All journeys have secret destinations....

Well, am all settled back in now.  Back with my piano and books :-)  I began this blog with the following quotation:

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware..."

So what was the secret destination? Maybe I still don't know....but if i were to guess....it would be this...

Life is the dancer, we are the dance.  Life has something it wants to experience through us in these temporary forms...if we interrupt the flow with our usual constant mental resistance we will suffer.  If we simply let the flow be and quietly observe it, then moments of immense Joy will arise over and over.  This wonderful trip has allowed me to practice this and understand the wisdom of it.   Still need lots of practice, but this was a WONDERFUL opportunity to practice this.  Time after time, this choice came up : )

Plus my usual conclusion after a long trip away....there really is only One of us, it is the same energy bubbling up through all these amazing forms.  Returning home, it feels like only the exterior images have changed, the core is still the same, that deep Ocean of still energy.  But that deep Ocean REVELS in playing with form and had an absolute blast touring through 7 "different" countries and all i can say, in the end is.....thank you Universe!!!

love to all....peace to all

P. xxx

Swan Song...the Sequel

lol.....not home yet!
Im staying overnight in London, England.. ha!

The plane from Vienna to Heathrow, was 2 1/2 hours late getting away (malfunctioning toilets of all things!)
So there was no possibility of my connection to Vancouver.  Before I even got off the plane at Heathrow, they had rebooked me for tomorrow Oct 7 ....and in the meantime (!) i get to stay all expenses paid in the most gorgeous hotel (Radisson Edwardian) with free dinner and breakfast....now what's not to like about THAT : ) : )

What, me worry?

So not sure when i will be home tomorrow (you just never know!)....but maybe sometime ha....
nity nite!
luv P.

Swan Song...

allo! Salut!
This will be my last post from Europe...tomorrow I travel home and have just printed out boarding passes.

This morning after a nice relaxed breakfast i walked to see the Spanish Riding School do their practice from 10-12 pm.   These creatures are exquisite!  I had read in many places not to expect to much from the public practice...that very often they just walk them around....but we were lucky enough to see some of them being trained (especially standing on the hind legs)....plus many of the moves done in performance....i was so amazed to see it, they are so beautiful...  

This is them!

I do wonder... when the horses are back in their stalls...and talking amongst themselves what they say to each other..."Those humans sure are weird..." (lol)....they are taught to do things so unnatural to their normal movement.  But you can tell that the riders and trainers absolutely LOVE those horses.

Then i walked directly to the Kuntshistorisches or as Rick Steves calls it, the "Kunsthistorwhateveritis" : )
And saw originals of  Carravagio, Rubens, lots of Bruegel....well the list goes on and on...my fave was Vermeer (winks at Karen).

The Art of Painting by Vermeer

 Aside from finishing up here at the internet cafe, that's it for today cept for getting ready for Tosca!  My one chance to wear a dress on this trip! yeehaw!

So auf wiedersehen everyone....be well, be happy, 
special thanks to Mum, John-Pie and Yvonne for their comments...i know it is  hard to figure out how to comment on this thing. so thank you to the rest of you too, who have been patiently reading!!
(and sorry i was so longwinded lol didnt mean to be!)
much love from Vienna!
signed,
Wotsername
xxx

Last day but one....

Monday, October 4

Allo all!
Soon my trip will be coming to an end.  Thank you all for reading, whoever you are out there!
I spent this morning getting aquainted with them ol' Hapsburgs....(they sure do like gold...)
anyway...i actually really enjoyed going thru the Imperial Apt's mostly because i got totally involved with this whole Sisi deal....the much loved wife of Franz Josef....i can see why...now i want to read more... 

Then the Hapsburg Treasury, supposed to be the best collection in Europe....well...goodness me...i came out feeling i really could have saved myself 12 euros....the one thing i really liked seeing was the Holy Roman Emperor's Crown..... i mean, after all.....doesnt get much more historic than that...well except for the Venus of Willendorf  (more later).  But aside from that, it was just one room after another with robes, jewels...ok jewels are nice..but...holysmokes...enough is enough lol  You can only see so many jewels before you start to have the opposite desire (see Kybalion Universal Law No...um..?)   Hapsburgs and gold equates to Baroque churches and chubby cherubs...after a while you just want to escape to a park (which i did, see later)

Then i walked over to the National Museum of History, solely so i could have a look at the Venus of Willendorf....now this was seriously impressive....her impact is so much more in person than from a picture in a book.  I loved seeing this!

