This was taken last Thanksgiving (2007) in Port Elgin. The weekend was hot as blazes and a constant mist hung over the entire region. This is early morning before sunrise. It seemed so eerie and somehow mysterious.
Land of my birth and of my family's demise. Yet, and I don't understand this part, the people are lovely, the country is prosperous, the cities and towns are spotless, and I just love it. Maybe it's time to see a shrink.
You can make fun of its name but this is a wonderful small city dating back to Roman days. Hell, the Roman buildings and roads are still working. People are living in the buildings and driving on the roads. Very artsy, fartsy, to boot. What a place!
Hansi is loved by his paritioners. And he loves them. He is devoted to them and it shows. Hansi drives like a bat out of hell without much of a sense of direction. He gets lost or almost lost on a regular basis. When he does, he kind of mutters under his breath and keeps going, then turns around, and maybe turns around again. Of course, he almost never asks for directions so you might say he's just a typical male.
Charlie and I walked to the school which is almost beside Golob's Cafe. I took pictures from every angle. After all, this is where mother and her siblings including Hansi, all went to school. A woman emerged from the school and she looked our way. I smiled and explained this is my mother's old school. She was very sweet and invited us in for a tour. It was impressive. 33 students ranging from 6 to 17. Four teachers. This is a super-exclusive school. One teacher was teaching German as a second language to 3 six year-old. Another had 3 or 4 children in his computer lab. We were given a couple of gifts the children had made. It was quite an experience.
We got into Salzburg and into the hotel. It was hot as blazes. After settling in, we went out looking for a nice place to eat and have a drink. We found it at Pitter Keller - a couryard canopied by trees. What a treat. It belongs to the Crown Plaza Hotel. We had a lovely meal and a couple of nice cold beers. We were very happy. Had a wonderful night's sleep. I woke up at 4:30 the next morning feel full of vim and vigor and raring to go. Charlie was still asleep so I took a couple of pictures of the early morning city. Later that morning we took that fabulous, never to be forgotten, tour of the Eagle's Nest. After the tour we went back to the hotel, got our bags and headed to the train station for our trip to Graz.
Well what can I say about Graz? Sophisticated, classy, top-notch. We had an apartment in the pension. We had a terrace overlooking the sidewalk cafe. Across the street was an open market. After 3 PM, the market disappeared. Being an early riser, I watched them set up in the mornings. Fresh produce and meats - smoked as well as fresh. I watched women ride up on their bikes, buy fresh goods, fill their baskets at the handlebars and behind the seat, and casually bike away. All this before the sun had risen. Needless to say, you'd be hard pressed to see a fat person in Graz. They were all fit - well 99% of them, anyway. None of them seemed to make a big deal out of fitness - it is just a way of life. Lots of bikes everywhere. No helmets.
Rosa, Helga and Alois sure showed us a wonderful time. Alois picked us up at 8:30 AM and drove us back to his house in Hausmannstaetten. We had plum cake and headed out, first to Piber to the Lipizzaner stud farm. Then to Bärnbach mainly to view St. Barbara Church and its mosaics. Later we headed to Stainz and had lunch at an incredible Gasthof called Stainzerhof. After that we toured Schloss Stainz and back to Hausmannstaetten. It was a long and full day of jaw-dropping experiences.
What a graceful and impressive city. I have never heard anything negative about it. How could there be? The city is immaculate, the people friendly to a fault, the history and music. Oh my - a feast for the senses. We bought tickets to a concert at Schoenbrunn Castle - inside the castle. We spent the afternoon at Schoenbrunn. At one point I took a cat nap on one of the benches in the garden. We had dinner at the Gloriette Cafe, high on a hill overlooking Schoenbrunn Castle and gardens. At night we had the concert. I was so moved, I cried during the concert, I was just so joyful at being there.
Let there be no doubt. Ireland, at least Dublin, is a huge disappointment. It's dirty, very dirty. The people are rude. The young men all look like thugs. And the prices are through the roof. For what? It has absolutely nothing - nada - zero, to offer.
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This was taken last Thanksgiving (2007) in Port Elgin. The weekend was hot as blazes and a constant mist hung over the entire region. This is early morning before sunrise. It seemed so eerie and somehow mysterious.
