July 2, 1997
Hey everybody!
So, we are making our way across Europe, headed unstoppably for the cold, unexplored frontiers of Siberia. Well, maybe not, but it's been quite a trip.
After I sent the last update from Munich, I went on a bike tour of the city. There were 26 Americans riding through the Bavarian capital, ringing our little bells whenever we saw lions (and there are surprisingly many of them in Munich), trying not the kill pedestrians. That pursuit for the sanctity of life was made even more challenging by a stop at a Beer Garden for a liter of really good, dark beer. Yes, seeing the nude parks of Munich from a 15-speed while working off a buzz is an experience I shan't soon forget. I tried to forget it that night, though, with another 2.5 liters of good beer at a different beer garden. I promise there is more to Germany than beer, and I saw much of the country not under the influence, but the influence is good.
After Munich we spent an entirely boring day in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a town nestled in the Bavarian Alps, carpeted by the Black Forest. It would have been much better if the sky had refrained from raining for a moment, and the clouds obscured our view of the mountains all day. Grrr...
We next went to the Austrian town of Feldkirch and stayed in a hostel that was an infirmary during the Black Plague. I think they've cleaned it since, although I did get a cough soon after... Feldkirch was only chosen as a launching point into the exciting nation of Liechtenstein. Yes, I've been to a nation of 65 square miles and fewer than 30,000 inhabitants. The best part of Liechtenstein (and trust me, you only need 15 minutes to see it all) was that we crossed a covered bridge that spanned the Rhine, and we were in Switzerland! There was no border control of any kind. We thought about standing there and demanding to see passports, but thought better of it.
Our next stop was Zell am See, a resort town in the Austrian Alps that was memorable to me because of the Grossglocknerstrasse. I took a bus up this road and saw some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in my life. At the end of the bus ride, I was able to walk down to a glacier under the Grossglockner (Austria's highest mountain) and sit on a boulder in the middle of this river of ice and enjoy the sun on my face, the cold wind ripping through my coat, and the sound of the spring runoff racing down the valley to a warmer home somewhere. The beauty and surreality of the moment introduced me to my own bit of heaven.
After a relaxing stop with some of Eugene's family in Salzburg, we arrived here in Vienna. We'll be here until the 5th (including my first Independence Day outside the US!), and then on to Budapest!
I hope you all are doing well!
Lance
