Christmas with the Armes Family

The UK did have a white Christmas...first time in at least forty years! These two photos are taken just outside my house (above) and on Collier Row Road (the main road I walk along to get groceries).
Greetings...I am back in Romford again after spending Christmas Eve until today with David's family in Letchworth (north of London in Hertfordshire). I took the train up to Letchworth on Friday afternoon where I was met by David and his sister, Jo.

We have had a lovely weekend together. Joan (David's mom) spent a large part of the weekend in the kitchen for the big family meals each of the three days we were all there. Both David and Jo's husband, John are vegetarians, so there were vegetarian entrees at each meal in addition to the fish, turkey, and ham the rest of us had. The rest of us tried to pitch in and help where we could.

I had my first real experience with the crackers that that British like to hand out at Christmas. They're like a wish bone, in that two people pull the cracker and the person who gets the middle (filled) part of the cracker is supposed to win it. It contains a joke and a (gag) toy of some kind--a protractor with shape cutouts you can trace, or a tangram, or a miniature set of playing cards. Another popular tradition seems to be the little firecrackers that pop when you pull the string and send a stream of tissue paper strings across the table at the person at whom they are aimed. Each person's placemat was adorned with both of these items at both the Christmas Day dinner (just family present) and the Boxing Day buffet (to which two of Jeff and Joan's friends were invited).

Stevie, Jeff (Grandad), and (Uncle) David at the beautifully decorated table for Christmas Day dinner.

We had several games of Charades (which I initially heard as Sheraz) as well as completing a 500-piece jigsaw of Europe on Christmas Day, and then the 1000-piece one pictured below last night and this morning.
The three most persistent puzzlers--Jo, daughter Stevie, and yours truly. David and John and Joan also gave us some help at various points along the way.

Canterbury and Snow

It has been over three weeks since I last posted... much has happened. On Dec 2, my teacher friends and I went into London for the annual tree-lighting ceremony in Trafalgar Square of the 70-ft tall Norwegian pine given to London by the people of Oslo for their support during WWII. Then we celebrated Chelsea's birthday by going to a South Asian restaurant called Inamo that enabled us to order our meal off the table. That is to say, it was a touch-sensitive table with drop-down menus that displayed a picture of any selected dish on your plate. You drag and drop your menu selections into the shopping basket and they bring it to you. While you were waiting, you could play battleship with the person sitting across fro you, solve a jigsaw puzzle, look at a map of the area around the restaurant, or view a video of the chefs working in the kitchen.

On Dec 4, David and I visited his parents in Letchworth. We had a lovely visit, and they invited me to spend Christmas with them.

A week ago, we had our TimePlan Christmas social at the Christmas Market in Hyde Park. We went skating at the rink set up for one month over Christmas. It was rather rough, wet ice, and a very packed rink. Funny to watch the Londoners careen around or cling to the wall.

On Tuesday of this past week, David came out to my choir concert on Tuesday afternoon. We sang for a seniors group at a church in Romford, who were very appreciative of our efforts. We sang a variety of John Rutter carols as well as an arrangement of Auld Lang Syne and a few other seasonal pieces.

Friday I finished my tutoring work for the term, and my Bible Study group (from Chase Cross) had a Christas social. Then on Saturday, David and Esther (my housemate) and I went to Canterbury for the day. We saw the Cathedral and did some shopping. Canterbury is a gorgeous town, and was especially so after 10 c of snow fell.

With David, before snow.
Esther and I.

Entrance to Canterbury Cathedral.

This week I a enjoying a quiet week at hoe. Which is good, since the English cannot--CANNOT--deal with snow in any quantity. Trains, planes, and buses are all affected by the snow. I have several friends whose flights have been cancelled, and have heard of someone who sat on a plane for 5-6 hours on Saturday, the third plane in the queue to depart before finally being sent back home and told to return on Thursday. Heathrow has just closed the airport to any new passengers hoping to fly, as it is packed wall-to-wall with people hoping, waiting. There are massive lineups and delays and cancellations on Eurostar services too. More snow and colder weather is predicted for the rest of this week, so it sees all but certain that Britain will have a white Christmas this year. We are beginning to wonder if we might have a quiet Christmas, just the four of us here if even the local trains are shut down on Thursday and Friday this week. I am glad that I had no big travelling plans this month.

Update

Well, I suppose it is time for another update. It has been another full couple of weeks since I last blogged. Last weekend was the wedding celebration of Will, a member of the Wood Green congregation, and staff of the LMC (Metanoia Books), and Yvonne, his Chinese wife. Will is 65 or so and has never been married, and has been a well-loved part of Wood Green for the last three decades. It was clear that everyone was delighted to be celebrating with him....a joy to be there.

I suppose the bigger news for me personally is that I have been dating my friend David now for about three weeks. We have been hanging out as friends regularly for the last ten or eleven months, but despite repeated coaxing from him I had resisted the idea of us dating. I finally decided I had nothing to lose by (to use a British expression) giving it a go. I have decided to press forward in spite of my reservations about the 12 years age difference between us, the complication of a cross-continental relationship, and my own phobias about dating and see where this goes. Theres a part of me that would like to be able to see down the road and see what the long-term prospects of this relationship are, but I know I need to relax and take it one step at a time. I do believe this is where God calls me to be right now.

David is a mental health researcher whose passion to help people with mental health issues stems from his own experience as someone who was first diagnosed with mental health issues sixteen years ago, and who has learned a lot of coping strategies and ways of reframing the way he thinks about things. I met him at Wood Green almost a year ago, as we were just reminiscing today, at the LMCs annual Leaf Party--that is, property cleanup/preparation for winter party.

He is a patient, gentle person with a good sense of humour and we talk about anything and everything. We both tend to analyze things quite a bit, which I realize can be both a good and a bad thing. But I feel really comfortable with him and we genuinely enjoy spending time together. So I continue to commit our relationship to a lot of prayer asking for continued discernment as we move forward.

May you be blessed as we enter this Advent season!

Quiet Sunday

Hello again,

I have been less diligent lately in keeping my blog updated. This is due to my becoming more involved socially with various other groups in the area in which I live. Ill report briefly on the events of the last two weeks.

Two weeks ago now, I joined a Bible study group at the church in Chase Cross that I attend. There were five of us there, all in the late twenties/early thirties demographic. Like the church, I found them a very friendly bunch...they meet every other week, so Ill be going again this Tuesday.

Wednesdays are choir night. I carpool with two of the other choristers, Joy and Connie to the church in Elm Park where we rehearse.

On Monday of this past week, Elaine from Chase Cross Baptist invited Jess and I to come to her house for dinner while her son Mike was visiting fro the Philipines. We suspected her of trying to set him up with one of us...he intimated as much to us. We had a laugh.

On Tuesday, I joined Lyn, Jess, and Jen in going to the theatre to see Made in Dagenham. It is a film about the women machinists campaign at Ford in Dagenham to achieve equal pay with their male counterparts in the late 1960s.

