a bicycle. Hungary does not have the obvious wealth of Austria but it is a return to houses that are more cared for. Rural towns appear as somewhat 'peasant' communities. One gets the impression that not a lot happens here. Gyora on the other hand is quite a large town with a delightful old centre which is popular with tourists, also attracted by the Thermal [View Full Entry]

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10th October - 12th October.......... Bratislava........ I arrived back in the Land of Oz yesterday but let's you and I pretend I'm still over there having a good time! Don't forget you can click on a photo to enlarge it. It was an easy ride out of Vienna and before I knew it, I was cycling towards the derelict Austrian-Slovakian border crossing. It was so unused looking I didn't even notice the officer in a booth and had to go back when he called out to me. I'm glad they don't shoot and ask questions later any more. The guide book [View Full Entry]

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9th October.....................Vienna Continued:.................... One could spend their whole time in Museums and I limit myself to ones that may be more interesting or different. The Haus der Musik uses computer interactive technology to explain the physics of sound. There are also separate rooms devoted to the great composers of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss and Mahler. It was interesting to see the actual tired looking glasses that Brahms and Schubert actually wore and the baton of Richard Strauss. The architecture in Vienna is varied, spectacular, highly ornamental, [View Full Entry]

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5th October...................Pischelsdorf (Where the hell is that?).......................... It was a long day riding today - cloudy with some sunshine. There was nowhere I particularly wanted to stay on the way and when I attempted to stop around 5pm the places were either full or more than what I wanted to pay. At dusk I checked into a guest house that was fine for an overnight stay, although my meal was a bit to be desired- fatty schnitzel with crinkle cut chips and soggy lettuce in a smoke filled room with the (large) family dog attempting to get his evening meal from [View Full Entry]

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