Wien

I am in Wien, better known as Vienna, in the province Lower Austria. I spent the morning watching the Lipizzaner Stallions being put through their morning training. After that I took a tour of the facility. They are truly Magnificent! I have always wanted to visit the Spanish Riding School, and sadly I will no longer be in Austria this weekend. I would love to have seen a performance in the foundation of this cultural icon. They only hold performances on the weekends so I'll just have to come back I guess.

I have purchased a new train pass, and am still trying to get the disaster of the last one sorted. I had better get a refund, or there will be one very unhappy camper on their hands. Grrrrrrr!

I highly recommend visiting Vienna. I have seen some amazing churches and buildings. They can't be described. I only hope the pictures do them justice. It is a very friendly city, and I am enjoying it very much. I might stay one day longer. But I am trying to get to Ireland by Sunday. So I need to looking at hitting the trail again sooner rather than later.

Most likely tomorrow I will head to Switzerland. I have a friend there and am going to spend a day or two with her while down here. I'm looking forward to that.

I am finding it very difficult to write blogs this last month as I have been with my family in Germany, and here in Austria, is also a German speaking country. I find myself translating things into German only to translate them back into English. It's silly, but when you are using a language and then switching back, it's hard to use the original language. I don't know if that makes sense but it's difficult. I find myself using broken English as much as broken German. Very frustrating.

But that's it. I will try to post something from Switzerland, Ireland, Norway, and of course Germany should the opportunities present themselves. My trip to Ireland will most likely take me through France and the Netherlands, but I probably won't be stopping there. Depending on the route to Norway, I will most likely travel through England, Denmark, and Sweden. Other wise I will go back down through the Netherlands and across Denmark from there. Meh, what ever.

Lisa Freitag
Silent River Kung Fu, Wien, Lower Austria, Austria