On Thursday, I took up Joys offer (from choir) to come and use her electric piano to practice on. I have been asked to play at a wedding for a friend from the Mennonite church this coming Saturday, and I need to get my chops back in shape again after a long sabbatical from playing more than the odd hymn. I have also been stealing moments on the pianos at Richard Alibon when I find them free before school or at lunch for the same reason.

Friday I met two Newfie teachers who recently arrived here at the TimePlan social, a bowling event. Bowling didn't actually get started until 9:40, so I didn't bother, but I had a nice time with Ashley and Jen.

On Saturday, David and I went to the Lord Mayors Show in central London. It is a 600-plus year old parade that happens once a year, encompassing everything fro a show of the military(Marines, the Navy, arching bands, even tanks from WWII), some commercial enterprises (a fleet of plumber trucks), The Red Cross, the Blue Cross, church groups, representations of the different guilds that used to operate in England--one of which, farmers, had a combine represented in the parade--and lots of officials in carriages, on horses, and on foot.

Today I went to Chase Cross in the morning and opted to stay home this afternoon rather than fight the throngs of Londoners trying to get on the few remaining tube lines that are still open today.

Social life aside, school is going well. My housemate Jen, who had been out of a long-term job since the end of October, has a new job (a reception--like kindergarten--class which she likes--as of January, which they are preparing her for by easing her in two days a week for the rest of this term. They are also giving her some supply work, so she is feeling much better about her prospects here.

Ciao!

Visit to the Netherlands

A full week has elapsed since I returned from my trip to the Netherlands to visit friends I knew from Nigeria and had last seen almost 22 years ago. I had a wonderful time, and it is only because I have been busy with other things that I have not gotten around to updating this blog before now.

I arrived at Schipol airport around 6 pm on Tuesday, the 26th of October, where I was

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et by Djurre and Alis son and his girlfriend. We took the train back to Hoogeveen, about a two-hour trip from the airport, and Ali and Djurre were waiting for us when we got there. Over a delicious meal of soup and scones, we did some catching up...what each of our family members are up to now, etc. After looking at some photo albums, we went to bed, with plans to go into Meppel (a neighbouring town) the next day and look at Nigeria slides that night.

Their house is quite large by English standards, and my room was in the attic at the top of a set of stairs that were very nearly a ladder, they were so narrow. They have a lovely garden in the backyard, and a wall with a door into the neighbours backyard, which they frequently leave open.

The next day, we made the promised trip into Meppel, which, like many European cities and towns, is car-free in the centre. We visited an art gallery and saw the varied works of a talented artist named Jo Alting. In the afternoon, Ali took

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e to see the toy library where she works. For 25 euros, you join this lending library of puzzles, games, outdoor play toys and musical instruents. Their focus is on toys for children with disabilities, e.g. blind or autistic. It was very interesting to see, and very labour-intensive for the volunteers who work there--they have recently stopped keeping 1000-piece puzzles in stock because the labour to count them all each time a puzzle was returned was too much.

Ali and I in Meppel

That night, we had the most wonderful time looking at their old slides of our time in Nigeria, some of which Djurre and Ali had not looked at in decades, if ever. They told funny anecdotes about some of the experiences they had, and some of the people we knew there. It felt like coming home in many respects.

The next morning, we went to the community garden where Djurre has a plot of land. Despite thievery by mice and various other critters, he found two pails worth of produce to bring home. After a relaxed lunch and quiet tie at the house, we went out for a walk...somewhere not too far from Hoogeveen, though I couldnt tell you where. We ended up at a very quaint teashop, lovely spot.

a kerosene la

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p inviting us towards the tea shop on a walk

Then we headed home to celebrate Siebe Jan having passed his driving test that morning. He had already failed once and what with the cost involved--they had already spent about 2000 (almost 3000 CAD) euros on driving lessons and tests--was very uptight that he not fail again. So we celebrated the pass (his examiner told him he drove perfectly, high praise) with Dutch sausages, chips/fries, and several delicious salads made by Daniel.

Djurre and Ali with two of their three sons

On Friday, we drove north into Friesland to visit several Mennonite (or more specifically Menno Simons) sites. We went to Witmarsum first, where he was born and grew up. Outside Witmarsum there is a scuplture of an open church building in various colours to represent the diversity of the Mennonite church today, that was conceived by Alis brother, who is a conceptual designer. Then we went to Pingjum, his fathers hometown where he was appointed chaplain in 1524, where we went inside one of the secret churches that existed around 1600, shortly after Si

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ons death.

Djurre outside of one of the hidden churches, homes with secret meeting rooms in the back during the 17th century

We carried on to Zurich, where I stood on the dike looking out over the Wadden Sea on a very chilly (read windy) day. We had a lovely lunch in the town of Harlingen nearby, another town set on a canal system before heading back to their place to get ready to fly back to London. Their sons kindly took

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e to the airport again for

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y 930 pm flight.

Standing on the dike in Zurich (NL), with the Wadden Sea on my right, and the town on my left.

After an hour delay, and a rush to get to my gate a 25-min walk away (I cant say I am impressed with Schipol organization, in not publishing the gate number until the plane has landed, when it is a long walk and the plane is already late), I caught my plane and the flight back to London was uneventful. Then another almost 2-hour commute back ho

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e to Chase Cross.

Church Retreat

Hello again. I'm recently home from a church retreat in Aylesford. We had a wonderful time at The Friars, the home of a Carmelite monastic order. The beautiful buildings date back to the Middle Ages in a very quiet and contemplative setting.

The theme of the weekend, led by Wayne and Lois (Mennonite Mission Network pastors who are part of our church community) was on relationships--within ourselves, with others, the world and the natural environment. One of the highlights for me was the creative expressions of community that we came up with on Saturday morning in groups. Some people created a board gae while others created a sculpture, wrote a poem or created a photo collage. My group created a song, based on the song, Ubi Caritas. In between repetitions of the theme, we sustained the E and wove other elements around it...a litany of some of the things that people have to learn to live with as community over some vocal percussion, and a Gregorian chant naming some of the ways that we experience and deal with conflict, and then a Bible passage read over the drone, interwoven with the Ubi Caritas theme.

I also quite enjoyed the Cabaret evening on Saturday night. We had a rich variety of acts, everything for musical acts to an excellently dramatic rendition of The Highwayman, to a game show (Call my Bluff, like Balderdash/Dictionary) , and lots of humourous acts too. One I remember is the song one person sang called There Were Ten, Ten Constipated Men in the Bible (to the tune of There were Beans, Beans Trying on some Jeans In the Corner Grocery Store).

For instance,

Noah...who for forty days passed only water

Moses...who took two tablets

Peter....who was a rock

Paul...who laboured for the Lord

Titus...whose name says it all

It was quite a funny song, which she learned for a warden, who learned it from a group of nuns.

Comedy aside, we had a lovely weekend for it. There had been predictions of rain, but we only saw about 5 minutes of rain total all weekend. Sue and I had a nice walk yesterday afternoon, and after returning from that, I led a group of people in a music jamming session. Lots of fun.

