The Tortured Trip to Innsbruck

Hello again, the next part of the trip was to Innsbruck (Austria) via train. While the scenery was nice it was a disaster. First, the train was two hours late. I still don't know why. No announcements at Bari station, they just kept changing the time it was delayed on the departure board. Perhaps this is nothing unusual in Italy - it happens everyday. To compound things, two people got on the train and claimed we were in their seats. Only one problem, they were on the wrong train. I didn't hear an apology though - they just slinked away. This happened with a few people because the train was so late. What was very useful was getting an email from Italian Railways telling me our train was late - four hours into our journey. I also appreciated the irony of a few situations on the train journey: the person crossing the train tracks at a station, exactly where there was a sign saying not to cross the train tracks and a high volume talker on his mobile phone starting up shortly after an announcement over the PA asking people to keep noise to a minimum, including talking on mobile phones.
It only got better. With the train being late we missed our connection at Bologna for Innsbruck. So that meant catching a train to the Italian border (Brenner) and changing to another train for Innsbruck. At Brenner - had trouble finding the connecting train which we only had 10 minutes to catch but someone helpfully pointed us in the right direction. Then on an almost empty train, a loud talker sat across us and seemed to be ringing everyone who he knew - some appreciated the random calls more than others (it was only 10pm after all). All this meant we were going to be over three hours late, arriving just before the hotel was to close at midnight. At Innsbruck station we luckily found a taxi but the taxi driver took us to the wrong hotel and then we had to try to find our way to the right hotel through the labyrinth of streets in the pedestrian only old city. Luckily we found a couple that helped with directions and miraculously we got to the hotel spot on midnight. They were still open. It only got better. The hotel had no water as they were doing night works on the water supply system - coincidentally just below our window. That's when the digging and drilling started. I was too tired to care any more. Bari to Innsbruck: 14 1/2 hours.
We stayed in Innsbruck for a few days and the hotel staff were really friendly and helpful - even when out toilet got blocked (probably due to the works that were undertaken). The pillow cases embroided with the hotel name was probably a strategy to combat theft but I was concerned I would wake up in the morning with the hotel name tattooed into my face.
Innsbruck is a pretty place, surrounded by mountains, and one of my favourite places in Europe. What I thought was funny was when Austrians started speaking German and I said I didn't understand them, they apologised for not speaking English to me. I also appreciated the fact that they had road rules and they obeyed them. Apparently, in Austria you give way to pedestrians when they are on a pedestrian crossing. Who would have thought after Bari?

Some pictures of Innsbruck, including some from the trip on the Nordkette cable car...

Bari

Hello, back from my Italy-Austria trip and here is the blog on Bari, which is located on the coast in the south of Italy. The train trip to Bari was eventful. We got on the train at Trieste. Update on the public toilets: refurbished but now charge a fee. We departed late out of Trieste station because someone hadn't quite finished their very important conversation with their friend on the platform and was holding open the door. Perhaps just a coincidence that same door didn't work after that. The train was a refurbished one but they forgot about the toilets which were old school with a view of the tracks.

Italian Observations
Based on the buildings, bridges etc. I saw in Italy the artistic tradition is still alive in Italy but via graffiti these days instead.
Based on the number of TV shopping channels, Italians really like shopping. In fact they do shops and ice cream very well.

Bari 
I thought Rome drivers were bad. I apologise to Roman drivers. Bari featured the worse driving I have see anywhere. I'm not familiar with the Italian road rules but based on my observations scooters appear to have some sort of exemption: they don't have to stop at lights. Drivers in general did not appear to see pedestrians or at least believed they were not entitled to cross the road. My mother was nearly run over twice by drivers that didn't contemplate that pedestrian might be crossing the road. After that she wouldn't cross the street until there was no car in sight. Parking was another thing: apparently parking is perfectly OK across intersections.
I am no expert on the Italian language but in Bari they don't speak Italian. They speak some Italian with every second word sounding like it was just made up because they don't know the proper Italian word.
A food speciality in Bari seems to be burnt pizza. I thought it was just us receiving this treat but I saw a table nearby which was also served with this speciality. 

Accommodation 
I don't know why Italian hotels persist with having bidets (or butt washes as I call them). They take up space and it's probably only Italians that might use them. I have also never seen so many mirrors: there was a mirror in the bathroom, bedroom, lift, reception, and the breakfast room (which had the most mirrors) of all). The bed mattress was either prison surplus or a memory foam type that lost its memory. In short, it was hard.

And here are some pictures from Bari which had some nice old buildings...

Slovenian Arrival

Hello, well I actually arrived nearly two weeks ago and have just spent time acclimatising. The weather has been warming up slowly, now about the 27-8 mark. Some stories so far... 

The Trip Here
This time took a different route, through Dubai and Venice, with Emirates Airlines.  Dubai airport was chaotic, but the airline itself was quite good - although almost 14 1/2 hours on the plane to Dubai was a killer. I don't know how people do it on those non-stop flights to the USA and Europe. Sitting in front of us (my mother has come on the trip as well) was a person with one of the biggest heads I've seem - lucky the seats were quite wide and high. There was a delay in getting off at Dubai, so a passenger plugged in his razor and started shaving. When we arrived at Venice airport it was absolute chaos with a queue almost from the plane to passport control. However, having a combination of EU and Australian passports confused all the security staff and somehow we ended up at the front of the queue.
From the airport we got a taxi van which was driven by two Croatians who didn't seem very familiar with Slovenia. We were in real trouble when the GPS (on their phone) wouldn't work properly and so we wandered around a while until they fixed it, by then fuel was low and so we had to stop at a petrol station. But we got there in the end. I was sceptical for a long while.

