The Hazards of Air Travel

Travelling by air is always an experience - early landings for medical emergencies, extra security measures due to enhanced security concerns, weather delays, mechanical problems - and this trip was no different. Getting to Europe was a challenge, but we finally arrived a day and a city late. Getting home from Europe was just as much a challenge.

We arrived at Munich Airport and went through security. We then spent time wandering around the airport, looking in the duty free shops. We then went through passport control to get to the international departures area and spent more time browsing through the shops.

We went to the gate at the appointed hour. Thankfully we had not bought any liquids in the duty free shops as we had to pass through security a second time - complete with x-ray machines and removing our shoes - where they were confiscating all liquids (again).

Our flight was delayed two hours so we were waiting at the gate for hours with nothing to drink - not even a water fountain! Thankfully, there were bathrooms because the gate attendants were not being very nice about letting people back out to get food or a drink.

We finally boarded our plane and flew to Philadelphia. We were supposed to catch a connecting flight from Philadelphia to Toronto via Pittsburg. We missed our flight to Pittsburg, but they put us on a direct flight to Toronto - with a confirmed seat for one of us and likely a seat for the other. (If this is sounding familiar - you're right!)

So, we get to the gate where a very unhelpful gate attendant tells us, no we're not confirmed on the plane, we're not even first on the list for standby! (This is the same gate attendant that the agent arranging our new flight was talking to!).

So, we wait a few minutes and then are told we need to get on the plane in the next five minutes because they had been given an earlier departure time as long as the plane got out within ten minutes.

We get on the plane with no boarding pass, no assigned seat, and no idea if our luggage would make it! BUT, we were on the plane!

We arrived in Toronto at the same time we should have arrived if we had made our original connections - no harm, no foul - except that the luggage was back in Philly!

I finally got my luggage back on Thursday (we flew home Sunday) - a little worse for the wear, but everything was there.

Munich, Germany

If you read the first post on this blog, you know already that we missed Munich on the first part of our trip due to airport purgatory. We did have a few hours in Munich on the last night of our trip. Our first stop was the Hofbrauhaus and then a local restaurant to enjoy a Bavarian dinner.

The Glockenspiel

The Hofbrauhaus, complete with Oompah band and lederhosen.

Flowers - Salzburg

Salzburg

Salzburg, a city nestled in the mountains, is the birthplace of Mozart. The mountains are inspiring. The fortress perched up on the hill overlooking Salzburg dominates the skyline and is more than a little intimidating.

Festung Hohensalzburg

Mirabellgarten

The narrow pedestrian streets of Salzburg reflect the old and the new. The signs hanging out front of the stores use pictures and symbols to identify the shops - much as they did in medieval times when few people knew how to read. The shops themselves are very modern - McDonald's, Claire's, Nordsee, etc.

The hills are alive with the sound of music!

Flowers - Vienna

Vienna Woods

A drive along the Vienna Woods Panoramic Road.

After a drive along the Vienna Woods road, we stopped for dinner at a traditional "Heurigen" (wine tavern). Dinner was traditional viennese food - including wienerschnitzel!

The evergreen wreath in front of the heurigen indicates that they have new wine available and are open for business.

A local musician entertained us with "Schrammelmusik." In addition to performing local songs, he also performed music from the countries the guests were from - although the only Canadian song he knew was the Maple Leaf Forever (and the Canadians didn't even know that one!).

Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Palace was Empress Maria Theresa's hunting lodge-turned-palace that reminded me of Versailles, France. An immense, decadent palace; massive gardens (only this one has a zoo!); on the outskirts of a major centre - incredible!

Vienna, Austria

Vienna is another gorgeous city - but let's be realistic - they're all beautiful in Europe! I don't think I've seen an ugly city yet.

I first saw Vienna on that Christmas trip in 2001 - in fact, I spent New Year's Eve there - celebrated the arrival of the Euro. Again - this was one of the coldest winters they had experienced in years. Starbucks became my good friend, keeping me from hypothermia! Caramel macchiatos are very good!

Vienna is beautiful buried beneath the snow and it is just as beautiful in the sun, with the flowers in bloom.

Parliament

Vienna Staatsoper - State Opera

Hotel Sacher - home of the decadent sachertorte!
One of the best ways to spend an afternoon in Vienna is to take a seat in the Café Sacher and order a hot chocolate and a sachertorte. Sachertorte is two layers of chocolate torte with a thin layer of marmelade in between. The whole concoction is then covered in a chocolate icing. Delicious!

Vienna as seen from the bell tower of St. Stephan's Cathedral.

The Wedding Cake Church

One of the famous Lipizzan stallions of the Spanish Riding School.

Mozart

Windfarms

Europe seems to be on the forefront of the environmental movement - with so little space and so many people, I guess they have to be! I saw several massive windfarms throughout Europe. You would think that something like that, so modern, would be ugly. In fact, it was inspiringly beautiful - seeing the power of the wind, the blades spinning in the air, and knowing the good they were doing. Wind turbines on every hill, as far as the eye could see - AMAZING!

Györ, Hungary

Györ is a pretty little town on the way from Budapest to Vienna. We arrived in Györ on a national holiday so very little was open. But, just wandering around this town was an experience!

McCafé! We went into McDonald's hoping for hot chocolate and discovered this McCafé - complete with fancy coffees and desserts - Yummm!