It was nice to spend time in a relaxing setting with friends from Wood Green. Now I'm beginning my week of half-term holidays...off to the Netherlands on Tuesday. I will blog after that again.

Auf wiedersehen.

October

It has been almost a month since I last updated this blog. After Europe, I have had very little money to go anywhere or do anything, so I have spent quite a bit of time at home or exploring around my community on foot. Even more importantly, we cancelled the BT pay-as-you-go phone/internet package that my housemate Anne had on September 18, and after more than four weeks, my provider Sky has still not managed to reconnect us. It has been an eye-opening experience. In Canada, there is an attitude that the customer is always right, and usually businesses try very hard to look after their customers. Here there is no such attitude...rather, they only answer the questions you ask, and if you are not aware enough to know what questions to ask, they won't volunteer any extra information to you. The onus is very much on the consumer/client to do all the legwork, to make sure they get looked after. While in Europe this summer, we noticed a much more relaxed attitude towards being out of things as well. If a restaurant was out of the first three things you tried to order, you just had to keep going until you found something that they did have...and no apologies for it either.

I have found good friends in my housemates and the house of teachers just down the road. Jessica (the other house) and I have attended the Baptist church in Chase Cross several times, which is very friendly. We have had several invites to dinner already. I just joined a choir in Hornchurch too. It gives me an opportunity to exercise my voice and my piano skills, as the only pianist is the conductor, who is usually not there for the first 15-20 minutes, and who was unable to make it last week.

My keyboard is being stupid and not writing m's, I have to copy and paste them in (and apostrophes and colons have disappeared altogether...sigh...two-year old Toshiba laptops suck), so I think Ill cut it short here.

Ciao!

Hardship Ahead for Education in Britain

Hello again. The kids returned to school two-and-a-half weeks ago now, but things have been really quiet for those of us on supply. My housemate Jen got one day of work last week when she went in for a PPA (prep teacher) trial day, which instead of the interview and time spent getting to know the school a bit she expected, turned out to be merely a "fill-the-hole" supply day. I got one day of work on Monday this week, supplying in a Yr 5 class in Barking, thankfully at a school I was familiar with. I had a good day, nice kids. However, other than those experiences, neither Jen nor I has had any other work yet, despite calling in at 7 am every morning.

I have spent the time at home walking around my area, getting to know Collier Row, Havering-atte-Bower, Chase Cross, and Romford better. I've also spent a lot of time on the phone with Sky, as we have been trying to cancel my housemate Anne's media package and get mine established at the house. Every person I talk to seems to have a different message, but the latest message seems to be that we have to wait 14 days after the BT broadband is cancelled to set up my Sky broadband. Not sure about the phone. So we are currently phoneless (well, landline-less) and internet-less until that transfer happens. We're watching more TV as my Sky TV could be transferred immediately, since there was no cable TV in the house when I arrived.

As well, we're getting to know our new neighbours, Jessica and Chelsea, two Canadians who are living just down the street from us. We get along well...Jen is out with them today in London doing some touristy stuff...I decided to stay in Romford and get some things accomplished here instead. We're planning a birthday party for Jen on Sunday night with them.

I had dinner with Peter and Muriel, a retired headteacher and his teacher wife--both from Chase Cross Baptist, which I've been attending the last few weeks--last night. We had a lovely time and it was very interesting to get their perspective on the education system currently. They were talking about how schools are doing their best to avoid using supply teachers and paying the agency fees by calling back retired teachers and by moving teachers around internally within the school. Muriel, for instance is a resource teacher, and she gets moved into supply cover if someone is away. I've also heard of EAs being charged (even for several weeks at a time) with teaching a class when the teacher is away, doing all the work of a teacher without the qualifications or remunerative pay (EAs earn approximately half what teachers make). All of these strategies are becoming increasingly common now as schools are under intense pressure to cut costs. Peter's comment was that he is quite happy to be retired now, as it's anyone's guess how things are going to shape up as the budget cuts become more clear. I have heard that government departments are going to be cut an average of 25% with certain departments facing cuts potentially as high as 40%.

Then I asked Anne this morning what she thought the chances of Jen and I getting work this week were, and she indicated "Not good." She said schools have to cut £1, 000, 000.00 from their budget this year, a figure I hadn't heard before. I wondered aloud what work there was going to be for agency teachers this year, and her response was that schools like taking on agency teachers for short-term contracts because they don't have to pay benefits or holidays and they can fire with short notice.

I'm not sure what all of this means for me. For the moment, I'm on guaranteed supply, which means TimePlan has to pay me for 8/10 days every fortnight, but of course it will not be sustainable for them to maintain that for very long if I (and every other guaranteed teacher) is only working 2/10 days. So I shall wait and see what develops.

Lisbon-Home

Our second-last full day of the trip...we got up around 8 and I ate my fruit skewer as Karen packed. Then we caught an airport bus, arriving at Barcelona Airport around 9:30. We ate our pastries from La Mie Calime as we waited for our departure on TAP flight at 11 am.

I was tired when we arrived in Lisbon, so had a nap in our very comfortable hostel room, as Karen went out to explore. We found some lovely things (scarves, earrings, etc) for sale and I found a doll for my young friends Rosie and Dieunnie--a bit too small for them yet, but their mother can hold onto it for them until they're old enough. Then we walked along the waterfront, through a slightly sketchy area towards the restaurant we wanted to eat at. After much wandering and map-reading, we found it, but discovered that it was not open until 8:30 (we had arrived at 7:15). So we walked down the path we had walked up, bought some drinks, and found the metro station. We had considered the bus, but a friendly local told us not to take it--"You'll never get there!" We took a few photos down by the waterfront and then retraced our steps up the slippery cobbled stairs to the fado restaurant.

It was a lovely meal. To begin, we had a deep-fried fish/vegetable snack with bread and butter. Then I had 5 pieces (!) of pork loin with potatoes, onions, and flavoured rice with sausage in it. Karen had medium steak with fried egg and chipped potatoes. As I had way too much food, and Karen wasn't wild about her steak, we traded meals halfway through. As to the music, fado is a type of music that is typically mournful and is frequently characterized by themes about the life of the poor or the sea. There was a guitarist and a Portuguese guitarist (I had to look it up to find out what this other stringed instrument was) as well as two female singers who alternated singing. So there were about 20 minute sets in which everyone put their forks and knives down and listened to the music in between which they'd turn the lights up and resume serving. Karen and I appeared to be the only people there who didn't speak Portuguese, and frequently most of the gathered assembly would join in for the chorus of a familiar song. It was neat to be part of, though it was also the greatest language barrier we faced during the whole trip as we didn't speak Portuguese and they didn't speak English.

The next morning, we had breakfast at Lisbon Story Guesthouse. It really was a lovely place to stay, with an inviting common room with lots of cushions to sit on--just so long as you're young enough to get back up again! The staff were really helpful and even let me print something off without charging for it.

