Austria is awesome..

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I still dont know if any of this is getting through but at least Im practising my typing. Well i am in Linz, a very pretty city on the danube river. It has been nominated the cultural capital of europe for the year 2009 so many new buildings relating to art ,music,electronic art etc have been constructed with efficiency for this great honour. Some of them are along the riverbank just like Southbank but they are all floodlit with often the colours changing every two minutes or so. Today was the trip to Cesky Krumlov in the czech republic and it was all worth the early morning start, the cold of the snow and the rough cobbles to walk on. Quaint doesnt really describe it. There is an old castle with the ubiquitous old stone wall around it but then 250 years later another castle was built on the other side of a deep ravine and because the owners knew each other they decided to build a walkway between them so that they didnt have to walk downhill then uphill again.It looks like a Roman aqueduct bridge and has two rows or floors in it. From the top you get a 360 degree view of th whole town which was apparently useful for the tax collectors or robber barons as they were then.They could see what was going on all over. We drove through snow for about one hour and it was very crisp when we goat first but after a couple of hikes uphill we didnt notice the cold at all. Except my head. We left the ship in Passau in 13 degree heat and so were told that we wouldnt need all our heavy gear. Consequently I left my beret and leather gloves on the ship. It was the perfect excuse to buy a fur and suede hat in which everyone tells me I look like a russian cossack. Im hoping the princess kind but I fear they mean the rugged hefty soldier kind. We had the crew show tonight and the skits were very funny especially as they were drunken skits done by the quietest and straightest guys on the ship. The crew ended the night with putting on Y.M.C.A. and dancing including some of us passengers and I can hardly move after the walking and the dancing because of course it didnt stop at one dance. As you know Michelle. I may not have a voice in the morning which could be a blessing for my fellow passengers for i have been quite excited about everything.Tomorrow is Melk Abbey A benedictine abbey still in use for over eight hundred years . Very steep up to it so I will come home fit.Ill try to send some more tomorrow night.Shame about the pictures as I got some good ones today .In the moat around the castle there are three brown bears living in appalling conditions as you would expect in such a country but htey were so cute to look at. They are meant to represent the longevity of the family line a bit like the ravens at tower bridge.Well Its 12.30 am tomorrow now so Love to you all and I hope that you get this.

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