BFargin: European Vacation

I'm back from my trip and am very glad to be home. This trip was more pleasant than most of my recent trips involving air travel and for that I am thankful. I flew out of Nashville into Paris via Atlanta for my outbound journey. I arrived about on schedule and spent 6 days in France visiting with friends, attending conference seminars, and seeing the sights.

The trip to Le Mont St Michel was interesting to say the least. I first read about St Michels 20 years ago and have always wanted to visit this interesting place before I died. Well, I talked some friends into going on my adventure with me. Scott drove while Andrea, Eleanor and I rode shotgun and provided driving instruction and encouragement from the observer positions (can you say back seat drivers). The day we made our trip 350 kilometers across Northern France to Le Mont St Michel was the most foggy day in the history of France (my personal opinion only).

We arrived and could only see the bottom 100 feet of the mountain since the rest was covered with fog and clouds. We explored for an hour or so and as predicted by Andrea the fog lifted and the sun made its appearance. The result was a good view of the mount and its buildings as well as the surrounding countryside. While I would have liked better weather for the trip it was well worth the effort and expense to make the trek (not sure if my fellow travelers would agree). It really is like a small island world all its own.

After my time was up in France I boarded a flight to Vienna to visit with some friends and see Vienna again. I have always loved Austria and this was by far my best trip to this small beautiful country. The people are polite and helpful and the architecture is magnificent. Every church is a place of worship that seems to enhance the worship experience by it's very character as well as a museum that preserves Austria's past. Most of the churches and cathedrals were at least partially destroyed during WWII but the Austrians rebuilt using the original materials where available and brought them back to original condition. The result is incredible and well worth a visit just to see inside some of the many churches scattered around the city of Vienna. Andrea and her father showed me around the city and provided incredible detail on the history and current condition and use of many historic sights around the city of Vienna. I even had the privilege of visiting the Royal palace, Hofburg Royal apartments, as well as the former summer palace (Schonbrunn) of the Austrian monarchy. Andrea's parents live right near the main downtown area which houses the beautiful Stephensdom. Another treat of the trip was attending the Opera in the Staatsoper building on Thursday evening. I was also treated to great food and fellowship by Andrea and her parents during the 4 days I spent in Austria.