Saturday, December 20, Vienna

I ended up leaving Kisvarda at 9:45am on Firday, skipping all of my classes with the approval of the assistant Headmaster. Due to the strike and the slowdown on the trains, this looked like it might be the only train out of Kisvarda on Friday. We had a 8:10pm train reserved from Budapest to Vienna, so really wanted to make it. Had to get of in Szolnok and stand around and wait for a train to be announced to Bduapest. We were there maybe a half hour and in that time, only two trains came and went. Our train took us to a suburb of Budapest where we had to switch to a city bus to a metro exchange where we caught the metro to the train station! Pouring rain and dark. Our train from Budapest was not going but there was a bus going in half an hour, so we took off at 6:00pm from Bduapest and got into Vienna around 10pm. Easily found our Hostel and room and hunkered in for the night.

Today, still rainy and very windy. We were out and exploring before 9am. Went to the Albertina Museum of Art --- Klee's, Picaso's, Monet's, etc, etc. Off to the first of 3 or 4 Christmas markets. Stopped and had lunch in an Irish Pub (it was available and we were hungry), and then off to the remaining markets. Had a great time looking at all the booths, toys, trinkets, decorations, and food in the pouring pouring rain!

We leave early tomorrow for Salzburg for the day. We will overnight and leave on Monday morning for Munich.

Oh, when we walked into the hostel in Vienna, in the lobby was one of the other CETP teachers that went on the Transylvania trip with us! Scott will be in Munich, at the same hostel, as us on Monday night! Nice to see him. He is traveling a bit and then is heading home....he decided to just stay for one semester.

Also, today we were leaving our hostel and I saw a sign with an arrow that said "Einbahn" and I kind of made note, in case I needed some landmark to find our way back. (Tara does all the map reading and I am pretty much just following her lead, but every once in a while I think I'd better have some idea where I am!) So, whatever the "Einbahn" was, I now knew it was close to our hostel. A little further down the road, I saw another sign for the "Eihnbahn", pointing in the same direction. Later in the day, when we were in a completely different part of the city I see a sign again for the "Einbahn" with an arrow. It struck me as funny so I looked around, and there was ANOTHER one of these signs pointing in a different direction......oh, I am slow. Einbahn must mean, one way street!!! Now you know why Tara does all the map reading!