Vienna

The top photo is a statue of a runner and then you see Amy and Phil at the top of the ferris wheel. I will post a photo of the ferris wheel. The dog has a sign that says: Sind Dir Wurst? 36,- Guess what that means:)

Vienna

The Airbus

These photos show the huge airplane that we took to Franfurt! Notice that we fly over Newfoundland and Ireland and then England.

Vienna tour

Today we got up after trying to catch up on badly needed sleep, and headed for the old part of Vienna. We soon discovered that Vienna has the old feel as well as the more modern touch. I know what they meant when they said it was like the 70s because some of the features of our neighborhood where we are staying do remind me of the old days. The hardware stores, for example, feel like old hardware stores where one could buy any number of items that you just cannot get anymore at our huge places like Home Depot. It is as if time sorta passed them by here and they were able to hold onto what really matters.
We had a wonderful time running around Vienna and looking at the old cathedrals and especially seeing the very ferris wheel where Harry Lime met up with Holly Martens in Orson Wells' The Third Man...a classic film indeed. Our tour guide was absolutely the BEST and guess what? He is marrying my daughter!!! Now, I have a question for you. Who is the man in the poster that I am attaching? Hint: a famous musician who lived in Vienna and was actually from Salzburg? Also, can you tell me how many Euros I will get when I cash in 50.00???

Air travel

These photos show the huge airplane that we took to Frankfurt!

I Made it!!!

Well let me tell you something. When you fly out of Boston, you don't just head due east to go to Europe. First you must head north to Grand Manan , Canada and that is where my father's side of the family comes from. My great great grandfather on the Calder side fought at Waterloo and was given a land grant on Grand Manan for his brave actions. One of my great uncles was the "birdman" of Grand Manan and his bird museum is still there. Anyway, I am digressing....find Grand Manan on the map and then find Newfoundland . We will be going over both before we then head west. Lindbergh followed this route also. He is the one who flew solo on a nonstop flight to Paris, you might want to read the book about this famous flight. I am including a small picture of the screens in front of me on this plane. They keep us posted as to altitude, speed and "miles to go before I sleep"...who said that, do you know? You should, he is a New England poet. Here is a hint...he lived at one time in Franconia NH and I know because my grandfather, Harold Rowell (mother's side) knew him when they both lived there. Grandfather was a principal in Franconia at the time.
Back to the sky...this is an airbus, the type of plane I mean, and it has a downstairs!! There are 57 rows on my level and 8 seats across. How many is that? The route goes over Ireland and England as you can see (over Bristol and London and over the English Channel. Can you see it on the map? right now we are at 39,000 ft altitude and 620 mph...very high and very fast. I will upload this when we land in about 2 hours.
We just landed here in Frankfurt and it is raining. It is 7:30 German time but for us...we have not yet slept...do you know how many hours difference it is here? Do you know why?
I am posting a few images that I got on the plane...

My plane

This is my plane getting ready for take-off.

Logan Airport

Waiting at Logan Airport Boston, Ma

Well I made it through security, whew! I had to put the iphone in one box, the computer in another and my cameras and other electronics in another. Ah, and of course my shoes, but my feet didnt stink because I had my magic Google socks on:) The airport is very quiet but there were lots of security guards outside with dogs. They dress a bit like storm troopers with very high shiny black boots and pants that have wings on each side. I am at the Lufthansa gate and I am sitting by a sign that says 'hot spot" and that means I can connect to wifi but I have to pay 7.50. My sister Amy and her husband Phil are sitting here too. Phil is so funny, he and Amy have never been to Europe and he was a bit red in the face going through all the commotion created by 911. Amy works for the Morning Sentinel and she wants me to email the folks back at the newsroom so they can follow our blog. Oops here comes Amy with coffee and scone for me because I am famished. We wait until 4:15 and we will be off to Frankfurt. My daughter called me on my iPhone to tell me that she and R. are having a bit of trouble getting wifi in Vienna. They managed to call in a Starbucks shop. R.  has an iphone so he was able to connect. They wanted to warn us that Vienna is like the USA in the 1970's , just to let us know that it is not a modern city. I said, "Great, I love going back in time!" This will be so much fun running around in the past:) I graduated in 1971 and went to college for the next 4 years, so I remember the 70's. I will keep you all posted when we get to the next wifi!! Go look up Vienna, Austria in Wikipedia and let me know what you discover..oh where oh where should I go when I get there? Do tell:) It is 3,671 miles to go!

LET'S GO TO EUROPE!

Hi Kids! Let me tell you about myself. My name is Ms. Richter and I am a teacher at the Skowhegan Middle School. I will be going on a trip to Europe soon. My daughter is getting married in Vienna, Austria and we will also be going to Italy. I will be traveling with my husband, Harry, and my sister Amy and her husband, Phil. I would love to have you follow my trip and I will ask you questions as we go along and you can also ask me questions about my travels.

This picture is of my 2 wonderful grandchildren, Damon and Amelia taken a year ago.They are sitting on a pier in Boston, Ma. and that is the city where my plane will take me from the USA to Frankfurt, Germany. From Frankfurt, we will fly to Vienna on October 21st!

So, let's get started

If you go to this site: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/europe/

you will become familiar with location of the countries of Europe. Find Germany, Austria and Italy.

Then go to this link to quiz yourself. Click on European quiz.

http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/euroquiz.htm