We got to Salzburg on Saturday and it's great to be here where it is so gorgeous.  It is also nice to have wifi at the hotel where we are so that I can update this blog and have been able to add the pictures because the blog is in English now.  Woohooo!

 

Because of the price of the train fare to Prague, we didn't go.  To kind of make it up to the kids, we took them to Bratislava which is in Slovakia. Actually, only the girls went. It's only an hour train ride from Vienna and the ticket was only 14 Euros which was a great deal.  We went on Thursday because the students were out of class for Pfingsten or in English, the Day of Pentacost.  The train was crowded on the way to Bratislava.  I guess lots of families had the same idea as us about getting out of the city on the holiday.  The Austrians and Germans really celebrate their holidays.  Very few stores and restaurants are open.  It's like a Sunday with almost everything closed up.

 

Bratislava was under communist rule for quite awhile but became a democracy again in 1993.  It's taken awhile, but they are slowly rennovating their Old Town which is a very pretty place.  The Castle, however, was somewhat of a disappointement because it was entirely shrouded in scaffolding and plastic while rennovations are being done.  But the weather was nice and the crowds were not too bad.  We showed the girls the St. Martins Cathedral which was where the coronations were held in historic times.  It is said to have the only true example of Baroque architecture in the city.

 

The girls had a good time and it was exciting to be in another country.  Before the European Union, one would get a stamp in their passport when entering each new country.  Now, once you've entered an EU country, there is no need to show your passport again and therefore, do not get a stamp in it with each different country visited

 

The students all went back to class on Friday and then on Sat. we got on the train headed for Salzburg.  After a 3 hour ride through breathtaking beauty we arrived at our destination, a lovely, traditional guest house, the Kirchenwirt.