Salzkammergut

I was so hoping to do the lake district here in Austria.  It's known as Salzkammergut.  The whole area is seriously amazing.  The photos in my travel guide were beautiful so I couldn't wait to see it.  But then I figured out how far it is to the lakes(at least an hour if you drive) and sorta crossed it off the list.  While they do drive on the right side of the road all the signs are in German.  Go figure.

But for Easter Sunday and last Saturday some of us went to the lakes.

Easter was St. Gilgen.  That's one of the prettiest places I've ever seen.  Adam drove, since he knows German and how to get there. (And it was his idea.) The four of us (Andrea, Adam, Katrina and I)had a great time.

Mozart's family originally hailed from St. Gilgen(his maternal  grandfather was a judge there) and there is some Mozart tourism, but it's just a nice place to go.

 We walked around, mostly by the lake and stuck our toes in.  It was cold, but hey Alpine lake in late April, so it wasn't terribly surprising.

Then on Saturday we (Lisa, Darren, Adam, Katrina, Andrea and I)went to Hallstatt.  It's further out than St. Gilgen.  In fact you pass through it on the way.
Hallstatt has the oldest working salt mine in the world and ice caves.  Also an amazing lake.  We rented a boat and cruised around.

We spent about an hour exploring the Hallstatt lake.  It's the odd green of the Alps lakes and my favorite part was the castle on the other side.

We also had lunch by the lake.  I had fresh caught trout from one of the local lakes.  Yummy.  It was off-putting at first since the fish was whole.  But so good once I got over the inital, it's staring at me! reaction.
Then we walked around the town.  It's such a cool place.  A place I have to go back to.  I didn't get to see the mines or the ice caves.  And there were some great shops in this little square.

First day of class

Today was my first real day in Prague. As you all know I am not a morning person. So to be ready at 8:45 was a bit tough, especially after so little sleep the past few nights.

But after tea and breakfast the switch was thrown. Although I would have killed for some Greek yogurt and fresh fruit. Lots of meats and cheese on the breakfast buffet here.

We got a tour of Charles University and a history lesson. As Charles University went so did Prague. They are intrinsically linked. The ideas at the university flowed to the city eventually. Karlos IV founded the University with the idea in mind that Prague would be a cultured educated capital of Europe. Very far thinking and generous was Charles IV.

The university area is amazing. Very historical and artistic. One thing we learned was that during the Communisit times here the socialist were anxious to promote the Czech ties to the West rather than the East. Being Catholic rather than Orthodox. Having ties to old Germany going back to the founding of the university and the idea of a democracy. Our lecturer told us that to the socialist image was everything and that's why they kept the old buildngs up and functioning in the same conditions rather than making them over or tearing them down. (Money was a factor too)

We got our photo taken outside(no Larry wasn't in it) then split up to wander. Some of us were still a bit jet lagged. I went to lunch and touring with a few other people from the class. It rained a bit here on and off.
We walked all the way across the Charles Bridge and looked at some of the art and jewelery set up there.
The Bridge Band played Ellington's It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing and the vocalist sang it in Czech. Good but funny to hear it in another language while recognizing what it was.

Had dinner and our "official" welcome on a boat tour on the river. It rained. Hard. But the riverbank sites are beautiful. The lock was fun. Some of the sites reminded me of Edinburgh actually.