nearing the end

Well, its Monday of my last full week in Europe. On Saturday I will pack up my belongings and head for Germany where I will spend what I hope will be a relaxing 4 days with family and then on Wednesday I head for home. As much fun as world travel is, I am definitly looking forward to being back in middle america where I will drink as much free water as possible, and load it all with cupfulls of ice. I miss ice.

This weekend was relaxing. On Friday I somehow ended up at the train station where I decided to hop on the first train that sounded interesting (ah the joys of an unlimited Eurail pass!). I got off in Kufstein where I wandered around for an hour or so and had a cappucino and then got on another train headed for Salzburg. Riding the trains with no real destination in mind was really fun ... the possibilities were endless!!! I had been to Salzburg before and really liked it so I was excited to go back. Unfortunately it was really hot ... like, Africa hot ... and there was NO air conditioner ANYWHERE. I visited a medieval fortress, had sausage and wine by the river, wandered around and listened to street performers ... and sweated like a pig. Finally I decided enough was enough and headed for the train station figuring that at least the trains were airconditioned.

Well, some of them.

Mine wasn't and I proceded to sit there miserably hot (and completely and utterly dehydrated) until the sun went down and it cooled off considerably.

It wasn't all bad tho, not even close! I got to see two more super cute Austrian towns, not to mention the beautiful scenery from the sauna of a train. I could ride the trains all day .... I love sitting there gazing out the window watching the world fly by. God bless public transportation!

Saturday and Sunday were spent lounging around in Innsbruck. I hadn't really been here on a weekend yet and it was nice to just relax. I spent a lot of time sitting in cafes, sitting by the river, and wandering aimlessly. Unfortunately, it rained both days so activity was somewhat limited, but it was still a lot of fun.

And now, I have to figure out how to make the most of my final days ...!