Unter den Linden Krems

... for group tours after October 31st, so we didn’t get to see the interior, but the grounds were very nice. Afterwards we meandered back down to the town center and had lunch (Schnitzel and Potato Salad, yum) before catching the train to Krems. I’m not entirely certain why Krems is such a tourist "must see," but it was a very cute town. We spent most of the time there wandering through the old town photographing the ...

... the bend in the river.<br>Austrians seem to smoke an awful lot, and surprisingly they still do in restaurants. It's the first time for a long time, that I have noticed a strong smell of smoke on my clothes at the end of an evening. Yuck. Reminds me of pubs of old. I know, Asians smoke a lot too, but everything is so open in Asia, that it never gets on your clothes.<br>(This computer doesn't have a card slot, so no pix today.)<br><br>Ciao.<br>

Continuing our tour of the Wachau valley, we visited a castle on the very edge of the Danube (Schloss Schönbühel) but it appeared to be closed to the public. We walked around the exterior a bit and stood on the riverbank, admiring the river and surrounding valley. The sun had disappeared and it started to rain so we got back in the car and headed to Burgruine Aggstein.<br><br>This is a great castle ruin. It is very high above the ...

... back inside to the abbey library. This is really impressive and beautiful. It is still an active library - they still acquire books and important people use the library for study. They also have a collection of speech capsules, the most recent acquisition being one from the Dalai Lama on his visit here.<br><br>From the library you reach the exciting conclusion of your visit, the abbey ...

... until 5pm. Whilst waiting outside two women walk past and say hello. I double take; its the same pair from earlier. Anyway this is a very nice hostel; its e15 with just the facilities you need. It has a members kitchin, a tv and comfortable benches. At last a sensible balance! This place is within striking distance of Vienna but I'm not sure if I want to stay or whiz through. On the other hand its hard to believe I'm so close to Hungary.

... was like what? and i had to tell about myself and the teacher said i could in english but i did in german because how else am i supposed to get better?! but it was really embarassing because all 28 fluent german speakers were just staring at me and i said that i lived in Phoenix with my mom and dad and that i had three sisters who lived in Minnesota, NYC, and Bolivia. And thats it. It was bad but my nachbar said that it was very good, but i think she was lying to me so i would feel better ...

Das BORG ist mit dabei Endlich - unser großer Tag ist gekommen. Wir haben es endlich geschafft zu unseren Helden vorzustoßen. Jakob Foramitti, Christoph Kögler, Benjamin Schön und ein glücklicher Lehrer durften mit Michael und Otto die letzten 25km mitlaufen. Es war wie ein Traum, als wir am Donau-Radweg 5km vor Melk die zwei Gestalten im Regen auftauchen gesehen haben. Tapfer haben sie sich die Schmerzen nicht anmerken lassen ...

... and other Austrians) had to go practice for the performance leaving Miriam, another Austrian student, and me to our own devices. The other Austrian student was named Niva and she failed to mention in the car that her English was excellent. To the pass the time before the concert, we walked the palace grounds and we came upon a farm with an interesting assortment of animals. We saw Billy goats, roosters, sheep, and CAMELS ...

... and then you hike through the Alps for 5 days, and then meet up with the train lines again where you can go back to Salzburg, and then Vienna. You stay at huts along the way where they cook for you and provides beds. This means you can backpack without carrying much stuff. I am not sure if we are going to do this exact route, but something similar. So those are our upcoming plans. We are going to make final decisions tomorrow based on what the train fares are.

... in the rain to the train. left at 5pm and after along search for seat...damned school kids taking up all the spots!...i settled in for the 3 hr trip....lucky i had a decent book....The Good Wife by Elizabeth Buchan...not bad. got to vienna at about 745pm...i had an address for a hostel so i took my chances and walked to find it....great place! 2 blocks from train...clean...kitchen(yay for cooking!!)..garden..net ...laundry...and comfy beds!!!i spent all last night doing ...