Blogs from Salzkammergut, Upper Austria, Austria, Europe

salzberg: took a train late after standing at the bus stop at the bottom of the konopiste castle....beautiful..and free wifi from the pensione across the street..but a 2 hour wait...then a long train..which had problems adn they had to bus us to another stop...then back ona train...which when that arrived...we missed our connection..another wasnt for 3 hours.....but it was a nice train and direct to salzberg.......electrical plug ins and our own cabin...comfy..good cuz our feet..oh man what a smell.....so glad we had our own cabin...arrived in salzberg at 1 am......got online for free at a mcdonalds right by train station..found the yoho international youth hostle...just a 10 minute walk away....laundry..accepted cards....shower...good breakfast considering its kinda skimpy...but good.....laundry almost dry....and will be packed..trying a new configuration with the backpacks..as on... read more

This was a nice, relaxing weekend! Friday night I went to the Blaserphilharmonie concert in the Grosse Saal. I was actually supposed to play in this concert but I'm glad I didn't! It's a long story...The concert was nice. Benjamin Schmidt, a violinist on faculty at the Mozarteum, played a concerto and he was incredible! After the concert we went for a drink at Weizzz on Theatregasse, just down the street from the hall. As it turned out, they were having karaoke that night! I ended up singing the Baywatch song with somebody. It was fun but it was pretty bad! A couple of other guys sang and one of the trombonists and trumpet players got out their instruments and started accompanying them. Sounded much better than the singing :) We have been having some really ... read more

Unglaublich, aber wahr - schon ist ein Jahr vergangen, seid ich zu meiner Reise aufgebrochen bin ... daran wollte ich am Anfang gar nicht denken - so lange Zeit und doch so kurz ... Zum Jubilaeum gibt´s ein Video (mit Musik) mit ein paar Eindruecken dieses Jahres: Unbelieveable, but already passed by a year, since I started my journey ... in the beginning I didn´t think, it would last that long - a long time, but gone by very fast ... to celebrate this anniversary, here´s a video (with music) with a few impressions of this year: Increíble - ya estoy en mi viaje por un año - no pensé a eso, cuando empecé - tan mucho tiempo, pero pasó muy rapido ... por eso, aqui un video (con sonido) con algunos impresiones de este año: ... read more

As far as White Christmases go I don't ever recall ever having one. Apparently the only white Christmas Kent has seen is in 1970 and as I wasn't even born then it doesn't really count. It just goes to show that Bing Crosby's “I'm dreaming of a White Christmas” song can be portrayed as either a far fetched memory or merely a dream!? If the dream can't come to us we then shall go to the dream :))) Me and mama booked on a coach trip to spend the festive season in Austria to experience Christmas with all the trimmings. On our first day we had an 11 hour journey, crossing the channel via ferry and driving through to Germany. We had a delightful coach load of people ranging from pickups as far north as Newcastle ... read more

Leider haben mich keine erfreulichen Nachrichten aus der Heimat erreicht ... letzten Sonntag ist ein Onkel von mir viel zu frueh gestorben ... Ich kann leider nicht beim Begraebnis anwesend sein, aber Euch liebe Tante Lissi, Andrea, Guenther und Robert moechte ich zumindest mitteilen, dass ich in Gedanken bei Euch bin und Euch meine aufrichtige Anteilnahme aussprechen. Es gibt nichts, was die Abwesenheit eines geliebten Menschen ersetzen kann. Je schöner und voller die Erinnerung, desto härter die Trennung, aber die Dankbarkeit schenkt in der Trauer eine stille Freude. Man trägt das vergangene Schöne wie ein kostbares Geschenk in sich. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) ... read more

As I got informed by mail from my travel-agency the pluna-airlines (national airline of Uruguay) will no longer operate the flight between Madird and Montevideo. Therefore they booked me on a flight operated by Iberia, on the 2nd of November instead of 31th of October. First I thought, why not stay a few days longer and celebrate my birthday on the 4th of November with my friend Anca in Barcelona? So I asked her if I could stay longer and she agreed. Sadly the only choice they offer me is to fly on the 2nd of November, or to get my money back. A quick check assured me, that prices for flights to Montevideo have already risen by about 200,-- Euro, so I agreed to fly on the 2nd of November. The positive thing is, that ... read more

Very late, but: From the 25th of July to the 27th of July we had our BBQ at the Attersee. As last year, we've been at the camping-ground in "Weissenbach". Due to changing weather-conditions we decided not to go to the BBQ-place at the river, but to have the BBQ right in front of our cabines at the camping-ground. Maybe we've got some better weather next time (if there's a next time and even if, I'm not sure, if I'm already back to Austria 'till then ... ;-). ... read more