Aint she Loverly?

....25,000 years old they say...and she still looks pretty good, doesnt look a day over 24,867!  I found her to be extraordinary...worth the walk over and the price of admission. (I race-walked through the rest of the museum hehe)



NY Times Crossword!!

Then I escaped to that wonderfully quintessential experience...the Vienna Cafe...ahhh!  had lunch in an old classic one, the Tirolerhof....did the classic thing and pored over a newspaper and lo and behold what did i find? my beloved New York Times Crossword!!
 and a Sunday one at that!  which i finished up, completely content with my Vienna coffee.  The menu was all in German, but I bluffed my way through, ordering soup "keine fleische bitte" (sp?)...am picking up a bit of German here and there : )


Then i went for the 3 pm tour of the Opera House....to prepare for seeing Tosca tomorrow...great tour! and the best part was being able to go backstage - it is simply enormous and they were setting up a huge set for tonight's performance (a different one)...just fascinating to see all this.

Then i walked through the Stadtpark...the beautiful City Park ....beautiful little lake, trees everywhere and the pavillion where Strauss used to do his thing....this park reminded me a bit of St. Stephens Park in Dublin...also beautiful.

Ended my day's adventures by going through the Haus der Musik, nearly beside my hotel....some fun exhibits there plus great headphones for listening to the Vienna Philharmonic....could see all the famous conductors' batons...very cool.

Travel Tip #4 (is it 4 or 3?)....Vienna has SO much to see and do...that in 2 1/2 days, i could only do a little, which was fine ...i am completely content with what i have managed to see.   I dropped Schonnbrun from the list because it would have been too tight and when in Vienna....it is better to go to a cafe than to worry about cramming things in : )  I would have really liked to have seen the Belvedere Palace though, for its Klimt originals....c'est la vie!  I've really enjoyed Vienna...very warm and easy city.  

Cafe Tirolerhof

My hotel here was in such a great location, just one block from the Opera House, so after Tosca tomorrow, I will be "home" in 5 minutes.  Has been easy to find wherever I've gone off to.   Also very easy will be the route to the Airport on Wednesday....there is a metro stop close to my hotel, 2 stops from there, i can catch a special airport train that will have me at the airport in 16 minutes...wow!

Tomorrow, last day.....on tap: watching the Lippizzaners practice in the morning...the Kunthistorisches in the afternoon (wonderful World Class art collection, i cant wait to see these!), then try to print off boarding passes, then a light dinner and finally.....prepare to see my first opera, Tosca!

Gruss Gott!
love and hugs, P.













Gruss Gott from Vienna!

Ahhh...i just cant tell you how much i was charmed by little Hallstatt...about that fish dinner...i practically inhaled it!  am pretty sure i was drooling all over the table....sooo good! sitting outside by the lake under a lovely tree mmmm
Hallstatt was so still and so quiet....what a breath of fresh air.. literally!
Afterwards, walked around in a daze (am i really here? etc lol)...got some green tea to take back to my room and sat by the open window, reading-writing....so good!

Saturday1, Oct 2

Caught the good ship Stephanie back across the lake and caught the little train back up towards the Danube.  Heading for Melk....and was so surprised when i got there...everything was much closer than i had thought...everything was so EASY!....hotel so simple to find, all my train connections were easy, everything felt in sync today.   Happily found out that the cruise on the Danube i hoped for the next morning would work out and it did!...was the very last day of the season for that morning time.

Next up, go through beautiful Benedictine Melk Abbey....it is HUGE....the library was....wow!!  (if Karen is reading this, you would have loved this!)   Then spent some time in the Abbey Park and Orangerie (i love orangeries) and walked back down the zillion stairs to the main square.  And then guess what!  I had in my notes that my hotel had free bikes for the guests...so off i went on a lovely old fasioned bike...yippee!!  I felt like i was 16.....rode alongside the Danube for a good stretch...i so enjoyed that!  Last time i was on a bike was in Denmark on the little island of Aeroskoping....another wonderful memory. ps sorry about all the exclamation marks, i know that gets annoying...just cant help it lol

Melk Abbey

Back at the hotel, i was hungry for dinner....very good veggie soup, and a green salad with grilled chicken and green tea...just what i wanted.   I am really just having a blast exploring Austria on my own.  Always so lovely to have a partner to do it with, but when that isnt in the cards, so so happy to know i can still do it on me own....woohoo!    Tomorrow its off to Vienna, my final stop.  Quiet evening in my room after dinner.
Today went beautifully...thank you thank you thank you....!

