Western Europe Trip 2 - Page 8
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 From
the Netherlands, I traveled east into Germany to Koln (Cologne). The
people were less than receptive so I went on to Austria stopping in
Salzburg and Vienna. Salzburg is the birthplace of Mozart, my
favorite classical composer and setting of the Sound of Music.
Mozart considered Salzburg a provincial town - i.e. it was a hick town, a
cow town. Well, it's gorgeous not withstanding its smallness. |
 From
Austria I went to Prague - sort of. I first went to Budapest,
Hungary and being that it was Christmas and I was far from home and the
place was depressing I was depressed. I've talked to people later
and they say Budapest is great. I decided I needed something a
little sunnier and started to head to the south of France. I got to
Basel in Switzerland and the hostel was closed and the hotels were running
$200 a night - so back to the train station and overnight into
Prague. Mozart liked Prague. I like Prague. (I suppose
that's where the similarities end!) Prague is a gorgeous city, with
wonderful museums and almost nightly presentations of classical
music. Many people speak English and they are very nice. The
picture to the right shows the Charles Bridge. Vendors sell
paintings, jewelry, trinkets, etc on the bridge which is a main pedestrian
thoroughfare. Prague is a city I can go to again and again. |
 From
Prague I tried to head down to Venice, Italy. I ended up on the
wrong car and was derailed to Milano. C'est la vie. From there
I headed back east across northern Italy to Bologna. That was my
base for a few days as I made trips into the Dolomites north of town and
to Venice. In the Dolomites is a town called Bolzano and above it on
the surrounding hills (you have to take a cable car up) is Über Bolzano.
In Über Bolzano, the people wear lederhousen while drining Moretti
Beer. It's weird and no place more apparent to have the boundary of
two cultures. |
 I
headed down the east side of Italy and then across to Assisi. This
is where St. Francis of Assisi was from. The hostel is down below
the church which is perched on a hill side. The original church is
below a much more elaborate one put in place to honor St. Francis. I
don't know enough about St. Francis but he loved animals and that's enough
for me. |
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From
the Netherlands, I traveled east into Germany to Koln (Cologne). The
people were less than receptive so I went on to Austria stopping in
Salzburg and Vienna. Salzburg is the birthplace of Mozart, my
favorite classical composer and setting of the Sound of Music.
Mozart considered Salzburg a provincial town - i.e. it was a hick town, a
cow town. Well, it's gorgeous not withstanding its smallness.
From
Austria I went to Prague - sort of. I first went to Budapest,
Hungary and being that it was Christmas and I was far from home and the
place was depressing I was depressed. I've talked to people later
and they say Budapest is great. I decided I needed something a
little sunnier and started to head to the south of France. I got to
Basel in Switzerland and the hostel was closed and the hotels were running
$200 a night - so back to the train station and overnight into
Prague. Mozart liked Prague. I like Prague. (I suppose
that's where the similarities end!) Prague is a gorgeous city, with
wonderful museums and almost nightly presentations of classical
music. Many people speak English and they are very nice. The
picture to the right shows the Charles Bridge. Vendors sell
paintings, jewelry, trinkets, etc on the bridge which is a main pedestrian
thoroughfare. Prague is a city I can go to again and again.
From
Prague I tried to head down to Venice, Italy. I ended up on the
wrong car and was derailed to Milano. C'est la vie. From there
I headed back east across northern Italy to Bologna. That was my
base for a few days as I made trips into the Dolomites north of town and
to Venice. In the Dolomites is a town called Bolzano and above it on
the surrounding hills (you have to take a cable car up) is Über Bolzano.
In Über Bolzano, the people wear lederhousen while drining Moretti
Beer. It's weird and no place more apparent to have the boundary of
two cultures.
I
headed down the east side of Italy and then across to Assisi. This
is where St. Francis of Assisi was from. The hostel is down below
the church which is perched on a hill side. The original church is
below a much more elaborate one put in place to honor St. Francis. I
don't know enough about St. Francis but he loved animals and that's enough
for me.