Highlights E Europe Day 2

Day 2 – Friday, April 30, 2010 – Early Flight from Copenhagen, Denmark to Frankfurt, Germany and then Arrive Vienna, Austria – Afternoon Tour

The alarm went off at 2:45 – a short night indeed! We were able to get ready and organize our bags by 3:30. By that time Ulla was up to say goodbye to us and Jesper took us to the airport in Copenhagen.

The drive usually takes about an hour but at 3:30 am we made the trip in about 40 minutes. Jesper helped us get our boarding passes at the kiosk in the lobby. We told him to go back home to go to bed and thanked him for his warm hospitality while we were with his family.

The Lufthansa desks did not open until 4:35 but we only had to wait for a few minutes more to check our luggage in the Business Class checkin. The Security area was almost empty and the official took time to talk to us and asked us about our trip and he told us how much he enjoyed his travels to the United States.

When we arrived in Frankfurt, once again we deplaned on the tarmac and a shuttle took us to Terminal B. We had a tight connection for our next flight so we walked quickly to Terminal A and our gate.

The agent was just making an announcement that there was an aircraft change and that the flight would be delayed for 30 minutes. We walked over to the Lufthansa Business Lounge which was very close to our gate.

At 8:50 we got back on a shuttle that took us to our awaiting Airbus A321. It was 9:30 when everyone was on the plane and we finally took off. The pilot announced favorable winds making it possible for him to make up some of the time we had lost.

The flight was very smooth. I read the newspaper while Gennie started to type the journal. Our landing time in Vienna was at 10:25. We did not have to go through any security or passport control coming from one EU country to another.

According to the Trafalgar schedule, we would meet at the International Arrival Hall at 12:00. By the time our bags arrived, we did not have to wait too long and Eva our Tour Director found us.

She greeted us with bright red luggage tags and a smile. There were 7 of us from different destinations and Eva walked with us to put our bags in the big bus and meet our driver, Kalman.

Eva went back to the terminal to meet a few others and by noon we were heading to our hotel on the Danube. The rooms were ready and we were able to unpack a bit and then we went right out for a walk.

Vienna is a large capital city with wide open spaces and only 1.6 million people. The whole country of Austria only has 8 million inhabitants so the city does not feel crowded at all. With its clean air and clean water it was a pleasant and welcoming portal to our tour of Eastern Europe.

Vienna was the host city for the European Championships in soccer (futebol) a few years ago. The stadium was very close to our hotel. We walked in the direction of the stadium and found a very nice modern shopping center.

There were no meals included in our first day of the tour so we found a very accommodating young woman in the deli section of the grocery story, (Merkur’s) who made us sandwiches to order.

We also bought a few olives and a bag of chips. A team of young men were offering free sample cans of Coke Zero, so we had our lunch/dinner.

Eva asked us to meet in the lobby at 4:30 for our city tour. Our group is large, numbering 40. The previous week’s tour was canceled because of the Iceland volcano and many were rebooked with this group. Our bus is large and there are 7 extra seats.

We met our City Guide Sylvia, who helped us to get to know Vienna as Kalman drove us to our walking tour of the narrow streets of the city center and old sections of town.

Being able to use the Trafalgar “whisperers” or ear phones to listen to her commentary on a remote microphone made it possible to actually hear our guide.

We started our walk at St. Stephen’s Cathedral. There were thousands of tourists, vendors, mimes, and musicians enjoying the warm spring day. Even at 5:00 pm it was over 70º.

As we walked and listened to Sylvia, we were reminded that this is the fourth time we have been to Vienna and we see and learn new things each time.

Eva gave us time on our own to explore and we met the group by the Holocaust Monuments at 7:30. It was almost 8:00 when we returned to the hotel, reorganized our bags for the bus portion of our adventure, posted the journal, and fell in to bed after our long day.

Hotel: Hilton Vienna Danube

Day 10: Mediterranean Navigation

Antonio, Our Guide

Gardens at the Alcazaba

Roman Theater

Visiting with Picasso

Gennie & Vic, Malaga 2004

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