After breakfast, we headed to the Santa Justa Lift, a tower that enabled us to get a nice view of Lisbon. Then we met Ali, a Senegalese man who had friends in Montreal. He was delighted to talk to us, and offered us necklaces--valued at 15 euros each (Karen got an amber one, I got one with a blue stone whose name I don't remember) --within ten minutes of meeting us. We reluctantly took them and turned to say goodbye. As we walked away, he asked us if we could give him some money to help him feed his family. We offered the necklaces back but he was absolutely insistent that we take them, even if we didn't give him anything in return. So I dug 6 euros out of my change purse and we said goodbye. We took Tram 28, an old heritage tram with wood-pannelled walls inside through the hills of Lisbon, the old town. I loved seeing all the Portuguese tiles decorating the outside--and inside--of buildings. Here's a sampling.

After lunch, we walked toward the harbour for a boat ride. We asked an information person where we could go on a short boat ride and she suggested St. Charles Islands. However, when we got to the station, there was no St. Charles listed anywhere. No schedule was printed anywhere and the agents spoke no English. So we finally got on a boat going to Barreiro, that was supposed to be a half-hour ride. We got to a harbour that said San Bento after about 20 minutes and proceeded to sit there for about ten minutes. We finally decided that if it was going to take so long to get to Barreiro, we'd better just jump off here, wherever we were, and have a look around before finding a boat back to our hostel. So we got off the boat and then discovered that the Barreiro train station was just behind the boat station. As it turned out there wasn't much of anything at Barreiro except a train station, we quickly returned to the boat area and picked up the next boat back to Lisbon.

After a quick supper close to our hostel, I grabbed my things to go to the airport. (Karen was leaving the following morning at 8 am. ) We went down to the street so I could catch the airport bus and it arrived almost as soon as we did. Since they took cash only, I paid, gave Karen my remaining euros (she was running low on cash) and quickly said goodbye.

One minute down the road, I realized that I didn't have one bag...Karen had thoughtfully carried it for me and when we hurriedly said goodbye, I forgot to take it from her. I thought about what was in it--a few souvenirs, a bit of food, some books for the plane, my trip journal, and my airline ticket and Gatwick Express ticket (for returning home to London late that night) and quickly decided that it wasn't worth it to me to go back. I knew from previous experience that I could fly just by showing my passport, and I had my reservation number for the train ticket stored on my mobile phone. And since neither of us had enough cash left to take another bus/taxi to the airport without withdrawing more cash if I got off the bus now, I thought I'd just let Karen take my bag home with her.

So I got to the airport, and suddenly thought that given my late flight--I was scheduled to land at Gatwick at 11:30-- and the fact that I no longer had my carry-on bag--that it would be quicker if I just took my knapsack as a carry-on. So I went through security and had my jam from Avignon confiscated--no, I hadn't thought about that being a liquid--and proceeded to look for a crossword book to replace the one I had left with Karen. Just as I was returning to my lounge to await takeoff, I had a call from my mother saying that Karen had come to the airport with my bag and was waiting for me near Gates 37-43. This was around 8:25, and my plane had originally been slated to depart at 9:00, but now it was delayed an hour. So I tried to get back out of security, and had problems with the staff, who didn't want to let me back out and who also made me dump out my bag several times to show them the toothpaste in my bag that kept setting off the alarm system. When I was feeling absolutely frustrated and ready to give up and forget the stupid bag, I finally ran into an agent who helped me. He asked me to describe Karen and then found her. He took me through a staff-only passageway so that I could--without leaving security--accept the bag from Karen. She was standing on one side of a wall that was a bit higher than waist-level and I was standing on the other side. She handed over the bag and I said goodbye again and went on to my gate.

The flight was more than an hour delayed, so it was about 12:40 by the time we got into Gatwick. Knowing that the last train from Gatwick was at 12:30 and that the Tube shuts down at 1:00 am, I knew that I had two choices...pay a fistful of money for a taxi home, or sit on night buses for a six-hour journey home. I chose the painful option of 106 pounds for a taxi. I guess at that time of night, there are only the large van taxis available, no cheaper minicabs, and where I'm living now is out in Zone 6, rather than Zone 4 as Barking was. So we drove to Romford, but because the cab driver wasn't familiar with Chase Cross and the GPS wasn't registering my address since it's a new residential area, he finally dropped me off in Romford. So I caught another cab home for another 10 pounds.

Thankfully when I got to my new house, the key worked and I found all my things waiting for me. To bed about 2:30. So I had an exciting/stressful end to a very memorable trip around Europe.

Avignon and Barcelona

I'm hoping to have steady work this week, so want to finish off my Europe blogs now, before I lose the motivation to do so. On Aug 26, we we got up at 9 and left our luggage at the hotel while we wandered around Avignon. After a breakfast of French pastries (eaten as we walked), we got some pictures of the Palais des Papes, from the days in the late-fourteenth/early fifteenth centuries when Avignon was the seat of a rival pope to Rome. Then we walked on to the Pont St. Benezet, more popularly known as the Pont D'Avignon. Built in the twelfth centry, the original wooden structure was partially destroyed by a siege. Rebuilt as a Gothic stone bridge during the Middle Ages, regular flooding by the Rhone River took their toll on the bridge and after successive attempts at repair, when much of the bridge was washed away during the seventeenth century, it was abandoned. Today 4 of the original 22 arches remain. We took the tour of the St Nicholas Chapel (on the bridge) and walked out to the end of the bridge, partway across the river. For more information or photos of the bridge see the below websites:

http://www.palais-des-papes.com/anglais/ponthistoire.html

http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/avignon-tourism/monuments/avignon-bridge.htm

After picking up some yummy pastries at La Mie Calime, we got on the train again for our second-longest travel day. We caught the 1:27 pm train from Avignon to Montpellier St. Roch, arriving at 2:40. We were told upon arrival that the 3:09 direct train to Barcelona was full so we must take the 5:15 train to Port Bou (Spain) and transfer there to another train arriving in Barcelona at 10:39. For the record, that's 9 hours on 3 trains this day, or 21 hours on 10 train in two days. We found our hostel in Barcelona without difficulty. It was beautifully decorated and had some nice hangout spots. I went to bed, while Karen went out to get some proper dinner.

The next morning, Karen and I split up after breakfast and I went on a walking tour of the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, while Karen went to the beach. My tour was scheduled from 11-1 so Karen and I planned to meet up at 1. Our English (as in, British) tour guide told us a bit about the history of Catalan, which is different than Spain. Wilfred the Hairy is an important figure for Catalan nationalists, "the de facto founder of the House of Barcelona" (according to Wikipedia. He was a count who, according to legend, was awarded a coat of arms by King Charles the Bald for his bravery in fighting (either the Moors or the Normans, we're not sure which). When the king slid Willy's blood-stained fingers over his copper shield the new flag of the Catalans was born, as seen below.

