Blogs from Europe - page 5

I recorded yesterday that our room is small but not HOW small. The room is so small that when we open the door it smacks into the end of the bed at one third open, and we have to walk through it sideways! The room is so small that there is literally nowhere to put two suitcases but being a resourceful couple, we have balanced one suitcase on top of the mini bar fridge and the other on the wide windowsill. Thank goodness for the deep/wide windowsill. The room is so small it has no room for bedside tables. On one side there is a desk which sort of doubles as a bedside table but on the other side there is nowhere to put the phone and the watch on the charger although Bernie has managed ... read more

We are in Northern Ireland. We came via a night in Donegal, that included a visit to Donegal Castle and some fun picture taking. We left Donegal first thing in the morning to go to Derry and the UK. Derry's a city I was really interested in experiencing and did that. Spent 2 hours on a walking tour with a survivor, Jimmy Toye, of Bloody Sunday. He relived that day, more than 50 years ago, moment by moment, taking us to the spot where the British soldiers stood when they fired at the young Irish protestors, and where each of his friends had fallen. It was very moving and intense, too much for some. I learned a lot...the connections with the civil rights movement in the 60s is a strong one. The civil rights issue here ... read more

We've had a day of heights. Our Innsbruck Card more than paid for itself with buses, the funicular and gondalas. We got the Hop On Hop Off bus first to take us around the town and describe the features and history. This was lovely except we didn't know to push the Stop button to stop where we wanted so by passed it. We had intended to head up the mountains on the North side of Innsbruck and visit the south side later. Instead we ended up on the Kaiser hill on the South side. Here, we first visited the Kaiser Jagermuseum and Panorama display of the Tyrolean War. It doesn't sound great but it is amazing. The Panorama is a huge circular painted 3D display of some 1000 sq metres of the Tyrolean struggle for freedom ... read more

When I told my friends that I would be traveling to Ireland, I got similar comments, "Ireland is green, greener and greenest. The people are friendly, friendlier, and friendliest people they have ever met." I must agree that their observations are extremely accurate. The scenery is stunning, and the people are kind, helpful and, yes, very friendly. I believe there is another trait. The places we have visited so far are tidy, tidier, and tidiest. There are not any wrappers, empty bottles, cigarette butts, or bits of trash on the streets or roads. When we made this observation to our driver he informed us that each town enters the 'tidiest town' contest. People take such pride in their towns and their reward is to be named 'The Tidiest Town.' Last year Abbeyleix in County Lapis won ... read more

Our week in Mayrhofen is over and we've moved on to Innsbruck. We got the train around midday and headed off down the Zill valley to Jennbach where we changed the train to Innsbruck. The Zillerthal valley was populated most of the way down with pockets of residences, small towns and higher farms and lifestyle properties. I'll remember it as a very attractive place to visit and a nice peaceful place to stay although no doubt winter and skiers will make it pandemonium. On arrival in Innsbruck we found our Ibis Hotel just across the road from the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station). It is a strange building. A big long black oblong of a building above the road level and station. It is a relaxed hotel but has very clean rooms and is amazingly quiet. They ... read more