Blogs from Villach, Carinthia, Austria, Europe
May 26th 2012
The first three days are over, culminating in a party last night for the Copa del Rey soccer game featuring Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao. Thus far, it's been a tiring adventure. I only acquired the key to a bike from a neighbor last night meaning I have spent the entire three days exploring the city on foot. It's only about a 10 minute walk to the city center, but the walk to the University takes an hour. My first goal upon arriving was to see what was in the near vicinity of my flat. So I went for a stroll. The only real points of interest nearby were the small bank branch, a small grocery store and, a few other useless stores (for things like mattresses, vacuums, and cars). So I headed to the bank, I ... read more
May 25th 2012
Tink, Tink, Tink! That's my traveller's alarm clock. Becuase I left my iPhone in the car at the airport. Damnit. Oh well, at least it won't get lost or damaged while I'm here. 6:30 a.m. Shower, shave, dress, brush teeth. The train leaves at 8:30, one rail stop away. That leaves plenty of time for...free breakfast. Hell yes. Cereal, fruit, rolls, eggs, cheese, ham. Mmmm, breakfast sandwiches. Sated, I return to my room, grab my stuff, haul it back downstairs, hand in my key and step outside. The ground is dry, no clouds in the sky. Short jaunt to the station, validate my ticket from yesterday (the machine doesn't know the difference) and I'm off to the main train station. I fork out 50 euro to the unhappy clerk, grab my ticket and hit the platform. ... read more
May 24th 2012
It was a dark and stormy night. Seriously. I stepped out of Vienna International Airport around 8pm on Tuesday, May 22nd into a quickly darkening sky obscured by darker clouds. Fortunately I got to head underground almost immediately into a warren of tunnels crisscrossing the city with almost no distinguishable pattern. But which tunnel to travel down? Oh, hey. There's only one. Let's hope I pick the right direction. Success! Now I'm at Vien Mitte, one of the central subway (S-Bahn) stations in downtown Vienna (Wien). I know that the train departing from Wien to Villach leaves from Wien Meidling station. So let's head that way. The hostel I looked up is nearby and said I could take the S1, 2, or 3 lines to Wien Meidling. Except none of them actually seem to go there. ... read more
Eastern Europe - Day 74 & 75 - Villach, Austria
Published: July 18th 2009Europe » Austria » Carinthia » Villach
July 16th 2009
Well it was time to finally leave Munderfing and my good friends Rod and Jess....hic......sob.... I was especially going to miss all the lovely road signs of the area. However I was blessed with one last look at 'Pfaffing' as we drove to the train station. Jessie was a sweetheart and drove me to the train station in Salzburg where I caught the 12:12 train to Villach, where I had decided to spend the next couple of nights. There really was no rhyme nor reason to my decision to visit Villach, except for the fact that it happens to be on the main train route to LJubljana which was going to be my next stop on my travels. So this is the reason that I found myself hopping off a train at Villach Hauptbahnhof. And what ... read more
May 31st 2008
May 30, 2008 Villach, Austria Today we drove the 3 hour or so through Slovenia to Villach, Austria. This is a very nice drive through some beautiful country side and across some passes in the Slovenian / Austrian Alps into Austria. Lots of skiing here. The freeways are great ( Tolls ) and it is a very easy drive. The drive into Austria reminded us of travelling into the mountains from Calgary and to Canmore and Banff. Still lots of snow on the tops of some very high peaks. We were amazed again with the amount of tunneling used to straighten out the roads in Europe. These guys have it right !! The longest one today was 7800 meters ( meters for everyone in the world except Americans.) ( For you it's about 4.85 Miles ) ... read more
November 25th 2007
For starters, I still wasn't sure we were supposed to get off the train for the layover. It fel weird for some reason. It was freezing again, but whatelse is new? Pulling into the station, the town looked absolutely adorable. It's what I pictured a little Austrian town to look like. The station was completely dead except for a few weary stralers like ourselves. We headed outside and all I wanted was a nice cup of tea. We walked all up around through this quiet little town tha reminded me of home. It was all decorated for christmas and streets were lined with christmas ecorations and lights. I only wish we were around durin gth day to peruse the market and stands along the street. It has to be adorable. It makes me sad that I ... read more
Skiing the Austrian Alps and a day in Italy
Published: March 18th 2007Europe » Austria » Carinthia » Villach
March 18th 2007
March 16-18, 2007 - My buddy assigned to me by the school here in Wiener Neustadt, Matthias, is the best buddy that anyone could possibly ask for. This weekend, he invited a few of us (the other Adam from Drake and two canadian girls, Monica and Jacqueline) to go to his father's cabin in Corinthia in the Austrian Alps. After a 3 1/2 hour drive from Wiener Neustadt we arrived at the cabin and quickly went to sleep. We woke up Friday morning at 8am and drove an hour to the Nassfeld ski resort. We were doubting how much snow there would be because the weather had been so warm. Suprisingly there was a ton of snow! We quickly rented skis and got on the slopes from 11-4. It was about 45 degrees on the hills ... read more
