Europe 2019
As not much was happening with SkyFarming and both my parents settled in their new homes, we decide to go for 10 weeks, arriving late June. I enroled in another German speaking school, for two months this time. As with last time, this adds structure to the day but while I dutifully attended every lesson, I still have so much to learn.
Every day by bike with the vicious hill climb on the way home, still there.
We were there long enough for a number of people to drop by:
From Berlin for a number of days, Volker and Anke and Mitja were able to ride over with us to Anna and Christian's summer 'hut' for a swim in an arm of the Danube.
After a swim and just before a very heavy summer rainfall . . .
|
|
Steve Gould turned up for a few days in Salzburg where we hiked up Unterbergs - a good 1400m climb.
On the way up, you can see Moose Strasse leading into Salzburg in the background.
At the top!
Unusually sunny in Salzburg, home to one of the highest concentrations of cyclists in Europe.
We took the cable car back down before catching a bus to Hellenbrunn to say hello to the big sturgeons in the shallow ponds there. It then rained heavily and briefly but at least it was warm.
Paul Knight turned up for a weekend where we managed to get out on the bikes for a tour of surrounds, including Klosternueberg.
Near the top of the hill in the forests around Vienna.
And a bit further along . . . in the woods proper.
Fellow SkyFarmer and Viennese native Peter turned up a few times.
Peter was able to make it to final dinner with the Berliners.
We caught up with Nikki and Verena a few times.
Once with the Berliners, above. And also a day out at HoheWand, rockclimbing mecca near Vienna, below.
As with previous trips, there were dinners with the neighbours; to the right, to the left and across the road.
On the astronomy theme, there was a public event of the night of an eclipse where we were able, along with half of Vienna, to check out the Vienna Observatory (Universitätssternwarte Wien) . Not too far away in Sternwarte Park, now part of Vienna University. It is a very stately structure built 1879 and inaugurated by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria in 1883. Of course, it was too cloudy on the night to see much of the eclipse but the building and old telescopes were worth it. Definitely not Kalamunda.
I flew out to England and stayed a night with Paul before we trained into London to see the London Eye with Bec followed by a boat trip down the Thames to check out Greenwich. We all catch the train back to Market Harbough for a relaxed weekend with the rest of Bec's family.
Bec on the London Eye. Bec and Paul at Greenwich below.
Myself in front of a medievel Chestnut tree.
We finished with a 450km 7 night tour of the valleys of central Austria; Erzbach, Enns and the Salzach/Inns/Danube, see below.