Steigenberger Avance Hotel Krems

... Amy and I spent her last day here sightseeing around Melk and Krems, which always make me think of dessert. These 2 cute towns west of Vienna are apparently very popular with the tourists, so we figured we had to see them. Melk is home to the impressive Melk Abby, which is perched on a plateau above the town. We hiked up to the Abby through the rain and walked around the grounds a little bit. Unfortunately the Abby is only ...

... the town, I was being spat upon again. Time for a quick salad and frittatensuppe (clear beef soup with strips of pancake) before hopping on a bus for Durnstein.<br>Durnstein's claim to fame are the ruins of a castle on the hill above the town, where Ric*************heart was apparently imprisoned in 1193 while on his way back from one of his frequent Crusades. I doubt that he was very comfy there, but he certainly had a spectacular view ...

... but not too far inland, so from the top you get an excellent view of the river weaving through the lush green valley, wineyards and corn fields. The ruins themselves are enchanting. It was really nice to stand on the top walls and soak up the sun and the view. Also from the castle ruins you can see a corn maze down below. The maze is groomed to look like a knight on horseback, and you can see that clearly from so high above.

... the town and up the hill to the beautiful abbey at the top. Unfortunately they don't allow dogs so one of us had to stay outside but luckily it wasn't me.<br><br>I went through the museum which was quite interesting with religious artifacts and some plaques were even in English. We eventually went to the back veranda where we could see the valley below. The view is magnificent. From there you ...

... hello to various people on the trail as you do. In the end I got into Krems about 4pm. At 56 miles its decent day (after yesterdays disaster). I do need a rest day; the washing situation is desperate and my hands and muscles are feeling it. But they have great maps outside town so you can see how to get to what your looking for. Excellent. So I go straight to the camping but they don't have wifi so I head for the hostel. Which is ...

... ran out the door. As i was walking to my bus station a bus passed me and i was like 'No! Please dont be my bus!!!' fortunatly it wasnt but because i didnt know where my bus says its going i had no way to know. But i did get on the bus and i had to stand for the 40 minutes because all the seats were full. During class i would randomly hear 'Die Holly' so that was a little annoying that i knew they were talking about me but i had know idea what about. Then the teacher said 'Die Holly' and ...

... that will be very nice. I also learned today that i will have my own very new computer and a cell phone so im grateful for that. Also in St. Pölten we went to store where me and my brother Julian went and shopped a little together. He tried on this big jacket and said 'is this gangster?' in a joking and funny way. I laughed and showed him the gangster way to wear his hat and how to walk it was so funny. So overall everything has been wonderful and ill be writing more soon! HollyDay

... said a funny quip and sent the rest of the car in an uproar of laughter. Every 10 minutes or so, David would look back at Miriam and me and quickly repeat a few words of the conversation in English. It was never as funny as they thought it was, but I'm sure that was because my rampant motion sickness was perpetuating my irritation. I forgot how much I hated being in a car. We arrived at the Festschloss Hof (castle) and ...

... Pat might come with us on that trip. (He is currently studying abroad in Ireland) Once we get to Innsbruck area, we are going to try to do some hiking for about 4-5 days. This is one article on the region that I have checked out. href=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullp age.html?res=9A0DEFDD153EF932A25756C0A9 60948260&sec=travel&pagewanted=1 The short version of what the article tells you is that you get off of the train a little ways up from where the train ...

Well what do you know? i ended up in vienna....had no plan to come, but with munich cut out i had about 6 days to something with...soo here i am. after the sound of music tour...did i mention the tour guide sounded exactly like Jon lovitz...freaky!!! i basically just headed back to the hostel(with a detour through the mirabell gardens---from the movie....do re mi...)and walked with my breeding packs----ya who knew two black packs with canada flags can make one little red one ...