Sunday Oct 3
By the way, because breakfast is always included i have been living off a wonderful free supply of fresh apples, the entire month!  

 Listening to the bells of the Abbey clanging away i walked with my luggage to the boat station  for my little Danube cruise.   This was really lovely...  Practically had the boat to myself, i keep forgetting it is already october...everyone else has gone home by now...  Wachau Valley...beautiful wooded hills, terrace after terrace of grapes....passed by the spot where the Venus of Willendorf was found ...i remember studying about her in some art history courses in university....boat on Danube was about 90 minutes.  Arriving in Krems, it was quite a long walk to the train station (no hills for once lol) but easy to find the platform for my train...my last train connection for this trip.  Got off one stop before the Franz Josef station in Vienna...because my wonderful little Rick STeves book told me that i could find a metro connection there and not at the actual train station.  So i followed his advice and it made things much easier... figured out how to print a ticket, validate it and somehow found my way to my hotel.  It turned out to be so much easier than i anticipated...easy to find my hotel...and what a warm welcome!!  Greeting with a package of city maps, concerts, metro system map (wish id got that one earlier haha) and a complentary drink...very nice!  and i love love my tiny little room...i am here for 3 nights so tonight i can do up my laundry (in the sink...will put up my handy little clothesline).  I am happy this is the last of more than a dozen hotels....it will be good to go home after this, it is the right time...it has gone so incredibly well!  (i dont know if Dr. Mike is reading this, but if you are, i have been grateful so many times for how well my knee has held up!)  It is almost a month now and it is doing brilliantly after a really extensive workout.

my lovely Vienna hotel....

Got organized and headed out to the Tourist info  where.....(yes!) i was able to purchase a ticket to see a real Opera the night before i leave (Tuesday)...now this may seem strange to some of my readers....but i was just thrilled about that...i have never seen an opera! and i am in Vienna....so i will be seeing the best...i have spent SO little on this trip...and this is my splurge ! 70 Euros...would cost so much more in Canada! and i got a very good seat...  I just actually printed out the summary of the opera that is currently offered......it is....TOSCA by Puccini....

Then i took off for my Vienna walking tour, using Rick STeves book...very good....
Note for son, John....i just know it is my moral duty to pick up a piece of Sacher Torte, as a good tourist...so i did (lol) from Demel Cafe..one of the best....yummmmm

Next i hopped on the Ringstrasse tram which takes you around the whole inner city for 2 euros....2 Viennese people sitting on either side took an enormous interest in my studying of the little book and map i was using...and immediately got quite involved lol....began to point things out for me....were very impressed by my little book ....it was pretty funny and they were very kind and genteel...

Then i walked through the Hapsburg Burgtor Garden (sp?) to a restaurant i got from the book...in a  beautiful huge glass conservatory filled with palm trees....i had a wonderful dinner of fresh fish, tons of veggies and green tea.   I am very content.   It has been a wonderful, full day....as i finish up here at the internet cafe, just by my hotel....back to do laundry and have a quiet night. 

Vienna has opened its arms to me in the most wonderful way!  I have some of the same feeling i had when Paris embraced me....it is genteel, graceful....a beautiful city.  

love to you all!
hugs from Patricia

Berchtesgaden and Hallstatt

Stardate: Thursday, Sept 30

Well i caught my bus to Berchtesgaden. (little sidetrip into Germany)

Checked my bag into my hotel and took off right away to catch the bus to the Eagle's Nest....When i say it's high up ....i mean it is H  I  G  H   up!!!!!! omg...and the bus was on the side of the mountain the whole time.....incredible views!

Eagles Nest, Berchtesgaden

This was HItler's last refuge, his bunkers were here and some of his planning was done here....i learned a lot i didnt know before at the Documentation centre....   I did not catch all of it cuz it was getting pretty crowded and all the text was in German. But i did see the bunkers......they are incredibly extensive, we could only see a tiny bit....