We walked by the impressive Palau de la Musica Catalanya with busts of Wagner and Beethoven outside.

fWe saw a church that bore bullet pockmarks a visible reminder of the mass executions carried out during the Spanish Civil War. We also saw La Seu Cathedral, and beside it, a wall which was built from pieces of Jewish gravestones. I've forgotten exactly why, but in my diary I have note about anti-Jewish sentiment by the Christians during the time of the plague. Our guide connected the dots for me, in noting that since the Muslims and Jews both had regular washing rituals embedded in their religious lives, they were less susceptible to the plague than were Christians who had no such rituals nor any understanding of the importance of proper hygiene. Barcelona's most famous sons include Picasso and Gaudi and Salvador Dali. We saw evidence of Gaudi in much of the architecture we saw around the city, and a sketch of Picasso's was represented on the front facade of the Architectural School. We walked through the former Red Light District, where our guide told us that Picasso's "Ladies of Avignon" probably refers to Baixa Avinyo, the territory of the prostitutes, which Picasso himself was known to visit. It was a very interesting tour, but we didn't start until 11:20 and didn't get back until 2, rather later than the 1 pm that Karen and I had arranged to meet. I sat at the travel bar (our meeting spot) and had a drink with the other walkers, and when I hadn't seen Karen by 2:30, went out to get some lunch. As it turned out, Karen and I both made a few trips to the travel bar but always missed each other. So we both decided to do our own thing. She spent the afternoon at the beach, while I bought some postcards, walked around La Rambla (a broad pedestrian path, filled with outdoor market stands) for a bit (and picked up some lovely fruit skewers for breakfast) before returning to our hostel to read and relax.

Karen got back about 7 pm and we went out for dinner. On the way home, we got some more pastries at La Mie Calime (Karen's favourite bakery!) for the plane the next day.

Long Day...

Now I'll blog about the longest day of the whole adventure. We got up at 5:30 on Aug 25 to catch the 6:07 train to Monterosso (the fifth village in Cinque Terre, north of Vernazza). We waited in Monterosso until 6:55 to catch the train from Monterosso to Genoa. Upon arriving in Genoa at 8:20, we picked up some breakfast in the train station before catching a train to Ventimiglia (silent g in Ventimiglia) at 8:45. We arrived in Ventimiglia just after 11 am and waited for our next train to leave Ventimiglia for Montecarlo (in France) at 11:31. We arrived in Montecarlo at noon and jumped off one train onto another (fortunately on the next platform), this time heading for Nice, pm. at 12:08. We arrived in Nice finally at 12:36, where we wandered around the harbourfront watching parachutists fly into the air behind a boat. Then we meandered back through the Old Town, where we picked up lunch at a little cafe. We saw lots of palm trees and sand in Nice. After two-and-a-half hours, there we headed back towards the train station for our 4:28 train ride to Marseille. We arrived in Marseille around 7 pm where we needed to wait for our 8:45 departure to Avignon. I sat with the luggage, while Karen got up and took pictures around the station and surrounding vicinity. We got to Avignon at 10:15 pm rather tired. We found our hotel at 10:25, but the hotel had no record of our reservation...so we got the smallest, least desirable room in the place--or maybe they were all that bad...I don't know. It was a hot, airless room with only a small fan, and the bed wasn't a proper double. You get what you pay for!

Cinque Terre

We left Rome at 2:10 pm for La Spezia, just south of the Cinque Terre. If you can't find it, find Genoa and then follow the coast slightly southeast. We arrived in La Spezia at 6:30 pm. We tried to reserve our next train from Cinque Terre to Nice but had a poor experience with a ticket agent who spoke no English and refused to show us his computer screen or write anything legible. We arrived in Vernazza in 7:30.

Vernazza is one of five villages perched on these cliffs overlooking the Ligurian Sea. Coming from the south (La Spezia), they are in order: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. The train went under the mountain for much of the time, but every so often you'd come out along the coast and see beautiful sparkling water with mountains in the background. My first impression of Vernazza (after getting out of the tunnel into which we stepped...there's a very short platform in Vernazza) was that it was a hive of activity. We saw tall, narrow houses all stacked together very compactly. Tourists in bathing suits mingled with locals at cafes...though the former seemed to be the larger group.

We stayed at Martina's Rooms. There were 5 flights of stairs to climb, but we had a nice view from the top, as our room looked out on the square just down by the harbour. We had dinner at a restaurant just below our room. Karen had pesto pasta (pesto originated here)while I had baked anchovies (another local specialty). During our dinner, Karen took a video of a man playing panpipes as he beat his drum with a shaker and marched around the square.

The next morning, I got up just before 8 and headed out to do a couple loads of laundry. After finishing that and getting some breakfast, we headed out to Monterosso around 11 for a hike through the five villages that make up Cinque Terre. We had been advised by a travel book to hike from Monterosso to Riomaggiore in order to do the hardest part of the hike first. It was a long, steep, strenuous climb toward Vernazza. We stopped for lunch and a swim in Vernazza. Vernazza to Corniglia was also quite steep, with lots of narrow mountain paths which made passing others difficult. We stopped for gelato in Corniglia and then carried on towards Manarola, which proved to be a much easier hike. The walk from Manarola to Riomaggiore was on the Via Dell'amore, or Path of Love. This paved, level path had been forged between the two villages in the 1920s to facilitate the meeting and marrying of young people between them. It's easy to see how isolated the villages would have been before the train was built linking them. Anyway, this part of the hike was MUCH easier. In Karen's words, "This isn't even a hike anymore." We had hoped to take the boat back to Vernazza, but we were too late by more than an hour, so we hopped on the train back to Vernazza. We shared a large pesto pizza for dinner, down by the water on the rocks. Note: In Italy you have to pay to sit down in a restaurant, so it's cheaper if you buy takeout and then find your own (free) "chair" elsewhere. After dinner, we wandered into a little shop and bought some limoncino (an alcoholic lemon drink that is from the area) and some liqueur chocolates.

The next day, we started with a delicious breakfast at Il Pirato restaurant, found by walking up the hill past the train station to the very top of the town. I had a strawberry slushie with a vanilla-filled pastry garnished with strawberries, while Karen had a very thick hot chocolate with whipped cream on the side, and a chocolate pastry. We were well-impressed with both the food and the friendliness of the Sicilian twins who run the place and resolved to return for dinner.

We took the boat to Manarola to see the olive press museum, only to find out that it was closed. It is only open for a few months in the fall at harvest time. So we thought we would take the boat to Monterosso and spend some time at the beach...only it's now 12:40 and the boat doesn't come again until 2:55. So we thought, what the heck, we'll hang out at the beach at Manarola (which is rocky rather than sandy) for a few hours. There were some young people (mostly young men) who were jumping or diving off some very tall rocks into the water near the shore. As far as we know, no one was paralyzed by so doing, though it's not something I would remotely consider doing. Karen did some sunbathing on the rocks and swimming, while I read a novel for awhile.

