Velden, Austria
I wonder if this train is going to stop in Velden? That's what I was thinking to myself as I watched little villages whizzing by the window.
I left Verona Italy, at last on my way to the Christening in Velden, Austria. I had to change trains in Venice. Drew, Lisa and I visited Venice 4 years earlier, then traveled to Velden for Steph and Mikes wedding, so I had been there before. I had 2 ½ hours to kill, so I left my roll-aboard suitcase at the left luggage office and wandered around the streets and canals of Venice, and got a bite of lunch, some pizza.
My train had Austrian
cars, and I had a reserved seat in first class, although it was an
Italian engine pulling it, and an Italian crew on board. I noticed
that we weren't making all of the stops, and realized when I reserved
the seat, I made the reservation all the way to Klaggenfurt, which is
30 miles beyond Velden.
I was so glad I had a cell phone that worked in Europe, as I called Mike at his Mom's house in Velden, and told him I was going to be late, and I would call again when I arrived. “Don't vorry Schotty, Ve vill come to pick you up in Villach” he said.
Half an hour later, I
was walking out the front door of the Villach station, and Michael
and his brother Peter were waiting for me. Seems that a lot of the
relatives were at his Mom's house, and things were getting a bit
hectic, so he and Peter were looking for an excuse to get away for a
bit.
They took me to the hotel, owned by Mike's Uncle Erik, and Sandy and Mark were in the lobby. Sandy used to work for America West in Salt Lake, in fact she was my supervisor, but now she is a flight attendant with Steph in Phoenix.
The rest of the night we ate dinner and drank beer at the Uncle Erik's hotel. They've got a decent bar and restaurant attached as well.
The next day was the Christening, but I will save that for tomorrow's blog.
Ciao for now amigos!
