Eastern (oops should be Central) Europe - Day Eleven

Only Two Days to Go! Actually I’m ready to come home. It’s been a really great vacation – much better than I had anticipated – but this is the first time that I’ve been gone for a full two weeks in longer than I can remember and with my impending operation and down time coming up, I’m starting to get a bit itchy.

Today we are in Linz, Austria; home of the Linzertorte, Johannes Keppler, and Anton Brückner. Linz is sort of stepchild between the popular sites of Vienna and Salzburg. In fact a daylong trip has been scheduled for Salzburg – but I have opted out! I will be spending the entire day by myself here in Linz.

The reality is that I am used to being a loner. I spend a lot of my time traveling and being by myself and that’s perfectly OK. Not only that by my preferences for what I like to do when I travel, especially in Europe, don’t fit must others. So after over a week of of working with others schedule and preference let’s just say (and I don’t mean this in an antagonistic way) that I was looking forward to doing my own thing.

I started in the morning after most had left for the Salzburg tour and headed into the center of Linz where I went to the tourist information office and picked up map. Fortunately for me it was market day in the square so I had a chance to walk around and wish that I a place to cook. Then I did the walking tour that took me around an hour and a half. I went back to the market where I was able to get some free samples of various sausages and bread that was put out. I also picked up a smoked whitefish sandwich.

I went back to the ship, checked some email, drank some water and ate an apple. I then went for a longish hike (around two miles one way and up a thousand feet) up and out of town to a church in a small town outside of Lintz called Postlingburg. I simply followed the bus line road to get there which was a longer but gentler climb. That was good because I found later that there was a more direct path that a lot of people take and I took on the way down but it is a lot steeper. After visiting the church I stopped at a café with a phenomenal terrace and view for a coffee and to rest before going town. I struck up a conversation with a gentleman who was visiting from Germany but who had grown up in the area. He filled me in with all types of history, economics and suggestions of other things to do in the area. Once back in the center of the city I sought out a wurst stand for a Weisswurst (veal sausage) snack.

Wife, Al and Sandy tootled aboard at around 6 PM and we went to dinner and then on to the deck to enjoy the evening.


Pictures

Linz Town Plaza

More Neat Building Facades

The Objective of the Hike to Postlingburg

Not Sure What This Is?
Think its the old wall to the city castle

Stained Glass Windows from the New Church

The Market in the Plaza

On the Road to Postlingburg

Church at Postlingburg

View from Cafe at Postlingburg
Sorry for the hazy day