Slovenian TV
I was watching a local soccer game and a few of the locals didn't want to pay to get in, so a couple brought their step ladders along so they could watch over the fence. Another, larger group, set up on a bridge which overlooked the ground - they came fully kitted out with flags and flares.
I also saw a program about animals in which an animal groomer would put her dogs in shows where the best groomed dogs would be judged. Apparently, part of the competition involves dyeing your dog the colours of the rainbow. I'm not sure what the RSPCA would make of that.
Slovenian parliamentary elections are to be held here today (Sunday) and the campaign has been interesting. I have never seen a parliamentary campaign with so many televised debates. Nearly everyday there was a debate involving the party leaders on some channel or another.

Here are some photos around the area. Off to Italy and Austria next week for an extended trip.

Exit Australia

Hello, I am going back to Slovenia at the end of this week, so here is my last blog from Australia for now. Off to warmer climes!

Commonwealth Games
I wasn't really looking forward to the Commonwealth Games - certainly not as much as Channel 7 was but I warmed up to it. But at times it seemed that it was the Commonwealth Swimming Championships that were on. It was real reality TV at times with some of the achievements. The good thing about the Commonwealth games is that it gives "minor" sports (i.e. not AFL or swimming) some airtime and the opportunity for some mediocre athletes to win a medal.
One thing that puzzled me was how the former Portuguese colony of Mozambique managed to sneak into the Commonwealth. Maybe they just like the English language. If their aim was to attend a sporting event where they had a better chance of getting a medal, it didn't work as they didn't win anything.
I am not sure about beach volleyball.  What's wrong with normal volleyball: too many people on a team?, the playing surface too hard?, or it requires too much clothing? 
I am also not sure about some of the track athletes. One, I am sure, was wearing a large, grey wig. Another had a hair style that resembled Mickey Mouse Ears. Yet another had a sideshow Bob hairstyle. I don't know how this could help your running. One long-jumper appeared to be wearing all his personal jewellery, including an expensive looking watch. He clearly didn't trust security at the Games Village.
A low point was when a Scottish marathon runner collapsed because of the heat and spectators were taking photos/videos of him lying on the ground in pain. I don't know what's so fascinating about a dehydrated marathon runner that needs to be photographed. 

Travelling to Melbourne
I have come down a few times on the the bus and train and it continues to be a source of fascination. Public transport, as always, is the main source. I don't know where people are going at 9am on the train. The train was packed. What time do these people start work? At 10am? I try to avoid seats on the aisle as invariably I get assaulted by people with oversized bags or backpacks. Things don't change either: people staring into their phones as if they are hypnotised and trains being delayed due to unruly drunks assaulting passengers (in the middle of the day). The latest thing they have invented to annoy me is groups of youths sharing "funny" videos on the train. Even when I am waiting at the train station I get targeted: by parents bringing their noisy children to sit near me and by people weaving in out of seats just they can cross in front of me. At a Hoppers Crossing train station, just before the train was pulling in five minutes late there was an announcement that they were running a good service on the line. In Switzerland they would mounted a major investigation into the delay.
And that's on top of the machinations of the Albury train line whose main goal appears to be to run late. One time when it was running late I got on the Bright bus which was full of school kids who appeared to be unable to sit with each other or ddn't like each other as they each needed to occupy two adjacent seats each. On another bus trip they were again an unusual number of people on the bus,  mainly youths. Three of them were carrying on (at 6am in the morning), clearly overdosed on coffee.    
The last time I came to Melbourne I had some tragic news: my barber had to retire due to a back problem (probably because of hauling around those scissors all these years). That's annoying as it's the third time I have had to change barbers in the last 40 years. 

There's also the interesting people. One woman I saw in the city had a "tan" the same colour as barbeque flavoured chips. I also saw some buskers who seemed to be playing what I'd call punk hillbilly blues. It appeared that a key requirement of membership of the band was facial piercings and partially blonde dyed hair. I also saw a cafe called Mercedes Me in the city. I wonder if some of the other car companies are also going to branch into this business. 

Local News 
Apparently, up at the ski resorts they only have two seasons: white and green. I guess that's less complicated and it's easier to tell which season it is without the need to consult a calendar.

The local dairy closed down a while ago but I think it's ironic that the building now houses a brewery.
While I was shovelling some soil on the nature strip, a kid came past and amongst a number of other observations she needed to share with me, informed me she was not my neighbour but just on a play date. When did just coming over to visit your friend become such a formal engagement?

The Autumn festival was on here recently, including the street parade (see pictures below)  - a highlight was Bright's first tow truck. I don't know how they got that running again as it seemed to consist of mostly rust. I also went to the Wandiligong Nut festival (picture below) - that's about the food. Unfortunately, it was spoilt by the continuous planned burns that were going on - seems like they invented these burns for firefighters to get some extra practice.
On local TV saw some interesting things. They had one news story on a fun run in which they showed the start. In the distance you could see someone running who was obviously late for the start or an elite athlete who wanted to give everyone else a start. I also saw an advertisement for a retirement home where one of the facilities was a train room. That confused me until they showed a picture of someone wearing a train driver hat holding a model train.

  
Special Offer!
As I am departing Australia (and working on the second edition as well, for publication later this year) Random Thoughts and Tales is currently available for a special 15% discount. In addition, today only, you can get an extra discount of 10% plus free mail shipping by typing this code: BOOKSHIP18 at checkout. You can order it via the Lulu.com Australian bookstore. You can click here for the direct link to the book.

Some final local pictures...