Friends and Food - our vists in Europe

On May 4 we flew on Virgin Atlantic (very good service) from Delhi to London Heathrow. Making our way through London was like arriving in another world compared to our past couple of months in Nepal and India - things were clean, trains were on time, people didn't stare or even try to sell us anything. We made our way to our friends Nic and Maria's flat where we had a quick visit and met their five and a half month old daughter Amelie for the first time. Nic and Maria had kindly agreed to store our excess luggage so we could travel lightly through Europe. We snacked and drank a quick glass of wine before catching the last train to London Stanstead Airport. We joined many other travellers who were sleeping at the airport (tucked under check-in counters, and sleeping in front of the closed shops). We found a quiet spot behind the Avis Rent-a-Car counter, and spread our newly bought Indian sleeping bags on the floor to settle in for the night. We found it funny that the floor of the airport building was much cleaner than some of the beds we had slept in while in India.

We managed to catch a few hours sleep, and flew the next morning to Munich, where we were greeted at the airport by Matt, an Aussie who had introduced Edwin and me to each other in Kathmandu in 2003. Matt bicycled from Perth, Scotland to Perth, Australia and had cycled with Edwin for a couple of months from Nepal through to Laos. I had met Matt at a bank in Varanasi, India. Matt worked as an engineer at the Hague before joining his German girlfriend Babette in Munich. We went with Matt to watch his team play an Aussie rules football match, Munich versus Frankfurt. An injury prevented Matt from playing, but he was asked to referee, which looked hard enough to us - they never stop running! After the match it started to pour and we ran through the rain to a bier garten where Matt introduced us to Bavarian style food and drink. Bretzen (pretzels) with a delicious dip of soft cheese and onion, and the one litre stein of beer, locally called a mass. The next day we went to Andechs Monastery, just south of Munich for more delicious Bavarian food and beer. The view of the countryside was beautiful - rolling hills with church steeples towering over small villages - just like the photo on the chocolate box. On our final day in Munich, Edwin and I wandered around the centre, looking at the old architecture, visting the Englischer Garten, and of course eating more bretzen.

On May 8, we took the train from Munich to Volkermarkt, in the province of Corinthia, very near to the Slovenia border. In 1988, I had been a member of a choir from Powell River which toured Europe and was hosted by families while in Volkermarkt. My friend Lorill and I were lucky to be billeted with Gerd and Kathi Bosse, a lovely couple with whom we formed a wonderful lasting friendship. Over the years, the Bosses had visited us in Canada in 1991 and 1996, and Lorill returned to Austria to visit them in 1996 as well. At 85 years, Gerd looks and acts like he is maybe 55, and at 68, we had a hard time keeping up with Kathi on our walks. They were thrilled to meet Edwin after hearing so much about him through letters and photos. We spent 5 days with them, visiting the local sights, going for walks, and eating amazing meals together. We settled quite easily into the routine of porridge and heavy rye bread with cheeses and jams for breakfast, soup and schnitzel and potatoes and veggies for lunch, cake and tea in the late afternoon, and more bread with cheeses in the evening, followed by ice cream and liqueurs. All the time we kept saying, "we'll be walking El Camino in a week".

Another scenic train ride put us in Vienna yesterday, and we've enjoyed strolling down the Mariahilfer Strasse, looking at the beautiful buildings, sidewalk cafes, and dozens of museums. Tonight we fly to Biarritz via Frankfurt, and we will begin the 800 km El Camino de Santiago in the next few days.

Location: Vienna, Austria