Sofia, Bulgaria to Raubling, Bavaria Germany 7th October 2007

We wanted to make up some time so decided to take some night trains, which also gave us our accommodation for the next three nights. We boarded the train in Athens and travelled through to Sofia, Bulgaria. At Athens station we chatted with Gill from Adelaide. Her cabin was next door to ours so we had some great conversations during the trip. When we arrived in Sofia we helped Gill find her hostel - a bit of a challenge as the address had changed and the Lonely Planet address had not been updated. Eventually we found the address and in the meantime had a good tour around Sofia on foot. While we were standing at a pedestrian crossing a woman had her hand in Pat's pocket - she wasn't very lucky - all she managed to get her hands on was Pat's well used handkerchief! In the city we visited a beautiful Cathedral called Ploshad Aleksander Nevski which had gold domes - it was built between 1892 and 1912 and named after a Russian warrior. Next we visited the markets where we picked up some fresh fruit for the train trip. The three of us had lunch together and then Pat and I headed back to the station for our next night train to Bucharest, Romania.

There were many gypsies on this train - they stand in the area at the end and between carriages in order to have a free trip. The conductor told us to be sure to lock our cabin door well at night - this has been a prosperous area for thieves in the past. The border patrol knocked on our door at 3:00 am - once all was in order we went straight back to sleep. We arrived at Bucharest early in the morning and headed into this very interesting city. This is the city where communism basically ended in Romania - it was from here 0n 21st December 1989 that Ceausescu gave his famous last speech - a couple of days later he and his wife were arrested - then on Christmas Day they were both executed by firing squad. Ceausescu had grandiose ideas of turning an area of Bucharest into another Champs Elysees - after wrecking complete suburbs and pushing people out of their homes he produced an area not nearly as good as the Paris original. The Palace of Parliament is an infamous star attraction in the city - it is second in size to the US Pentagon in Washington DC. We walked about in the historical city and visited a little Chapel built in 1700. A Romanian linguist came along to chat with us and gave us the history of the building and asked a lady to turn on the lights for us to see it better. He was very interested in speaking English so had a great chat with Pat about the mining industries in the two countries.

Our third night train was from Bucharest to Budapest in Hungary. In Budapest we strolled along the banks of the Danube River thoroughly enjoying the scenery and sunshine and spent hours walking in the city. There was a 30 klm marathon being held so many streets were cordoned off to traffic. We visited the Parliament Buildings and the City Square, then headed back to the station for the trip to Rosenheim in Germany where we were met by Heine and Herbert. They were surprised at the small amount of luggage we were carrying for six months travel - they loaded our gear into the back of the wagon and we headed home to Frieda and Sieglinde. Frieda is a sister of my Uncle Sepp who lives in Canada and is married to my Mother's sister Angela. Heine was a neighbour who grew up with Sepp and his 15 brothers and sisters near Kufstein in Tirol, Austria.

On Monday we all headed into Munich by train to visit Oktoberfest. Wow what a place! We were in a tent which seated 7,500 people. Beer is served in 1 litre steins with waitresses and waiters carrying about 10 steins at any one time. As of yesterday 6.1 million visitors had attended Oktoberfest this year. The atmosphere is wonderful with loads of people of all ages dressed up in national costume. While the band was playing in our tent we called our family in Australia to say hello - my Mother was in great form and thoroughly enjoyed the international phone call. After Oktoberfest we headed into the city to see the sights and to visit the world famous Hofbrauhaus.

We have been in Bavaria and Tirol for the past week and what a time we've had. The countryside is just glorious - high mountains, rolling green hills and valleys, waterways and streams. Our German and Austrian connections are spoiling us greatly - each day we have been out touring the villages and areas in Bavaria and Tirol. We have visited many places including Tiersee, Kufstein, Sudelfeld, Kaiserrundfahrt, Elmau, Kitsbuhel, Reit im Winkl, Kossen, and Buchberg and many more I have not listed. The area is dotted with ski resorts and villages. The buildings in the villages are wonderful with window sills covered in flowers and beautiful artwork painted on and around many of the homes and buildings. I love being in the countryside where the air is crisp and fresh. It is currently autumn so many of the leaves have changed colour with the hillside looking fabulous with splashes of green, red, gold and brown.

We had a great day in Kufstein and visited the wonderful Castle - in earlier times the round tower of the castle was used as a prison. The tower of the castle houses the world's largest organ and we were lucky enough to be there at midday to hear the recital. The sound of the music can be heard from all around the valley. Heine said that when the wind is blowing in the direction of his home 7 klms away he can hear the music from his living room. Heine is a carpenter by trade and during his life he has made 12 large harps. When he was 20 years of age he began to learn to play the harp. One afternoon we were at his home for apple strudel, coffee & schnapps (yummo) when he gave us a recital - a special treat. Heine speaks perfect English which makes conversation very easy.

I can't remember when we laughed as much as while we are here at Frieda and Herbert's home. Our conversations are just wonderful - with my school German and their spattering of English words we have a ball - eventually we work it all out! Frieda is a brilliant cook so we have been having fabulous meals - Goulash, Schnitzel, Knodel, Potato Salad, Goulash, Roast Pork to name but a few - not forgetting the schnapps which seems to appear often! Herbert is a great host and quite the entertainer - he' currently busy learning some Australian slang.

We made another trip into Oktoberfest yesterday and met up with Ian (Matho) and Liz Matheson from Mackay. Our arrangement was to meet up at 10:00 am and we were all there on the dot of 10:00. We were first in line for the Kafers Wiesn Schanke tent so were able to get in first and get a great table. Pat and Matho did quite well and both managed to down four x one litre steins of German beer - the BBQ chicken dinner also went down a treat in the middle of the day. Liz and I had a great day and thoroughly enjoyed the company of the other Germans at our table - the atmosphere is great and everyone is very friendly.

Today we have been out hiking in the mountains at Kaiser Mountain. Heine was a mountain guide and rock climber so we knew we were in good hands. We visited the house half way up the mountain where Heine was born - it is now a restaurant. On our trip back down the mountain we stopped off there for Weiner Schnitzel and enjoyed sitting on the verandah in the sunshine. There is nothing quite like a day's walk in the mountains - the fresh air and the scenery is wonderful.

Early this morning Frieda and Herbert left for Padua in Italy where we will meet up with them in a couple of days time. Tomorrow morning we will leave from Munich and head to Venice.