Austria/ Italy/Switzerland - What amazing sights!

Austria - Germany: November 11 - 17

My flight arrived in Munich around 2:45pm. The flight from Madrid to Munich was about 2.5 hours. I was hoping to collect my luggage as quickly as possible and dash for the train that leaves the airport at 3:02pm for Innsbruck where my friend Leif Crepaz would meet me before he heads off for his meeting. I was already dressed for the meeting from Madrid just in case I made the 3:02pm train. There was much delay in collecting my luggage, and with only few minutes left, there was no way I could do any dashing with for a train with the luggage I had. Furhtermore, I needed to pruchase a ticket to get on the train which was going to cause further delay. So I resorted to the second option that Leif gave me; I pruchased a ticket for the 5:00pm train which meant that I would need to change trains twice before I reach my final destination. While waiting at the airport train station, I couldn't understand the announcement on the PA system because it was only in German, so I asked a young lady standing next to me if the next train was the one I needed to get on. She spoke English fluently said she was also going in my direction, so I sat in the same carriage with her. Our first change over was at the Munich East station and we had an hour before the next train would arrive, so we went for a cup of coffee in a cafe at the train station as it was cold and rainy outside. I asked the young lady if I could take a photo of us for my blog and she agreed:

After talking for a while I learnt that her name is Magdalina and that she is currently training to be a business teacher at Insbruck University in Austria. We exchanged views about teaching and the joys and challenges that come with the profession. When it was time to catch the train, she explained that the next station that I planned to get off was a small one with no shops, so it was best to wait at Insbruck where she was getting off because there were lots of shops and facilities available at that station. That suggestion came in handy, because after Magdalina departed at Insbruck, I learnt that my train to Landeck was delayed about 40 minutes, so I found a restaurant and had something to eat. When it was close to arrival time, I went to the platform where my train was to arrive. After it was past the arrival time, I noticed the name of the destination was changed and an announcement was made, but I not idea what was said. There were only a couple of people waiting on the platform, a lady and her teenage son were sitting close by and apparently were waiting on the same train as well, so I asked them whether the train was still coming. The mother could'nt understand English and the boy only knew a few words. They managed to explain through signs and with the few words that the boy knew that the train was delayed for another 50 minutes. For the remaining time until the train came, we conversed, and the boy made much improvement with his English, while the mother perfected her signs! I discovered through our conversation that they were only there waiting on the father to arrive from a conference he attended in another city. Taking the initiative to communicate with people dispite language barriers and cultural differences has its advantages. The conversation we had made the time pass by so quicikly.

Well when I reached the station where Leif told me to get off, I gave him a call and he was there in about 15 minutes to get me. The last time I saw Leif was 10 years ago when we travelled together on a World tour for about 2 months. About 5 years ago he got married and invited me to his wedding, but because of work and financial constraints I couldn't make it. Now I am happy to visit him, his wife Elena and thier daughter (my neice) Stella. Photos of Leif, Elena, Stella and me at their flat:

I had a good sleep that night and woke around 11:30am (Monday), but Leif had already left for work. Leif works as a teacher of business subjects at a Business/Technical College. He works about 10 minutes from home and usually comes home for lunch, so we all had lunch together. Later Elena made dinner and invited Klaus and Andrea, my first new Austrian friends:

On Tuesday I joined Reinhard out in the door to door ministry. After walking for about 45 minutes in -3C degrees, Reinhard suggested that we head back to his place for a cup of hot tea and I had no objections. Through our conversation, I discovered that he was the true Intrepid Traveller. It was interesting to hear about his surjourne in Africa, Sir Lanka and China:

I joined Leif and Elena for lunch and then later in the after noon Leif accompanied me to the dentist as my translator. I had to see the dentist because during my last day in Spain, while eating a salad, I munched on an olive with a hard pip and broke part of a tooth (a molar) which caused much discomfort. The dentist did a good job:

After the dentist leif and I walked around Landeck, and he showed me some of the historic sights. One of the highlights of Landeck is the 13th-century Burg Landeck castle which dominates from its position above the town13th-century Burg Landeck castle dominates from its position above the town:

Leif and Elena had their book study on Tuesday night, so we had to rush back home and get ready for the book study (7:00pm). The book study was held at Gunter's (in green shirt) and Simonet's (black top) home. After the book study, we had snacks:

On Wednesday morning I stayed home and worked on my blog, which took me a long time because I had to contend with translating the German language to English to understand basic commands as no one was around to assist me. Later in the evening I made Jamaican Jerk Chicken dinner for Leif, Elena and three friends (Reinhard, Bethina and Marina). I had brought a bottle of Jerk seasoning from London with me, so I used it. Leif remembered when I made Jerk chicken in Fiji 10 years ago and requested it again. We had a great evening eating and then dancing afterwards:

An exciting journey to Italy and Switzerland!

On Thrusday afternoon Leif and I set out to explore Swiss Alphs and neighbouring Italy. Landeck is situated in the district of Tirol and is nestled in a valley that is surrounded by the magnificent Alpine mountain ridges. Tirol borders Switzerland on the West and Italy on the South. Many ancient medieval castles dominate the landscapes around the Tirol region. The Language spoken in Austria is German so is the language spoken in Switzerland. The people who live in the region of Italy that borders Austria speak both German and Italian.