We eventually got to Monterosso, where we found out it cost 15 euros to make use of two beach chairs and an umbrella at the beach (it turned out it was a private beach and even to use it at all cost 15 euros). So we spent a few hours there, and then I went to an internet cafe while Karen stayed at the beach a bit longer. We took the train back to Vernazza and went to Il Pirato where I had pesto lasagna and Karen had pesto gnocchi for diner. I also ordered another strawberry slushie--they were SO GOOD! We met a Canadian couple who were holidaying there on his leave from duty in Kandahar and chatted with them for the evening, finishing off with a fruit pana cotta (like creme brulee with fruit) we shared. Divine...

Rome

So on August 20, we packed our bags and headed out after breakfast to Ferrovia (the train station) on foot to catch our 10:30 train. We arrived at 2 pm in Rome, where we immediately reserved our next train and bought a Roma Pass (good for three days travel and free entrance to two museums--without standing in line--and with discounts at other musuems).

On getting out into the sunshine, we were blasted with muggy 35 degree heat. We made our way to our hostel--Colours--on foot. It was a beautiful spot, with kitchen set up for use as well as one computer terminal free for use. Our room included a fairly spacious shower, TV, safe, fridge (complete with about six different beverage choices) and air conditioning. We refreshed ourselves a bit...I had tiramisu gelato--the best gelato of the entire trip...and then headed to the Vatican. We saw the beautiful Basilica San Pietro. The altar at the front was rather forbidding....an underlighted black structure that didn't seem all that worshipful to me. The rest of the church was gorgeous though. To get in, I had to get rid of my Swiss Army knife that I had foolishly kept in my fanny pack. I hid it in an empty garbage can in the hopes of finding it upon return...I never did. Live and learn. We had hoped to see the Vatican Musuems (Sistine Chapel) that day too, but by the time we arrived (at 6:30), it was too late as last entrances were at 4 pm.

So we walked to Campo di Fiori for dinner. Karen's guidebook had given us several ideas of places to go eat...one was closed and another we never found. We found out that during the month of August, many Romans escape the oppressive heat and humidity of Rome and close up shop for several weeks while on vacation. We finally found a nice place to get drinks and aperatifs for 8 euros. They had little paper trays filled with little nibbles...cheese and jam, BBQ veggies on a skewer, rice salad, pasta salad, cucumber/feta/olive, tomato/feta/basil, fruit salad on a skewer...best value dinner we ever had.

After dinner, we walked past the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument, built to honour the first king of a united Italy in the nineteenth century, on our way to the Trevi Fountain a gorgeous fountain that is always crowded with tourists. Neptune is pictured at the front and the side statues represent the health and abundance that water has always given Rome. By 9:30 pm, I was dead on my feet from the heat. To bed in our air conditioned room...

The next day, we had a breakfast of filled croissants, pastries, cereal, yogurt and toast before heading off to the Colosseum around 10. It was interesting to stand in the amphitheatre and imagine the games that took place there some 1500-2000 years ago. They had exhibits about the different types of gladiators: the retiarius is the only one I can remember, who was armed with a net and a trident (a three-pronged spear).

We grabbed lunch outside the Colosseum around 1 pm (panini) before proceeding on to the Roman Forum. The Roman Forum is the ruins of Ancient Rome and includes temples to the various gods, and other buildings that have survived. It was incredibly hot walking through the (unshaded) remains and we were glad to have brought water and iced tea with us. We also wanted to get to the Vatican Museums before 4 pm. I enjoyed seeing all the paintings on the ceilings in the galleries. We got into the Sistine Chapel--which was nice to see, after having completed a jigsaw of it several years ago, a s well as the Pinacoteca (art gallery).

We went out for dinner to a place we found near our hostel: Pizzeria Napoli2. I had pizza with mozzerella cheese, smoked salmon, rocket lettuce, and sweet corn on it. Karen had pasta la carbonara: with ham, egg, and cheese...very salty, but good. Then back to our hostel for the night.

The next morning, we were up at 8 am and after breakfast, set off for the Spanish Steps, the longest and widest staircase in Europe, built in the 18th century with bequest funds from a French diplomat. We got some pictures there, and appreciated some of the beautiful paintings on display by various artists...I think Karen bought one, if I recall correctly. Then we walked to the Trevi Fountain again, because I wanted to get some good pictures in daylight as my camera doesn't take very good night pictures. We stopped at the San Loyola church for a few minutes and then carried on toward the Pantheon. The Pantheon has a large hole in the centre of the roof, but the floor is sloped slightly towards the edges so that any rain that comes in drains away at the edges. When we visited, it was under renovation, so there was lots of scaffolding on the outside of the building. We had gelato in Piazza Novona before returning to our hostel. Karen's raspberry was better than my mint.

Venice

We left Signau on the 7:14 train towards Bern on Aug 17, then transferred at 8:07 to a train towards Brigg (arriving 9:11) and then finally from Brigg to Venice (9:44-3:00 pm). There was lots of cloud on the mountains as we were leaving Switzerland.

We arrived in Venice and eventually found our hotel in spite of the poor directions we received, with some help from several locals. Neither of us was really prepared for the tiny little alleyways we saw there. There is a carpark for cars on the mainland, and then you get around on foot or by boat from there. Roads there seemed to change name or direction (or both) every 200 metres or so.

We freshened up and then walked to San Toma piazza for dinner. (San Toma was incidentally our closest vaporetto--boat--stop as well.) I had a delicious vegetable bruschetta (which looked like a pizza) and iced tea for dinner. The pigeons were all swarming around...they get fed a LOT in Venice. Two dogs chased each other around the square completely unleashed. Later that evening, we took the vaporetto to San Rialto and walked around the market on the bridge, as well as at the base of the bridge. Then we decided to just get on the vaporetto and cruise around. We went to Lido, one of the outer islands in Venice and just enjoyed seeing the buildings on the shore as the breeze gently blew through our hair. It had been quite hot during the day but it felt lovely sitting on the boat at 10 pm.

The next morning, we slept in until 8 am when the clock chimed 40 times. Other morning sounds included hearing people talking, a child crying and the garbage collectors rolling their carts by on the street below. After a breakfast of pastries and buns and fruit and tea/hot chocolate, we headed to San Marco piazza. We checked out the Basilica and then after taking note of the record number of pigeons in the piazza, we walked to the Ponte dei Sospiri. (Unfortunately, Coke had covered it in Coke advertisements.) Lord Byron apparently started a legend (untrue)in the 19th century that the bridge was the last sight that prisoners had of Venice before they were prisoned in the adjoining prison cells or executed. More recently it has generated stories that if a couple kisses underneath it, their love will endure forever. For more about the Bridge of Sighs, see here:

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/bridge_of_sighs.htm

Then we took the vaporetto to Isola (Island) di San Giorgio Maggiore to see the church there, and to go up the campanile (bell tower) for lovely views of Venice. Back at San Marco, we each picked up some bright watercolour paintings of Venice (Rialto bridge, San Marco). Following lunch at a pizzeria, we took the vaporetto to San Elena Island to walk around. We walked through a lovely park filled with weirdly-shaped trees, watched a badly-behaved dog and his equally badly-behaved owner when her dog attacked a leashed one. We found lots of canals with laundry hanging on lines stretched over the canals. When we were heading home, we got on the wrong boat and ended up at Port teRoma, the only place where buses and cars exist in Venice. It was a weird feeling seeing them, after not seeing a single one in two days.

