Random thoughts on some European differences:1. Their slugs are huge, as I have mentioned before... but it is a European epedemic, not just Holland. If you don´t believe me, we have a picture of a slug that is over half the length of my foot... and I have big feet!!
2. Escalators are smart. We have seen some escalators that stop when there are no people on them, and some that slow down when there are no people on them. Why don´t we have smart escalators?
3. European cats are super-friendly. In fact, we almost killed one the other day. In Hallstatt (see below), we were petting a cat who was so happy that he rolled off the edge of a 20 foot-high sidewalk!!! Luckily, there were some branches and vines that caught him. It was just a good thing we weren´t 2 feet to the right!!!
4. Europeans eat their eggs in a non-messy, non-shell-peeling method. It takes some practice, but they are able to quickly chop the top off, eat the egg... leaving just the full empty shell.
5. German and Austrian sandwhich meat looks scary (so says Niffer - Michael says it is no scarier than bologna - you can decide who you believe the most).
6. Still haven´t figured out what the second button does for flushing the toilet.
Hallstatt was a quiet, relaxing stop between Salzburg and Vienna. It is in the Austrian Lake District, and is a small, cute town right on the edge of a mountain lake. It probably deserved more time just for relaxation sake, but we only stayed one night. Apparently Hallstatt is known worldwide for its salt mine - the oldest in the world. Salt has been mined there since 800 BC!!! We dressed up in authentic, bright magenta mining outfits (if you don´t believe me that the magenta color was authentic... well then just ask me), and took the mine tour. It was a lot of fun, with slides and trains and tunnels and even a little education on old and current salt mining techniques (thanks to a couple scary animatronic miners and a couple slide shows).
Hallstatt has a pretty cemetary similar to the one we saw in Salzburg. When you die, you only have 15 years of peace burried in the ground. Afterwhich, they dig up your bones, add them to a pile in the chapel (with some pretty artwork on your skull) to make way for the newly dead.
We are now in Vienna and staying in a small pension with padded doors. I can only assume that this is because they were tired of tourists sueing them for injuries resulting from running into closed doors, thinking that they were indeed open. Michael guesses it is for sound control. I think my story is better.
Vienna is a big city, and thus does not quite make our favorites list. Don´t get me wrong... it has been enjoyable, and has some amazing museums discussing the Hapsburg Empire including their impressive treasury and art collection. It makes you wonder just how many real nails there are that were used to hang Jesus on the cross. I think we´ve run across 5 Vatican-certified true nails. Hmm... And is it St. Catherine who has 6 arms distributed throughout Europe? Apparently, historically we looked more like Shiva.
Tomorrow we leave for Prague, which is sadly our last destination before heading home. Maybe it is for the best. Michael got an email today saying that his boss was rading his office for something, and Niffer is missing her hot baths (showers or half showers are getting a little tiring).
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