A few photos of the magnificient views driving through the Alpine mountains in Switzerland:

We then set off to visit a small Italian town called Glurns situated in Southern Tirol. On the way we passed some interesting sights. Among these sights

Below are photos of the small town of Glurns. It is the only remaining town in South Tirol with a frotress wall surrounding it:

Friday morning at 8:00am were invited by Klaus and Andrea for breakfast at their home. There we met Sandro who was also invited for breakfast:

After lunch Leif, Elena, Stella and I took a trip to visit the Natural Park Kaunergrat located in the nereby mountains of Landeck. This area is is characterized by a breathtaking natural space share by Austria, Italy and Switzerland:

After our visit to the natural park, we rushed home and got ready for the meeting. The meeting was in German, so I understood little of what was said, but nevertheless I was alert throughout. At one point I helped with Stella during the meeting:


After the meeting a few of us met at a local restaurant for supper:


I had to get home to pack as I would be leaving at 4:00am to catch the 4:15am train to Munich. Elena and Lief were up early to see me off. It was sad to say good bye to Leif and Elena. Leif took me to the Landeck train station which was about 5 minutes away, and shortly afterward I was off to Munich to catch my next flight to Japan!

Caramba!! Qué bonito es este país!

SPAIN: (What an exciting country!)November 7 - 10
It was a short flight from Sweden to Spain only 2.5 hours. I was surprised that I didn´t have to go through immigration or customs. I just walked off the plane collected my luggage and went outside to meet my friend Javi. That expedited the process of my departure from the airport to the city of Madrid. My friend Javi Gonzales arrived on time to meet me at the airport. He came all the way from Tarragona, on the new speed train, the Ave, which travells at a speed of about 300km per hour. The train took about 2.5 hours to reach Madrid from Tarragona. Its a good thing Javi met me at the airport, because we had to take the metro from the airport to Madrid with many connecting trains, bustling crowds and having to walk up and down never ending stairs with my luggage (I swore that the next time I travel, I will only take a backpack with basic necessities - Right!) We had planned to stay with Javi Beltran for the night, then the next day we would take the fast train to Tarragona where Javi Gonzales lived. Javi B met us at a metro station in Madrid and took us to his place. We dropped my luggage off and went by to pick up Christina Peda (Javi Beltran´s sister) who had only arrived from Melbourne a couple of days before. As usual, I was eager to get going, so we jumped into Javi Bs car and off to explore Madrid. A Nigerian friend of Javi G joing us in the city later. Here are some photos of our exploits in the city of Madrid:

We got up early the next morning and had breakfast (chocolate con churros) at Javi ´s place; then off the get the train to Tarrogona:

Do you notice that I am only carring a small travel bag? Well, I decided to leave the rest of my bangarang at Javi B´s flat, because my next destination (Germany/Austria) was in 4 days and I would be leaving from Madrid. Well, when we reached the central station where the fast trains departs for Tarragona, we realized that we had about an hour before our train leaves, so we decided to put our luggage into a locker and take a walk around the area. Later we decided that having some lunch would be a good idea since the journey to Tarragona would take about 2.5 hours. Well, you can guess what happened next! We rushed back to collect our luggage and was just in time to see 0ur train pulling out of the station. what a bummer!!

The next train was in a few hours, so we reschduled for that train, and had to travel in seperate coach because we couldn´t get two seats together. The journey to Tarragona was a very scenic one. I tried to take some photos, but the train was going too fast. I sat beside Juan-Pablo a young professional who offered to take photos of me in the train:

He was travelling to Zaragoza which is located between Madrid and Tarragona (the 1st train stop) and works at Zaragoza University. He gave me much insights about the culture and history of regions where I was travelling to. We exchanged email address and I promised to send him my blog address so he could follow the rest of my journey.

The train made only 3 stops including its fianl destination (Tarragona). Close to the end of the journey, Javi G came over to my coach and remained there for the rest of the journey as there were many vacant seats by then. We took a few photos on the trian:

We arrive in Tarragona around 6:30pm, had a quick rest then got ready for the meeting which started at 7:30pm (Book Study - English):

After the book study, we drove by the Kingdom Hall where the Spanish group met. They had just concluded their meeting and were about to leave. We met Javi´s brother and his family and some others Spanish friends and we decided to go with them for supper:

A DAY IN BARCELONA!

The next day Javi, Debora and I drove to Barcelona. Debora was quite familiar with the city, so she acted as our tour guide. There was so much to see in Barcelona, a day was far too short, so I decided to settle on seeing Antoni Gaudi´s building (Casa Batllo), Las Ramblas, the food market and the harbour. Here are some photos:

Below, Las Ramblas, a busy pedestrian mall approximately 1.2 kilometers and lined with trees. Las Ramblas is full of street theatre, cafes and market stalls. It is popular with both tourists and locals alike. It appears to be the bub of Barcelona:

To the left is the Christopher Columbus monument located near Las Ramblas.

Below, a busy open market situated about mid way along Las Ramblas.

The water in the bay at Barcelona appears to be quite clean and full of all kinds of fish. Debora through a few biscut crumbs in the water and a schoal of fish hovered around begging for more. I was tempted to jump into the water a grab a few for dinner - yummy yummy went my tummy!!

We left Barcelona around 5:30pm and arrived in Tarragona about 6:45pm. We had to get back by 7:30pm to attend a Jazz Concert in Tarragona. The Jazz band is called The Ladies of the Jazz an Afircan American group. They gave a great performance:

After the Jazz performance,we went for a bite and then went dancing salsa and merenge until the wee hours of the morning. Here is the group of dynamic party animals:

The next day, I prepared lunch (Jamaican style) for five of us. After we had lunch I got ready for my trip back to Mardid and they all came with me to the train station. On our way to the train station we made a brief stop and took some photos by an ancient Roman aqueduct:

I couldn´t believe it was already time to leave Spain. I have leaving Tarragona with much treasured memories! I can´t wait to visit again, but the journey must continue. My next stop is Germany/Austria!