  But the Eagle's Nest...oy!  Up at the top after the bus drops you off, you walk deep into the mountain through a tunnel and then take Hitler's brass elevator up through the mountain to the VERY top where you can walk around, up in the clouds...i was so lucky....for days the weather has been misty and rainy and just that morning it opened up into sunshine.....so i was able to see...very very fortunate!

So I was actually walking above the clouds yesterday morning...it was exhilarating to be that high, i could see Salzburg waaaay off in the distance.   I could also see Konigsee Lake, an emerald jewel-like lake far below.  Glad i brought gloves and a small scarf..i needed it....walking up there on the crags above the Eagles Nest ...wow....snowy peaks close by....birds silently circling that high high place, in the thin air...it really was worth the trouble to come for one day to see this. 

Wowzers!

Eventually found where i could catch a bus back to Berchtesgaden (long story..lol)....and back at the train/bus station, immediately caught the bus to the salt mines (time was running out)....i am so glad i went to the salt mine..i almost didn't...it was SO MUCH FUN!!......we got to slide down these long long bannister things, (I had the collywobbles but did it anyway lol) (you sit down on them like a horse, lift you legs up and away you go at the speed of light.  Some people shrieked coming down lol....this is how the miners did it

Those 2 slides were worth the price of admission!   Then there was a beautiful salt lake, underground and we glided across it on a boat.  Cool Beans!  And there was excellent info/presentations....this ended up being better than the salt mine in Poland.   I wont tell you how hard it was to find a bus back to town, but once again, i just got lucky (my angels were watching over me for sure.....trust me)....no puter i could use, so had a little picnic supper in my room (leftovers from breakfast table earlier in Salzburg)...cozy and nice, i enjoyed it.  Everything seems to want to close just when i decide to get hungry hehe.

This hotel had a much cherished bathtub so i had a good long soak and then fell asleep

That night though i realized that the girl had got the date wrong on part of my train ticket for Hallstatt the next day....i could find no way to change it (guess what, everything was closed haha...so what's new)....and i thought i might be kicked off the train, the ticket agent said she couldnt help me and that it could be a problem....but i found another agent the next morning at the station and told her my very sad story and she took pity on me and wrote something in German on the ticket...no idea what....but i figured i would be ok.  Sometimes travelling is just plain hard work, when you are going solo, and sometimes have to figure out one thing after another... you have to stay on your toes but you sure do feel alive

Friday, October 1...

October?!   wow ...

Yes!!! I got to Hallstatt ok!   The chap looked at my wrong ticket and just went ahead and punched it....yeehaw!....all morning on the train, through more mist and rain, but i enjoyed it very much.  The train stops beside the lake at Hallstatt, just a tiny little one room building and you wait by the water for the good ship Stephanie (a little local boat) to come pick you up and take you to the town across the lake.....it was just wonderful, this place is simply magic!  I began to soak up the peace the minute i got off the train...now THIS is a vacation.....my room is so lovely, it is as if some lovely Grandmotherly type had furnished it for me....view over the lake....geraniums in window, lace cloths...ohhh i love it!  The water is so pure here....i couldnt get enough to drink  !

Tonight...well in just a little bit, im going to have the best meal EVER....fresh trout caught out of the lake with veggies and maybe strudel if i'm feeling naughty ;-)  5 Euros....not bad!

Hallstatt a.k.a. Heaven

Then just going to walk and walk and explore this  place, if you could see how lovely it is...

my Puter entries all done ( i do enjoy writing to you all).....time to relax and soak this all in

Tomorrow, back across lake on the good ship STephanie, back on the train and up to Melk on the Danube to see the Abbey there.....and hopefully arrange a cruise the next day from Melk to Krems, the best part of the Danube, wish me luck!

love to all and hugs all around!

luv, Patricia

xxx

I wonder if I should have been a nun....

...early evening on Wednesday...

I wanted to find the very unadvertised Abbey...sometimes Salzburg makes you feel a bit like a processed tourist (unlike Eastern Europe) but the Abbey is not mentioned ....climbed a long high hill and around the coner at the top i found it...I found the Abbey church was open and i was the only one around...opened the door quietly and......was enchanted!   sat quietly in a back pew and listened to some nuns singing Vespers, somewhere behind and above me, enclosed....i could only hear them....so pure, the loveliest thing...!...it brought me to tears...

...i think it was the single most beautiful moment of this whole trip...