Hotel Interstar Saalbach

Stayed at a beautiful spot in Austria (Saalbach) with Hilly, Stu's old friend and new Father..actually felt sorry for him, the poor sod was knee deep in relatives, in laws, newly purchased crib and nappies, etc.....we stayed for afew days and it was neatly timed with the arrival home of new born Frankie. Hilly's place is 3 feet from a field of horses so Lauren was easily kept busy with feeding duties.

Stu tried ...

... at our B&B, although the lady running it was kind of strange. She did let us use their grill though and gave us good breakfasts. And when we left she gave us a big bag of salt. There is a huge salt mine right down the road, so we are guessing it has something to do with that. We met a nice older couple from England while we were here and they even gave us a ride to the train station when we left. The good comes with the bad usually.

... ago. At that time we had entered the bunkers from that staircase and there was just our little tour and it was all very awesome and personal. In the new center, one enters from a well lit hallway (with aforementioned storyboards). And there were crowds of people coming and going everywhere. To me, it just didn’t have the same atmosphere.

We had to hop onto a second bus to head up the mountain to ...

... down by the ankles to two vertical poles, then sawn in half down the middle. Right down the cleft. Thinking of all the roadside shrines and crosses I had seen in the Tirol, my mind strayed to wonder how the religious imagery of Christian Europe might be rather different had the Romans favoured this method of execution instead of crucifixion!

Behind the tower is a ...

... of challenge and reward, leading ultimately right back to the farmhouse and that long-desired beer. There was a smell of burning coming from my rear brakes!

We packed ready for departure. Keith and Manu joined us for dinner, serving up a lovely home-made quiche followed by goulash made from one of the farm's own cows, and a home-baked apple-strudel. All great stuff.

... views. We made it down to dinner just in time for the last servings, and celebrated by buying some local red wine recommended by the tour guides en route. Staff seemed very friendly too!

It was a bit dark to go out exploring so we took in the atmosphere from the balcony, drank our wine which they let us take upstairs and considered our plans for the next few days, the peace of the mountains slightly spoiled by the disco music from the triathlon!

... to the torso with mud. Dogs and chickens wandered the streets and yards at liberty. The inhabitants of the town sat on door stoops with looks of apprehension behind their furrowed brows and sunburned faces. The houses of the street were a mixture of Romanian and turn-of-the-century German architecture, but share the common trait of disrepair. I passed by the German Church in town. What seems to have once been a point of pride for the town, Is now nothing ...

... justo se estaba yendo el tren. Asi que me puse a caminar, esperando 40 minutos hasta el siguiente tren. En estas idas y venidas me dieron ganas de ir al baņo y pasaron como 5 minutos hasta que encontre el primero. Cuando llego, me encuentro con un molinete y dice €0,80. Tenia que hacer tiempo y no queria pagar por un baņo que parecia muy sucio. Voy hasta otro, y decia €1,30. Ni loco!, aunque por lo menos este parecia limpio. Despues de buscar digo ya fue, para eso me compro ...

August 26-Monday
We left Kitzbuhel at 8:30. There was a brief stop in Berchtesgarden, in Germany, at 10:00. Up on the side of the mountain, we could see Hitler's Eagle’s Nest. It was rather chilling to see that part of history. The bunker is now a restaurant. Our rest stop overlooked a valley filled with wonderful homes. What a view! Back on the bus and on to Salzburg. Time 10:35.

... go. I felt thrilled and disappointed at the same time…thrilled because of what I had just seen and felt, disappointed because I had to leave. Thank goodness for my memories… I’ll carry this with me for as long as I live.

(BevNote: While Paul was walking around the Flower Garden, I was simply enjoying the scenery, as the clouds came and went. There was a very small chapel, not too far from where I was sitting, but I did not go in ...