Blogs from Europe - page 13880

Growing up in Australia, Stonehenge seemed so far away. I had wanted to go there for such a long time, so it was a pretty special day. It's a shame you are not allowed to touch the stones, but a great experience nonetheless. Apparently the Druids had nothing to do with Stonehenge. Whenever I think of Druids the image of Getafix from Asterix & Obelix pops into my head. Why am I telling you this? I have no idea. Salisbury Cathedral is nearby, so I stopped off to have a look there as well.... read more

My fall semester 2005 I studied abroad in London and traveled many places while free on weekends... read more

With the sound of Rachel and me! Laughing, that is - we had such a great reunion. She met me at the train station and we trolled around Old Salzburg in the rain, eating and having coffee and talking a mile a minute. Zipping through the Austrian countryside via train was beautiful. There were low-hanging clouds and forests that are the stuff of fairytales. Coming into Salzburg I caught a glimspe of the mountains - Rach's "alpity alps" - real mountains, jagged and snow-capped and ancient-looking in the cloudy dusk. On Friday Rachel had class, so I explored the old city on my own, enjoying the beautiful (baroque) churches, squares and elaborate fountains. I particularly enjoyed the water spouting from the statue-horses' noses, with the clipclop of horse feet from the real horses, drawing carriages right ... read more

Well, one entire stormy day driving back to London. I give us a C+ on finding the hotel, again the streets changing names, excuses, excuses. Their one and only parking place has been promised to us as long as we are here and thankfully someone helps Buff park. Next day we see a Smart car, whose owner is very anxious to show it off to us. Pretty cool and roomier on the inside than you would think. We really only plan to take the car out the one day to Windsor Castle. After that we will Tube or walk everywhere until we drive one last time to the Airport. I could see the relief on Buff's face when we came "home" this day that he would not have to drive anymore. (We've got the route to ... read more

We've had 2 wonderful and full days in Vienna. Although I was here before (in 1966!) I don't remember the scale of grandiose buildings and monuments. The city is arranged in concentric circles because the original city had a round fortified wall which Emperor Franz Joseph demolished and replaced with fabulous buildings, theatres, fountains, parks, and statues in the 19th century. Vienna is now rejuvenated as a centre of culture. I have to keep reminding myself to look up when walking to see all the ornamentation on the buildings. Domes and statues are everywhere. Yesterday we took advantage of the sunny day to walk in the gardens of Schonbrunn Palace, considered the "Versailles" of Austria. Our friend, Fritz, reminds us that, unlike the French Kings, the Austrian rulers did not bankrupt the country! In the 2 ... read more