On our third day in Venice, we took the vaporetto back to Port te Roma to mail the large posters we bought back home. Then we took another boat to Fondamente te Novo, from which we caught the no. 12 to Burano, a smaller island in Venice. Burano was filled with amazingly brightly-coloured houses in purples, greens, blues, reds, with contrasting shutters (e.g. an orange house with turquoise shutters). We looked at the lace goods for which Burano is famous and bought a few postcards.

Upon returning from Burano, we took a gondola ride through the narrow canals of Venice, past the house that Marco Polo lived in (he was born in 1294), past the oldest palace in Venice (1591). We went to Canareggio for dinner where we had a good conversation with a Venetian family. Then we went to an internet cafe for a bit before bed.

Signau

So after leaving Bern, we had a lovely train ride to Signau. Signau was the most rural place we visited in our trip, and we went there to visit our friend Lydie and her husband Christof. Lydie and Christof were expecting their firstborn right around the date of our arrival...in spite of this, Lydie insisted that we should come. From Bern we had called to let them know when we were coming in, and discovered that they had had a daughter, Kezia just three days earlier. Lydie was still recovering from surgery in the hospital, but Christof would come and pick us up. So we met Christof at the train station around 8:15 pm. He had been an IVEPer in the States at the same time Lydie was in Stouffville, but we had never met him before. He took us out to their dairy farm, climbing winding hilly roads to get there. The house is three stories, with his parents living on the top floor, a tenant in the middle floor, and Christof and Lydie on the ground floor. There is also a barn for the pigs attached at the back of the house, and a larger barn for the cows behind the house. So we had a good evening of getting to know Christof and seeing their home. We also discovered that Lydie had left chocolate, a Swiss pencil and some literature about the area and about Alsace Lorraine (where she's from) for each of us on our beds. A very gracious hostess indeed!

The next morning, Karen got up at 5 to help with the milking. (She also saw two pigs being bred.) After breakfast, Christof took us to the factory where his milk is turned into cheese. Apparently they have a cooperative of about 20 farmers who own this cheese factory and contribute milk to it daily...all of the milk in this community goes into cheese. We saw the huge vat into which they pour 4600 L of milk to begin the process, and then the smaller tanks into which the heated milk is fed via overhead pipes where they eliminate some of the excess fluid (don't ask me how). Then these same tanks were turned upside down and press to get more liquid out. We were told that the next morning, they would be taken out of these smaller tanks and wrapped in wax to sit for 6 months before they are taken to the stores. 1000 L of milk makes one large round of cheese. They had one smaller container as well holding less and a softer kind of cheese. I watched one of the employees take the cheese out of the tank, cut it in half (two shallower rounds, not two semi-circles) with a wire and then press it back into the frame.

After this, we had some time to relax at the house before lunch...Karen napped, and I did some blogging. Once lunch was finished, we headed into the hospital to visit Lydie and Kezia. Lydie had had an emergency C-section the previous Friday (a week overdue) because they couldn't find the baby's heartbeat. However, mom and baby were doing well, if a bit sore yet for Lydie. She was expecting to be in the hospital for another two or three days yet.

Karen and Christof went out to milk cows again at 5, while I took a brief walk outside, trying to capture some of the gorgeous scenery and chalets. For dinner back at the house, we had a simple dinner of bread, salad and Emmental cheese...yes, the same kind of cheese we had watched being made that morning with Christof's milk. Christof made a fire in the wood stove in both the morning and evening that day to take the chill out of the air and help dry our clothes (we had done laundry there)--definitely our coldest weather for the entire trip. It was nice to stand by a wood fire again after being away from it for a year.

Bern

So Bern was almost a month ago by now...relying on my diary to remind me what we did! We left our hostel in Zurich around 8 am after Karen bought a Swiss Army knife (they were selling them at the hostel). We took the train into Bern, arriving late morning. After leaving our luggage in lockers at the train station, we wandered around the Zyglotte (parliament) and clock tower. Following lunch in a local cafe, we went to Einsteinhaus, the place where Einstein lived and worked from 1903-1905. The house has been restored to the style of that period, with various articles, such as the table that Einstein stood at to write, on display. Finally, we walked across the Aare River to get to the Bärenpark, a 6000 metre sq. park with small and large bear pits that has housed bears for several hundred years--since 1513. The brown bears have a long narrow swath down near the river to move about in. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant and then returned to the train station where we picked up our luggage and caught our next train.

Here's a site for the Bear Park we visited. http://www.baerenpark-bern.ch/index.php?id=info&L=0

Zurich

I should really have my diary here to remind me of Zurich as it was now so long ago (nearly two weeks) that it is not so fresh as my more recent experiences. Anyway, I am in an internet cafe and must make use of the time I have, so here goes.

We left Ingolstadt early in the morning, dragging Imke and Martin out of bed at 5 am to get us to the train station on time. We took the train into Zurich, arriving late-morning. We found our hostel without difficulty and set out to explore the city. First, we sat down to enjoy a lunch of bread and cheese fondue near our hostel. There was a big parade happening in Zurich that day, an energy festival that we happened to coincide with. There were flyers all over the sidewalks, and people were in high spirits everywhere we went. There were also lots of unusually dressed people for the freak show happening that afternoon. We crossed the river and headed back toward the older section of town. We saw the Grossmunster, where Ulrich Zwingli began preaching in 1519, and located a store that Karen´s book had mentioned for its tiny little ¨burgers¨--little candies in the shape of a burger. It was closed, but we got a few photos. Then it started raining. We headed back towards the train station, where we visited the Swiss National Museum, and then decided to go up the mountain on a small train. It was only a 20 minute ride and would have been even more beautiful if it hadn´t been overshadowed by pouring rain. Karen walked around outside snapping shots in the rain like a trooper, while I got a few shots and then headed into shelter indoors to wait out the rain at the only restaurant on the mountain.

On the way back home, we saw hordes of young people huddled in clusters on the floor of the train station, sheltering from the rain. The station was packed! Apparently they didn´t have much in the way of indoor venues for people to stay in for this event. In spite of the rain, it was still quite noisy below our window. I used the earplugs the hostel gave me and slept through it all quite fine.

Ingolstadt

We took the train from Salzburg to Munich, and then Ingolstadt where our friend Imke and her boyfriend Martin are living on Thursday (Aug. 12). After a long day of travel, it was wonderful to arrive at their home and just relax that afternoon. They were both at work but had given us instructions about where to find the key, so we just let ourselves in and chilled out in their living room for an hour or so before they arrived home. When Imke arrived, we did some catching up and then she performed a belly dance for us--something that she takes a class in every week--and then got out her motorbike so Karen could go snap happy with her camera.



After Martin arrived home, Imke made us a lovely potato and carrot and bean cream casserole for dinner. Then we chatted quite late and tried out some Swedish chocolate (they had German and Dutch varieties for us to compare against...alas, we were full).



The next day, Karen and I slept in and they went to work. Then Imke collected us at 12:30 and we met Martin at the Biergarten (beer garden) for lunch. So now I can say I have tried Munich beer...I did not however, manage to finish the whole 0.5 L.

After lunch, we walked around Ingolstadt with Imke, along the river and outside the local castle. We did a bit of shopping for groceries, and then headed back. For dinner, we had a fabulous BBQ...sausages, Halloumi cheese (barbequed as well--it is somewhat like feta in texture) salad, bread, and a cheese-herb dip.

Martin got a fire going in the grill on the balcony and we sat out and chatted for hours. Then Martin introduced us to a new kind of drink: one shot of vodka, then place a slice of lemon on the shot glass, one sugar cube on top of the lemon, and a drop or two of rum (must be more than 50% alcohol). You light the sugar and carmelize it, then hold the vodka with one hand and the lemon-brandy concoction in the other. Drink the vodka shot and then immediately bite into the lemon. (Note from this meal: Karen and I would both like to find Halloumi cheese.)

Salzburg

It is hard to keep up with photos, as many of the places we stay do not have the capacity to read our memory sticks. I am not hopeful now of finding many such places once we are in Italy, as it seems internet cafes are in shorter supply than in the German-speaking countries we have lately been in. So I will have to describe as best I can what we have been seeing.

After a slightly hectic morning on Tuesday (a child picked up my hostel room key, and I had to return to a restaurant from the day before to pick up my jacket which I had left behind), we got off for our train ride from Vienna to Salzburg. The train ride on the way was lovely, with mountains and chalets scattered throughout.

We arrived at the home of our Mennonite Your Way hosts, Helmut and Marietta Wejooda, around 4 pm. She is a Canadian from Saskatchewan who went over to Austra some 40 or 50 years ago as a missionary and married and had a family there. Her husband Helmut retains a good sense of humour though going through the latter stages of Parkinsons. They are the only MYW host in Salzburg so get fairly regular guests through.

After getting briefly acquainted, we headed out to explore Salzburg. It is framed by mountains to the south and east, which make it a very picturesque place. We took the funicular up the mountain to the Höhenfortress, a castle defence built in 1070. The views from the top were breathtaking. I found out that salz means salt, the major industry of Salzburg historically. After dinner overlooking Salzburg, we climbed back down the mountain on a steep, rarely-staired incline. We walked through the old city on the east side of the river, and then meandered toward the Rathauspark, where they were (for the summer months) playing various films of classical music on a large screen in the park. That night, they were playing various opera excerpts...there were lots of chairs and some bleachers set up near the screen, and then a little away from the screen, there were lots of food and drink vendors, and tables and chairs to sit at and visit if you just wanted the music to be background entertainment.

The next day (Aug 11) we had a traditional Germanic breakfast with Marietta before walking to the Schloss Hellbrun, an Italianate palace some 2 km away from her house. There we saw the pavilion from the Sound of Music (I am sixteen, going on seventeen...) though it has since been moved to Hellbrun from the original location where it was filmed. We enjoyed the lovely flower and herb gardens there.

We went back to Marietta's neighbourhood to an Austrian restaurant she recommended for lunch. The menu had no French or English on it, so we ordered without exactly knowing what we were getting. Karen had wienerschnitzel (breaded pork cutlets) with potatoes, and I had a large cast iron frying pan filled with: pork loin, ham, sausage, sauerkraut, and knöbl, a large dumpling (a bit larger than my fist) flavoured like turkey stuffing.

For the afternoon, Karen and I split off. She wanted to go on the Sound of Music tour, visiting all the locations where the movie was filmed, whereas I was more interested in seeing all things Mozart. I went to the Geburthaus, the place where he was born (in 1756) and lived until 1773. Then I went to the Wohnhaus, where he lived from 1773-1780. The best things about Europe so far for me are: 1)actually seeing the places where historical people lived and worked, and 2)enjoying such a variety of great food everywhere (you knew that was coming, mom...) I saw originals of Mozarts music manuscripts, saw a 1/3 size violin, some of his early keyboards, as well as several multimedia presentations on things such as the music tours he took across Europe.

After the Mozart museums, I walked back through the old city to the Mirabelle Gardens where I was to meet Karen after her tour. After a short nap in the park, I met her and a newfound friend (from the bus tour), an Australian named Cassie a bit after 6. We showed Cassie around the old city some of our favourite things (no pun intended) and then invited her to join us for dessert at Demel. Karen and I both got the Schokobombe, with as much chocolate as is implied by the title. Chocolate mousse and creme brulée wrapped in a chocolate coating...heavenly! Then we went by the Mozartplatz and I got a photo in front of the statue of Mozart.

We went back to Helmut and Mariettas place, and had a relaxed visit with Marietta until bedtime.

Vienna

We had a lovely time in Vienna. We arrived at Hotel Ruthensteiner without difficulty on Sunday afternoon. After our recent hostel experiences, it was a haven of rest. Here I am sitting in the lounge downstairs, surrounded by guitars. In the bar next door was a piano with various music books available which I also made use of. There were two garden patios with an outdoor grill, self-serve kitchen, laundromat and breakfast available as well as four fast computers available for use (2 euros for 45 minutes).


This is one side of the Stephansdom, the major cathedral in the middle of Vienna. After dinner, we wandered toward the Rathausplatz, where we heard a wonderful Polish band playing some updated (almost jazzy-sounding) folk dances--violin, accordion, clarinet, and double bass. I succumbed to buying a CD. Then we walked into the Rathauspark, where we found a large crowd gathered to watch various opera excerpts on a big screen. Many cafes and food and drink stands were there, a couple hundred seats set up near the screen, and more tables and chairs closer to the back for the people who wanted to chat while enjoying the background music. Here is a bit of a sense of that, pictured below.
This is the parliament buildings in Vienna.

A highlight of the trip for me was going past the Staatoper (State Opera) and the Musikverein (music academy), as well as going into the Haus der Musik, which had lots of interesting interactive exhibits as well as information about various composers who lived and worked for part of their lives in Vienna.As soon as we got out of the subway on Monday morning, we were accosted by a courtier (e.g. an adept salesman) dressed in the style of the nobility several hundred years ago) who solicited our attendance at a concert of Mozart opera excerpts and Strauss operetta excerpts that night at 6:30. We decided that we really had to go to a classical music concert while in Vienna, so indulged the money on it. Immediately afer making arrangements with him, we were stopped by three salesmen with similar offers).

Before the concert, we tried Sachertorte (Viennese chocolate cake) and Cardinalschnitte (vanilla mousse cake) at a local cafe recommended by an Austrian-English friend.


Here we are at the concert that night in the beautifully decorated Palais Auersperg. After the concert, we wandered over to the Rathauspark, where we watched part of another film, this time Russian ballet excerpts with the throngs of Viennese and tourists gathered there. In between outings into the centre of Vienna we enjoyed the opportunity to get caught up on email, FB, and blogs.